28 March, 2024

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Pictures: Kissing Buddha, Kissing Mary And Kissing Jesus

By Colombo Telegraph

A Sri Lankan court has given suspended jail terms to three French tourists for wounding the religious feelings of Buddhists by taking pictures deemed insulting. The pictures show the travellers posing with Buddha statues and pretending to kiss one of them. British Government has updated it travel advisory warning to say “You should avoid posing for photographs standing in front of a statue of Buddha. The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is a serious offence and tourists have been convicted for posing for such photos.”

Here are some pictures of  kissing religious statues in different parts of the world.

Roman Catholics often like touching and even kissing pictures and statues when praying. This does not mean that they think the representation is anything more than a representation: people often kiss photographs of people they love, with the same symbolic intent.

 

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    If one is to look at the statues, one differ from another in appearence. From the seated position, ‘all are believed to be that of Buddha’. Therefore there is no certainity, that any of these statues really depict the Buddha himself and if so which one, as all cannot be. Then it leaves in doubt whether the kissed statue, is of the one depicting Buddha?

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      If the Buddha was alive today, he would be rolling on the floor laughing at what his followers are doing in his name. The Buddha never told anybody to make statues of him and then worship them. This is all a BIG issue over a very minor issue.

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        Once statues, drawings, pictures, etc. of a preacher of any religions is allowed, such statues, etc. take different forms, shapes and colours according to the thinking of the person or persons designing or making it. Finally the preachers themselves become targets of abuse. That is why Islam opposes idol worship and no statues, images and pictures of the Holy Prophet Mohamed (Peace be upon Him) are permitted.

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          I thought it was because he was ugly.

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        Presi, fully agree. The Buddha advised people to not build statutes of him, or even write up his teachings, because he knew us ignorant human beings will go ahead and create a religion in his name and lose sight of his key teachings, that being detachment, and taking individual responsibility for realising the truth. Instead, we are all attached to the religion of Buddhism, and the statues and temples named after the Buddha, and follow rules like robots, completely ignoring the Buddha’s teaching that enlightenment comes from self-realisation, and those of us who sin, do so out of ignorance.

        Punishing a person for kissing a Buddha statute is ignorance gone wild! It is ignorance that built the statue, ignorance that gave the statute importance, ignorance that makes one take offense at someone ‘offending’ the statue, and it is ignorance that makes on want to kiss a statue!

        It is amazing how we claim to be the carriers of Buddha’s teachings on earth, while acting contrary to his advice. A true Buddhist, never takes offense. The fact our country has laws to stop ‘offending’ people is an indirect admittance by the country itself that we are neither wise, nor Buddhist!

        We see the same nonsense in Islam, only in the other extreme. Much like the Buddha, Mohammad advised his followers not to build statutes of him, out of similar concerns to those of the Buddha. But certain Muslims justify violence if anyone draws a stick man in the name of their prophet. By claiming to follow their teachers advice, they achieve the exact opposite of what the advice from the teacher was aimed at achieving. Although they can simply claim to be misguided, after all, they don’t blatantly act against the advice of their teacher!

        Humanity may have the intelligence and skills needed to build amazing temples and gigantic statutes of great teachers. But we lack the wisdom to understand the spirit of such great teachers. It isn’t just the Buddha who will be disgusted by what has been justified and done in his name on this earth, but also the likes of Moses, Jesus, Mohammad etc.

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          It cannot be said that the whole of humanity totally lacks the wisdom to understand the spirit of the great teachers. On the contrary it is the lack of interaction between the different religious groups which short-coming is being exploited by those who promote belief in material aspects over religious beliefs which is the main cause of the problems that humanity faces. Once a Christian preacher approached an me lectured on his religion. Having listened to him patiently I explained to him the relationship between Christianity and Islam on which he agreed that there should be interaction between the two religions so that people can be encouraged more to live according to the teachings of their respective religions. I have had similar experience with the Buddhist clergy as well. In one occasion a well-known Rev. Priest in the course of a discussion on the war in Sri Lanka that ended in May 2009 surprised me when he said this ‘That the Buddhists should be ashamed of the manner in which the dead body of the LTTE cadres were exhibited and treated. A dead body, of whoever it be, should be treated with respect’. If such understanding could be developed between the different religious faiths many a differences could be solved and those who exploit humanity for material benefits and political power could be defeated.

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          Lanka Muslim

          The proportion of human beings who are wise, as opposed to ignorant, is small. Religious movements cater for mass society, as a result, you often end up getting the teachings of wise people watered down to suit mass society. It is like trying to explain Steven Hawkins’ understanding of Physics to mass society. It just won’t work…

          That said, I agree with you that there needs to be better understanding and communication between religions. But there are strong factions in all religions who have a vested interest in representing themselves as ‘correct’, and all others as wrong. Even within factions of the same religion. As a result, we often find conflict and gross generalisations between various religious groups.

          Religious people are often not that clued up about their own religions. However they are often very clued up about what is wrong with all other religions…

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      IF THEY DO NOT DEPICT THE BUDDHA , WHY THIS FUSS?

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    You couldn’t have said it better Navin!

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    people who wanna share their thoughts, and end up writing a book, knowing these big english words dosent make you smart. its funny coz always the most dumb people will claim they are well educated. & by given freedom of speech, dosent mean that i would even Read what your about to say.. bad english sory i aint smart or well educated as u are.

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      I agree that poor English is not a sign of stupidity, though it can compromise communications on an English discussion board. On the other hand, insecurities, and generalisations and slander that arise from insecurities, are a clear indication of both ignorance and a lack of education.

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      who is writing a book ? who are you refering to ?

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    These pictures tell a story of mans ignorance, misguidance and follies. Basically, true adherence to religion, including its core values and teachings should be embedded in one’s hearts and minds, and should inspire doing good things to promote peace, harmony and goodwill towards all fellow beings. This cannot be fully achieved through display of inanimate objects of worship, since these man made idols cannot do anything to help mankind on its own and by itself. This includes the wrap-around saffron robes worn by sinful men, known popularly as ‘members of the clergy’. The robe is venerated by laymen, irrespective who is wearing it, and we all are too aware of the despicable levels of low behavior and sinful acts they sometimes stoop to. All in the name of religion. Muslims from all over the world who visit the Prophet’s Mosque and burial site in Medina, Saudi Arabia, are not allowed to even touch the gates, let alone raise their hands and ask for special favours, whilst facing the direction of the shrine. Which is to say, that the Prophet was only a human being who walked on this earth, and has no power to grant wishes, but was a chosen Messenger by God to revive the Islamic Faith. He is the leader (Imaam) that all Muslims must follow. People are being constantly reminded that all human beings are created equal, and the only criteria which separates them is their closeness to God through worship and emulating the Prophet’s life. Representations in any form or matter is totally prohibited. Religion is totally in the hearts and minds of the people.

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      Iithi, what happens to those hundreds who die at Medina of stampede year after year?

