Historical role of Buddhism:
Not for nothing that we have Article 9
Shenali D. Waduge
The most powerful single factor in the development of Sri Lanka has
been Buddhism evidence of which is available through 2300 years of
predominantly Buddhist governance. The status quo changed only with the
arrival of Western colonials in 1505 ruling, plundering and removing
Buddhism from its foremost place among religions in the conquered
territories of Sri Lanka, for a period of over 450 years. 2300 years of
indigenous Buddhist rule against 450 years of enslaved colonial rule
eventually granted independence in 1948 with the natural expectation
that Buddhist national identity previously suppressed would through the
newly elected government be restored and the rightful place to Buddhism
would be given while unifying and integrating the nation. The historical
injustices meted out to the Buddhists and denigration of Buddhism by the
colonials has to be accepted and corrected. It is history’s justice to
the Buddhists who looked after and preserved Sri Lanka. No one can deny
the predominant place of Buddhism and Buddhist rule historically and no
one should demean the place of Buddhism stipulated in Article 9 of Sri
Lanka’s Constitution. That pride of place cannot be usurped
legislatively, constitutionally or by sporadic liberal notions out to
erase historical cultural identities and change the entire demography of
nations.
Buddhist Revival Movement
Let us review some historical facts.
The revival of Buddhism began in the late 19th Century gathering
momentum in the first half of the 20th Century with Buddhist leaders
like Professor Gunapala Malalasekera, and L H Mettananda among others
foreseeing the opportunity to remedy the historical injustices done to
the Buddhists under three western colonial powers. Thus, these
outstanding figures of Sri Lanka pioneered the establishment of the
Buddhist Commission of Inquiry. The aim was to collect evidence and
record the grave injustices meted out to the Buddhists and thereafter
proceed to rectify these historical injustices in a democratic way.
Tranquil and serene |
Their proposal for a State appointed Buddhist Commission to inquire
into the grave injustices caused to the Buddhists was first agreed to by
the then Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake but subsequently rejected
claiming it would violate the English induced Soulbury Constitution.
It is said that the influential Catholic Church played a pivotal role
in changing the mind of D.S. Senanayake on this issue. With no other
choice, the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) under whose aegis public
representations were made to the government established the Buddhist
Committee of Inquiry on April 2, 1954 which became popularly known as
the “Buddhist Commission”.
The Members of the Buddhist Commission included Prof. G.P.
Malalasekera, L.H. Mettananda, Ven. Abanwelle Siddhartha, Ven. Haliyale
Sumanatissa, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya, Ven. Polonnaruwe
Vimaladhamma, Ven. Madihe Pannaseeha, Ven. Henpitagedera Gnanaseeha,
P.de S. Kularatne, Dr.Tennekoon Wimalananda and D.C. Wijewardena.
They went virtually from village to village covering the entire
country and probed the continuing system of education and other areas
including employment in the state sector, the professions, the Armed
Forces and the like that had denied and were denying Buddhists their
rightful place in society.
An abridged English version of the Report was published under the
title “The Betrayal of Buddhism” by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress.
Details of the injustices suffered by the Buddhists and the recommended
remedies, particularly in the realm of education were outlined. The
Schools Takeover in the early sixties was an outcome of the
recommendations made in the Buddhist Commission Report.
The report was finally presented to the Maha Sangha and the general
public at a Meeting held at Ananda College on February 4, 1956.
The reactions of political parties to the Buddhist Commission report
are noteworthy.
While the leader of the MEP (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) S.W.R.D
Bandaranaike gave a public declaration that he would implement the
Committee’s proposal, if MEP was elected to power at the forthcoming
General Election in April 1956, the UNP (United National Party) leader
Sir John Kotelawala was found dragging his feet on the Committee’s
proposals. It was Mr. Bandaranaike’s bold and unequivocal stand that led
to the Maha Sangha coming out openly in large numbers to back the MEP.
The Buddhist monks under the banner of the Eksath Bhikshu Peramuna
campaigned from house to house in support of Bandaranaike who championed
the cause of the “Pancha Maha Balavegaya” (comprising Sangha, Veda,
Guru, Govi, Kamkaru). It was no surprise when Mr. Bandaranaike leading
the MEP swept the polls and the UNP was reduced to just eight seats in
the House. This electoral result was a watershed in the country’s
history. It must be borne in mind that it was the guarantee of
rectification of the historical injustices and the persecution of the
Sinhala Buddhists by the three colonial Western Christian powers (1505 –
1948) rather than the promise of ‘Sinhala Only’ that captured the
imagination and secured support of the Sangha and lay Buddhist public
resulting in what may well be called the ‘Buddhist Revolution of 1956’.
Sinhala Buddhist Kings
It was this same Sangha influence steered under the JHU and other
patriotic forces that took a very courageous and heroic stand at Mavil
Aru in 2006 saying enough was enough and that the Sri Lankan State
needed to finally take effective action against 30 years of LTTE
terrorism that gave impetus for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to boldly
lead the Sri Lankan military to declare war on the LTTE that liberated
Sri Lanka of terrorism in May 2009. Thus, the leadership given to the
country by Buddhists cannot be easily marginalized or forgotten. It was
Buddhists and their undivided loyalty to the nation that led them to
resist the colonial rulers even without sophisticated weaponry and
sacrifice themselves in their numbers, justice for which is yet to come.
A country’s value is measured by its history and no one can deny the
significant place of Buddhism in Sri Lanka’s history.
We hold this premise to be true and all nations with similar history
would join us in acknowledging this. Sri Lanka was led by approximately
180 Buddhist Kings who did not simply rule but left a legacy of heritage
and culture that even modern engineering cannot match. The irrigation
systems the manmade hydraulic water tanks and reservoirs are exclusive
and unique. The kings ruled following the Buddhist precepts (dasa raja
dharma).
The 10 duties of the Buddhist kings are as follows:
Dana -- Liberality, generosity, charity. (The ruler should not have
craving and attachment for wealth and property, but should give it away
for the welfare of the people)
Sila -- a high moral character. (He should never destroy life, cheat,
steal and exploit others, commit adultery, utter falsehood, or take
intoxicating drinks).
Pariccaga -- sacrificing everything for the good of the people.(He
must be prepared to give up all personal comfort, name and fame, and
even his life, in the interest of the people)
Ajjava -- honesty and integrity (He must be free from fear and favour
in the discharge of his duties, must be sincere in his intentions, and
must not deceive the public)
Maddava -- kindness and gentleness.(He must possess a genial
temperament)
Tapa -- austerity of habits.(He must lead a simple life, and should
not indulge in a life of luxury. He must have self-control)
Akkodha – freedom from envy, ill-will, enmity (He should bear no
grudge against anybody)
Khanti -- patience, forbearance, tolerance, understanding (He must be
able to bear hardships, difficulties and insults without losing his
temper)
Avihimsa -- non-violence, which means not only that he should harm
nobody including other sentient beings, but that he should try to
promote peace by avoiding and preventing war, and everything which
involves violence and destruction of life.
Avirodha (non-opposition; non-obstruction) that is to say that he
should not oppose the will of the people, should not obstruct any
measures that are conducive to the welfare of the people. In other words
he should rule in harmony with his people.
The visiting Thai Prime Minister will acknowledge that the King of
Thailand too follows the tenets of the Dasa Raja Dharma to this day.
It was in 1948 after 133 years of British colonial rule and 450 years
of foreign occupation that Sri Lanka came back to the indigenous people.
The country’s demography, education system, culture had all been
changed not by the indigenous people but by the foreign conquerors.
Therefore, no one can argue or oppose when the majority populace from
whom the foreign invaders usurped power says they want the cultural
system that existed through 2300 years to return.
On what grounds should Buddhism and Buddhist culture that existed for
millennia be denied the place it previously enjoyed?
Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Article 9
Sri Lanka’s Constitution contains a separate chapter on Buddhism.
Chapter 2 / Article 9 declares “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to
Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the
State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana while assuring to all
religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).
Article 10 - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion: Every
person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his
choice. (this does not include a foreign culture disguised as a
religion)
Article 14 (1) (e)- Freedom of Speech, assembly, association,
movement: the freedom, either by himself or in association with others,
and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief
in worship, observance, practice or teaching;
Restrictions of these fundamental rights freedoms are given in
Article 15
A lot of issues that have arisen over the years are legacies of the
colonial past.
It was after the arrival of the colonial rulers that Christianity and
Catholic faiths was introduced and a planned and systematic conversion
of Sinhalese Buddhists took place. The Muslim traders who were all male,
married Tamil women and women from South India brought for that purpose
and converted them to Islam thus increasing Islamic presence. This is
well recorded in history books.
While the practice of conversion and blessing for such is not
advocated in religions belonging to the Hindu civilization (Buddhism and
Hinduism) the Abrahamic religions (Christianity/Catholicism and Islam)
rewards those who convert and those helping the process of converting
primarily tapping their poverty because the handouts promised have been
far more lucrative than what the Buddhists could command monetarily or
otherwise. It is in this context that the significance of Article 9
comes in to play. What cannot be forgotten by Sri Lankan citizenry and
in particular its legislators present and future is that the place of
Buddhism was not sacrificed by the indigenous people willfully. The
place of Buddhism was incrementally taken away and it was upon
independence that the rightful place of Buddhism should have been
restored and why Article 9 of the Constitution demands that the Buddhist
faith be fostered and protected by the State and not be victim to
conversions as is presently taking place.
