By Tisaranee Gunasekara –
“Hatred of one group can lead to hatred of others” Amartya Sen (The Argumentative Indian).
In Sri Lanka the boundary line between myth and history is dangerously amorphous. And this twilight world often plays a decisive role in Lankan politics.
Sinhala school children are taught that they belong to a race which began when an Indian-Aryan princess eloped with a lion. They learn this tale not in the story-hour but during the history lesson.
The lion myth is from the Mahawamsa, venerated by most Sinhala-Buddhists as a history book cum sacred text. It is the grandson of the lion and the princess the Mahawamsa embraces as the originator of the Sinhala race. According to Mahawamsa itself, Vijaya ‘was of evil conduct’; he and his followers committed so many crimes of such horrific nature that his father was eventually compelled to exile them[i]’.
Vijaya’s enforced sea-journey supposedly coincided with the death of the Gautama Buddha. According to Mahawamsa the Buddha, on his deathbed, told the Chief among deities, Sakka, “Vijaya, son of king Sihabahu, is come to Lanka….. In Lanka, O lord of gods, will my religion be established; therefore carefully protect him with his followers and Lanka”.
So the Mahawamsa created the myth of the ‘Chosenrace’ with its ‘sacred space’. This myth became the foundation for what I call the ‘Hosts and Guests’ concept of Lanka. According to this, the island belongs to Sinhala-Buddhists, who are its sole real owners. This ‘sacred bequest’ must be protected by whatever means necessary, including the use of violence.
In the teaching of Gautama Buddha there is no concept of holy war, no space for the use of force/violence in the protection of either the Dhamma or those who practice it. Given the absolute taboo against the taking of any life in Buddhism, killing human beings to ‘protect Buddhism’ could not be justified without adding a major new chapter to Buddhist teaching. This is precisely what the author of Mahawamsa did by depicting the conflict between the Buddhist Dutugemunu and the Hindu Elara for political supremacy as a Sinless/Meritorious War.
Elara, according to Mahawamsa, was regarded by men and gods alike as a just ruler[ii]. He was no invader bent on rampage and pillage, no tyrant crushing the people under his royal feet, but a good man and a fair ruler. But Elara’s admirable qualities were irrelevant and immaterial because he was an ‘unbeliever’. Therefore he had to be deposed and killed, as an integral part of a divinely sanctioned enterprise to save Sinhala-Buddhism and its chosen country, Lanka, from enemy aliens.
Dutugemunu is the star of Mahawamsa, the hero-king of Sinhala Buddhism, the standard against which all subsequent rulers were measured. His life-story, as Mahawamsa narrates, contains the same combination of natural and supernatural, human and divine that passes off as history even in modern day Sri Lanka. He was said to have been conceived immaculately[iii] and with a divine mandate to restore Buddhist rule over the island. If the apocryphal tale of Buddha’s Bequest provides the ideological basis of the Hosts and Guests concept, the Dutugemunu story details the manner in which ‘guests’ who violate the ‘rules’ should be dealt with.
Prince Gemunu’s reply to his mother’s query about his foetal sleeping posture identifies the problem as one of territory and Lebensraum: “Over there beyond the Ganga are the Damilas, here on this side is the Gotha-ocean, how can I lie with outstretched limbs?” The story of the three cravings of Queen Vihara Maha Devi, when pregnant with Prince Gemunu, identifies the enemy: “She craved to drink, while trampling on his very head, the water in which was washed the sword that beheaded the chief warrior among the Elara soldiers…. The queen informed the King and the Lord of the earth asked the soothsayers. Hearing it they said, ‘The queen’s son will vanquish the Damilas…’”. The response of the Sangha to King Dutugemunu’s anguish over enemy deaths introduces the concept of sinless/meritorious war: “By this act of yours there is no hindrance in the way to heaven…. only one and a half men were killed here. One was established in the refuge and the other only in the five precepts. The heretical and evil others who died were like animals…”
That was the moment Buddhism of Siddhartha Gautama was transformed into Sinhala-Buddhism, a new religion of the book, the Mahavamsa. The war against unbelievers was consecrated as sinless and meritorious; a straight path to heavenly bliss, akin to Crusades and Jihads. Not only was Dutugemunu reborn in the highest heaven, according to the Mahawamsa; he “will be the first disciple of the sublime Metteyya, the king’s father (will be) his father and the mother his mother. The younger brother, Saddhatissa will be his second disciple, but Salirajakumara, the king’s son will be the son of the sublime Metteyya”. The Mahawamsa clinches the argument of the meritorious nature of waging war for Buddhism by demonstrating that it will benefit not just the holy warrior but his entire family.
