Buddha Bars

Upali S Jayasekera

It has come to light that there is a worldwide chain of liquor bars and restaurants named “Buddha Bar.”

The Buddha is a religious leader who preached the Dhamma and the five precepts recommended by Him from the foundation of ethics for the Buddhist Laity. One of the five precepts is to abstain from liquor that causes intoxication and heedlessness.

Thus to name liquor bars after Him is most hideous. Perhaps they use the name for liquor bars to ridicule the Buddha Dhamma, proving to what extent they are uncultured, uncivilised and uneducated. And they carry on regardless as the Buddha Dhamma does not promote violence and Buddhists refrain from violence. What would happen if a chain of liquor bars is opened in the name of another religious leader?

Some of the places that “Buddha Bars” are known to operate are: UK (London), USA (New York where the UN headquarters is based, Washington), France (Paris where UNESCO is based), Ireland (Dublin), Czechoslovakia (Prague), Ukraine (Kiew), Lebanon (Beirut), Egypt (Cairo), Czechoslovakia (Prague), Indonesia (Jakarta) and Brazil (Sao Paulo). We have embassies in most of those countries.