{"id":115914,"date":"2013-11-28T12:03:29","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T06:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=115914"},"modified":"2013-12-06T04:23:25","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T22:53:25","slug":"sri-lanka-has-a-2600-year-old-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lanka-has-a-2600-year-old-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka Has A 2600 Year-Old Culture?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sharmini Serasinghe<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sharmini<\/a>

Sharmini Serasinghe<\/p><\/div>\n

If what has become of Sri Lanka today is the legacy of a \u201c2600-year old culture\u201d, might we have been better off without any culture at all?<\/p>\n

Ever so often we hear the famous clich\u00e9<\/i> \u2018dropped\u2019 by our politicians- \u201c\u2026\u2026\u2026Sri Lanka\u2019s 2600-year old culture\u2026\u2026\u2026.\u201d It is a sine qua non <\/i>statement repeated ad nauseam<\/i> at many a public and political forum (the most recent being CHOGM<\/span><\/a>) to add \u2018weight\u2019 or to perhaps impress otherwise empty utterances. This is obviously done solely to awe the audience, especially a foreign one.<\/p>\n

I recall, as an impressionable young girl, when Sri Lanka\u2019s first Executive President J.R. Jayewardene<\/span><\/a> made his State Visit to the USA during Ronald Reagan\u2019s tenure as US President. In his televised address on the South Lawn of the White House, JRJ casting aside his noblesse oblige <\/i>referred to the United States as \u201ca country with only a 200-year old history, while Sri Lanka\u2019s was over 2500 years old\u201d!<\/p>\n

This \u2018casual\u2019 or \u2018calculated\u2019 remark (with JRJ one never knew) has remained with me to date. To me even then, this ipse dixit <\/i>remark reeked of an acute inferiority complex and I felt utterly embarrassed on his behalf.<\/p>\n

For us Sri Lankans, we have heard this old-hat too often and, therefore it has no effect. But to an outsider hearing these words \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s 2600-year old culture\u201d and seeing for themselves how this \u201cBuddhist culture\u201d has shaped this country\u2019s fortunes\/misfortunes, it must be truly mindboggling!<\/p>\n

Within such a context they must also see that the citizenry of this \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d are not all Sinhalese or Buddhists. There are Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Hindus, Christians, Moslems and others, who also call this country their motherland. They too are a significant part of the rich cultural and historical fabric of this country. But yet, they are regarded and treated as the \u2018other\u2019, \u2018occupants\u2019 or \u2018guests\u2019 of this \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dubious claims\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

According to dubious claims by those, perhaps, with an overactive imagination, this is a \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d, because it was chosen by the Buddha himself, over and above all others, to foster and perpetuate his wisdom through the Dhamma. There is no proof of this claim but yet, it is claimed!<\/p>\n

To those outsiders who know and understand the Theravada <\/i>teachings of the Buddha, it must indeed be strange to see how this \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d with a \u201c2600-year old culture\u201d actually practices those teachings. It must appear to them, that there is little understanding of the noble teachings of the Buddha!<\/p>\n

They see Buddhist monks or Bhikkus<\/i>– the living symbols of this so called \u201cculture and history of 2600 years\u201d not quite abiding by the rules of the Vinaya. <\/i>The caste system, denounced by the Buddha himself, thrives amongst the prominent Buddhist clergy in this \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d through different Nikayas. <\/i>They travel and live in luxury. They have also crowned themselves as guardians of this unique brand of Buddhism practiced only in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

At this point, I recall a virtual life-changing incident for me as a child of a single-digit age. My grand-mother in Kandy held an alms-giving on a grand scale at our ancestral home. All the \u2018bigwig\u2019 Buddhist prelates from all the Nikayas <\/i>arrived. Suddenly there irrupted a commotion; the bigwigs from the \u2018bigwig\u2019 Nikayas <\/i>refused to partake of alms together with the prelates of the \u2018lower\u2019 Nikayas. <\/i>The entire household was thrown into a quandary, but peace was restored when \u2018special arrangements\u2019 were made to accommodate the \u2018lower Nikayas<\/i>\u2019 separately. This is how I learnt of the repugnant caste system in Sri Lanka- courtesy Buddhist monks!<\/p>\n

Also in this \u201cBuddhist Country\u201d which holds such rich claims to the Buddha and his teachings, one would expect to notice tolerance and compassion reign supreme. Alas, one sees the exact opposite.<\/p>\n

There can be found, saffron-clad persons masquerading as Buddhist monks, running amok with impunity causing chaos, spewing venom at the \u2018other\u2019. Then there are also political leaders of this \u201cBuddhist country\u201d using the human dignity of its citizenry, as door-mats to wipe their feet on.<\/p>\n

Perhaps all this would not stand out like a sore thumb, if the trumpets of \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s 2600-year old culture\u201d were not blown so loud!<\/p>\n

Symbols of Culture\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Of course if one were to go by some of the fantasy stories contained in the Mahavamsa, and if data relating to archeological findings are accurate, then we have an ancient culture of a great many historical symbols- massive feats of engineering and construction genius, artistically carved stone etc.<\/i><\/p>\n

But can culture be measured only by these impressive material symbols? Alas in Sri Lanka it is so, and continues to be so. The term \u201cculture\u201d in the broader sense – in relation to the quality of life afforded equally to all the people of this land – <\/b>cannot be found. It may never be found!<\/p>\n

Perhaps this wonderful country might have been better off, had it been blessed instead of a \u201c2600-year old culture with \u201ccultured\u201d political leaders, endowed with wisdom and a selfless vision for the greater good of the land, and all its people. For, as things stand and as they are, what use have we for this \u201c2600-year old culture\u201d? What has it given us in tangible terms and in ways that matter to us the most?<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is time, for the public faces of our country- our political leaders in particular- to stop trumpeting the highly questionable claim of \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s 2600-year old culture\u201d. But as things are and the way they stand, this is but a dream!<\/p>\n

Alas, ours is today but a land sodden by blood and tears of its people, as hypocrisy reigns supreme!<\/p>\n

*Sharmini Serasinghe was Director Communications of the former Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) under Secretary Generals Dr. John Gooneratne and Jayantha Dhanapala.\u00a0<\/em>She counts over thirty years in journalism in both the print and electronic media.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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