The darker side of Buddhism

[prasad1]

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The small temple in the suburbs of Colombo is quiet. An image of the Buddha is surrounded with purple and white lotus flowers. Smaller Buddhas line the walls.
But upstairs, a burly monk in a bright orange robe holds forth - for this is one of the main offices of a hard-line Buddhist organisation, the Bodu Bala Sena or Buddhist Power Force (BBS).
The peaceful precepts for which Buddhism is widely known barely figure in his words. Instead, the monk, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, talks of his Buddhism in terms of race. Most Buddhists here are ethnically Sinhalese, and Sinhalese make up three-quarters of the island's population.
"This country belongs to the Sinhalese, and it is the Sinhalese who built up its civilisation, culture and settlements. The white people created all the problems," says Gnanasara Thero angrily.
He says the country was destroyed by the British colonialists, and its current problems are also the work of what he calls "outsiders". By that he means Tamils and Muslims.
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Another country where fierce Buddhism has recently made headlines is Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. A Buddhist faction there, the 969 movement, is known for strident anti-Muslim campaigns that have triggered widespread violence.
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And the group thrived because the rule of law had broken down, according to the new minister for Buddhist affairs, Karu Jayasuriya. He has told me that the BBS will be reined in. On Tuesday, Gnanasara Thero was arrested for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration but later freed on bail. Thus far, the new government - which, like the old one, includes a strongly Buddhist nationalist party - seems timid about taking on the men in orange.
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Of all the moral precepts instilled in Buddhist monks the promise not to kill comes first, and the principle of non-violence is arguably more central to Buddhism than any other major religion. So why have monks been using hate speech against Muslims and joining mobs that have left dozens dead?


The darker side of Buddhism - BBC News

Any religion is only a clutch for people to grab power.

 

[Vaagmi]

The small temple in the suburbs of Colombo is quiet. An image of the Buddha is surrounded with purple and white lotus flowers. Smaller Buddhas line the walls.
But upstairs, a burly monk in a bright orange robe holds forth - for this is one of the main offices of a hard-line Buddhist organisation, the Bodu Bala Sena or Buddhist Power Force (BBS).
The peaceful precepts for which Buddhism is widely known barely figure in his words. Instead, the monk, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, talks of his Buddhism in terms of race. Most Buddhists here are ethnically Sinhalese, and Sinhalese make up three-quarters of the island's population.
"This country belongs to the Sinhalese, and it is the Sinhalese who built up its civilisation, culture and settlements. The white people created all the problems," says Gnanasara Thero angrily.
He says the country was destroyed by the British colonialists, and its current problems are also the work of what he calls "outsiders". By that he means Tamils and Muslims.
..............................

Could not help visualizing this from the past:

The small crowd in the suburb of Chennai is quiet with expectation. An image of the Ganapathy garlanded with assorted varieties of discarded chappals occupies a chair. Small time public speakers line the dais.
But in the centre a burly bearded old man in a pitch black shirt and dhothi holds forth - for this is one of the meetings organized by a hard-line political organisation, the DK .
The peaceful precepts for which Tamils are widely known barely figure in his words. Instead, the old man,the name unmentionable, talks of his political doctrine-which is an euphemism for hatred pure and burning- in terms of caste/race.
"This country belongs to the dravidians, and it is the dravidians who built up its civilisation, culture and settlements. The Aryan people created all the problems," says the old man angrily.
He says the country was destroyed by the aryan immigrants, and its current problems are also the work of what he calls "outsiders". By that he means brahmins.

Just a few words have been changed. How snugly the two passages match!! Hatred, however beautifully dressed and presented, shows its ugly face.

 

[sarang]

1. Every country has its own such groups, Kukluxklan, baadarmeinhof, iRA, NF, many religion based, some religion politics, and some socio economic. There are more christian and islamic religion based violent organizations than either Buddhism or hinduism based organizations.
2. Buddhism is the official national religion of srilanka, and the govt has officially announced that any activity by any group which undermines the state religion and followers will not be tolerated.
3. The argument, buddhism preaches ahimsa, and hence must suffer is like the argument, that brahmins must accept and submit to all abuses and intimidating acts against them by rationalists.
4. Buddhist sinhalese have no other place or country to go if they are overwhelmed by evangelical and proselytizing crowd with the tacit support of the west.
5. Kashmit, goa, and kerala are all pointers to what can happen when indigenous culture and population suffers cultural and religious infiltration.

 

[renuka]

I dont think any religion should get the blame for any decision made by its followers.

A monk might be a monk but that does not make him God..so expect anyone from common man to a sanyasi to still have attachments and preferences.

So to me its not the darker side of any religion....but rather the shades of grey of its followers.

BTW the Myanmar Buddhist conflict with the ethnic Rohinyas has left Malaysia in a difficult situation cos boats of thousands of Rohinyas have landed in Msia and Msia is looking after them on humanitarian grounds for the next 1 year cos the government of Myanmar is keeping silent and the Buddhist monks in Myanmar are protesting that they dont want the Rohinyas back in Myanmar.

 

[renuka]

BTW I have one question..why only some religions are allowed to be "violent" but other religions are expected to be a personification of Ahimsa?

I feel when a Hindu or Buddhist reacts its seen as such a crime but when other religions react with even more violence its accepted?

Why this double standards?

 

[prasad1]

I dont think any religion should get the blame for any decision made by its followers.

A monk might be a monk but that does not make him God..so expect anyone from common man to a sanyasi to still have attachments and preferences.

So to me its not the darker side of any religion....but rather the shades of grey of its followers.

BTW the Myanmar Buddhist conflict with the ethnic Rohinyas has left Malaysia in a difficult situation cos boats of thousands of Rohinyas have landed in Msia and Msia is looking after them on humanitarian grounds for the next 1 year cos the government of Myanmar is keeping silent and the Buddhist monks in Myanmar are protesting that they dont want the Rohinyas back in Myanmar.

I agree that the religion should not be blamed for the actions of its followers. But there is guilt by association.
Secondly if a zebra eats a lion it will be sensational, but a lion eating a zebra is not newsworthy. Similarly a peaceful organization turns violent, it is an anomaly.

In tolerance is increasing, it will lead to more violence. It does not provide a solution. Of course there will be winners who will profit from it, and there will be looser and they will pay with their life.

 

[sangom]

I think in today's world and its conditions, "tolerance" cannot be interpreted to mean "infinite tolerance" or "tolerance unlimited". Each country (there may be some exceptions, such as the Americas, where the true "native population" has been almost completely exterminated and those who live there now are predominantly the descendants of the invaders and subsequent immigrants) has a predominant social group which has historically built that country and their people have been living there for ages. Such groups must have their "say" in the affairs of their country and this right should not be taken away under some pretext or the other. If the ruling governments are unmindful of this I think the people are correct to express their anger.

That said, I also feel that the maoist movement is also very similar to the BBS; the moot point is whether that movement is helping those who were the original people of India