{"id":215296,"date":"2020-12-12T19:42:45","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=215296"},"modified":"2020-12-16T16:02:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T10:32:59","slug":"killings-at-mahara-prison-a-blatant-violation-of-buddhist-ethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/killings-at-mahara-prison-a-blatant-violation-of-buddhist-ethics\/","title":{"rendered":"Killings At Mahara Prison &#8211; A Blatant Violation Of Buddhist Ethics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=R.+De.S.+Seneviratne\">R. De.S. Seneviratne<\/a> &#8211;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We, as a nation are fortunate that we have been gifted with the pristine doctrine of the greatest teacher of all times; the <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Gauthama%C2%A0Buddha\">Gauthama<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Buddha<\/a><\/span>. However in Sri Lanka a person automatically becomes a Buddhist because he is <b>born<\/b> to Buddhist parents. This differs from Buddhists in the west, who have embraced Buddhism due to<b> conviction<\/b> by<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>listening to or reading the Dhamma. For the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>majority of Sri Lankans, being a Buddhist is identified by various rites and rituals and not by following the basic tenets extolled by the Buddha. Many believe that acts such as visiting the temple on Poya days, worshipping Buddhist monks by falling at their feet, placing a statue of the Buddha in their vehicles, broadcasting Pirith chanting by way of loudspeakers and tying yards and yards of string<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>around their wrists, make them a Buddhist. Some have gone to the extent of having stickers in their cars proclaiming to the world that they are Buddhists and they are proud of it!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Violence-At-Mahara-Prison.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-215038\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Violence-At-Mahara-Prison.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"824\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Violence-At-Mahara-Prison.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Violence-At-Mahara-Prison-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Violence-At-Mahara-Prison-600x800.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 824px) 100vw, 824px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The foremost tenets of the Dhamma that a Buddhist lay person should adhere to are the five precepts, namely Refraining from killing, Refraining from stealing, Refraining from lying, refraining from sexual misconduct and refraining from imbibing intoxicants.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Buddhists in<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>this country including our<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>rulers<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>faithfully recite the precepts daily but many of them do not maintain a conscious effort to adhere to them but<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>break them regularly. It is only a few who observe them during their daily lives.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>They little realize that adhering to the five precepts is the code of ethics[Sila] proclaimed by the Buddha for his lay followers, and that it is the basic foundation of the Dhamma. The Buddha, in his teachings has extolled at length the importance of Virtue[sila],<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>nonviolence[Ahimsa], and loving kindness[metta].<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, our sanctimonious rulers and their cohorts blatantly violated the Dhamma which they solemnly vowed to protect by breaking the first precept, when prison officials opened fire and killed more than ten inmates and severely injured more than fifty of them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Killing a human being is a heinous act. It is an unwholesome deed condemned not only by the Buddha but by the founders of all religions. It is a crime against humanity and is shunned and abhorred by all right thinking people. All living beings, may they be humans or animals have a right to life. Practicing Buddhists take great pains to avoid killing even a small insect because of fear and shame [Hiri Ottappa] of breaking a precept. Furthermore, the killing of inmates in remand custody goes against the norms of a civilized society. They are individuals who are in state custody and the state is duty bound to protect them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The silence of the Maha Sangha in regards to this incident is deafening\u00a0it<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>is hard to fathom<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the mindset of a person who destroys the life of another human being. Don\u2019t they contemplate on the dire consequences of such a dastardly act? In the Dhammapada the Buddha states:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018All tremble at violence: all fear death Putting oneself in the place of another,one should not kill nor cause another to kill.\u2019 ~\u00a0The Dhammapada; verse 129<\/p>\n<p>It is obvious that our rulers don\u2019t share these sentiments. The president took his oaths at the Ruvanveli Saya shrine by offering flowers to the Buddha, and offering Atapirikara to the monks. He solemnly pledged to give Buddhism the prime place in Sri Lanka and ushering in a just and disciplined rule The act of killing prisoners who are under the protection of the state, by prison officials is in complete contradiction to his promise to the 690 thousand people who voted him to power. Does he realize that this dastardly act will earn the censure and disgust of all civilized countries and all Sri Lankans will be labeled as outcasts by the rest of the world?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Like in all unlawful episodes of the past, such as the previous shoot out at the Welikada Jail and the Rathupaswala fiasco a commission will be appointed to inquire into this incident.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Sadly, like in all other commissions of yore it is extremely doubtful that the true<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>the perpetrators will be identified and punished.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>The families and the loved ones of these unfortunate young men who were gunned down in their prime will never know the truth behind this horrific incident.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the absolute power enjoyed by the government, it is very unlikely that the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be punished. At present two laws exist in this country: one for those in power and another for the common man. Still one must keep in mind that no one, be it the king, the president, the prime minister or their minions, can escape from the Law of Kamma. They may well remember that Death with its mighty horde can strike them at any time and that neither power nor position can prevent it. The consequences of their unwholesome actions will pursue them relentlessly like the cartwheel that follows the ox in their journey through Samsara.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Neither in the sky nor in mid ocean nor by entering into a mountain cleft, nowhere in the world is there a place one may escape the results of their evil deeds.\u2019 ~\u00a0The Dhammapada; verse 127<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1488,"featured_media":215232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Killings At Mahara Prison - A Blatant Violation Of Buddhist Ethics - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/killings-at-mahara-prison-a-blatant-violation-of-buddhist-ethics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Killings At Mahara Prison - A Blatant Violation Of Buddhist Ethics - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/killings-at-mahara-prison-a-blatant-violation-of-buddhist-ethics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-12T14:12:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-16T10:32:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/The-Women-At-Gates-Of-The-Mahara-Prison.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"R. 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