{"id":90634,"date":"2019-06-21T16:46:12","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T23:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=90634"},"modified":"2019-06-21T16:47:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T23:47:42","slug":"the-unique-national-identity-of-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/06\/21\/the-unique-national-identity-of-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"THE UNIQUE NATIONAL IDENTITY OF SRI LANKA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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The unique national identity of Sri Lanka is founded on its historic,\nlong-lasting Sinhala Buddhist cultural heritage.  As an island nation Sri Lanka is founded on\nBuddhist norms and principles. The impact of Buddhism is reflected both\ndirectly and indirectly, in the tangible and intangible aspects of the nation\u2019s\nculture. Fundamental Buddhist principles of non-violence, tolerance, compassion\nand peaceful coexistence with others and with nature are among the essential\ningrained principles that have shaped the outlook, temperament and lifestyle of\nthe people from historic times.  Since\nthe arrival of Buddhism in the country in the 3rd<\/sup> century BCE,\nduring a long historic period of more than 2200 years, the outstanding\naccomplishments of her people in many areas of life, are largely attributable\nto the impact of Buddhist principles guiding their lives. It was Buddhism that\ninspired the people of this nation to develop wholesome qualities and skills\nenabling them to evolve a rich and enduring culture where peace, tolerance, generosity,\ncreativity, wisdom, and spirituality are the cornerstones.   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wholesome Buddhist values and norms that form the basis of the uniquely\nindigenous Hela Buddhist culture were reinforced during the glorious classical\nperiod of our country\u2019s history. This period includes the greater part of the\nmore than 2200 years of Buddhist cultural history of this country, between 3rd<\/sup>\ncentury BCE to 13th<\/sup> century CE, when Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa\nwere the royal capitals. This was a time when the population of the country was\nexclusively Buddhist and the country was ruled by Buddhist royalty. The nature\nof development of the country\u2019s natural, human and cultural resources of the\npast is reflective of our long-held traditional Buddhist principles of peaceful\ncoexistence and integrity, particularly on the part of those who assumed\nleadership roles in the country. Promotion of virtuous and spiritual lifestyles\namong people was a fundamental goal of the nation, and Buddhist leaders of the\npast including Maha Sangha were in the forefront in furthering this goal. The\nnation\u2019s irrigation system developed during this time, with an extensive\nnetwork of reservoirs and canals are considered in modern times as marvels in\nirrigation technology. In addition, the nation\u2019s astonishing ancient\narchitecture, sculpture, art, literature and other forms of visual culture\nincluding the Sinhala language and literature displayed magnificently across\nthe country, are living evidence of this nation\u2019s exceptional cultural\nheritage. They are reflective of the outstanding imaginative and creative\npowers of the people including their talents, skills, and foresight. The world\nrecognition of the greatness of this unique Buddhist culture is reflected by\nthe UNESCO designating our ancient royal sites as World Heritage Sites –\nAnuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Mahanuwara (Kandy), Sigiriya and Dambulla, all built\nupon and strongly reflecting inspiration drawn from Buddhism. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this classical period of the nation\u2019s history, it was the Buddhist\nSangha community that provided education \u2013 both secular and spiritual and was\nthe primary source of inspiration and assistance in the evolution of varied\naspects of the nation\u2019s culture.  The\nstrength of this cultural foundation was tested several times in the past,\nespecially during periods of foreign invasion and associated devastation and\nexploitation. There were 17 ruthless South-Indian Dravidian invasions and from\n16th<\/sup> to about the mid 20th<\/sup> century European colonial\npowers used violent means to subjugate and exploit our country in order to\nserve their self-interests. They caused untold misery to the indigenous\nBuddhist community. But the nation stayed intact, withstanding threats, perils\nand calamities. This was largely owing to the power and potency of the nation\u2019s\nBuddhist cultural foundation.