Daily News Online

DateLine Saturday, 5 May 2007

News Bar »

News: LTTE killed, abducted Indian fishermen  ...           Financial: SriLankan markets aircraft maintenance services for other airlines  ...           Sports: Petes - Thomians in vital clash  ....

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | PICTURE GALLERY  | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

 

 

Rapid deterioration of road use standards

I am a frequent and regular visitor to the island and have been watching with alarm the rapid deterioration of road use standards in the country.

Quite obviously the Traffic Police must accept responsibility to a great extent as regretably the majority of Police officers of all ranks appear to have little knowledge of trafic regulations.

Why do we regularly see police officers on traffic duty overriding traffic lights for no rhyme or reason. The message to the motorist is clear; “When the light is Red use your discretion”. There is no question of using discretion when the light is Red. When the light is Red, Stop.

As a result of this Police indiscretion, there is a great deal of sounding horns and rude gestures, if a motorist stops for a red light.

This happens all the time; turning left in to Park Road from the Kirullapone end of the new Base Line Road; turning left in to Polhengoda Road from Baseline Road are just a few instances.

A new practice by the officer on duty at Thimbirigasyaya junction is when the light is green for traffic from Thimbirigasyaya Road to turn right in to the Main Havelock Road, to let traffic proceeding towards Thunmulla junction along Havelock Road which is stopped at the red light, to proceed through. An accident is inevitable entirely due to the folly of the Police.

Some time ago on one of my previous visits, before the introduction of Uniflow, one morning a car had quite correctly stopped at the Colpetty traffic lights, behind the white line with a good clear view of the lights.

Imagine my amazement when a police officer on duty walked up to this vehicle, tapped on the window and asked the driver to pull the vehicle forward, beyond the white line onto the pedestrian crossing.

Absolutely no purpose was served, and the reason for this move remains a mystery.

Similar mindless traffic controls are observed all the time. Some times the traffice lights are not correctly balanced. eg. traffic from Baseline Road. turning left into Park road should be able to filter all the time except when traffic from Baseline Road is turning Right into Park Road. The answer is to correct the lights; Not to over-ride them.

Then there was this very recent notice in the press that motorcyclists carrying children on the petrol tank will be prosecuted.

This should have been enforced from the very beginning. However what about the infants being carried by their mothers, precariously clinging onto the rider with one hand and the infant with the other.

If this is an offence, as it surely is, has any one seen a motorcyclist stopped by the police. There appears to be the mistaken impression that three-wheeler drivers who earn their living from their vehicles, should be given a certain amount of leeway.

Similarly motorcyclists, who are less affluent than the motorists should be allowed some leeway in getting maximum benifit from their vehicles.

At the end of the day, we are lowering our standards and accepting what is second best. This unfortunately is not limited to road rules, but is a way of life.

P. DIAS - New Zealand -
via email

--------------

Vicarious pleasure

The World Cup Cricket is (again) over and done with. When there are winners, there are losers. The wise way to experience contest of physical, verbal or mental skill is enjoying the display, indifferent to outcome. But universally, because it is contrived by vested interest, vicarious pleasure from contest is exploitation of feeling dormant in the duality of consciousness.

Vicarious pleasure (or grief) is an imaginary feeling, from experiencing a feeling of pleasure (or grief) through the feelings or actions of another person. When someone hits a six, we share in his exhilaration. When a suicide bomber kills ‘others’, it brings joy to the others. Included in this structure of vicarious feeling, is a multiplier x.

There is a range from dignified experience to such as football hooliganism. The multiplier is an individual factor, dependent on internal things as values and external things such things as say, betting a million rupees on the outcome or on the effort to witness display.

So we often see bizarre behaviour from someone else hitting a ball. Reflect also on risks to life some take to get and give pleasure to others such as in mountain climbing, diving, photographing and in the thrill of watching success or failure.

At the end, empathy in death of a loved one brings vicarious despair, also involving the internal and external multiplier. Why is this? The complete answer is given only by one man - the Buddha. I have no intention here to go into his exegesis. I merely want to submit the experience of ‘vicarious feeling’ for quiet contemplation.

