{"id":89563,"date":"2019-05-29T23:21:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T05:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=89563"},"modified":"2019-05-29T15:35:23","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T22:35:23","slug":"challenges-confronting-buddhists-in-asia-with-special-reference-to-south-asia-and-south-east-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/29\/challenges-confronting-buddhists-in-asia-with-special-reference-to-south-asia-and-south-east-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Challenges confronting Buddhists in Asia, with special reference to South Asia and South-East Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shridhar Prabhu\u00a0 <\/strong>Advocate, Bengaluru, India<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

(Speech delivered by Mr. Shridhar Prabhu, Advocate, at\nthe Ariyapala Hall, All Ceylon Buddhist Congress on December 29, 2017)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venerable Dhamma\nTeachers, Respected Dr. (Mrs.) Anula and Dr. Ajita Wijesundere and all other Office\nbearers of the National Joint Committee, Respected Mr. Jagath Sumathipala, Hon\u2019ble\nVice President of World Fellowship of Buddhists, and other WFB Bearers, Mr.\nSenaka Weeraratna and Dignitaries on and off the dais, and my dear Dhamma\nsisters and Dhamma brothers of Sri Lanka! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ayubowan<\/a>\nfrom all your Dharma tradition sisters and brothers of Bharat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It fills my\nheart with and untold joy to be amidst you on this august occasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are on our pilgrimage\nin Sri Lanka from 23rd<\/sup> December, 2017. I cannot possible describe\nabout the solace that we have experienced from our visit of to the holy city of\nAnuradhapura, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and then Maha Nuwara. Being amidst you all,\nwho are dedicated to the cause of Dhamma in itself is a pilgrimage.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today morning,\nwe had been to a very special place called Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage,\narguably, the largest elephant orphanage in the world. It was indeed a heart\nmelting moment for all of us to see the baby elephants. Pinnawala is a classic\nexample as to how much compassion is filled in the heart of Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is such great\nendeavours by a Buddhist nation that makes all Buddhists across the world proud\nof our Dhamma and our people! The greatest contribution of Buddhism to the\nworld is Metta and Karuna with which the Buddha encompassed not just mankind\nbut the whole of creation all in all its forms and manifestations. Pinnawala is\nliving monument to this great Buddhist tradition. I once again reiterate that I\n am proud to be from India, homeland of the\nBuddha and proud to be a Buddhist and proud to be in Sri Lanka, a leading\nBuddhist Nation and Polity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope I would\nnot be exceeding my brief if I touch upon the aspect that Chapter II – Article\n9 of Sri Lankan Constitution provides that <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost\nplace and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the\nBuddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles\n10 and 14(1)(e).\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My humble\nrequest to you is that please preserve this great provision in Sri Lanka\u2019s Constitution\nin letter and in spirit. Please don\u2019t allow yourselves to be led astray by the insincere\ninfluence of foreign ideologies. By foreign I don\u2019t mean from other countries,\nI mean that ethos that is foreign and alien to the scheme of Buddha\u2019s\nteachings.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The architect of\nthe Indian Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a great Buddhist and proud son of\nIndia has made the following provisions:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Aspect <\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Articles and provision <\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n PART IV: DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY, 48: Organisation of\n Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and 48A: Protection and improvement of environment\n and safeguarding of forests and wild life\n <\/td>\n Per 48, the Constitution requires the State to take steps for\n preserving and improving the breeds<\/strong>, and prohibiting the\n slaughter, of cows and calves in other milch and draught cattle<\/strong>.\u201d\n Per 48A, the Constitution places a duty on the State to endeavour to\n protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild\n life<\/strong> of the country.