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tolerance and the enormous adaptability of Buddhism are qualities that\nhave remained unchanged throughout its remarkable history in Sri Lanka and many\nother Buddhist nations. With a down to earth philosophy of man in harmonious\nand cordial relationship to man, at a very visible and conceivable level,\nBuddhists have never stood up against any single man or groups of men in the\nname of Buddhism, either to defend or propagate the religion. That is quite a\nrecord for a faith with a history of more than two and a half millennia. That\nwas very much before the time of the appearance of most of today’s great world\nreligions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism upholds everything worthy and meaningful. It\npromotes peace, peaceful coexistence, and democratic principles in\ngovernance. It promotes human rights, development of individual and community\nvirtues and discipline in accordance with the pancha seela”. Respect\nfor the natural environment and sustainable and participatory development of\nresources and upheld in Buddhism. In addition, Buddhism strongly promotes\ntolerance of other faiths, religious and social harmony, and cordial relations\nwith other nations.<\/strong>\nBuddhist culture led to the evolution of a peaceful community structure. This\nprovided order and stability to the respective communities in the country.\nLifestyle of people in a Buddhist society has been simple and uncomplicated.  It was a quality of life that moved at a\ngentle pace where people enjoyed a high degree of leisure and freedom. As part\nof a close-knit community, people felt secure enough to be themselves. In this\nsense, they enjoyed a remarkably high quality of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhist principles were reflected in\npeople\u2019s attitude towards each other, other communities, other living beings\nand their habitat – the environment. \nPeople\u2019s livelihood and institutions were reflective of the impact of\nthe teachings of the Buddha.  A striking\nfeature was that, overall, relations between people and between culture and\nnature were compatible, in harmony and well-adjusted and adapted. This is\nlargely owing to Buddhism – the foundation upon which the way of life, culture\nand social values of the people evolved and established. People\u2019s livelihood\nand economy reflected their interdependence with their natural habitat, with\nother people and other living beings. They enjoyed an abundance of natural\nresources by way of useable land, fertile soil, clean and dependable water\nresources, healthy climatic conditions, a rich and diverse biological resource\nbase, an awe-inspiring natural environment pleasing to the senses and\nspiritually inspiring, and above all, a culture that valued harmonious\nrelationship with each other and the natural environment which provided the\nbasis of their livelihood.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting and Reinforcing the Cultural\nInheritance <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Sri Lanka clearly projects is its strong Buddhist imprint. It is a\nfact that, if there is anything unequivocally worthwhile that Sri Lanka can\noffer to the world today, it is the Buddha Dhamma and its outstanding culture,\nincluding its people\u2019s attitude towards life and their natural habitat.  <\/strong>We should not let this wholesome\nBuddhist cultural inheritance be undermined and eroded away by economic,\nsocial, religious and cultural trends that are incompatible with the enviable\nBuddhist social values which form the basis of life in the nation.  We are duty-bound to work towards\ntransforming and changing whatever harmful trends evident in our motherland. It\nis time to reinforce Buddhist principles that constitute the basis of the\nnational culture of Sri Lanka since ancient times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a\nstronger sense of national identity holds the key to achieving true\nreconciliation and social cohesion in our nation. Our nation needs to be united\nbehind the nation\u2019s Buddhist values. Extremism in any form, including\nreligious, is not in-keeping with the Buddhist principles and values that form\nthe basis of our nation. Attempting to implant in Sri Lanka, norms and behavior\npatterns of other countries aimed at being exclusive and markedly different to\nthe long established social and cultural norms of our nation has a socially\ndivisive effect. Buddhist community leaders, especially Buddhist Bhikkhus who\nhave been the traditional custodians of the nation\u2019s culture and values should necessarily\nbe in the forefront in confronting in a legitimate manner, any extremist and\ndivisive trends on the part of any community cultural or religious, who has\nmade Sri Lanka their home. Traditionally the Buddhist leadership is duty-bound\nto prevent attempts by anyone to undermine the long-established Buddhist socio-cultural\nnorms of our nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general,\nseparatism and divisiveness appear to dominate the thoughts of minority\ncommunities of Sri Lanka, especially the Muslims and Tamils.  This attitude inevitably prevents them from\ndeveloping a sense of belonging to the nation and cultivating better\nrelationships with the mainstream community of the country from historic times.