Not all Buddhist even monks are real Buddhist
I was born and raised in a devoted catholic family, but my mothers side of the family and most of her relatives are Buddhist. Because of that I had the opportunity to learn and practice buddhism and it’s philosophy. I consider them as true buddhists. Before I immigrated to Canada in 1994, I was associated with many true monks, and discussed many social and personal issues with them. I still remember how calm and respectful it was to have a conversation and listen to them. Unfortunately I witness today trueness in buddhism is faded, and disappearing for good. I never experienced a single monk talk and behave the way today, in that era.
I did not discuss what happened in Sri Lanka for this long, not because I am not interested in, or do not care, but I had to take time to read and study before I talk about it. Today I would like to share my views and understanding of what is happening in Sri Lanka which I still consider as my mother land.
There is no such a thing as Buddhist extremism
According to what I gathered during my childhood surroundings by my buddhist relatives and their practices, there is no place for extremism in Buddhism. It is the Middle-Way Approach that Buddhism upholds. Moreover, philosophy of Buddhism is based on compassion, peace and wisdom. If someone is an extremist, then he or she is not Buddhist, no matter what that person claims. Zero, absolute lack of any Buddhist doctrine which mentions the despicable actions of criminal activities which are taking place.
Political incitation
I strongly believe there was a political invitation behind these crashes and riots between Buddhist and other religious communities and there shouldn’t be an argument about it. That is the dirtiest game politicians play from behind the curtain to fulfil their political gain. As in most democratic countries the great majority of people are religious in some sense, and in Sri Lanka politicians follow majorities which are Buddhist in order to get elected. No, I don’t think Buddhism has any legitimate role in politics. If a proposed law has a non-religious justification, then religion is not needed to justify it.
It is important and critical to be clear that not all Buddhist are real Buddhist. It is easy to call ourselves Buddhist but to be a real Buddhist is not that easy. People become Buddhist because they are born into a Buddhist family, it is the same for other religions.
It is wrong to treat this way
I strongly oppose the way some of our people, i.e, Buddhist in Sri Lanka, treated other religions. That, including authority, should handle any situations more intelligently, and in the correct ways. I know and understand very well about the concerns and worries that we Sri Lankans have today. They became very sensitive and defensive in such kinds of religious affairs. What we need is, in my view, to have an accountable, responsible and superlative government, and leadership that can manage, govern and guide the whole nation and all people of Sri Lanka, that includes muslims, with care, consideration, and wisdom.
We also need to educate and develop our people’s minds, so that they know how to handle and solve problems, differences and unhappiness as well as grievance issues caused among different religious communities and people. So, we have to focus on education.
To order to understand these serious and delicate issues, we need to explore fundamental questions and analyse all underlying factors that start and cause, and who are responsible for these crises. Media reporting is just one source of information and data. It means that these issues and problems are to be discussed, explored and solved by really serious people, this is not a piece of work to be done or undertaken by weak-minded and eccentric persons.