The Mahawamsa was written around seven centuries after the Dutugemunu-Elara war, by a Buddhist monk with a political agenda. Even a passing knowledge of the teachings of Gautama Buddha would suffice to know that shedding all attachments is a sine-qua-non for the attaining of Arhathood. A man or woman with attachments, however understandable or justifiable, is bound to the samsara by those very bonds. Those who have attained Arhathood have no attachments, including to country, race or religion. Nor can they condone any killing. The claim by Bhikku Mahanama that monks who had attained Arhathood justified mass murder in the name of religion was an obvious and an evil lie. Yet this lie has triumphed over the First Precept.
Constantine and his heirs had to remake Jesus from a man of peace to a prince of war; they were aided in this re-make by the vengeful God of the Old Testament. Mahanama had to do the job by himself, without any doctrinal help. He, and not the Buddha, is the true teacher and leader of the likes of the JHU and the BBS.
Myth as Destiny
The Mahawamsa stories are not just popular myths retold in an ancient chronicle. They have determined the trajectory of Ceylon/Sri Lanka in modern times.
The anti-minority nature of the 19th Century Buddhist renaissance, under the tutelage of Anagarika Dharmapala, was fuelled by the Mahawamsa myths. Distorted and enslaved by the Mahawamsa myths, Sinhala-Buddhism lost the ability to appeal to Tamils or to create a Lankan Dr. Ambedkar. Had there been a significant segment of Buddhist Tamils, with a voice within the Sangha, our post-Independence history may have taken a less destructive path. But to be able to appeal to Tamils, Buddhism has to cease being the identity-badge of Sinhala supremacism and reclaim its pre-Mahawamsa universalist potential.
“Our challenge is to devise some arrangement which enables us to coexist if not in amity then at least in forbearance” Jawaharlal Nehru told Andre Malraux (Anti-Memoir). That is the challenge facing any pluralist nation.Sri Lanka will fail to win this challenge, so long as we remain in thrall to Mahawamsa myths.
[i] He “caused Vijaya and his followers, seven hundred men, to be shaven over half the head and put them on a ship and sent them forth upon the sea….”
[ii] He was so just, that gods intervened to end a drought, at his pleading, according to Mahawamsa
[iii] King Kawantissa and his queen were childless for many years. The Queen sought the advice of a sage and was told to obtain the consent of dying monk to be reincarnated in her womb as her son. The queen attended the monk on his death bed and obtained his consent to her wish. While she was on her way to inform her husband of the felicitous tidings, the monk died and “he returned to a new life in the womb of the queen while she was yet upon her journey; when she perceived this she halted. She sent that message to the king….”
To read this in Sinhala click here. Translation by Yahapalanaya Lanka.
Waran Vaithilingam / March 17, 2013
Finally someone from Sinhalese community making any sense, here I am quoting Tisaranee Gunasekara
“But to be able to appeal to Tamils, Buddhism has to cease being the identity-badge of Sinhala supremacism and reclaim its pre-Mahawamsa universalist potential”
If some of the Sinhalese spoke in 80’s like this, we would not be in this ness. Thank you Tisaranee Gunasekara for speaking the truth. Humanity loves you Tisaranee Gunasekra , Than You again
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WK Costa / March 18, 2013
History is written by the victors, the way they want. The UN too is a victors club. The losers are absorbed in to victor’s nation with smooth changes in due course as losers happily accept the supremacy of the victor’s culture. This natural transformation happened not only at the victory of the Great King Gemunu (he is great as he is the only king remembered continuously for tens of centuries) but many times before and after that in the history not only in Sri Lanka but in many countries as well. It is being repeated in Sri Lanka in this 21st century. No one can change this natural law.