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        What do you expect to happen when people perish in any stampedes anywhere in the world? It is a big mess and blame is on the organizers for poor planning and anticipation of such occurrences. Crowd control, including the flow of human traffic in both directions, if not done with efficiency, are bound to create chaos, mayhem and stampedes. People panic and run helter-skelter, and in the process get crushed and pushed around badly enough, they lose orientation, fall down and get trampled, or more bodies or people fall on top of them, and those at the bottom die through suffocation. We’re talking close to two million pilgrims (men, women and children) congregating in one place to perform the same ritual, all at the same time. Such human catastrophes happen all the time, all over the world. It is not a new or unique phenomena to the gathering in Hadj season in Mecca. It is now evident that the authorities have got a handle on the situation, and using the services of Control Centers and remote cameras, including new bridges, gangways, effective barricades with the presence of large police forces, signal lights, and awareness created amongst visiting pilgrims, this problem of stampedes have been avoided from last year. But the Muslims who go on Hadj, go with the intention of no return. Undertaking their final journey in life. Death can come in many forms. It is only the doctor who certifies that death was due to heart attack, cancer, stroke, suffocation through breathing impediment etc., or some reason or cause for death. But we will all die some day, with a reason to show cause of death. For those who die whilst undertaking the pilgrimage of Hadj (in accordance to the traditions of the Prophet of Islam), their sins are forgiven, and are as innocent as a news born child. May be difficult for an atheist to digest, but it is the long and short of it all.

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          Iithi, your analysis is worse than the issue raised. You claim that the unrest in the crowd has to be expected and people die of stampedes when they congregate in this manner and you go further to blame the Organisers. I would have taken yours as an answer for a normal gathering, but this is a Religious gathering to pay Homage for a ‘Cradle Snatcher’ and your Allah the All Mighty is unable to perform miracles to save them. Further you claim that every Muslim treck to the Holy Land not expecting to return as it is believed that if they die there, their sins are forgiven and are innocent as a new born child. Iithi, what have you to say of those countless numbers of infants and new borns with no sins committed who have been victims of stampede? You wind up saying this may be difficult for an athiest to digest, but it is the long and short of it all. One need not be an Athiest to be Intelligent and also a Fool to be Religious. The short will be the long of it, if you use your common sense, that is if you have any. Blind Bigotry is as old as Religion. What surprises me is that in this day and age, yet there are people as your self, who are blind to Truth and Reason, who prefer to wallow in IGNORANCE. Not even the imaginary Allah cen help your ilk.

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        People don’t die in stampedes in Medina, but in place called Meena, which is close to Mecca, and specifically at the Jamrathul Uquba, Wusta or in Jamrathul Oola. The stoning of the devil.

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        WHAT HAS PEOPLE DYING IN STAMPEDES GOT TO DO WITH KISSING STATUES?

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        Gamini, where did you get the figures from? Do not exaggerate minor events to support your arguments.

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    Hey Navin, can you refer us to any Budha advised on this matter , if its not written in any where , how do you know about the buddha’s teaching today ,don’t try to preach something which you don’t understand, buddha advised to follow , Buddha , Damma and sanga after his death, if it is not written anywhere ,you belive your great grandparents to live and tell you the story

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      For those who are ignorant on Buddhism. Who is it that coined ‘Pansil’, is it Lord Buddha? Who invented the Gathas to offer flowers and alms to Buddha, Is it Lord Buddha? Who invented ‘Pirith’, ‘Evang mey Suthang, ekang samayang baghava’ Is it Lord Buddha? Who invented the Sinhala Buddhist Flag, Is it Lord Buddha? Did Lord Buddha say that he first performed in persuit of truth, Kamasukallukanu Yogaya, followed by Aththakilamathanu Yogaya failing he persued Madyama Prathipadava?

      Like for the fanatic Muslims who believe in Mirhaj, where Prophet Mohamed’s chest was opened by Jibreel and his knowledge and wisdom found contained in two basins were taken out and cleansed, so the black blood clot from his heart removed, the Buddhists better practise, ‘Ehi passiko, opanaiko pachchaththang vesithabbo vincho heethi’. No wonder it is said that little learning is dangerous.

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        There is nothing fanatical about Muslims believing in what happened before the Mihraj (night journey) of the Prophet, with regard to his preparation before his lofty journey to the Heavens, which is beyond the realms of human imagination. Of course it happened in another dimension, at possibly the speed of sound, which in his earthly form may not have been able to endure. I am not suggesting anything, but merely say ‘God knows best and what was good for him at the time, to undertake his journey. It has been said so, and we believe so. We don’t question its authenticity. We believe that God Almighty only has to say ‘Be’ and it is. He needs no reasoning, why or how it will happen, needs no examples to follow, trials before final product, opinions or advice from others. His judgement is immaculate. Muslims believe (since it is stated in the Holy Quran) that the Messiah or Prophet Jesus (Easa Alaihissalam – May Peace be upon him) was created by God without any male intervention. As an athiest you are bound to question, challenge or ridicule that statement, just like everything else that is not within your grasping power. But the fact remains that and both Muslims and Christians combined the world over, believe it is so. Did you know what was the first miracle performed by Jesus (PBOH)? It was when he spoke from his cradle and defended his mother and wanted kindness on her, saying she was chaste woman, and had no sexual misconduct with any man, and that he (Jesus) has been sent down (to earth) as a mercy to mankind. Now you are bound to question the veracity of what I just said. The list of miracles performed by Jesus (PBOH) goes on and on, including the Divine Revelations (Holy Quran – which you claim to be man made) sent to Prophet Muhammed (PBOH). You will never ever be able to come to terms since understanding Divine Power is not anywhere close to your level of intellectual capacity. All this would be like poppy cock to you. Until such time, you just have to live with it and question your own incapacity.

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          Iithi, may I respectfully commence answering from your winding statement. To quote you, ‘All this would be like poppy cock to you. Until such time, you just have to live with it and question your own incapacity’. Iithi, I am in no way incapacitated as your self as I still have my quarter left, whereas all you Fanatical Muslims are incapacitated with having only ‘three quarter’. Had you Muslims not tampered with the God’s creation, by allowing that prepuce to remain, then possibly all Muslims would have had the Capacity to understand the Truth and Reason. By the way was your Cradle Snatcher also circumcised?

          You state that this Mihraj was a night journey to the Heavens, which is beyond the realms of human immagination. Then how is it that you all believe in such, if it is beyond human immagination? Generally what is to be believed is what one can immagine and not otherwise. What convoluted Logic?

