Letters to the Editor
View(s):A plea to devote more attention to the teaching of Buddhism from a young age
It was in my late 50s that l suddenly developed an unstoppable urge to learn about Buddhism. Living abroad l had no monks readily at hand to consult and looked for some good books to read, finding the text by Ven. Walpola Rahula which l found to be particularly good. I then practised the five precepts (sila) meticulously and samadhi, including walking and sitting meditation for much of the day persistently and unfailingly, until one night the Four Noble Truths appeared to me during sitting meditation, describing:
1.Suffering/Unsatisfactoriness
2. The cause of suffering/Unsatisfactoriness
3.The ending of suffering/Unsatisfactoriness
4. The path leading to the ending of suffering /Unsatisfactoriness
With this, three fetters were destroyed including the important one which established my understanding that what l call “l” is simply a mind-body process functioning all the time together and not a “ self” or “soul” within, directing proceedings!
My practice was less intense for a period thereafter until more recently. I have commenced practising the Noble Eightfold Path which I understood to be the path leading to the end of suffering/Unsatisfactoriness (The 4th Noble Truth).
The point of all this is that the teachings of Buddhism are true and verifiable in one’s own experience and it is disappointing what little attention is being paid to these teachings in Sri Lanka.
Not everyone might have the arising of faith that l had. An American described having a similar experience ordained as a monk in Thailand and is now a renowned teacher based in London.
So l make a plea to my fellow Sri Lankans – please devote more attention to the teaching of Buddhism, starting at a young age.
Mahanama Via email
Don’t forget the lecturers of National Colleges of Education
According to the news item in the Education Times of May 21, the President has asked that the requirements of University lecturers be updated. Unfortunately, nothing was mentioned about the lecturers of the National Colleges of Education.
They belong to the Sri Lanka Teacher Educators Service (SLTES), producing more than 3000 teachers every year to the school system. They work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and even beyond that as the student teachers stay at hostels. They are executive officers who receive a salary lower than the teachers at present.
Their promotions are not done on time. I overheard a few lecturers murmuring that if there are no restrictions stipulated in their service, they would have gone back to schools, joining the teacher service (SLTS). Their frustrated tones seem to challenge the emergence of the future teachers to the school system.
S.Varahan Jaffna
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