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 18, 2013
sour grapes like the polygamist southern monkey only in SL.
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Ajay / March 19, 2013
Religion has many dimensions. While being an avenue for spiritual seeking, religion also has important social functions. It is a form of social organization and also serves often as a socio-political ideology. The ruling classes – except in some recent secular societies – have always used religion as an organizational mechanism and a belief system to control the people. Marx’s famous saying that “religion is the opium of the masses” is well known. Therefore it is not a surprise that Sinhala-Buddhism is doing what it is doing. The problem with most critics – like Tisaranee Gunasekara and Sharmini Serasinghe – is that they are hypocritically ingenuous when they argue Sinhala-Buddhism is not true to the original Buddhist canon. The Mahawamsa writers knew what they were doing. They were trying to provide an ideology to the newly emerging kingship in the nascent stages of Sinhala civilization to legitimize their rule. In order to fashion this new ideology Mahawamsa writers were deliberately distorting the original teachings of Buddha to suit their needs. So it is not like these critics have solved a crime a la Sherlock Homes. Of course Mahavamsa is a political agenda.
Mahawamsa provided the emerging Sinhala civilization with an origin myth as a chosen people – people with a special relationship with the divine. Again this is not something peculiar to the Sinhalese people. All religions and mythologies provide their followers with such foundation or creation myths. Christianity, Islam and Judaism all share the same creation myth of Adam and Eve. Tamils have a myth claiming their language was given to them by Lord Shiva through Agastya Muni. Indians believe in the Ramayana myth that Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, using the bridge built by monkeys (Rama Setu) over Palk Strait came to Lanka and rescued Sita. This fusion of religion and myth with history is universal. All societies have some form of this narrative in their culture to claim they are a chosen people originating from some God or have a special relationship with some God. And invariably in most cases the original, canonical teaching of their religion is modified to accommodate their ideological needs. And once again in most cases the original teaching is ignored and the newly formed ideology is followed like a religion. So this is a universal problem, not specific to Sinhala people. In the U.S. in some schools creationism is taught as science !
My view is that in dealing with Sinhala-Buddhism we have to put it in perspective to avoid going overboard. In the first place we must realize Sinhala-Buddhism has always been more suspect and under more attacks than the other religion cum ideologies practiced in Sri Lanka such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam simply because it is the religion cum ideology of the dominant majority. I don’t think anything is inherently wrong with Sinhala-Buddhism anymore than other religion cum ideologies. The majority of the Sinhalese people are quite capable of making the distinction between what Buddha really taught and what Mahavamsa presents. They are not stupid to literally believe that Buddha designated Sri Lanka as the land where his religion should be protected and that he visited the island three times. They know such assertions are not factually true, but myths that give meaning to their existence as a people.
But I agree with Tisaranee that when Sinhala-Buddhism becomes an identity-badge of Sinhala supremacism it is a problem. I don’t know what the solution is, but I know any approach that doesn’t take into account the existential anxiety that underlies all such supremacist ideologies will only aggravate the problem.
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Uditha / March 19, 2013
As a born Buddhist, I have not read the thripitika but as you very rightly said we were taught that we belongs to a race which began when an Indian-Aryan princess arrived with his gang to thambapani.
