Muslim man, Buddhist elephant (insomuch as that is possible). Via Fear Of A Muslim Island
I was heading towards Dematagoda and I saw some Muslims protesting down the street. Apparently they were joining a bigger group around Town Hall. I don’t think the mob evicition of a mosque in Dambulla is a good thing at all, and it’s got to hurt. Whatever’s said and done, to accost someone while worshipping is pretty terrible. I mean, you don’t do that. The government seems to think that moving the mosque solves the problem, but it doesn’t.
This is not to say that Sinhala Buddhism is a bad thing, or that this is Sinhala Buddhism. Or Buddhism. I’m Sinhala and Buddhist, which should show you how diverse the sort is. I honestly don’t think these categories are the best way to look at a diverse island.
On the contrary, Sinhala Buddhism is great. Whatever the blips and blurps, this culture has still preserved a remarkable, simple and lucid form of Buddhism which has great value to both the spirit and science. What I mean is that Buddhism is a boom to me and millions like me, and basic mindfulness meditation has proven neurological effects and is a part of mainstream cognitive behavioral therapy.
Underneath all the rituals and symbolism this practice and therapy is best preserved in Sri Lanka (and Burma I suppose). I’m not personally as into the Temple Of The Tooth and the various rituals, but I’m aware that without this culture (and without the patronage of the state) this valuable knowledge and practice might not be here.
So Sinhala Buddhism is not a bad thing, and I don’t think it’s really the problem here. SB is both older and more diverse than these particular monks in Dambulla, though I understand that ‘extreme’ element has actually been fairly mainstream at various points in time. Or seemed so.
What is going on, I think, is more attachment to this particular concept of self or community. As in, the type of attachment that leads to anger, hatred and suffering. Though I dunno, perhaps I doth project too much. Those acting and reacting so aggresively towards Muslims are a shame to Sinhala Buddhists and Sri Lankans in general, and the governments coddling of these sectarian forces is an embarassment. I’m Sinhala and Buddhist (not a racial posterboy, I know) and I don’t condone this shit at all. Neither, I suspect, do most Sinhala Buddhists.
I mean that in the sense that most Sinhala Buddhists don’t have decisions driven by that identity. We’re not a monolithic lot, and human decision making is anyways driven by multiple factors. People look at ‘extreme’ elements and presume that they’re acting out of that identity, but that’s a fallacy. They’re acting out of immediate territorial issues, political stuff, social, and also religious and cultural concerns. There’s honestly more going on at a territorial ape level here than the spiritual.
So, while I condemn any offense to Sri Lankan Muslims, I also – in the same spirit – think we should respect Sinhala Buddhists as well. Insomuch as any of these identities exist, it is a small island and we know all too well how small extremists can drive otherwise diverse people apart. So not again, not ever. Muslims are cool, Sinhalese are cool, Tamils, Veddahs, whatever.
For me, one of the most important insights in Buddhism is that all identities are transient. They have a purpose, but even the dhamma is like a raft across a river. Once you cross you don’t need to keep carrying it on land. In meditation, what remains after these sensations pass away is a feeling of connection and love. That is always there, even if we forget. I hope you can remember it now.
Religion should be separate from the State. Most of the problems with identity and cultural dominance appear to happen when this is not the case. Good luck trying to separate the two. Like you, I feel bad for the moving of the mosque and also for people being attacked while going to worship. Keep writing.
What Muslims really doing in Sri Lanka? They always try to invade Buddhist religion places with peacefully, slowly & very cunningly, by breaking not only law but also ethics. For example Dambulla, Anuradhapura, Somawathiya, Deegawapiya, Muhudu maha viharaya, Kuragala, list is continues. But when such an incident like Buddhists protest at the end of long period of tolerance, then Muslims accuse to Buddhists saying “Buddhists are demolishing our mosques….” It’s just like kettle accuse to pot saying “Hay pot you are darkened on smoke…” Is it fair? Aren’t Muslims the real invaders?
@Prabath, if you buy into this notion that Sri Lanka is only for ‘Sinhala Buddhists’ and all others are invaders, it is really harmful to yourself by conditioning your mind to have aversion for other human beings, and it is harmful to society at large because it leads to the mob violence (it wasn’t just a peaceful protest) we saw in Dambulla.
f anyone is breaking the law, whatever section of society they belong to, then the way to deal with it is to follow due process to enforce the law. If the authorities conclude that a structure is illegal and this is disputed by others it is up to the courts to decide. Using mobs to implement vigilante justice is not a solution to anything.
@Indi, the problem I see with the ‘Sinhala Buddhist’ identity is that it is often associated with boastful, conceited rhetoric about the Sinhalese preserving Theravada Buddhism, which just feeds the natural hunan ego and makes some people think that being born Sinhalese Buddhist makes them automatically better than others. Our education system, politicians and clergy all perpetuate and feed this superiority complex, rather than reminding people of the Buddha’s teaching that it is our actions, not our birth, that make us noble.
Indi, you keep saying Sinhala Buddhism is great. What IS Sinhala Buddhism?
My definition of Sinhala Buddhism is that it’s OK to eat Chicken (fish, crabs & prawns) but very, very bad sin to eat Beef.
Good Question DB,
If some one as cosmopolitan as Indi gives salience to such an identity, it just supports the ‘mahawansa mindset’ accusation leveled against the majority community by the sections of tamils.
So in the line of Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana, Heenayana now do we also have Sinhala?
I guess it can be as innocuous as a kind of cultural descriptor – like the term White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) that’s used quite frequently in the US. It implies a certain cultural distinctiveness, but not superiority or supremacy or anything like that. I think this is the sense in which indi is using the term.
But Sinhala-Buddhism is also used as shorthand for a kind of ethno-centric nationalist ideology that has very little to do with religion and much to do with identity. It is this usage that veedhur is (mistakenly I believe) ascribing to indi.
Acutally there is no identity as sinhala buddhist. This sinhala buddhism thing is a recent development, a political one. Even though i am both a buddhist and a sinhalese, i never call my self a sinhala buddhist. I am a sinhalese and a buddhist. Some try to converge these two things together.
that may be due to hindu influence. How much modern sinhala buddhists try to conceal, there is a hindu element in their culture. A good percentage of sinhala buddhists are hindus from inside.
Hik hik. :-D This is the funniest comment I have read. Funny but true. Awesome comment. I am a Sinhala Buddhist myself and completely agree with you. Our people our obssessed with only one thing: Cows and Beef (and to a lesser extent buffaloes). Sinhala Buddhism in essense is about saving cows, not eating beef and putting people down who eat beef. I personally don’t give a sh_it. I love beef!!!
Similar to crying our eyes out when an elephant dies but murdering crocodiles willy nilly. Pretty sad indeed!