\u201d\n Per List III, Both Parliament and the legislature have the authority\n to make laws on the following: [p]revention of cruelty to animals<\/strong>,\u201d\n protection of wild animals and birds<\/strong>,\u201d [p]revention of the\n extension from one State to another of infectious or contagious diseases or\n pests affecting men, animals <\/strong>or plants.\u201d\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n PART  IVA:\n FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES, 51A (g): Fundamental Duties\n <\/td>\n Per 51A, the Constitution places a duty on every\n citizen to protect and improve the\n natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to\n have compassion for living creatures.\u201d<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Though Directive\nPrinciples are directional in nature our Supreme Court has held that they are\nbinding on us as polity. In fact, 24 of 29 States in India, including the State\nof Jamu Kashmir have laws and regulations banning cow slaughter or sale of\ncows.  This is because of the Buddha\u2019s\ninfluence on our jurisprudence and constitutional framework. I would like to\nsee, being a historic Buddhist nation respected throughout the world for spreading\nBuddhism, you too would incorporate provisions in any reform of your\nConstitution to impose a moral duty on all persons inhabiting in Sri Lanka to\nhave compassion for living beings, including non \u2013 human animals.  The quality and esteem of a Constitution is\nenhanced when it also extends protection and care for the welfare of members of\nother species that share this planet with human beings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ban on Liquor – In\nfact, there is a liquor prohibition in the State of Gujarat ever since\ncontinuously from 1958. The State where the Buddha attained enlightened namely\nBihar, too has done it recently and the same is a great living example for rest\nof India and the world.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Answer to the present distortions of History <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I come from India,\nthe land of The Buddha\u2019s birth, enlightenment and parinibbana. But\nunfortunately, Buddhists are miniscule minorities in this holy land! How! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been\nhumungous amount of historical research on the decline of Buddhism. Three\neminent personalities, who are responsible for the modern revival of Buddhism\nin India, have thoroughly researched on this subject and have authoritatively concluded\nthat it is the Islamic advent that resulted in the decline of Buddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This became\npertinent for these three scholars to dispel untruths because a systematic Goebbelsian\npropaganda was unleashed by the pseudo secularists in India that it was the\nphilosophical victory of Hinduism over Buddhism that led to the decline of\nBuddhism. In fact, many of the misinformed Hindu researchers themselves claimed\nthat Adi Sankara defeated the Buddhists in Dialogues and Buddhists accepted\ndefeat and quit India!! This is part of the systematic effort by the\nimperialist forces \u2013 both Arab and European \u2013 to pit Hindus against Buddhists\nand absolve themselves from having to account for their crimes against Buddhism\non Indian soil.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and\nforemost, of the scholars who brought out truth \u2013 much before the two \u2013 was\nAnagarika Dharmapala. He worked with the oppressed masses of India decades\nbefore Ambedkar. While taking the Buddha Dhamma to the oppressed, he never\npitted Dharmic traditions against one another. I would request you to kindly\nread this important article written on the occasion of the 150th<\/sup> Birth\nAnniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would leave\nyou with an article http:\/\/www.sundaytimes.lk\/140914\/plus\/taking-the-dhamma-to-the-dalits-117240.html<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second\neminent scholar was VIshwaratna Dr. Ambedkar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of all these\nthree scholars It is utmost important to quote Dr. Ambedkar for important two\nreasons. Firstly, a vast majority of Buddhists in India are followers of Dr.\nAmbedkar.  Secondly, Ambedkarism remains\nthe most distorted ideology today in India. Thirdly, because Ambedkar, known\nfor his acidic polemic against Hinduism, never compromised on the narrative of\ntruth. He never mixed his personal feelings when it came to academic research.\nIt is Dr. Amebdkar who smashed the pseudo theory of Aryan invasion and Aryan\nand Dravidian divide and the pseudo secular theories perpetrated by the\nStalinist historians.