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Lanka / March 20, 2013
Agreed… I’m Sinhalese Buddhist…I didn’t choose to be born to a Sinhalese family, also I embraced Buddhism at an early age… however what’s happening now has nothing to do with Buddhism. This is disgrace to the teachings of Dhamma. Buddism is NOT FOR SINHALESE ..ITS FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS!!!! so what if Sinhalese people were here first…or whatever… everyone born on this land belongs to the land and HAS EQUAL RIGHTS TO EVERYTHING, FOOD JOBS EDUCAITON…ALL SRI LANKANS DESERVE EQUAL TREATMENT…..Period!! :)
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Justice seeker / March 17, 2013
The article kept me spell bound from beginning to end. An article written in an original and very erudite style. It is indeed enlightening. It clears so many questions I had about the irreconcilable aspects between Gautama Siddharta’s teachings and Sinhala Buddhism.
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Patta Pal / March 17, 2013
Sinhala Buddhism is a dastardly concept built out of fear. It has nothing to do with Buddhism and its teachings. I hope in time, the Sinhala people throw it out as heresy of a few retards, with severe inferiority complex, and encompass what it really means to be a Sinhala person.
By extension, this govt. by its support for Sinhala Buddhism is fast losing legitimacy as it is now fully intertwined with this concept for their very survival.
The mis-interpretation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is regrettable, as it is purely for opportunistic purposes of survival. Otherwise all the temples and the whole hierarchy will be destroyed and people left in limbo to be fooled into other forms of belief.
It will probably be a long time for the true humaneness and humility of the Buddhist philosophy to emerge, but like Saudi Arabia that does not practice true Islam and the Vatican does not practice true Christianity, it is not an isolated position.
It’s new avatar in the form of the BBS is of course on course for self destruction both of itself and of its supporter the Administration, which is also living on borrowed time due to its lack of relevance today. Only the truly ignorant keep it propped up and there in lies the answer to the problem.
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vidula / March 17, 2013
Thanks Tisaranee I was also blinded by this myth. It never occurred to me that it might be one, until I stopped to think about it. How the hell can bestiality be the source of a human race!
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Think Box / March 17, 2013
I feel like crying very bitterly when I read that the God was on the deathbed as the quote goes “According to Mahawamsa the Buddha, on his deathbed, told the Chief among deities, Sakka, “Vijaya, son of king Sihabahu, is come to Lanka….. In Lanka, O lord of gods, will my religion be established; therefore carefully protect him with his followers and Lanka”.
What a unfortunate is this I want to kill the one who killed our God or Gods. The other day I saw in the temple a dog is urinating on the feet of our God, guys how can we stop this injustice to our God/ Gods. Or we need to take sometime and thinking seriously what we are doing is right or wrong? I leave the ball on your side to play. I think we have to think vicely
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gamini / March 17, 2013
Buddhism is full of contradictions. According to Buddha himself there are no Gods. But according to Mahawamsa, how come Buddha in his death bed appeal to God Sakkya to protect Vijaya a renegade and criminal banished by his father to uphold Buddhism in this country? No wonder BBS has taken after Vijaya. What Vijaya did to Quweni is retribution where all the Sinhalese pay today with interest.
If Buddha has given up all craving, why was he so desireous that Buddhism be upheld in this country? I thought he had no desire. Surely he should have known better. Afterall it is said that after enlightenment he was pondering whether to preach his Philosophy thinking whether the masses will understand. Here again it is said it is the Gods who came and adviced him to do so. If according to his Philosophy there are no Gods, then who are these characters?
The very fact that Buddha requests anyone to varify his Philosophy on his own evaluation, leaves room for one to think whether Buddha himself had doubts? Afterall if he was absolutely certain, he would not have said, ‘Ehi Passiko Opaniko, Pachchakthang Veysi Thabbo’.
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Suran / September 11, 2013
Because this never happened. It’s made up. The mahavansa is a mixture or fact and fiction. Tall tales
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 18, 2013
God! Ha ha Gautama died a Hindu because he was born one and made it clear that Buddhism is a philosophy not a religion. In any case whatever was written as Buddhism was 500 years after his death and most are concoctions because there was no written language except Sanskrit for the Hindu Brahmins and Rajas for the kings. Go to Bihar where your relatives live and check it out from any babuwa. All religions are simply kindling the emotions by saying only I saw nothing more. Be objective and all gods are with you.
