Are we lagging behind other countries?

Sampath Jayakody

From dawn to dusk our ears always hear sounds. To some people it may be pleasant but not so to some others. This is a vexed issue among people. The restriction of loudspeakers from 10.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m. is right. Sound pollution has some effects on the public. Fortunately some know that.

There are ample instances when people go to the police and claim that their nextdoor is a headache. This happens almost everyday.

As everyone knows when sound comes from every corner how can a person go to sleep?

I have experienced this when I sometimes try to study at night. When the night speakers are on I am unable to concentrate on my studies.

In the buses people get more foxed about this issue. When the driver starts his blaring engine as well as the cassette the people are in a dilemma. They are helpless as they are passengers for and are forced to bear with that.

During daytime there are many corners where people hear loud noises. From lottery vendors and ice-cream vendors etc. But we must have a look at them also.

They don't do these kind of jobs for the fun of it. It is their livelihood so they have a right to use speakers. To some extent it is also sound pollution but people must not put the blame only on them. They must be able to bear with these noises.

Actually I do not denigrate upon the vendors who walk along the road and sell goods. Moreover if we go deeper we find that there are many people who bring sound pollution in sundry ways.

For example vehicles' horns and people's voices on the thoroughfares. Specially when a company or person introduces their debut of a product they utilise that moment for sound pollution as they use these so called DJ's to lure people's attraction voluntarily, perhaps involuntarily.

Another major example can be seen in rallies. During election season politicians corrupt not only the people but the sound as well. They are the ones who should take necessary steps to rectify this problem. But it rarely happens. It is high time that the concerned authority takes steps to remedy this impasse.

When we are in schools at about 12 O' clock the mosque starts to pray. It may be a religious activity to them but not to others.

We as students face this as a real problem and the teachers too. As it is a prosaic phase as not only teachers but also students become silent when they hear it. Some may argue that it is only for a short time.

On the other hand in the temples they start to preach specially on Poya Days from night to morning. If they realise how seriously they add to the sound contamination they might be amazed. To an average person there is a ceiling of sounds to his ears.

It is a predicament that many people do not take this problem very seriously. Because some are not aware of this. But in some countries it is completely different. They know the effects cause by sound pollution and in some spheres it is prohibited even to take off or land flights.

They are even free to take action against it. They know the effect of it and they stand against it, if anyone violated their rights. It shows the knowledge people have around the vicinity. Our authorities may not know about this as we are lagging to a viable solution and a Third World country.

Thus it is incumbent on the relevant authorities to enact equitable regulations.

Silence a luxury as noise gains upper hand

Dr. Sampath Tennakoon

These legislations were a long felt need of the country, for which the brave minister and the CEA needs to be commended. The public should now take the initiative to act against those who violate the rules.

A problem we all tend to accept as normal and has not been included in the discussion, as far as I am aware, is vehicles that emit loud noise under normal running conditions. A good example is my neighbour's fleet of buses which emit a vibrating kind of noise at 4 in the morning waking up my two little nephews and the whole neighbourhood.

A sales agent one day very proudly said that it is the noise of these busses that attract men! Wonder if he and his company could stoop to any lower standards.

The temple next door too tries to force every one around to obtain Nibbana by blaring out sermons over the loudspeakers. When questioned as to why one day, the chief priest's reply was "it is the Dayakas' that set it up" certainly as a Buddhist practising Ahimsa, he, the chief priest should advise his followers. The mosque more than a kilometre away is no better.

When I am rudely awaken from my sleep early in the morning, I sit and think, where are the good old days, when my neighbour had no busses, when the temple next door had no loudspeakers, when we slept soundly till whatever time we wanted to wake up.

Will the two nephews of mine never have that luxury? Should we all leave this country and start living in better places where such rights are really respected and leave this country to all the perpetrators so that they can happily do what ever they want to?

I am a medical doctor and a university don.

Loud noises harmful to health

Anagarika Buddhadasa

As a Western Buddhist I recently spent a rich and rewarding month in Sri Lanka but as I travelled around I became increasingly saddened and ashamed at the extent of the general level of noise pollution.

I'm ashamed because I believe it is the duty of all Buddhists to be leading the charge against noise pollution instead of contributing to it through, for example, the imposition of intrusive and excessively amplified temple chanting.

This is no way to convey the spirit of the Dhamma.

Let us remember that The Buddha was also known as Sakya-muni:

The 'Silent' Sage of the Sakyas, and His antipathy to loud noise is recorded in the Udana (lll,iii) where he rebukes a group of newly arrived monks at Savatthi for making a great racket thus. 'Monks, what means this great noise and hubbub?

The Buddha then dismissed them from His presence saying, 'Go monks! I dismiss you! Ye deserve not to dwell with me!'

Loud noise has also been shown to be harmful to general health and well-being.

The creation of loud noise therefore arguably violates the First and most important of all the Precepts.

May I appeal to all Buddhists, monks and laity, to support this campaign for the reduction of noise pollution throughout Sri Lanka There can be little doubt that The Dhamma of The Buddha is more effectively conveyed and absorbed in an atmosphere of serenity and reflection.

The writer is from Australia.