          You further state that Jesus was born without male intervention, what is commonly known as the ‘Immaculate Conception’. Have you heard of the Parthenogenesis Theory? I woonder! Be that as it may, answer why Mary lived with Joseph, if Mary was to be impregnated by God? Further who can vouch a man and woman living together would not have copulated and so with Mary and Joseph? Iithi why are you turning the discussion towards Christianity from Islam, is it to save face? You further claim that Jesus from the cradle spoke of his mother’s chastity? Why did he not speak to save the lives of thousands of other infants who were murder at that time just to rid him? Besides this God’s son who was capable of many miracles, was helpless when he was crusified with two other rogues by mere mortals. Now the excuse troted out is that he paid the penance for other’s sins. This is the first time I have come across this claim that Jesus spoke that his mother was still a virgin. Did Jesus also say that his father was God? This is also like some of the Buddhists who believe that Prince Siddhartha took seven steps on seven Lotus flowers dressed in a saffron robe soon after birth, irrespective there after he never walked till he was old enough to and also the fact he took to Robes only at twenty nine years of age and not as an infant. All these Religious Heads are supposed to have performed Miracles, but none have been capable of converting all humans living, to a particular belief as all can not be right.

          In conclusion I quote you, ‘You will never ever be able to come to terms since understanding Divine Power is not anywhere close to your level of intellectual capacity’. Indeed, I concede ofcourse, as I am no intellect as you are. Therefore can you kindly, if not for myself but for the benifit of the other readers, can you kindly explain when Jibreel split the Cradle Snatcher’s chest and took out two basins full of his wisdom and knowledge, how one can see Wisdom and Knowledge? Bad enough Quoran say God is invisible, now the Quoran says that Wisdom and Knowledge is visible as the trays were full. By the way when Jibreel cleansed the two basins containing Wisdom and Knowledge, what did he use as a detergent? Is it Rinso or Surf Ultra? Iithi one last request before I call it a day on this subject of RELIGION the Opium of the masses, in which Mental Asylum are you, as I want to kindly request Whywhy to come and see you and put some sense in to you to enjoy the balance life left of yours.

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      Re: if its not written in any where , how do you know about the buddha’s teaching today

      KK, the ‘it’ you refer to was written centuries after the passing of the Buddha anyway. So how did ‘it’ survive that long without ‘it’ being written down?

      ‘it’ is Buddha’s understanding of reality, and his guidelines for those of us who seek a similar understanding, on how to go about reaching that understanding. The idea of being a Buddhist is to make that necessary effort ourselves to try and understand what the Buddha understood. Repeating what the Buddha understood, or following a religion named after him, worshiping statues, and taking part in rituals, is not the path the Buddha taught. Such behavior detracts us from the path the Buddha took to enlightenment. Acts such as that in question here, is proof as to how we are failing as Buddhists.

      Much like with all other religions, when written down, ‘it’ becomes a set of rules for manipulation. The Buddha foresaw this happening to his teachings, and the written down ‘it’ even confirms this.

      Also, the Buddha most certainly did not advice to follow. Who did the Buddha follow? His father? His teachers? No, the example Buddha set was to not follow. To challenge the established belief systems. To challenge the norms. The Buddha would never have achieved ‘enlightenment’ had he followed what he was told he should follow.

      Buddha gave guidelines as to how best prepare oneself both mentally and physically for detachment and starting on the road to enlightenment. But that is where the Buddha’s help stops. From then on, we are generally on our own. Note the story of Ananda, and his struggle to achieve Arahant state, due to his attachment to the Buddha. Mainstream Buddhism in Sri Lanka completely misses the point of the Buddha’s teachings. But this failure does go to confirm the Buddha’s understanding of humanity.

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    “..Punishing a person for kissing a Buddha statute is ignorance gone wild! It is ignorance that built the statue, ignorance that gave the statute importance, ignorance that makes one take offense at someone ‘offending’ the statue, and it is ignorance that makes on want to kiss a statue! ..”

    Davina said “You couldn’t have said it better Navin!”

    I totally agree with you. Navin has lucidly and beautifully expressed the facts which we enshrine in our hearts! Thank you Navin.

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    it is jz a suspended jail term. seems u guys havent noticed the term ‘suspended’. surely these idiots will go home safely.

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      me

      Noted it is a suspended sentence, but the fact that this is worthy of a court case in Sri Lanka, when so many criminals and murderers get away without having to even answer to a Police investigation, is the concern of most.

      Other points to note: The unnecessarily unpleasant experience for the naive tourist? The cost of the case to Sri Lanka? The result of the case on the country’s reputation? Tourism industry? The repercussions of this on Buddhism?

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    How foolish is that you kiss and worship the Idols. If these statues has power why cant it retaliate, when i visited Thailand I was walking up to a temple and saw a Dog urinating on a Buddies Idol and its dripping from its nose it was so funny.

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      How can you compare what a dog hat to have done with those of civilised human beings ? And people are different some worship statues and trees while some dont. Some dont eat pork on religious reasons, many in Europe and western world keep eating them. I respect every religion so long they dont harm us human beings.

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        Dun

        Clearly this did harm a human being. It put a poor tourist (naive as she may be) through an unnecessarily stressful ordeal.

        Also, her act can be compared to that of a Dog. Neither acted out of an intent to insult or offend anyone (assuming that the tourist’s actions were purely out of innocent ignorance).

        The question really should be, if we can ignore the actions of a Dog, why not those of a human being?

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      THIS IS HAPPENING IN EVERY STREET CORNER IN SRI LANKA
      THE DOGS AND BITCHES ARE NOT PUNISHED SINCE IT WOULD BE AGAINST THE TENETS OF BUDDHISM

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    hey guys, depending on the place and time, we need to respect their laws and regulations. Lately, I happened to pay a visit to Cologne´s beautiful dorme; not for the first time, however I wondered why some were allowed to get in to the areas where seats are, some not – there were several fathers that controlled not allowing us for not explainable reasons getting in. This was though not the case in previous times. So ones who came from far distant areas were somewhat disappointed. why I shared this to you is – there seem to be some commentators here, the manner the three french girls have acted are trying to defend. To my eye, these three should have been not common tourists that are learnt to respect laws in different cultures. Besides, these kinds of issues are being taught in their schools. Not acceptable at all that they were not INFORMED adequately.
    Having seen the issues here and BEING able to compare them with our culture for the last two decades, what I feel is -there are some tourists deliberately practise things on their holidays that their home countries are stricktly forbidden. Not about the punishments that the authorities given to these three, but at least giving these kinds of tourists adequate warning should be obligatory. That can help the other tourists to follow.

    Not only politicians but some tourists themselves caused the spread of drugs present day in SL. I personally know some tourists who keep coming to coastal areas of the country – saying something pallatable but doing the distateful.

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    Any one entering Thailand is advised that behaving in a derogatory manner towards Buddhism, The king and the members of the royal family is not tolerated. We also must advise the tuorists beforehand what is expected of them rather than to punish them.

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    When West meets East these things happens: People in western nations are secularists and often they do not understand the religious sentiment of these things: poor lady she might never thought that this will end up in court. beleive me that some actions activites of western people are beyound our cultrual imagination: for instance, they will kiss each other in public, they will dress in a way not uproperiate to our culture, they will hand shake with opposite sexs, student will put their legs on the table in front of teachers in class rooms as in case of univeristy lecture halls, they will eat in front of you without sharing wiht you any food: there a lot of issues that we differ from them in our daily life: cultrual, tradtional, social, relgious issues: people in East should have intercultrual knowldge to know all these things and People in the West should know eastern cultre and tradition before they make more mistake: It is my humble view that this Lady should not be punished for ter mistake and I’m sure she did not do this intentionally: she might have done it for fancy as she behave in her own country.