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Gajabahu2 / March 17, 2013
The Mahavamsa is so contemptuous to the Pali Canon, they dispossessed it outrightly in it’s inception in theis land.
If historically analyzed, we could remember the father mocker Dutta (wicked) Gamini, who derided his father Kavantissa is a southerner, so it’s not a faux his kinship to the present Rex Regum and his lot, is much of a familial implication.
“Radix malorum est cupiditas”.
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D.M.O. Krazy / March 17, 2013
Thumbs up Tisaranee!
Could you kindly publish this article in the Sinhala language too, as the masses need educating in this aspect, unfortunately!
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Prithvi / March 17, 2013
Well written piece. And timely.
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Maghribi / March 17, 2013
We should appreciate Author’s efforts to recognise the follies of one community claiming supremacy over others; who have lived for centuries and have contributed to it’s development. Sri Lanka has enough natural resources to be self sufficient in food and its people have the knowledge and expertise to be a productive citizens if they can set aside their petty differences and lay the foundations of a Multi-culture, Multi-Lingual, Multi-Faith, Equal Opportunities to all Citizens, Respect all communities, their Honour and Property rights. No community claims supremacy over the other. Strictly Merit based governance, Allegiance to one country. Make diplomatic efforts to convince all communities to be part of the solution and relieve their concerns and assure them of fair treatments through constitutional guarantees.
Conflict of Interest arises only when Ethical and Moral Values are compromised for personal benefits. Lack of Sincerity and Accountability is the one of the main causes for the Law of the Jungle.
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Walter / March 17, 2013
I am a recent convert to Buddhism and have been puzzled by what is going on in Sri Lanka. I am learning Buddhism from teachers such as Ajahn Brahm who are desciples of Ajahn Chah from Thailand. Having read this article now I understand why so much violence is taking place in the name of Buddhism in Sri lanka. It is sad to see True Buddhism being destroyed by gangs lead by Sinhalese monks. You need not be a rocket scientist to know who the real enemies of Buddhism are.
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D / March 17, 2013
I too had been contemplating Buddhism a great deal before I spent a few months in Sri Lanka. The actions taken in the name of Buddhism, particularly the anti-minority attacks (most recently on Muslims)are horrific. I am yet to hear a single leading Buddhist voice stand up against this however, until I see the Buddhist communities within and outside of Sri Lanka standing up to this I can no longer see a place for Buddhism in my life.
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Hela / March 19, 2013
Yeah, you can continue to be a Christian or an Islamist D-March who are soooo peaceful…..
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KCD / March 18, 2013
Walter, I couldn’t agree more to your last sentence. The true Buddhism still exists in SL. The three steps to attain Nibbana according to Lord Buddha was to study, practice and conquer. And the monks who have spend lots of time studying are busy with practicing (naturally) and would not spend a second of their time on rubbish like this. That is why you need to dig deep to find the real Buddhism here in SL which still exists but for how long……..no body knows……..
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 18, 2013
Thailand is one country that was never colonized but during WW2 the Thai Buddhist let and helped the Japanese invaders help themselves to neighboring nations like Burma. Even today Thailand is US no 1 spot for rendition in Asia. Buddhism is only a philosophy there is no God because Gautama himself died a Hindu. Try Mahayana as practiced by Dalai Lama because its open even to marriage so there are less pedophiles and anyone can become a buddha by following the philosophy.
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Hela / March 19, 2013
Walter,
This article doesn’t explain Buddhism in Sri Lanka at all. At the same time Thisaranee is not an authority on Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Instead you might want to talk to many Westerners who have become Buddhist monks and live in Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka (if you do not trust another Buddhist of Sri Lankan origin to explain). Thisaranee has her/his own political agenda and Mahawamsa seems to be a threat to that political agenda.
For Sinhala people, Mahawamsa provided a clue to their identity. Sinhala people do not consider it as a history text though they rightly see it’s immense historical value.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 17, 2013
The BBS monks are now preaching their perverse message using the Koran. They are not quoting from the Mahavamsa or the Buddhist scriptures. This is akin to the devil preaching from the bible!