\nThis parochial attitude prevents extremist elements from appreciating the\nworthy principles and values that characterize the Sri Lankan nation, and that\ngive this nation its identity as a peace-loving unique nation in the world. The development path of our\ncountry needs to be built from the grassroots, based on its Buddhist cultural\nfoundation. It should involve the development of strong local economies in\nwhich producer-consumer links are shortened and cultural values are respected\nand peaceful coexistence in harmony with the environment and all diverse people\nare assured. Moving in this direction appears to be the appropriate way to solve\nthe whole range of serious social, economic and environmental problems faced by\nthe country today. Ultimately, we are talking about a spiritual awakening that\ncomes from making a connection to others and to nature. This requires us to see\nthe world within us, to experience more consciously the great interdependent\nweb of life, of which we ourselves are among the strands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npolitical philosophy of Buddhism is universal in that it directly concerns with\nthe totality of human life. Not only does it deal with the social and economic\naspects of life but also deals with man’s spiritual and ethical aspects too.\nAccording to Buddhist political thought the state or the ruler is expected to\nestablish a just and selfless social order in which every individual of a\ncountry is happy and contended. The Buddha’s ideas were primarily based on the\nNoble Eightfold path and he advocated that all human problems could be easily\navoided by following this eight-fold path, namely Right Understanding, Right\nThought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right\nMindfulness and Right Concentration. In the past, during the long period of rule\nby Sinhala Buddhist royalty, the political scene in the nation strongly\nreflected the political thoughts of the Buddha. Two important political\nprinciples introduced by the Buddha were the elective principle of government\nand the acceptance of the peoples’ sovereignty. He introduced the voting\nprocedures at the election of leaders such as in the Sangha and showed the importance\nof the freedom of expression to create public opinion in issues of public\nimportance. He also showed that there is a close link between politics and the\neconomy of a country. On various occasions the Buddha showed that economic\nwelfare is all important for social stability, peace and good governance.  There is no doubt that if any country could\nfollow at least some of these political ideologies enunciated in the teachings\nof the Buddha, such a country would be peaceful, free of wars, free of petty\ndivisions and destructive evil thoughts and actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in\nHarmony with Nature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buddhist approach is to live in\nharmony with nature more than subduing it, conquering it, and exploiting\nit.  Buddhism emphasizes compassion for\nall living beings.  This Buddhist\nattitude to nature is enumerated in several of the Buddha\u2019s discourses, such as\nthe “Cakkavatti Sihanada\nSutta”, “Samyutta Nikaya”, “Vinaya Pitaka”, ”\nDhammapada”, and Theri Gatha”. <\/em> The type of economic system, which the Buddha\nproposed, was one where the individual\u2019s needs would be provided but there\nwould be no overemphasis on the purely material aspects of life. One\u2019s material\nneeds would be essentially what one need to make one live happily and for one\u2019s\nphysical sustenance. Buddhism advocates the judicious use of resources, the\nelimination of waste, and the most productive use of resources. In the suttas<\/em> mentioned above, the Buddha\u2019s\nadvice to laypersons was to develop both their material and spiritual welfare\nby fruitful use of nature\u2019s resources. Cooperative spirit among people, a\nsimple way of life based on a simple technology, a non-violent and gentle\nattitude towards nature, and all living beings are essential components of the\nBuddhist approach to development. Economic\ndevelopment must be placed against the wider background of the need to develop\na well-rounded personality, and a happy human being. In the “Mangala Sutta”<\/em> and the “Sigalovada Sutta”<\/em>, the Buddha has\nsaid that the happiness of the average person depends on their economic\nsecurity, the enjoyment of wealth, freedom from debt, and a blameless moral and\nspiritual life. In a number on contexts, the economic factor is linked to a\nwider relationship to the dhamma\u201d <\/em>or the teachings of the Buddha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane The unique national identity of Sri Lanka is founded on its historic, long-lasting Sinhala Buddhist cultural heritage.  As an island nation Sri Lanka is founded on Buddhist norms and principles. The impact of Buddhism is reflected both directly and indirectly, in the tangible and intangible aspects of the nation\u2019s culture. Fundamental Buddhist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-daya-hewapathirane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}