Sri
Lanka, the chosen land of Buddhism, has been home to the world’s four
major religions for centuries. The four faiths have co-existed without
strife until recent years. Part of the current good governance reforms
is to see the end of those who orchestrate religious strife for
political gains. Every religion has its political messages. Messages of
inclusion and tolerance enhance the meaning that religion has in the
lives of people, while messages of hate and intolerance bandied in the
name of religions only betray the bigotry of those who should have no
license to speak for any religion. On Thursday, in Kenya, religious
fanaticism led to the killing of 150 students in a university college
dormitory. The next day in Sri Lanka, Good Friday and April’s full moon
day, Christians retraced the Way of the Cross, while Buddhists observed
Bak Poya commemorating Buddha’s second visit to the island to reconcile
two local chiefs feuding over a throne. A timely metaphorical reminder,
that Sri Lanka needs more reconciliation than rhetoric to avoid
elemental passions and hatred getting out of control.
by Rajan Philips-April 4, 2015, 5:52 pm 