My students in Saudi Arabia presented me with an English translation of the Koran several years ago. I have gone through it, not deeply, but not superficially either. I find that once one takes out the context and the circumstances in which the contents of the Koran were revealed, it preaches the same message that other religions do. Pulling out quotes out of context and using them to preach a message of hate by purportedly Buddhist monks is obnoxious.
Further, there are very few takers, even among the vast majority of Sinhala -Buddhists for the myths and biological impossibilities narrated in the Mahavamsa. This is the reason why even the Helaists are now claiming that the Sinhala origins go back to Ravana and that they are a composite of many tribes and even Tamils. The question now is why the Tamils remained Tamils, without becoming the Hela. This question is also being answered by science. The Tamils and Sinhalese share a large proportion of genes, though they speak two languages. We are only linguistically different and share the same religious philosophies. The Muslims have also been shown to share genes with the Sinhalese and Tamils, although their religion outwardly is quite different from Buddhism and Hinduism. The Mahavamsa is today to many only a history of a our Kings, Queens, Princes, Ministers and Generals of a long gone past. It is also the longest recorded history of a people. The Sinhalese of course are proud of this history and the achievements of their rulers.
I think it is wrong to ascribe a Mahawamsa mentality to all Sinhala- Buddhists. The so-called Bhikkhus who espouse divisive causes and hate, should be exposed. The government should take these Bhikkhus to task through enforcing the laws.
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 18, 2013
Even in north India Ravana is considered a myth by even the RSS.
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Iqbal / March 17, 2013
I am not sure why non-Sinhalese will want to adopt Buddhism regardless of the Bodu Bala Sena, the Jathika Hela Urumaya or the Mahavamsa. Further, many Sinhalese are de-jure or de-facto Christian or Hindu in their daily practice.
The author’s attack on the ‘Mahavamsa mentality’ is one thing but to argue that Tamils will take to Buddhism in the absence of such an ideology is quite a stretch.
It would be good if Islam is also taught to the Sinhalese. There are Sinhalese Muslims – we just call them the Maldivians who speak Divehi – an old dialect of Sinhala.
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KCD / March 18, 2013
What you refer to is the Sinhala Buddhism the one that author refers to. I am not interested in that and so do hundreds of thousands of Sinhalese who are Buddhists………
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 18, 2013
“Tamils will take to Buddhism in the absence of such an ideology is quite a stretch.”
You are wrong the author is right go read Dr Ambedkar the father of Indian constution then you know the meaning of untouchables and Buddhism and Hinduism so that they may not turn to Islam and start Jihad.
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mike / March 17, 2013
If Balu Bala Sena monks preach their perverse message using the Koran, they will eventually end up embracing islam!! Watch out Mr. Gotabaya??
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Ridhaa / March 18, 2013
@ Miks, I hope what I am saying to Mr Riza is correct .>> Mr Riza, I don’t think Mike meant the Qur’aan’s message as perverse but rather he say (I think) the BBS is using the Qur’aan to preach the BBS’s perverse message!!! Am I correct mike??
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mike / March 18, 2013
YES, I should have made it very clear!
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Anura Alahakoon / March 17, 2013
As I remember, I was taught that Aryan princess was trapped with a lion or rescued by a lion but not eloped. Even as a kid who was learning about sex and concepts of propagation , I was confused about sex between female human and animal. We argued that it must be the female human who should have seduced the animal and had two human kids. All these should be mythical stories however, how the hell our fathers in early 20th century (?) selected an animal figure in national flag based on such a story.
This may sound like childish argument, but I believe it has some ugly truth. ???
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Riza / March 17, 2013
Mike – read the Holy Qur’an before calling it perverse! Reading verses of the Holy Qur’an out of context and without knowing the historical background for it’s revelation is an old game of the un-informed.