KINGSLEY HEENDENIYA –
Nugegoda

----------------

Meat consumption

I am pleased that Bobby Pereira (DN April 25) took the time to explain the apparent contradiction between ‘The Book of Discipline’ where monks are allowed to eat meat or fish and the Buddhist precept of non-violence against all beings.

Unfortunately, the explanation for the contradiction does not clear the uncertainty whether Buddhists can or cannot eat meat. I agree with Pereira that it is a common courtesy to respect the alms-giver for offering food for the hungry.

I will go further and say that it is also a common civility to offer foods, so that monk’s sensitivities are not disturbed. But, the ultimate decision to consume food is up to the person who receives the alms.

To draw an analogy, I had been offered alcohol many times. If I truly believe in my Islamic faith and the prohibition, I wouldn’t drink it. I would simply refuse to drink even if I am disrespectful to the host or even to my parents. It is my choice what I eat and drink.

Therefore, when Gautama Buddha allowed the monks to eat meat and fish with certain restrictions, it is difficult for us to accept that the monks didn’t have a deeper understanding of the precept of non-violence to all beings. After all, the earlier monks were directly tutored by Gautama Buddha himself!

It is interesting to note that there are exceptions to eating meat in Buddhism - tiger, dog, snake flesh, etc.

The reason for the exception is because meat (cattle, goat etc.) and fish were not prohibited. If not, why do you need exceptions if all meats were prohibited? Isn’t the tiger a living animal like cattle? The answer is simple - the Gautama Buddha knew the distinction between what is allowed and what is not.

In Islamic faith, we have a somewhat a similar dietary rule called ‘Halal’ (cattle, poultry, fish are permitted) and ‘not Halal’ (tiger, snake, pig etc. are not permitted). The Gautama Buddha is wiser and discerning than most people give credit for.

Going back to my Islamic faith, I believe that there was no contradiction in Buddhism.

To make a clear distinction between cruelty to animals and slaughtering animals for food, Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:

“One who kills even a sparrow or anything smaller without a justifiable reason will be answerable to Allah.” When asked what would be a justifiable reason he replied, “To slaughter it for food - not to kill and discard it.”

I believe that the current misunderstanding over eating meat is due to the over-zealousness of some followers who are hell-bent on pushing their radical opinions on others thinking that they are somewhat on a higher moral ground than others. What they don’t realize is that they are going down the path of radicalism.

Buddhism teaches us to take the middle and a tolerant path. The problem with people of all faiths, including Islam, is that they follow religion as part of their cultural background without pondering over what their belief represents and how it relates to their day to day life.

Repeating what is said many centuries ago without knowing its significance is the primary cause of the mess the world is in today.

There is so much to learn from all faiths by comparing notes. So many misunderstandings and misinterpretations can be corrected.

TUAN RIZA RASSOOL –
USA - via email

---------------

Commentaries

I fully agree with the fact that Ranjith Fernando’s cricket commentaries are very passive and at times detrimental to Sri Lankan cricket. (Reference DN April 28).

For example, in his final burst of commentaries in our match against England in the super eight, he cut a very poor image of himself by being totally disoriented when Dilhara Fernando bowled out Boparan, by calling the event a four! Was Ranjith Fernando trying to be abnormally impartial or was he trying to lick the boot of the British Raj!

Also once realizing that Sri Lanka has won the match, he called both Dilhara and Boparan heroes.

How can there be two heroes? By that comment, was he trying to please the English also?

ASANGA

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

Gamin Gamata - Presidential Community & Welfare Service
Villa Lavinia - Luxury Home for the Senior Generation
www.lankapola.com
www.srilankans.com
www.greenfieldlanka.com
www.buyabans.com
www.lankafood.com
www.army.lk
www.news.lk
www.defence.lk
www.helpheroes.lk/
www.peaceinsrilanka.org

| News | Editorial | Financial | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries | News Feed |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2006 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor