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The Return of the Prodigal Monk
View(s):Asgiriya Chapter rushes in to back rebel bhikkhu’s nationalist call after Sirisena says anti Muslim action is to topple his government
Ah, just when one had wondered whether the absconding monk, that fugitive of justice, had renounced the pleasures of the world and sought refuge in some quiet corner of some dense thicket to meditate upon the wise counsel of the Buddha and seek alone his own path to redemption and not lead others down the garden path to incite racial hatred, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara emerged this Wednesday from his unknown kuti and surrendered to court and thus spared cops the blush of having being clueless as to his whereabouts.
BACK FROM THE COLD: A smiling Galagodaaththe Gnanasara relieved that police who failed to capture him after a four team search did not object to his bail plea which the magistrate said she was compelled to grant in the absence of objections from the cops
Four police teams had been deployed to find him but for nearly a month his hideaway haven had kept the police baffled. Even a so called high tech definition sweep to round up similar fugitives had failed to reveal the secret den in which the runaway monk had meditated in.
It was indeed the return of the prodigal, the wastrel monk who had become the spendthrift of the Buddha’s doctrine which urges all to show tolerance to all faiths and creeds and to pay respect to another’s belief. Shrouded in saffron, in that designer robe of the mendicant, he had squandered the wealth of the Buddha’s teachings that had been poured to his bowl of alms ever since he was ordained. But he remained unrepentant; and by the smirk on his face when a tolerant court granted immediate bail to a man who had twice evaded warrant for his arrest, he almost seemed to show that it had given him some curious joy to cock a hoop and show his contempt to the majesty of the law and its enforcing arm.
All the police could say was: ‘Arresting a monk is not simple’. Apparently the saffron robe still gets some sort of unofficial immunity from police prosecution, Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody on Wednesday not only admitted that the Police had failed to arrest Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara but excused police failure on the ground that arresting a Buddhist monk in a temple is not an easy task even though the charges he faced were for “remarks reportedly made to create racial tension.” Plus, of course, the warrant for his arrest issued by the Fort Magistrate twice to the police to bring the fugitive before the bar of court.
Do the police now hold themselves duty bound to first consider the political fallout such an arrest may give rise to and are even prepared to soft pedal the issue, tread the water rather than give effect to a magistrate’s order to arrest and produce a person in court?
After deploying four special police units to track down Gnanasara and failing to nab him until he chose his time and place to surrender to court, even the additional Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne expressed surprise that the police did not object to bail being granted to the monk; and sorrow that her court was being tarnished in this manner in the eyes of the public by the vacillating nature of police behaviour.
ASGIRIYA MAHA NAYAKE: “The Maha Sangha had always risen in defence of the country in times of crisis”
She said: The Police had submitted in the their initial B report that the suspect monk had been obstructing the police in their duties, that he was responsible for inciting people to burn churches and murder Muslims and making such dangerous statements.”
She asked the police why, after waking her up at midnight and explaining to her the seriousness of the B report and obtaining from her the arrest warrant sought by the police, the police now do not object to granting the monk bail? She further said that she regrets the manner in which different people are treated by the police and admonished the police that due to instances like this, the public will get the wrong impression of the judiciary; and stated that in the absence of police objection to bail, she was compelled to grant the monk bail.
Five weeks ago, the monk had occupied a bench on the outskirts of the Sacred Dalada Maligawe and had declared that he will stage a sathyakriya against plans to arrest him. But it was apparent the guardian monks of the Temple of the Tooth were not prepared to let Gnanasara’s sathyakriya stunt take place on the doorstep of Lanka’s most hallowed temple; and turn it into a soapbox at London’s Hyde Park. Two hours later the Anunayaka of the Malwatte chapter emerged from his avasa to warn the rebel monk the consequences that would follow if he did not give up his sathyakriya and vacate the premises forthwith.
But whilst the Malwatte chapter had given him short shrift and shooed him away, the Asgiriya Chapter held his brash style at arm’s length but embraced his convictions this week with a statement issued by the chief prelate. On 19th June, Mahanayake Thera of Asgiriya Chapter of the Siam Mahanayake Warakagoda Sri Gnanaratana said ‘the Maha Sangha had always risen in defense of the country in times of crisis’.
Obviously the most venerable monk would not have been referring to the Sangha Rathanaya as described by the Buddha in the Rathane Sutra as the Third Gem of Buddhism the Noble Order of the Arahants in whom all Buddhist seek refuge, along with the Buddha and his Dhamma but to the Bhikku Sasuna, where disciples of the Buddha having gained membership, strive to follow the Buddha’s path.
Defense of the realm was never held by the Buddha – who never condoned war – as the proper function of a monk. Never has it been suggested that even in crisis the bhikkus should regard themselves as the fifth fighting force, next to the Army, Navy, the Air Force and the Police. If any monk wishes to fight for his motherland, then he should shed the robe and don military fatigues. A person cannot be a Buddhist monk of peace and a soldier of war at the same time.
What perhaps have given rise to this myth that the Sangha are defenders of Lanka is perhaps due to a reference in the Mahawamsa written by the monk Mahanama of a band of monks walking with Dutugamunu from Ruhuna to Anuradhapura to oust Elara from the nation’s then capital. If in the annals of Lanka’s history there are found a few isolated cases where monks have answered a call to arms, then such cases only serve to record instances where they have strayed beyond their true calling.
Secondly, is there a crisis? One that threatens the very existence of Buddhism in Lanka? Is this great religion which is so embedded in almost every Sinhala breast under attack from other faiths? A religion that survived five hundred years of foreign domination and which still remain Buddhist to the core under siege?
According to President Sirisena who said on Monday at the Ifthar ceremony at the Presidents House in Colombo, “mob attacks on Muslim places of religious worship and Business establishments are not just against one community; they are part of a well planned political conspiracy aimed at capturing power.”
And finally, one more thing needs to be said with all due respect.
The Asgiriya Chapter’s statement declared that “Although we do not condone the aggressive behaviour of Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera we do not reject his convictions. Politicians must not insult the Maha Sangha. Some politicians even refer to Gnanasara Thera by his name and do not give due respect as a member of the Maha Sangha. The government does not take any action against them.”
The reverence, the veneration, the worship that the people of Lanka pay to the Maha Sangha is not in question and is beyond doubt. But it is not an absolute privilege accorded to all who don the saffron robe but one qualified. And it rests upon the actions of its wearer.
Consider the following exposition contained in the Vasala Sutta on what makes a wretch and what makes a Brahmin.
One morning when the Buddha was residing at Jetavana he entered the city of Savatthi on his daily alms round and came across the house of a Brahmin. Seeing the Buddha’s approach from afar, the Brahmin came out of his house and shouted “Stay there, you shaveling, stay there you wretched monk, stay there you outcast.”
Quietly the Buddha asked him: “Do you know, Brahman, who an outcast is and what the conditions are that make an outcast?”
When the Brahmin said he did not, the Buddha asked him whether he could explain the difference and, at the Brahmin’s request to do so, the Buddha proceeded to tell him. The Blessed One then expounded, relating the 26 differences. Amongst these 26, the following will serve for present edification.
- “Whosoever is angry, harbors hatred, and is reluctant to speak well of others and discredits the good of others, perverted in views, deceitful — know him as an outcast.
- “Whosoever in this world kills living beings, in whom there is no sympathy for living beings — know him as an outcast.
- “Whosoever destroys and besieges villages and hamlets and becomes notorious as an oppressor — know him as an outcast.
- “Whosoever in this world, shrouded in ignorance, speaks harsh words or falsehood expecting to gain something — know him as an outcast.
- ”Whosoever is given to anger, is miserly, has base desires, and is selfish, deceitful, shameless and fearless in doing evil — know him as an outcast.
- “Not by birth is one an outcast; not by birth is one a Brahman. By deed one becomes an outcast, by deed one becomes a Brahman.”
Thus even as the Buddha said, “One is not born a Brahmin, only deeds make him so”, one does not become a Buddhist monk and earn respect and veneration merely because one dons the saffron robe but only one’s words and deeds make one worthy of the laity’s reverence and worship.
| Lightning strike shows GMOA’s callousness to people’s health Thousands of the nation’s sick, far too poor to afford treatment at private hospitals where hundreds of government doctors moonlight, would have woken from their sick beds in the early hours of Thursday to tramp the roads to the nearest bus halt to board the bus that would take them to the nearest government hospital to seek relief and obtain medication for their ailments. As thousands of the nation’s sick turned up at government hospitals and left in despair, disgust and pain, the question would have been on their lips. What in the world for have these medical gods on earth decided to stage an indefinite lightning strike and thus callously put countless lives at risk? Nowhere in the world have the medical profession used patients as hostages to gain their ransom demands in so heartless and so demonic a fashion. Was the strike aimed at forcing the government to increase heath financing so doctors could dispense a better service to the patients? Was it to ensure that adequate supplies of life saving medicines are available at the most rural of government hospitals? Was it to demand more government action to combat the rising tide of dengue? Nay, it was simply due to pressure the government to close down a private medical college that had been in existence for the last five years and whose graduates the Court of Appeal had decided were eligible for registration at the Sri Lanka Medical Council and to practise as doctors and thus fill some small space at least in the great dearth of doctors in the land. Even the fact that the SLMC had appealed against this judgment and the matter was now before the Supreme Court which had fixed July 5th as the date to hear the appeal, did not prevent the GMOA from launching its own extra judicial measures to force the government to do its bidding and destroy SAITM and raze it to the ground even if it meant risking thousands of lives and burying the dead, the innocent civilian casualties in their cold hearted war. Pray say, what difference exists between Tiger chief Prabhakaran and his LTTE cadres callously using innocent civilians as human shields to win their demands and ensure their safety and