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Ridhaa / March 18, 2013
Mr Riza, I don’t think Mike meant the Qur’aan’s message as perverse but rather he say (I think) the BBS is using the Qur’aan to preach the BBS’s perverse message!!! Am I correct mike??
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Nawala Somey / March 17, 2013
Be carefull when you writing articles like these in the future. cos these bikkhus will potray you as a Anti Buddhist element supported by the Muslims.
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Safa / March 17, 2013
Serious students of religon need to grasp the universal message that overules all barriers of race or creed. There are many rituals and customs, superstition and folk lore which have crept in and clouds the truth. If we accept that we have all come from one source then there can be no superiority by virtue of caste, creed or race. Biologically we are all the same. There can be no chosen race just as the Prophet Muhammed Sal stated in his last sermon which addresses issues of both gender and race.
“O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.”
“O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.”
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety (taqwa) and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.”
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Wickramasiri / March 17, 2013
The Mahavamsa is a history of the destruction of Buddhism by the Sinhalese. The JHU will finish the task soon and we will have to go to Thailand and Burma to learn what the Buddha actually taught. The Sinhala people have betrayed Buddhism.
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Gamini Perera / March 17, 2013
Most of these Buddhist priests do not understand Buddhism.They are taken out of their homes at young age and have little or no exposure to the outside world or to the real meaning of Buddhism .They believe what is taught to them by the senior monks who were also like the young ones taken out of their homes and taught by their seniors.If not how can they believe in fables and in violence.Vijaya was an outlaw who was banished by his father along with 600 of his clan.He and his “gang” is said to have married “princess from Madurai and how come they claim they ared decendents of Aryans.All nonsense like the story of the lion and the princess.
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manmohan singh / March 17, 2013
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / March 17, 2013
Quite apart from the arguments raging about the imminent confrontation between Muslims and Sinhala due to radicalisation of political Buddhism in Sri Lanka, I feel there is a certain frustration with the status quo that is feeding the demented expressionist agenda of the saffron-clad activists and their supporters. Could it be, that rather than take on the powerful, they target an underdog for scapegoating convenience?
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kamal nissanka / March 17, 2013
It is not the Sinhala race but the dynasty originated with Vijaya ,the great grand son ” of meat eating lion”. This is not scientific. The myth goes against ” genetics’ and DNA analysis.
Sinhala is not a race but a language group. Sinhala Buddhism is something like “arrack” , originated in some other country but rooted in Sri Lanka.
The Buddhist monks in sri Lanka do not have an understanding on Buddhist Philosophy.
The only person who understood Buddhismin sri Lanka was Prof K. N. Jayathilake. Not these ” Bodu Balayas”
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punchinilame / March 17, 2013
Now that we know where this “lion” comes into the human scheme, why
don`t the Mahanayakes control the wrong doings or the wrong direction
of the BBS etc. as they have the power to do so.
They are not acting at all in these crucial days because of sheer
politics of the Sinhala followers. This foretells that Buddhism will
not advance even with Academies opened by Gota – to save his soul?
Everything or every Sector is leading to ruination, including Buddhism
under this Regime.
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gamini / March 17, 2013
Upholding Mahawamsa a total fabrication is the bane of the Sinhalese. It is far better than ‘Wansey handiganawa’ for the Sinhalese to look to the future and live a civilised life as Human Beings. Unfortunately we are a Nation living in the past.
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Betsy / March 17, 2013
We as muslims admit that we have gone too far;we humbly apologize and forgive our bad habits;please solve it through dialogue;this is a buddhist country and we as muslims respect it.we dont want power;fame or position.as long as we have to practice our faith ;our sole purpose is the worship Allah;do good and final abode be jannah ie h heaven;;
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gamini / March 17, 2013
Betsy, could you kindly enlighten where this Heaven is? Has anyone been in contact after going there?
