A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, June 19, 2017
Buddhism & Good Governance: The Case For A Sangha Rebellion By H L Seneviratne – A Review
Writing about the mal governance in Sri Lanka since independence by both major parties, H L Seneviratne,
my former teacher in Sociology and anthropology at Peradeniya
university, has compiled an erudite two part essay that includes a
critique, diagnosis as well as a solution by way of a Sangha rebellion
– bringing distant memories about a few failed rebellions in the
country against the political establishment (Colombo Telegraph 15–16 June
2017). Seneviratne has however kept away from commenting on these
politically motivated rebellions of the past. Instead he focuses on a
religious rebellion of a sort to be led by more educated and
cosmopolitan Buddhist monks while citing examples of past activist
Buddhist monks and Anagarika Dharmapala –though the name of Maduluwave
Sobhita is absent in his articulation. His reasoning is based on an
argument that he has espoused through his own writings for sometime but
the idea of Sangha rebellion
seems to be a recent addition perhaps due to the dire situation in the
country resulting from the crisis in value system, which has been
politicised.
He
claims that the mal governance has ‘infected the society’s underlying
value system’ to the extent of the society becoming disintegrated and
calls on the more progressive and ethically sensitive sections of the Sangha to
help the society to regain its health. To do so, in his view they have
to renounce the Sinhala Buddhist World View – root of the problem. To
avoid confusion and wasted counter arguments, readers need to understand
the features and boundaries of this World View in terms of
Seneviratne’s articulations. He makes a distinction between Buddhism as a
set of philosophical and ethical ideas on one hand and Buddhism as it
is popularly understood and practiced by the adherents on the other. The
latter he labels as ‘a cultural Buddhism’ similar to Burmese or Thai
Buddhism all of which have received notoriety due to the violence
enacted toward ethnic minorities instead of non-violence.
In
Seneviratne’s view, for good governance and the rule of law what is
helpful is philosophical Buddhism’s universal ethical system.
Philosophical Buddhism includes a general outlook of urbanity, civility
and modernity. He argues that ‘it is unfortunately the worldview of
Sinhala cultural Buddhism that has overwhelmingly taken hold over the
society’. As in the past, such an argument is bound to generate
reactions from those who follow ritualistically oriented popular
Buddhism rather than Philosophical Buddhism. However, given the nature
of critical commentary about what is wrong with Sri Lanka’s governance,
political system, ruling class behavior, hierarchical arrogance, failure
of institutions that had been put in place around the time of
independence to maintain liberal democracy and indeed the potential for
inter ethnic violence led by radicalised religious figures, it is
important to understand Seneviratne’s argument, articulation and the
deep meaning. To do so, we have to dissect his economic and political
arguments also, which are found in the latter parts of his essay.
Seneviratne
shows how the consumerist oriented open economic system and changes in
the political culture affected the value system culminating in
corruption, suppression of dissent, black money, the mafia etc. He
argues ‘that the crisis in governance in Sri Lanka is a symptom of a
malaise that has infected the underlying system of values that a healthy
society needs as its moral anchor’. According to Seneviratne,
contemporary Sangha activism
in lay society was born in ethno nationalist sentiment – an essential
part of Sinhala Buddhist worldview. He argues that ‘To make the
civility and urbanity of Buddhism an integral part of the innermost
thought processes of the individual’ ethics need to be elevated over the
ritual. He advocates an ethos of tolerance,
inclusivity,urbanity,civility and modernity. To achieve this
transformation and to reverse the society’s inner degeneration, a
Buddhist reformation is necessary. The author highlights the importance
of a reformed educational program to achieve these goals and the
necessary shift or transformation and create equilibrium in society. I
might add that it is also necessary to further examine what these
inclusive values and ethics are, how the ritualistic popular Buddhism
and its corresponding World View have undermined them, and how Educated
and cosmopolitan Buddhist monks can advance the cause that Seneviratne
maps out with lay support?