Sri Lanka: When Monks Disguised as Guardians of Buddhism

We have political Bhikkhus who behave worse than laymen. We have a Bhikkhu leading a nurses’ trade union. We have Veda Hamuduruwos. We have astrologer Bhikkhus. We have many Bhikkhus involved in many activities prohibited by the Buddha.

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana-Saturday, 7 May 2022

Our proud claim, as Sri Lankan Buddhists, is that we are the guardians of Theravada Buddhism. Further, some believe that we practise the purest form of Buddhism. It is said that the Buddha predicted His Dhamma would survive longest in Sri Lanka. However, I have had my reservations and expressed my concerns repeatedly about the behaviour of some of our Bhikkhus. While Sri Lanka is facing the worst ever economic crisis, the behaviour of some Bhikkhus makes me do so again.The right to protest should be guaranteed. However, it is incumbent upon those who protest to understand that there is a big difference between protest and intimidation and that peaceful demonstrations have a more profound effect.Myanmar, yet another majority Buddhist country, has faced difficulties for a very long period due to the interventions of its military. Though there are some fire-brand political Bhikkhus there, too, they are a tiny minority, and their actions are forgotten, but what has remained in our memory is the lengthy procession of Bhikkhus marching silently through the streets of Yangon during exacerbation of problems. They protested with dignity. This is in contrast to what we saw during a recent procession of undergraduate Bhikkus in Colombo. It was far from peaceful! They were aggressive and tried to bring down barriers, etc. Do they think that Vinaya rules do not apply when they are in university? By allowing Bhikkhus to attend universities, instead of the two seats of higher learning established for them, are we allowing this sort of indiscipline among Bhikkus?

What was mentioned above, in fact, was not an isolated incident. There were men in robes protesting violently in many places, and in one instance, one of them was seen holding on to the back of a moving police jeep, shouting and jeering.Buddha advised kings and politicians, when his advice was sought, and expected his disciples to follow his example. But what do some of our Bhikkhus do? They not only get actively involved in politics but also seek political power. They fight over parliamentary seats and are prepared to go to courts! A law should be brought in to prevent the clergy from entering Parliament, as religion and government should be kept apart.Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhita Thera led the first anti-Rajapaksa campaign and imposed the Yahapalanaya on us. It proved to be a disaster and Rajapaksa returned to power. True, Bhikkhus supported their return but even without their support, the Rajapaksas’ comeback would have happened. Now, some Bhikkhus are in overdrive to oust the Rajapaksas without realising that the real problem facing us today is an economic one. A change of government is not going to make our economy prosper. Of course, they have no inkling about the economy as they live relatively easy lives, depending either on dayakayas or temple property.Members of the Sangha are divided on the basis of Niakyas and sub-Niakyas; some divisions are even based on caste.

The Buddhist monastic order broke down thrice during the preceding five hundred years before the Thai monk Upali visited the Kingdom of Kandy in 1753 and performed Upasampada during the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy on the initiative of Ven. Weliwita Saranankara. This led to the establishment of Siam Nikaya but as its hierarchy decided to restrict higher ordination to the members of certain castes in contravention to Buddha’s teachings, Amarapura and Ramanna Niakyas were established.Though the Amarapura and Ramanna Nikayas were merged in 2019, it does not seem to be an effective merger as there are still two Maha Nayakas and plenty of Anu-nayakas.Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, a former member of Parliament, is described as the Chief Prelate of the Ramanna Maha Nikaya in Southern Sri Lanka. He recently conferred an honorary title on Sajith Premadasa but it is claimed that he is more interested in promoting his former colleague of the Jathika Hela Urumaya. We have political Bhikkhus who behave worse than laymen. We have a Bhikkhu leading a nurses’ trade union. We have Veda Hamuduruwos. We have astrologer Bhikkhus. We have many Bhikkhus involved in many activities prohibited by the Buddha. Defying the Buddha’s teaching of equality, Bhikkhus promote an archaic caste system. Still, we claim we are the true guardians of Theravada Buddhism!