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Ridhaa / March 18, 2013
Hi Mr Gamini, I am Muslim, the soul ones separated from the flesh travels to either heaven or hell and UNFORTUNATELY there is no communication link with that dimension!!! So, I would humbly request you to not question our belief of heaven or hell. Rather than question each others beliefs, I think it would be wise to practice whatever we BELIEVE and practice this properly. If this is done no one will have any problem!!! Criticize thyself before criticizing thy neighbor!!!
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gamini / March 18, 2013
Ridhaa, I have no qualms you believing in whatever you like. The problem arises when you lot start to preach your belief as the truth without evidence and then try to force it on others. The Muslims have no right to tamper with God’s creation by circumcising the young, tormenting them to believe in the established faith Islam. If God thought the circumcised apendages were not necessary he would have created so. So Leave every one alone to practice or not a faith, yes then there will not be any issues.
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Peter / March 20, 2013
Talking about kissing ar*se.
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lame / March 17, 2013
The Muslims would be the scapegoat for the impending economic collapse caused by excessive FX borrowing and corruption. (remember attacks on minority scapegoat Chinese upon the collapse of Indonesia Rupiah)
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Lankan / March 17, 2013
Is it the Bodu Bala Sena or at times called the Balu Bala Sena or is it the Rajapakses who are destroying Buddhism?
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gamini / March 17, 2013
The myths of Religion has caused immense pain and destruction to mankind as witnessed right through History. As long as Religion exists there will be division and the inevitable conflict. If Religion is left for the individual without State sponsorship or influence from the Mullas or the Priests themselves will be less harmful for mankind. Never allow Religion to be forced down the throats of the masses, for the benifit of various faiths.
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Nabil / March 18, 2013
Dear Gamini
All the pain that the world endures can be reduced to the individual. if we as individuals learn to respect others, the environment etc ect.,the world would be a better place to live in
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gamini / March 18, 2013
Nabil, the kind of respect that you speak of, was ushered in abundant measure by your Prophet Mohamed during his time, where many were made to pay with their lives. You all are no better than the rabid Sinhalese here the likes of MR and his goons when in authority with power act with absolute impunity, but when dealt with similar means and is at the receiving end elsewhere, wants all to live by peace.
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Hela / March 19, 2013
Gamini,
No better than rabid Tamil racists too.
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Mahavmsa Reader / March 17, 2013
The intellectual bankruptcy of the writer is seen from the way she has presented the accounts in Mahavamsa.
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gamini / March 18, 2013
Then why don’t you present Mahawamsa in the correct perspective?
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Mark / March 18, 2013
A wonderfully written article. Some of the other lesser known facts about the Mahawamsa. Other older historical texts that existed in the libraries of the maha pirivena in Anuradhapura were burned and destroyed after the writing of the Mahawamsaa at the behest of Mahanama. Mahanama characterises the inhabitants of Lanka prior to the landing of Vijaya as non humans or demons there by implying that Lord Bhuddha preached to demons when he visited the island. By these acts the real history of Lanka is virtually erased from memory and replaced by a false version. Kuweni was the legitimate king of Lanka’s daughter. She was not a demon. She was raped by Vijaya. Buddhism was practiced by the inhabitants of Lanka long before the so called official date at the conversion of King Tissa. We are truly a lost race whose real history has been hijacked.
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manel fonseka / March 18, 2013
I remember a young university student monk after listening carefully to a lecture by one of the university’s archaeology lecturers in which the Vijaya myth among other things was explained as MYTH, getting up and very unhappily asking:
‘But, Sir, if Vijaya is not true, do we have a leg to stand on?’
One can laugh at this but we also need to understand how precious these myths of origin are for people. After at least 50 years of attempting to dislodge them, they persist.
Decades ago people people like Regi Siriwardena tried to get them erased from school text books, or at least EXPLAINED as myths.
That was in the late 1970s. Maybe ever since these myths were questioned (earlier by people like historian GCE Mendis who suffered vicious attacks as a Christian daring to doubt the leonine genes of the Lion race), we Sinhalayas have become insecure and need to demonstrate our superiority (numerical if nothing else) and greater claim to everything in this land settled by our great Indian forefather.
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