VESAK….

Our country has just celebrated Vesak, the day of the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha and the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. This year, because of the unfortunate bomb blasts and subsequent attacks on innocent people, celebrations were on a low key.

Although a Christian, living in a Sinhala Buddhist country, it was instilled in me from childhood that we must respect other religions and live in peace and harmony with everyone irrespective of who they were. We all looked forward to Vesak, were taken out to see the pandals which we looked forward to with great enthusiasm.

Later on, as I married a Buddhist, I was privileged to see Vesak celebrated in rural Sri Lanka and somehow I like the white Vesak lanterns put up by villagers in their homes most of all. It is sad that this year most of us were in the depths of depression and the deep wells of despair and stayed in our homes. I hope that all of us as one nation, one people;will recall the compassion, tolerance and mindfulness taught by the Buddha and try to emulate these at this time. It is a lack of spirituality which has resulted in the recent tragedies for our nation.