Sacrilege at its peak!
Dr. Tilak S. Fernando
North London: To criticise, condemn or pass judgment on any religion
is considered as an act of blasphemy, yet if religious pictures or
sanctified statues are made use of, for business purposes, how would the
public react, particularly the Buddhists?
Buddhism is regarded as a tolerant religious conviction which
advocates peace and harmony but in Winchmore Hill, a North London town
in the UK, what stuck me personally, as a most horrendous and a
mischievous act, was a Public House (Thompsons) using Buddha's head as
an objet d'art. Here two giant statues made out of concrete adorn the
main entrance, along with several other smaller models on the front wall
of the building.
Not so long ago, Victoria Street, the famous American company,
violated this rule and started printing the Buddha's pictures on women's
swimsuits and bikinis, which brought the whole hornets' nest upon the
company by Buddhist devotees the world over by exerting pressure until
they knuckled under with an apology. The result was the withdrawal of
millions of such stocks from the world market.
Towards the middle of year 2006, British Home Stores in the UK, a
popular chain of high street shops, similar to that of Marks and Spencer
stature, jumped the gun and started selling 'Buddha Candles' - Buddha's
head moulded into eye catching fashionable candles when lit melted into
a pile of wax!
This perturbed the Sri Lankan Buddhist expatriates in London, the
consequence of which was that an editor of a Sinhala tabloid newspaper
published in the UK felt this as a gross violation of theological ethics
and took the matter up seriously by writing to the Sri Lanka High
Commissioner with a request to make an official condemnation to the
Management of British Home Stores !
Sri Lanka, being a Buddhist country, with a sufficient percentage of
Buddhist expatriates now living in the UK, stern action against such
evil acts would be justifiable as this type of behaviour goes against
the very grain of one of the Precepts of the Buddha's guidance to man.
This dastardly act of the pub owner, who uses Lord Buddha's 'head',
either deliberately or unwittingly, merely to fatten his bank balance by
selling liquor to the public, needs to be brought to the attention of
all Buddhist temples, Buddhist institutions, multi-faith organisations
and thousands of Buddhist devotees of many nationalities now living in
the UK, including that of Professor Gombridge, an eminent Buddhist
scholar who has authored valuable books on Buddhism and lectures on
Buddhist philosophy from the highest seats of learning in the UK, as a
collective protest against it.
Imagine the fate of those violators if, for example, the symbol of
the Holy Koran or heads of Jesus Christ or Mother Mary were to be
erected in this manner.
It is quite evident that the 'Buddha Head', made out of wood and
concrete is increasingly becoming a kind of a fashionable artefact, to
be used liberally in sitting rooms and in some of the British gardens.
True, Buddhism encourages patience and forbearance, but should
Buddhists be acquiescent to such an extent and allowed to test their own
level of patience ?
In my mind this particular glitch will fall into the category of
one's responsibilities, one's job, one's mother country and the
country's widely accepted religion, which was included in the pep talk
given to all Sri Lankan diplomats working outside the country by
President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, pinpointing their moral, ethical
and administrative responsibilities during their tour of duty.
If the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in the UK has not been advised by
any one so far about this unsightly scene in London, this letter is
intended to draw her personal attention to it, so that she could, as in
the case of the Buddha candles controversy, take remedial action
officially on behalf of Sri Lanka, an immensely respected Buddhist
country with over 2500 years of Buddhist history. |