Do We Have A Reformist Trend Within Sri Lankan Buddhist Society?

By Ummu Hana -July 4, 2014 

Today we Sri Lankans have a government that badly failed within in many things including building and sustaining economic growth and stability and answering the national demands. In fact all the post-colonial governments of Sri Lanka badly failed the country.

The ruling Mahinda family together with JHU andBBS are victim of their own poverty of wisdom and lack of neutral thinking and driven by jealousy and inferiority are attempting to address distorted meaning to Buddhism by betraying and destroying the Buddhist values itself instead of building an economically and spiritually empowered human society. Letting this jealousy and inferiority in the name of Buddhism to go unchallenged is clear disaster for those who have hopes and wishes to enlighten the citizens through Buddhist values of dignity and wisdom that universal values too.

If the mainstream Buddhist Society of Sri Lanka fails to address and re-direct the Buddhist teaching toward freedom and dignity to humanity at this moment, the next opportunity for such reform will come with much cost and anarchy and such reform effort within the Buddhist society will be much harder than today. Sometime the Buddhist reformist trend may get another momentum in Sri Lanka when significant amounts of non-Buddhist citizens of this country are either killed or crushed. At that time, the challenge within toward reform will be much harder than today as the society lost hope and trust within the prevailing Buddhist activism.

Are we going to wait another two to three decades of anarchy and destruction in this land! Until that moment letting this victimized, distracted, pity and poor segments to used Buddhism in their narrowed distorted understanding to uproot their jealousy and inferiority is nothing more than a big blow to the future of Buddhism in this Country.

Unfortunately today we cannot see such a reformist trend within Buddhist Society in Sri Lanka who can address Lord Buddha’s teaching to local context to re-build good governance, sustainability and to empower the hearts and minds of people with dignity and wisdom. If there is such segment on the ground, for sure their voices are unheard and weak and we have to find ways and means to give voice to them.

As a citizen who believes pluralism and diversity as the language of new generation, I would say that failure to fix this trend within mainstream Buddhist society and mere change in the present ruling family alone might stop daylight racist aggression and planned violence perpetrated under curfew at Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharganagar. But it will not do much good as needed to reform within the Buddhist society of Sri Lanka toward building as a nation with enriched teaching of Buddha that respect the freedom and wisdom of mankind.

The time has come to have extensive discussion within Sri Lankan Buddhist Society to cross check with the Buddhist values and context and re-set or enrich their path toward reform.