GMOA chief, the pediatrician Padeniya and his GMOA brigands callously using innocent ill civilians as hostages to win theirs? The fate of Lanka’s poor has now been left in the hands of their household Gods. The very same poor who had sacrificed their mite to educate and pay for the salaries of these government hospitals. Of course, the GMOA says that the strike is done to safeguard future lives on the basis that some 60 doctors who had qualified from SAITM are not fit to wear the stethoscope but in their hypocrisy and in their shameless conduct sworn to the Hippocratic Oath as they are, they show no remorse for the lives of the presently ill, to whom life is as precious as it will be to those still to be born.. Even as the South West monsoon settles in and the Met Department forecasts heavy showers accompanied by thunder and lightning in the coming days, wonder where the GMOA president and his brigade of doctors sleep at night? If only they could hear the curses of the disillusioned sick as they make their way to perhaps die in their home beds for lack of medical treatment, perhaps it will be wiser if they chose to sleep under their beds to escape the fury of the Gods and the lash of lightning striking upon their godforsaken heads. One question for parents: Would you risk placing your baby’s health and well being in the hands of a Dr. Jekyll who turns Mr. Hyde soon after his lucrative channeled hours at a private hospital are over? | |
| Burning hell in London’s death tower sparks fears of Lanka’s condo crash  LONDON DAILY MAIL FRONT PAGE: June 15th issue on high rise horror  CENTRAL BANK BOSS INDRAJITH: Issued warning last month that the bubble may burst With high rise apartment tower block sprouting like mushrooms all over the metropolis, it was only a month ago that the Central Bank Governor Mr. Coomaraswamy warned that the apartment boom, may soon burst. He said, “The bank is studying trends in property lending and loans to small and medium industries to pre-empt any property bubble bursting. In the recent past, property prices have moved up sharply. Property returns were among the best seen in the country in any investment avenue, and it was natural for money to flow. But when too much money flows, tears follow.” One fear was that there would be fewer takers of apartments than projected and that, as a result, the developers would end up unable to service their interests on the loans taken to build the high rise towers. The question now is whether the London inferno has aggravated the situation with potential buyers turned off high rise condos by the fear of ending roast. The nagging doubt that may inhibit potential residents is that if such a tragedy could occur in a highly developed western nation with strict safeguards – which now appears to have been flouted – can any safety measures imposed by the authorities and the nation’s back up support systems be relied upon? Is the fire brigade competent enough to handle a fire atop a thirty story tower block? For instance, six months ago on January 26th, a fire broke out at a polythene collection centre at Dippitogoda Road, Hunupitiya, Wattala. The fire brigade was called. Two fire engines duly turned up at the site. Only to discover that both fire engines did not have any water in their tanks and had to return to the station to fill it with water. By the time they came back to douse the fire, two houses had already been completely gutted. Tackling a two storey fire is one thing. But handling a thirty storey one is quite another matter. Whether the Lankan fire fighting force is equipped to deal with such an inferno is questionable. Whether they have the necessary equipment and whether they possess the training and experience is in doubt. Property developers can build as high as their ambitions take them and their line of bank credit allows them to do but do they cast a second glance at the safety systems – which, as the British tragedy has exposed, depend on the authorities constant vigilance – and the emergency services and their efficiency once they have shifted their focus to another prime project? And this factor alone must give pause to those who rush to buy a little piece of heaven on a high rise tower only to end up toast in a burning hell on its topmost floors.
Sirisena gives the nod for private universities Giving the green light to the establishment of private universities in the country, President Sirisena declared on Thursday: “Around 250,000 students sit the Advanced Level Examination every year. Only about 90, 000 qualify to enter university and out of that only about 25, 000 are admitted to local universities. In order to realize their dreams the balance students go abroad spending huge sums of money in the process.  PRESIDENT SIRISENA: Announces government’s new stance Speaking at a function in Polonnaruwa, the President said: “Every year about 80,000 students are forced to go abroad for their higher education, and their parents, who are in low income groups, even mortgage their properties to make this dream a reality.” “The government has taken a stand that even a non-government university should be allowed to operate according to the standards accepted by the government,” he said. “To make the dreams of the rest of the students a reality, state universities as well as private universities with higher standards should be established. We cannot limit the educational rights of any child at any time in the country”, Good. Great news. A most welcome departure from the old parochial ways of thinking that had dominated the mindset of many generations suffering from some inferiority complex. For even as lack of money should not deprive a person from gaining a university degree neither should a modest surplus of parental cash deny one the opportunity of benefitting from a university experience and qualification. Be it abroad icing tipped or here in Lanka with the cake home baked, education is the right of all mankind. |
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