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      Who would write against when those people from west repeately use Buddha statues for their showroom decorations ? I have seen not one occasion but several times sofar how they get on with buddha statues in Germany, France, Switzerland and many other european countries. Latey it was reported somewhere that buddha lables were printed on footwears. I have the feeling, majority of these people are not aware of Buddhism.

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      NAS, what is actually interesting is that if you look at some of our conservative ‘cultural’ views, you will find they actually come from our British colonial heritage. Note that our traditional dresses for women such as the Sari and ‘Cheeththe and Hatteya’ consist of significant amounts of ‘skin’ being displayed. Also note the pictures we have on Sigiriya etc.

      It is the ‘proper’ British customs that we inherited a few centuries ago that we actually define as ‘our’ cultural views. In essence, we are still behaving as taught by the Church of England, though not many in England still do ;)

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    How sure can you be when you don’t even know her personally, whether the intention enacted by this lady was for purpose of ridiculing a religious object of worship, or for trying out her skills in creative photography. We cannot make a judgement here, but what the Courts has done is correct. For all intents and purpose, since no major damage has been to her by her ignorance, but this act has served to bring it into law, respect and sensitivity to religious sentiments has been brought into focus, and will serve as a deterrent for any such future attempts.

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      The objective of religions is to make people wiser. Sensitivity is an ignorance. In essence ‘religious sensitivity’ is an oxymoron.

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        I tend to disagree on your opinion that objective of religion is to make people wiser, but rather, it is to make them live saner. Intended to guide mankind to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with the environment and the natural surroundings they live in, respecting all and having compassion on all as God’s creations, and at the same time, getting ready, or preparing for the afterlife through performance of meritorious deeds. If you consider all that I mentioned as being wise, then, yes I agree with you. But usually wisdom is connoted with worldly issues such as business intelligence or acumen, soundness in judgement, sharpness in thinking etc.

        Observing, or respecting religious sensitivity, may well mean nothing to some, but on the whole, it keeps communities in check from causing communal flash points, desecration or vandalism, not forgetting, pain of mind, anger, acts of revenge including hatred against the offending parties, as in this case in point.

        I am trying hard to figure out how you come to the conclusion that sensitivity is ignorance. In my opinion, sensitivity is more like Compassion, sympathy, understanding, kindliness, warmth, feeling or thoughtfulness. You also claim that the words ‘religious sensitivity’ is an oxymoron. In the first, I did not say that per se, but you coined the two words taken out of context. Secondly, may be it is, in your perception, but I can’t see the the two words opposite in meaning when used together, as in, say ‘Sounds of silence.’ Please enlighten.

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          Ilthi

          I would say your idea of ‘living saner’ is pretty close to my idea of wisdom, though I personally have little interest in the afterlife. I fully agree with your position on intelligence as well. Intelligence isn’t wisdom. Our ability to invent complex weapons (thanks to our intelligence) but our inability to avoid the need for them by eliminating conflict or war (thanks to our lack of wisdom with which to use our intelligence) is an example of this.

          Sensitivity is ignorance because we have control over whether we are going to be sensitive or not. If you take your definition of living sanely, then we as individuals have to realise the impact and repercussions of our actions, in order to live sanely. That includes sensitivity. Sensitivity can be managed similarly to anger.

          I can’t effectively control what another may do. But I can effectively control how I respond to them. People who do ‘offensive’ things, do it out of ignorance, or a desperation for attention (which itself is a result of ignorance). It takes two to cause a conflict, so realising one’s power to stop conflict through their response is wisdom. Getting worked up and fueling a fire, which the ignorant are trying to ignite, is ignorance.

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    we are worshiping budda,jesus and marry but not going kiss

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    Each to their own delusions I say. Everyone should be free to choose their own errational/illogical item of faith be it Karma, re-incarnation, God, Allah, Shiva, Ganesha or Sai Baba. Just please dont kill each other over it.

    Yours,

    God’s Line Manager.

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      Kadphises (God’s Line Manager), could you kindly find out from God why he has created a multitude of bodies in this Cosmos and numerous other Galaxies, which are not useful to Mankind, nor has Mankind even explored even one trillion upon trillions of the celestial bodies. Leave alone other celestial bodies, Mankind so far has not explored the whole of the Planet Earth yet. According to the Unholy Quoran and the Bible, all this has been created by God for Mankind. What purpose no one knows. Besides all these celestial bodies have been in existance for millions and millions of years before Mankind descended on this Planet and discovered the existance of a God. What appears important to mankind is the Sun and the Moon only, or is it? Possibly all others as well to keep the balance? When Buddha was asked the question as to how all this came about, his reply had been, not to waste time looking for a beginning. Then the question arises, why look for an end in that case? Therefore his entire Philosophy is in question? Besides who can vouch for, that the state ‘Nirvana’ is an end?

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    Gamini,

    I have good news for you. Nirvana is assured. Once dead you perish and decompose. That IS the end. You will be happy to know NO amount of pansakules, 3 month dana or Ping anumodanfying will change that reality. So Buddhists will have their cherished wish by default. Christians and Moslems, I am afraid will be dissappointed. There is no paradise after death. I am sorry to report there will be no endless orgies with multitudes of virgins for you after death. Only maggots await you beneath the soil…

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      Kadphises, this Pansakula was not there during the time of Buddha, nor did he advocate such practise. This business of Pansakula has a history of around a fourhundred and fifty years. It has been essentially adopted to console the bereaved family and assure a place in Nirvana for the deceased, which the living is made to believe. Besides, Pansakula brought about a binding between the clergy and the laity, more so for the Clergy’s sustainance. Thereafter the three month and the annual Pinkamas to transfer merit to the dear departed became a custom for the same purpose of sustaining the clergy by the laity. If one is to logically argue, that if it is possible to transfer merit to the dead, then it should be possible for another to transfer demerit also to the dead, because merit and demerit are two sides of the same coin. The fact is to transfer demerit, one has to comit a sin and it can not be transfered to another. Similarly merit is also not transferable. It is just that these Buddhist Priests thrive on the Dhanas, and say the amount of merit that has been earned by those who gave the alms and the merit transfered for all those dear departed to find easy passage to Nirvana. So the gullible public continue to out do the others in offering alms to the Priests even getting in to debt. I do not know about others but certainly for me when life ends, no visas through Pansakulas or annual dhana. The body to be cremated no collection of ashes, so no tomb stones.

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      what is more probabilitstic is there is no difference between humanbeings and animals. And human life is just happenstance as it is the case with other animals.

      All other theories are far from understanding but as Line manager of God has made it clear. Following death of us all, all kind of nematodes will be awaiting to decay the cadaver if the plans are to be burried.

      As Gamini once raised the question- how the communication between physically existent prophet and non-existent god that the Muslims are continuing to believe to have occured is still to be proved by any Physists or Mathematicians.

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    kadphises says,

    “…Gamini,

    I have good news for you. Nirvana is assured. Once dead you perish and decompose. That IS the end. You will be happy to know NO amount of pansakules, 3 month dana or Ping anumodanfying will change that reality. So Buddhists will have their cherished wish by default. Christians and Moslems, I am afraid will be disappointed. There is no paradise after death. I am sorry to report there will be no endless orgies with multitudes of virgins for you after death. Only maggots await you beneath the soil……”

    The truth is a serious business. With the above statement the search for truth will end and begin stagnating. But it should not be like that because life is not a static fixed or a thing that lasts for a certain length of time and then dies and decomposed and vanishes from the world. I say not demarcated because life keeps reproducing and evolving. There are these physical and intangible mental existences. One thing we do know is that we really do not know the truth about all this: the Nirvana, Paradise, reincarnation, hell, heaven etc. So how do we go about something which we do not really know? Can the monk, the priest, the nun or the expert, the scientist or the politician tell us what is this all about or what reality, truth, god, Nirvana etc.? This is extremely serious business. This has something to do with the collective consciousness of man. Every religious leader in the world has ultimately walked into the common masses and spoke of the ultimate truth he discovered. They definitely and dearly wanted that all else of his fellow mankind wanted to realize the truth he realized. The most profound logical and practical of them the Lord Buddha became a virtual beggar in disseminating understanding. Why was that? He could have simply returned to his kingdom and lived very happily until finally enunciating the suffering with death. The very fact that such a great man in time immemorial history of mankind became a beggar in service to his fellow human beings is something phenomenal. (To be cond…)

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    Correction. final 4th line in my 1st comment: “finally enuciating the suffering” should read as “finally renouncing the suffering”. Sorry for my mistake.

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    CHANDIMAL, Did your father contested in any election under UNP or JVP

    We can see your pain and fustration all over your writing clam down follow what buddha said

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    First of all you don’t have to be insulting to the Prophet by calling him ‘cradle snatcher’ just to get your point across, without possessing any real background knowledge of the circumstances. You seem to be firing away all guns blazing, and in the process inflicting hurt and pain to adherents of all major religions, just to satiate your self conceited, egocentric and atheistic doctrine. If you consider yourself to be a true atheist, then the Prophet of Islam is a non-entity, and you can simply leave him alone and ignore that he ever existed, rather than attacking his character, of which you have very little or no knowledge about. This is rabble rousing, hate mongering, directed towards all those who love the Prophet of Islam and his teachings. You also question my change of discussion from Islam to Christianity by talking about Jesus (PBOH), and it is not Christianity but Islam under discussion. To educate you, Prophet Jesus was also a Prophet of Islam, as with every other Prophet born into this world, starting from Prophet Adam, Abraham, Ismael, Moses, Noah, Jacob,(24 names of Prophets in all, mentioned in The Holy Quran) ending with Prophet Muhammed, the Final and Seal of all the Prophets. (May peace be upon them all). No more new Prophets will be sent to this world thereafter. They all came with the same message of monotheism, spread over a period of time, spanning thousands of years. My information is based on what has been revealed in the Holy Quran. Not on my own perceived knowledge, hearsay nor gossip. Your many references on the immoral life of Mary (mother of Jesus (PBOH)), living secretly with Joseph blah, blah, blah, are either figments of your imagination, or misquoted from misguided sources. There are so many of such false information, if you just surf the internet. I, along with 2 billion other Muslims the world over, believe that Jesus (PBOH) was born miraculously without any male intervention – as it is stated in the Holy Quran (our main source of information) revealed to Prophet Muhammed (PBOH) by the Creator himself. When I said that the Prophet’s Mehraj (night journey to the lofty heavens) was beyond the realm of human imagination, you ridiculed what I had written, questioning why we even believe in it, if it is so. Well, we Muslims believe in a hereafter, heaven and hell, questioning on all our worldly actions,including reward or punishment meted out to purify us for our heavenly abode. If we can believe in what we have not seen ‘as yet’ to be true, then this is called ‘Faith’ – belief in the unseen. Again, this also is a message from our Creator, as written in the Holy Quran. It is definitely beyond our human imagination of what Heaven or Hell will look like, but we still believe in it. So is the similarity of the Mehraj. Beyond human perception, but within God’s power to make it happen. It is beyond the physical state as we know, to a metaphysical state. Your graphic description of what happened to the Prophets heart before he undertook the journey, borders on mockery and ridicule. No one can vouch for what exactly happened or was done, but something did happen. However, whatever that happened, has been described imaginatively in so many ways (versions) by so many people, having so many leanings towards their own cultures. There is nothing authentic to quell such false beliefs and variations. But this matter is not important to us Muslims to believe that the journey ‘Mehraj’ did actually take place. What is important and of significance is the end result, which was the gift from God of 5 times daily prayers, given to the prophet, to be given to his followers, with a message, hold steadfast to your prayers, and you will be successful in this world and the hereafter. which we Muslims strive to maintain, or bring into practice even to this day. What you have done is taken an insignificant event, out of a whole series of occurrences, and blown it out of proportion to mock and ridicule the Prophet, including God’s arch Angel Jibreel. You have exposed your ignorance in so many ways, by scripting a deluge of bits and pieces of what you know or have heard. Even in your effort to show disrespect to the Holy Book Quran, by calling it ‘Unholy Quran’, which I doubt that you have even read. How can you pass judgement on something you know nothing about? Some statements are out of context, and some based on pure hearsay with no real background, such as Why God couldn’t save people who die in stampede at the height of the Hadj. Every challenge has its solutions in the Islamic perspective, but you are not ready to accept it. You may have tried to portend Islam to be religion of chaos and ambiguity, which is far from the truth.

    Fortunately, in this world, there are only just a few isolated people like you, who see everything the crooked or misguided way, against almost two billion practicing Muslims the world over. Surely they cannot all be wrong. What makes it difficult for you to grasp may be the Islamic concept of Faith (imaan) – Belief in the unseen, bearing witness that there is only one God, and Prophet Muhammed (PBOH) is the Apostle of God. If you get the opportunity, read the translation of the Quran, leave aside your own inhibitions and assumptions, with an open mind, and see what it does to you. Nothing ever happens without God willing it to happen. Finally, be at peace with yourself, and the rest of the human race. I wrote so much, because I never wanted to give up on you, and leave you to your own elements and ravages of time.

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      Funny how this has turned into a discussion board on religion. But discussion is good, so to add my two cents worth:

      I agree, no need to insult anyone, or any one’s God/ Prophet. There most certainly are many misconceptions when it comes to religion, and often they are created by opposing religions to discredit others. I always find it amazing how religious people know so much about what is wrong with the other religions. To me this is more an indication of their lack of knowledge as to what religion itself is.