Therefore, the government that rules Sri Lanka virtually on the
Buddhist vote must clearly demarcate what violates the constitution vis
a vis Article 9. Freedoms and rights cannot overstep the place
historically and culturally given to Buddhism.
Whatever freedoms and fundamental rights people are given what every
person needs to at all times remember is that one’s freedoms cannot be
upheld at the cost of another’s loss of freedom. Therefore, there are
certainly moral boundaries that people need to be constantly aware of.
The pied piper multiculturalism is simply a school of liberal thought
professed and accepted without argument but has resulted in disarray of
cultural structures that existed.
Multiculturalism is only a single school of thought amongst many.
Countries are not ready to piggybank on ideas of ONLY liberal thinkers
whose experiments have proven to be catastrophic in the wider context of
applicability.
These free thinkers have upset demography, created total anarchy and
when indigenous cultures protest they became the perpetrators and not
the victims. No religion can argue morally positing that people should
have freedom to decide their religion when these very religions have
programmes to convert people to their religion.
Today, traditional churches are being replaced by a new set of
organizations calling themselves “faith healers” and drawing large
numbers of followers who are lured and converted using various methods.
These are programmes devised by their respective religions and driven by
their religious followers. When such an impasse exists leaders of these
religions cannot claim to use constitutional provisions to argue that
people have a right to decide their faith.
Kandyan Convention of 1815
By virtue of Article 9 the State has a mandate to ensure that
Buddhism maintains the “foremost” place and to do so the State cannot
ignore the aspect of others “converting” Buddhists to different
religions.
The State and the Buddha Sasana Ministry has to protect the Buddhists
from being manipulated and misled into converting and this argument
cannot be taken to different directions by Abrahamic religions
complaining it is denying their practice of faith. This is far from the
truth. The argument is that Buddhists cannot be victims to lucrative
coercions to convert from the Buddhist faith. The obvious contention is
that in protecting Buddhists from conversions will expose the ulterior
objectives of those converting. There is nothing in Sri Lanka’s
constitution that permits conversions.
If people can practice their different faiths without issues why
would they want to create issues by going after an Article that has been
part and parcel of Sri Lanka’s history and given explicit recognition in
Article 5 of the Kandyan Convention of 1815.
Article 5 states that the religion of the Buddha is declared
inviolable, and its rites, ministers (monks) and places of worship are
to be maintained and protected. The Kandyan Convention was an agreement
signed on March 10, 1815 between the British and the Chiefs of the
Kandyan Kingdom.
The oft used arguments to denounce the majority and denigrate Article
9 is the hype associated with the slogan of “institutionalized
majoritism” being chanted by the chorus to bring pressure on the State
to evade their duty and to instead please the world.
There is another set of chants that say Sri Lanka’s Article 9 is not
in keeping with the times and not “liberal” enough. The only message to
be given to these liberalists is that Constitutions are not made to
reflect the fashion of the day given that even fashions change every
season! We do not want to subject ourselves to multicultural fevers that
other nations now suffer from.
The Constitution is clear. The foremost place of Buddhism is clearly
defined. The Sri Lankan State and its functionaries in the form of all
public officials are morally and constitutionally mandated to uphold
Article 9 first.
Sri Lanka’s role in guiding the destiny of Buddhism
Today, Buddhism has a greater appeal in the West due to an increasing
number of people in these countries showing a preference for a
philosophy and ethical system that places a high emphasis on peace,
non–violence and compassion towards all sentient beings.
In Asia, it is an opportune time for predominant Buddhist populations
to consider developing closer ties with each other in the spheres of
economic, cultural, and trade and investment. When at international
levels a large number of nations form alliances on the basis of regional
proximity, common cultural heritage or common religion (ex: Organization
of Islamic Cooperation – OIC, World Council of Churches and the State of
Vatican on behalf of the World’s Catholics) the world cannot deny a
League of Buddhist Nations. In fact, Sri Lanka’s government and the Thai
Premier meeting at the end of this month must have this as a high
priority item on their agenda.
In such a context the Government of Sri Lanka which is empowered by
Article 9 to foster Buddhism should take an initiative towards forming a
‘League of Buddhist Nations’ in the international arena to become the
collective voice of the Buddhists and work to safeguard and protect the
interests of the Buddhist world in the spirit of promoting international
peace and harmony. |