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- Renton de Alwis |
A solid conceptual base for rebuilding trust
Last weekend Buddhists
in Sri Lanka celebrated Vesak. Vesak is the day when
Buddhists recount the three most significant events of the
life of Gauthama Buddha. It is the day when the Buddha was
born, won over his greed and attained Nirvana; breaking the
suffering, the cycle of life and rebirth and passed away
leaving the Dhamma or discourses of sense, truth and wisdom
behind.
On this very weekend of Vesak, we as a
nation were once again at crossroads. On the one hand the
nation’s collective conscience was seeking brisk ways to
bring relief to the suffering of our Tamil brethren trapped
in the Northern war front. Lives were being taken not only
of those who have sought violence but also of innocents on
all sides.
We have the stark reality that people are
used as human shields by those who sought and continue to
seek terror as a way to resolve issues for over two and half
decades. The mistakes made by all of us over the years are
many.
The resolve to end terror and seek ways
different to that of the past to find genuine
reconciliation, building trust and confidence is looming.
Yet, the suffering on the ground is real with pain, loss of
life and survival touching those who are victims of
circumstances. Healing deep wounds beyond the current
suffering is the challenge we, as a nation face.
Practising a true Buddhist way of life and
seeking the true meaning of Vesak will, in the columnist’s
mind give the Sri Lankan nation a way forward when we take
on the task of reconciliation based on the principles of
Karuna (Compassion), Mettha (Loving Kindness), Muditha
(Sympathetic Joy) and Upekkha (Equanimity).
What the Buddha sought, found and taught
is that, there is a way beyond the suffering and pain, where
hope of an enlightened way is possible. The way proposed is
primarily a way for each which then will form the collective
character of the way forward, be it for a nation, region or
for the world.
Transforming the way of the Buddhist
discourse to that for lifestyles and economics will be the
challenge before us. In times and circumstances where small,
self- reliant and sufficient economies present, desirable
and rational alternatives to the globalised, greed driven.
‘Big is Better’ type social and economic models, this may
well be the way forward for us all. |
Douse the fires
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Let us give them a helping hand for a brighter future. Picture
by Chaminda Hittetiya |
We are now tasked as a nation to seek ways of meeting the
post-terrorism reconciliation and building of trust between communities
in the North, South, East, West and the Central Hills.
The immediate needs will be related to attending to the injured, sick
and the traumatised. Survival needs of providing a sense of security and
safety, preventing the spread of diseases through maintenance of good
sanitation, feeding, clothing and the like will be vital.
It will be months if not years before even a semblance of normalcy
can be attained for those who are now displaced from their land and
adobe. Rebuilding and reconstruction of lives and a fresh socio-economic
web will be a slow and painful process.
The need of the hour is for a united and unified effort of all.
Raging fires of hatred must be doused at the local and international
levels and licking of wounds must be replaced with solid, effective
frontline action aimed for the welfare of the displaced, injured and the
hurt.
Hope and trust
Infrastructure such as bridges, roads, hospitals, market places,
administrative mechanisms will all need to be set in place, like we see
happen in the East within a short span of time. With each brick and with
each layer of mortar, lasting hope and trust will also need to be
cemented as strong as possible.
Issues of establishing ownership of land of the displaced, providing
them a sense of confidence of the genuineness of the intentions need be
carried through on the fast-forward mode with credible and neutral
institutional mechanisms. This in turn will help bring about a change of
their mindsets about whom they perceived as the oppressor for this long,
Creating tension
It is also prudent to be mindful that there will be those who will
continue to seek to benefit from the misery of a suffering people.
They will seek to create tension through misinformation and attempt
to deliberately design chaotic and undesirable circumstances.
Anticipation of the modus-operandi of such and being ready to counter
them will be the responsibility of all citizens as well as the Diaspora
of this country.
What we now need is genuine care, vigilance and a sense of protective
giving from all alike, regardless of whatever differences of views there
may have been in the past among us.
Critical to such process when we rebuild lives with trust and faith
in each other, reaching out to each other, is the need to have a
conceptual basis to that effort.
It is important that it has moral and ethical credence that can rise
above and beyond the mistrust, misinformation and misadventure scenarios
of the past.
A model for rebuilding
Buddhism as a philosophy and a way of life (not necessarily in its
form as a religion) can help us meet this difficult challenge. Its way,
when practised with a conscious mind, can encourage us to be
compassionate and non-violent with ourselves as well as others, which is
a good a first-step in building a model of trust and credence.
The leadership of the nation building apparatus need to articulate
the basis for the model, positioning it transparently but away from any
chauvinistic overtones of being a vehicle for propagating a religious
identity.
Being traditionally a majority Hindu Community, the Tamils have at
the root of their social fabric an acceptance of the basis of the true
Buddhist way of life and that of the Gandhian philosophy of prudent and
simple living.
This can be a major platform articulated through sharing and
understanding among local leaders and social workers regardless of them
being Hindu, Christian, Muslim or Buddhist. Such an initiative in-turn
can be a way to cement a neutral conceptual base for the rebuilding
effort.
A disconnected society
In approaching to establish such a simplistic conceptual basis, we
must also realise and be aware that it is the dynamics of the complex
global economy which has created a disconnected society, psychological
deprivation and a breakdown of the sustainable and natural way of life
of ours, through the many shocks it brought about in the past few
decades of fast paced growth.
In this context, Buddhism also can help us to focus on the system and
its structural violence, instead of blaming or condemning ourselves or
others within that system.
The teachings can encourage an understanding of the many complex ways
we affect others and our environment, and encourage empathy and a
profound affirmation of life. Only by recognizing how we are all part of
this system, can we actively work together to disengage from these
life-denying structures.
The philosophy of Buddhism, also in its holistic approach, can help
us to understand and realise how various symptoms are interrelated; how
the crises facing us are systemic and deeply rooted in economic and
social imperatives.
Understanding the myriad connections between the problems can prevent
us from wasting our efforts on the symptoms of the crises, rather than
focusing on their fundamental causes. Under the surface, even such
seemingly unconnected problems such as ethnic violence, terrorism,
climate change, poverty, pollution of the air and water, pandemics,
disruption of social institutions, and cultural disintegration are
closely interlinked.
The entire fabric
Emotionally and psychologically, such a shift in our perception of
the nature of the problems is deeply empowering for both the designer of
a model for rebuilding as well as for all those who are the victims that
need security, care, trust and attention.
In a crisis of this nature, being faced with a never-ending string of
seemingly unrelated and un-surmountable problems can be overwhelming,
but finding the points at which they converge can make our strategy to
solve them more focused and effective.
It is then just a question of pulling the right threads to affect the
entire fabric, rather than having to deal with each problem
individually.
A fine focus on the Four Noble Truths of Dukkha: or realisation of
suffering; Samudaya: cause of suffering as the desire to have and
control things; Nirodha: effective action to ease it with Nirvana; and
Magga; or the way through the eightfold path leading to the cessation of
suffering can be an effective way forward for the conceptual base model
for strategic decision making in rebuilding our once lost nation.
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Useful Web Addresses:
A Guide to Buddhist Resources - www.buddhanet.net
A comprehensive TV Channel of Buddhist resource links -
www.buddhistchannel.tv
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies - www.ocbs.org
Journal of Buddhist Ethics - www.buddhistethics.org/2/rightbib.html
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance -
www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism3.htm
Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services -
www.resettlementmin.gov.lk
Internally Displaced Persons; Human Rights Commission Sri Lanka -
www.idpsrilanka.lk
Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka - www.defence.lk/english.asp
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