      I have to say the below statement is a serious misconception:

      ‘If we can believe in what we have not seen ‘as yet’ to be true, then this is called ‘Faith’ – belief in the unseen’

      Faith is often used as an unchallenged cliche to justify belief in anything. But if taken in the proper context, it is only justifiable if your faith is in God. To say it is ‘faith’ to believe in a story that can be easily proven wrong, is to belittle and mock the meaning of faith in God.

      The problem is, religious people choose a religion (or are born into one), and put their faith in that religion. But then, they have put their faith in a religion, not God. Their faith is in that religion to be God. That isn’t faith in God.

      The fundamental teaching of all monotheistic religions is to not worship idols. Yet all these religions twist words in a way to justify worshiping idols such as prophets and books. Essentially they replace God with books and stories, and say believing these stories is faith in God. But it isn’t. Its just faith in those stories.

      I do not have faith in man to convey God’s messages in full, as that would require man to be God. This is often the biggest problem in religion, where man is incapable of differentiating between man and God. In Christianity this is most evident, with many going as far as claiming Jesus to be ‘one third’ God, in order to get over the complication of ‘one’ God. They simply can’t differentiate between Jesus and God.

      The truth is God, and God is truth. One therefore cannot ignore the truth, and justify it as ‘faith’. Ignoring truths by claiming us humans can’t understand God is to insult God, as if God created us, then you must have faith in God to be able to communicate with us, without the use of other human beings or books. Those who we refer to as ‘prophets’ are simply those who saw this, and put their faith in God, as opposed to human rules and laws. Sadly, we then took their ideas and created more laws and rules. It is all so sad.

      Our brain is God’s greatest gift to us (and no, Jesus being crucified isn’t it!). To not use our brains, is to show no faith in God. I therefore put my faith in God’s ability to communicate with me directly, should God wishes to. I believe the medium God uses for this to be our brain. If you look at what all the ‘prophets’ taught, it was simply to use our brains, and not follow cultural and traditional rules and rituals like robots. Yet, that is all we continue to do, by justifying it all as ‘faith’. In essence, while claiming to bring us closer to God, religion often shuts us off from God!

      After all, if so many billions in this world were truly tuned into God as they claim to be, would this world really be the violent, bloody and corrupt place it is today, and it has been for centuries?

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      Iithi, to your long harangue of accusing me of being insulting to Islam and Prophet Muhammed, I wiil answer under FORCED MARRIAGE AND ISLAM thread. So readers please refer accordingly to understand the ‘Poppy Cock of Islam’.

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    kris, One day I saw a very plump pig in a dirty animal farm eating muck and filth very gleefully and happily. It seemed very calmed-down and relaxed too while eating the stanching matter and I can imagine the calmed-down and watered down state of the sorry little existence that you spend with your poor trivial burdened and empty life. However hard I tried no distinction could be drawn between yours and the swine’s existence! In Buddhist terms such person’s as yours lives are chiefly categorized under as being ignorance-prone. When ignorance prone characters are given discourses on Buddha’s doctrine the experienced preachers use the method of replacing their ignorance with logical awakening and refining thought processes also using a mix of faith building on sacredness and truth. For your information no one in my family ever ran for any election nor went after any politician. What happened to us was that ignorant masses like you in the country sent a herd of rogues to the highest office in the country and now we have to carry the burden of removing the rot. Let my comments be a light unto you and let it impart some benefits to your barren and ignorant life.

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    THIS IS A FORUM FOR DISCUSSION. BY INSULTING THE OTHER RELIGION ,YOU ARE ONLY DOING A DISSERVICE TO YOUR OWN RELIGION.
    ISLAM DOES NOT PERMIT DENIGRATING THE RELIGION OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT MUSLIMS.
    ITS A PART OF THE FAITH OF A MUSLIM TO BELIEVE IN THE EARLIER PROPHETS AND THE THE REVELATIONS THEY CAME WITH.
    BELITTLING OR INSULTING THE OTHER PROPHETS WILL TAKE HIM OUT OF THE FOLD OF ISLAM.

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    Why has man sought after religion from the time we know of? Ancient people having experienced and indulged in objects on the earth, having tasted the flavor of everything tangible and seeing the true nature of himself and his near and dear and the life and also seeing the transient perishable and sorrow-ridden nature of human body and mind may have wondered whether there is or not something beyond his perishable transient and mortal being and existence infested with many a hardships and sufferings. So a few individuals from our ancestors ventured out to find out the existence or nonexistence of this something which they gave many names like truth, salvation, god, emancipation, enlightenment etc. The existence of various religions and beliefs are the product of such religious pursuits. For me out of all such religious outcomes the findings of the Buddha stand out tall by the facts that it is logical, sane, practical and man-centered and it is human possible meaning it is understandable in one’s own life time. It involves realistic understanding of oneself and the humanity, fundamental nature of all living and material things on earth and the nature of thought, a special phenomenon residing in our brains also felt by our hearts. Apart from the very obvious perishable and transient nature of the physical body of man, the entire gamut of Buddha’s doctrine revolves around the mind and thought and our actions and reactions that stem from that though process and transcending the thought constrained human mind into a realm of existence where thought has ended and the mind has entered a realistic, objective, meditative and egoless state of existence where one has discovered the true meaning of life, death, meditation, God, love, compassion, thought and true meaning of living on this marvelous earth without hate, jealousy, greed, destructiveness generally associated with the common individual and collective society.

    The universal truth discovered by Buddha is not something invented by him and therefore not the sole property heritage and authority of Buddha and his disciples and monks but a thing of the nature, the world, the universe! And human being belongs to the nature, as does the animal or the tree. So we are creatures of the nature and this nature always exist in a certain degree of balanced state-our planetary system exist in equilibrium otherwise it will disintegrate and there won’t be a tomorrow! The sun’s nuclear reactions occur at certain moderation otherwise it will explode instantly and we won’t see the light of tomorrow, the gravity, the atom, the electricity, the magnetism, the laws of physics, the rain, the wind, the inferno under the earth’s crust, the rotation and movement of the planets and the solar system, the evolution and reproduction of life on earth, a tiny seed becomes a massive tree, a human egg and sperm begets a baby and living through various stages of life comes to an end yet leaving behind his human race for continuity. Our earth is a conglomeration of materials and forces which exist in different proportions and relations to each other. This earth is a marvelous and beautiful place-its oceans, skies, rivers, wind, earth, mountains, animals, trees and plants. The very living on this marvelous earth is a wonderful experience. Man is just one tiny pebble living on this gigantic, macroscopic and universal beauty. This earth with its marvelous skies, wind, air, soil, water and all the fauna and flora is the most precious and sacred place. Man does not need any god if he knows the value of the things all around him and no wonder ancient civilizations worshipped the nature as god which is far better than the imaginary gods we have created and worship.