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambedkar\u2019s\nideology was totally distorted by his later followers. The concept of \u2018Bahujan\u2019\nwas \u2018lifted\u2019 from Buddhist teachings and was used for petty political gains in\nIndia. In the name of Bahujan Samaj, Buddhists, especially the former\nuntouchables, were asked to forge camaraderie with Muslims and Christians and\ndestroy Hindus! In fact, Dr. Amebkar was falsely projected as an espouser of\nAbrahamic religions!   But please note\nwhat he has to say in this regard: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/There can be no doubt\nthat the fall of <\/em>Buddhism<\/em><\/a> in <\/em>India<\/em><\/a> was due to the invasions of the <\/em>Musalmans<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Islam<\/em><\/a> came out as the enemy of the ‘But’.\nThe word ‘But’ as everybody knows, is the <\/em>Arabic<\/em><\/a> word and means an <\/em>idol<\/em><\/a>. Thus the origin of the word indicates that\nin the <\/em>Moslem<\/em><\/a> mind idol worship had come to be identified with the Religion of\nthe <\/em>Buddha<\/em><\/a>. To the Muslims, they were one and the same thing. The mission to\nbreak the idols thus became the mission to destroy Buddhism. Islam destroyed\nBuddhism not only in India but wherever it went. Before Islam came into being\nBuddhism was the religion of Bactria, Parthia, <\/em>Afghanistan<\/em><\/a>, Gandhar, and Chinese Turkestan, as it was of the whole of Asia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

XXX<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/em>Mussalman<\/em><\/a> invaders sacked the Buddhist universities of <\/em>Nalanda<\/em><\/a>, Vikramshila, Jagaddala, Odantapuri to name\nonly a few. They razed to the ground Buddhist monasteries with which the\ncountry was studded. The monks fled away in thousands to Nepal, Tibet and other\nplaces outside India. A very large number were killed outright by the Muslim\ncommanders. How the Buddhist priesthood perished by the sword of the Muslim invaders\nhas been recorded by the Muslim historians themselves. Summarizing the evidence\nrelating to the slaughter of the Buddhist Monks perpetrated by the Musalman\nGeneral in the course of his invasion of Bihar in 1197 AD, Mr. Vincent Smith\nsays, “….Great quantities of plunder were obtained, and the slaughter of\nthe ‘shaven headed Brahmans’, that is to say the Buddhist monks, was so\nthoroughly completed, that when the victor sought for someone capable of\nexplaining the contents of the books in the libraries of the monasteries, not a\nliving man could be found who was able to read them. ‘It was discovered,’ we\nare told, ‘that the whole of that fortress and city was a college, and in the\nHindi tongue they call a college Bihar.’ “Such was the slaughter of the Buddhist\npriesthood perpetrated by the Islamic invaders. The axe was struck at the very\nroot. For by killing the Buddhist priesthood, Islam killed Buddhism. This was\nthe greatest disaster that befell the religion of the Buddha in India….<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Dr. B. R. Ambedkar<\/a>, “The decline and fall of\nBuddhism,” Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. III,\nGovernment of Maharashtra. 1987, pp. 229 and 338 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\nopportunist elements should better read the following passage by Dr. Ambedkar:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/\/Hinduism is said to\ndivide people and in contrast Islam is said to bind people together. This is\nonly a half-truth. For Islam divides as inexorably as it binds. Islam is a\nclose corporation and the distinction that it makes between Muslims and\nnon-Muslims is a very real, very positive and very alienating distinction. The\nbrotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is brotherhood\nof Muslims for Muslims only. There is a fraternity, but its benefit is confined\nto those within that corporation. For those who are outside the corporation,\nthere is nothing but contempt and enmity. The second defect of Islam is that it\nis a system of social self-government and is incompatible\nwith local self-government, because the allegiance of a Muslim does\nnot rest on his domicile in the country which is his but on the faith to which\nhe belongs. To the Muslim ibi bene ibi patria [Where it is well with me,\nthere is my country] is unthinkable. Wherever there is the rule of Islam, there\nis his own country. In other words, Islam <\/em>can never allow a true Muslim<\/a> to adopt India as his motherland and regard a Hindu as his kith\nand kin.\/\/<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Source:\nhttp:\/\/www.columbia.edu\/itc\/mealac\/pritchett\/00ambedkar\/ambedkar_partition\/412d.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For detailed\nreading: <\/p>\n\n\n\n