    Man holds an inalienable responsibility to protect the earth and its environment he lives on. Is he doing that? Considering the monumental devastation man is causing to the environment, uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, eradication of species, flora and fauna from the face of the earth, has such a man’s search for god which he holds to be sacred any validity? Assuming the improbable theory that god created man to be true, then isn’t the god a total failure and a cause of mischief and destruction because his creation, the man, is responsible for all the appalling things that are happening on this world? Why did god impregnate these destructive voracious exploitery genes and traits in man? To be more specific with ground reality, why did god create or laid the foundation for the creation of such a deceitful, lying, dubious, dual, destructive, murderous, nepotistic, cruel, vindictive and inefficient rogue crook like Mahinda Rajapaksha? As god’s products are the true reflections of his might and ability does Mahinda Rajapaksha not reflect as a blemish and a black mark on god’s sacredness and power? So this god concept is something difficult to justify and rationalize. God as exists at present is the creation of man. It is man who believes and creates god in his imagination and out of fear loneliness and hope. This god is put together by thought; if one does not think then there is no god. So thought has put this thing called god. Thought has also produced all our problems: the hatred, the jealousy, the greed, and the conflict, the mental sorrow and suffering, the ignorance, all the utopian beliefs and religions, the social classes, castes, creeds, disparities, superstitions, all the corrupt social behaviours and religious rituals; man is looking at the world and the reality through the eyes of thought which makes his perception of the outside world distorted and prevents him seeing the reality. When you say and believe that god created man or main will find ultimate peace with god you are finished because you have created a belief and you cling on to it! You can argue that holy books, the holy people, the priest or your ancestors said that but still it is thought believing in a concept created by it, individually or collectively! So one thing is clear which is man cannot logically be said to have been created by any outside agency also because then who created god himself?

    But one thing we do know is that it is we who have created this rotten society with all its beliefs, conflicts, contradictions, rituals, wars, riots, violence, destruction, pollution, degradation etc. Who created all the world wars, religious wars, other wars and pogroms? Who created all the wicked and crooked ways of social interaction? We are responsible for all this. Our nasty way of thinking and thoughts have brought these about. To touch upon a more empirical factor, who created this Mahinda Rajapaksha’s despotic government with the world’s largest cabinet of ministers who are doing nothing but wasting tax payers money and which is responsible for colossal amount of human right violations, irregularities, robberies, blunders, murders and impoverishing the whole nation? It is the wrong and retarded way of thinking of the majority of the people in this country that is responsible for this waterloo. People do not know the true meaning of democracy, legislature and judiciary, they do not know the value and the power of their vote, they have failed to reflect and represent their just and reasonable aspirations in the governance of their creation because they have elected a bunch of rogues to represent them in the parliament. The people of this country are very easy to be taken for a ride too nor do they possess any long term memory of the incidents and accidents taken place in the country. They live in a perpetual cynical and no no and cannot mentality. They tolerate all the crimes committed by the politicians and their goons as fait accompli due to their helplessness but quick to find false of the opposition for not coming forward to save them! Elated by the false promises and carrot dangligs by the Rajapakshas they voted in these crooks but now they want to someone to take the blame for their mistake! They do not realize that the opposition means and includes them, the affected, the raped, the robbed, the assaulted and the bereaved. There is no opposition without them and their active participation and voice against the despot.

    This whole issue of arousing, fuelling and sustaining nationalistic, religious, chauvinistic and superiority sentiments vis a vis the Tamils and other nationals and the Europeans is a ruse hatched and implemented by the racist Sinhalese government, so is the talibanization of Buddhism. The tourist’s kissing of the pile of clay was made an international issue by the mararized regime! And the British promptly updated their travel warning into SL! This is the way MARA government keeps inventing the wheel of fear psychosis, jingoism, Tamil-diaspora-western phobia and savior-godfather-belief against any enemy in Mahinda Rajapaksha hero! But if one were to observe closely or loosely, far from being a savior and protector of the nation, this Mahinda Rajapaksha, his family and henchmen and goons have dragged this country to an abysmal of poverty, anarchy, despair and destruction. This rogue has even robbed the very museum of the nation which sits in glaring contrast to what this man proclaims him to be. Can anyone come up with such a precedent anywhere in the world? Not only is he responsible for destroying the ancient tanks of farmers by allowing illegal constructions in the tank banks and catchment areas he is now responsible for destroying the ocean too in the western province sea! Like the deafened dog in the blacksmith’s workshop people of this country are insensitive to any of these issues. They seem to think, rather made to think, what the heck an oil leak from a wrecked ship in the sea got to do with their life! They are thick skinned to their neighbor’s suffering, to that of the Tamils, to the environmental destruction nor do they raise any voice against their own suffering caused by the despotic rogue king.

    This country now needs a revolution vanguarded by the intelligent. If not so recoursed, this country would be in perpetual poverty, misery, injustice and destruction with only a privileged few living on a bed of roses made from the poor soil of the oppressed masses of this country. Although initially I thought of writing my comment differently, a comment by a mararized fifty center caused me to change the tone and texture of same and hope it would serve the need of the hour.

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    Chandimal, although your post is long, I read every word of it and I acknowledge it whole heartedly. I sometimes fail to understand the rationale of Humans, those who are close to us as friends and relations for their lack of interest and will to even to speak against the despotic rule of this CHEAT MR. If we are a genuine society, unless the majority are cheats as MR covertly, how this is possible? The truth I find is that many are ungrateful and are absolutely selfish although they pretend to be magnanimous and very Religious. Now I have begun to derive pleasure seeing more hardships burdened on the masses by this Despot and do not care a tupence about the poor in society as it is they who want this system to continue, so be it.

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    Gamini, what you refer to is the cycle of ignorance that the likes of MR and even other leaderships such as those of the UK, US and even the various Churches, Mosques, Temples depend on.

    It is a lot easier to rule over blissfully ignorant masses, than actually intelligent and switched on populations.

    But if you don’t try to make enough noise to be heard yourself, then the likes of MR are the only people who will be heard. To that extent, it is important that more people who see the cycle of ignorance, and how it continues to destroy the societies we live in, speak up more often, and make sure mass society at least has a chance to be exposed to an alternative side of a story. I appreciate that the chances are, the masses will not hear, and instead abuse those who challenge ignorance with slander and even physical violence.

    Chandimal, I’m a fan of your phrase ‘talibanization of Buddhism’. I’ve been thinking how to sum up Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and that hits the nail on the head! I would only add that many other leaders, including the likes of Jesus, did show a similar understanding of reality as the Buddha. But much like Buddhism today, their messages were watered down to a load of ‘fairy tales’ to suit the masses. Funny thing is, thousands of years later, intellect of the masses seem to still be pretty much the same… That goes to say something about our leaders doesn’t it?

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    Ilthi, What is the reason behind your always mentioning PBOH? You and two billions of Muslims the world over trace the source of your belief in God, hereafter, heaven and hell in the Holy Quran. You believe the Quran and consider it to be the most sacred book that contains the final truth. How do you know the Quran is true? Who wrote it? Aren’t they people like you who wrote it? And in the same way as you being an ardent believer and follower of your religion believe in Quran without a semblance of doubt can’t those who wrote the Quran be considered to possess the same unfounded faith, belief and knowledge about god and interpreted the existence of God according to an ancient story, belief, tradition or their own idiosyncratic imagination? So this faith is always going back in time to find its origin but yet unable to establish validity and authenticity. Faith is never the truth. Faith can give you hope, purpose, energy; faith can compile holy books like the Quran; faith can organize and build religions; faith can build massive and marvelous statues, temples, monuments; faith can keep you constantly occupied with your faith; faith can take control of your whole mind, thinking, way of living and totally condition you to act according to a fixed set of rules rituals beliefs and dogmas; faith can strip you of your rationale, freedom, objectivity and intelligence; faith can make you hate and kill others who hold different beliefs; faith can ignite religious wars and cause friction and disharmony among communities of different faiths. The Talibans have great faith in their beliefs and resort to marauding and murderous ways and means of operations to protect their belief and faith; Hitler and Prabakaran may well have had their own particular faith in something or other; Mahinda Rajapaksha has great faith in Buddha and he embraces the boo tree at A’pura when paying tribute to idols associated with Buddha yet he also simultaneously run a white van killer squad to kill his own citizens in whose operation he has great faith!

    Faith can also melt the heart of the one whose love you seek; faith can also be the driving force behind your search for truth, god, salvation, nirvana etc.; faith is like the scalpel, it can be used to both heal and kill you. It is up to you to decide how to use it and that needs wisdom and intelligence. We can have it in moderate amounts before we go into complete exploration of something in our life. The basic nature of faith is unreasoned belief-you may well be wrong. So how are we to justify or salvage our faith? We will have to use criticism, questioning and suspicion to do that. Questioning your most sacred books, beliefs, rituals, customs, religions, priests and religious leaders is the key to illumination clarity and wisdom. Such people will garner truth from fallacy, sense from ignorance, salvation from bondage, order from chaos, light from darkness and be pioneers of social change.

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      Chandimal, please feel free to understand how the Holy Quran came into existence in our midst as we see it today, by reading all about it in Wikipedia. It is all there clear and concise. There are many scientists, theologians and many other eminent scholars of highest denominations who did research to get to bottom of the Quranic revelations, and were convinced that it was a divine message from the Creator God Almighty to the whole of humanity, so convinced they reverted and embraced Islam as their religion of choice.

      You have further expounded and used the word Faith to mean a lot of things, which can be considered true and correct to a lot of people. But the one specific Faith that I refer to is Religious Faith. Acceptance and profound belief in the existence of a single God known to us Muslims as Almighty Allah, all of His Angels, all of His Prophets – the final and seal of which, Prophet Muhammed (Peace be on him – PBOH), His Holy Books (Torah, Zaboor, Injil or Holy Bible (not in its present version, but probably in the Old Testament), the final of which is The Holy Quruan, Day of Qiyamath – Resurrection and Reckoning for all our earthly actions. These may be be just conjecture to some, but is the bedrock of the Faith of all Muslims the world over.

      You also quote ‘So this faith is always going back in time to find its origin but yet unable to establish validity and authenticity’ unquote. Says who? Again, another unsubstantiated claim. We Muslims have no qualms about validity and authenticity, I don’t understand why anyone else should. We all, Muslims of all countries, nationality, ethnicity, color, creed, social standing, age, men and woman (physically representative for the world to see, specially during the annual Hadj Pilgrimage) universally declare and affirm the belief in the existence of only One God known as Allah, and further, accept Prophet Muhammed (PBOH)to be His chosen Messiah. Our First Article of Faith.

      All practicing good Muslims in general are quite knowledgeable about their religion, and will challenge any falsehood or novelties (bidhat) introduced, quite prepared to put up a fight in defense of their religion, and thus known more notoriously in the West as die-hard militants or more commonly as Islamic fundamentalists.

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    Faith is often a sentiment exploited by the priests and politicians. The monk Pahalagama Somarathana digit-raped an underage girl exploiting the faith they had in religion, the rogue monks in Hela Urumaya crept into parliament using faith of Buddhists, the monks are doing all the irreligious, useless, nuisancical things under the veneer of faith. The most recent mass exploitation of faith is the display of Kapilawasthu relics in the country. By today several deaths have occurred in the stampede. Alas! Such a religious hurry to gather merit! This is not faith but ignorance at its best! Your country has plunged into a sea of anarchy-economic crises, education crises, fuel crises, electricity crises, sprawling poverty and corruption-with the whole system engulfed in utter hopelessness the 21st century king of Sri Lanka imports a pair of rotten bones from India supposed to those of Sariyuth and Mugalan! And these fools in the country are running after the rotten bones-not sure whose bones they are-waiving their faith and driven by the stupidity not caring tupence even if a few get killed in the stampede! They don’t see the plain and stark truth that this whole ruse is aimed at rigging and influencing the votes in the coming election. It will also serve to divert the attention from the burning issues in the country! And the crooked king may also harbor the thought that this display will cause the heavens to rain on SL and end the water crisis for which the government is responsible. This foolish king said, “if I could make it rain, I would do it at all costs to bring relief to my subjects (not citizens!)”. But how did this water scarcity occur? The government is spinning a drought lie as the cause. What really happened was the buffalo electricity minister under the buffalo instructions of MARA produced a far greater percentage of electricity from Hydro power than could be safely produced keeping in mind the coming dry season and drought thereby cutting down on fuel cost to generate fuel-generated electric power and we saw this pakis minister jumping up and down yelling out, “CEB now earns profits, CEB now earns profit etc.” Now with the drought on and no rain because the goddess of rain has taken to heels seeing the killing despot, the rabble electric minister is wobbling and dumbfounded as if a 2 by 4 rafter got into his mouth-no more CEB profit talks, no more Norochcholai power selling to India etc.-because the precious water otherwise reserved for the farmers in the normal course of events has washed away to the sea generating electricity for Chamipka to bombastic about! Of course there are other causes like intentional draining of water for sea plane projects and related construction works, their constructions in the prohibited catchment areas cause soil erosion and tanks volumes getting reduced as a result etc. So these are the true ramifications and involvement and hidden agendas behind the bone display. And unfounded faith is responsible for not seeing the truth.

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    foreigners mistake SL Buddhism with Tantric Buddhism

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    foreigners mistake SL Buddhism with Tantric Buddhism

    if they know its mud Buddhism its not kissing they will do

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    KISSING IS ADORATION OR MANIFESTATION OF LOVE
    WHAT ARE THESE STATUES FOR?
    THE LONDON PRIEST, “ABUSED” A GIRL, NEAR A SACRED STATUE OF THE BUDDHA
    WHAT IS THE PRESCRIBED PUNISHMENT IN THE BUDDHIST TENETS?????????

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