Buddhism knows no Popes: Lanka welcomes no Hitlers
Sirisena saddened by Asgiriya monk’s call for a dictator
There are no Popes in Buddhism and each monk is free -- whilst being a member of the Noble Order of Bhikkhus -- to find his own path to gain the ultimate. Provided, of course, he remains true to his upasampada vows and follows the Code of Conduct the Buddha laid down in the Vinaya Pitakaya for his disciples two thousand five hundred years ago.
As with this overall freedom for monks within the confines of the rules of discipline, so it is for the laity. For the lay, Buddhism knows no blasphemy. No burning at the stake for daring to question the Buddha’s theory of life. On the contrary, the Buddha exhorts all to question his teachings and then and only then, if convinced of its truth, to follow his doctrine. No gulps forced down the throat with hell fire at the end if one is not convinced. No sin attached for questioning. No barbequed corpse for the crime of entertaining even an iota of doubt.
In the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha makes this explicitly clear. He says: “Come, O Kalamas, do not accept anything on mere hearsay (i.e. thinking that thus have we heard it from a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition (i.e. thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of rumors (i.e. by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere supposition. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything by merely considering the appearances. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable (i.e. should be accepted). Do not accept anything thinking that the ascetic is respected by us (and therefore it is right to accept his word).
“But when you know for yourselves -- these things are immoral, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to ruin and sorrow – and then indeed do you reject them.
“When you know for yourselves -- these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness – then do you live and act accordingly.
“As the wise test gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it (on a piece of touchstone), so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard for me.”
So much for there being no popes in Buddhism who can speak for the entire Buddha Sasana. But do Lankans welcome the prospect of being governed under the jack boot of a local Hitler?
Thus it was indeed surprising that a Buddhist monk belonging to the Asgiriya Chapter should make a call in the midst of his senior brethren to state that Lanka needs a Hitler who with the aid of the military should usurp power from a democratically elected government still to run its course and, ruling with an iron fist with the power of arms, make the land a better place to live in. Thankfully he did not say that in order to dawn a new thousand year Lankan Reich, what he thought the final solution should be.
Informed of it, President stated he was indeed saddened by the call of Ven. Venduruwe Upali Thera, Anunayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter, who sought a return to an era when citizens were deprived of their basic human rights and any dissent was immediately crushed.
“We have restored the freedoms of the people, and media freedom. In fact, these freedoms are being abused and we are attacked without any fear of reprisals, unlike in the past.”
Perhaps this monk, too, should take a refresher course in the scriptures and find there embedded the spirit of freedom of thought and action that exists in the philosophy and teachings of the Buddha.
For his easy reference, here is a quote from Lord Zetland who wrote in his book The Legacy of India: “And it may come as a surprise to many to learn that in the Assemblies of the Buddhists in India two thousand years and more ago are to be found the rudiments of our own Parliamentary practice of the present day.”
The Vinaya Pitakaya cannot but be impressed by the democratic constitution of the Sangha, their holding of possessions in common, the exceptionally high moral standard of the Bhikkus, and the unsurpassed administrative abilities of the Buddha, who anticipated even the present Parliamentary system.
How sad indeed that a member of the Noble order should go against the democratic tradition of Gautama the Buddha’s philosophy and instead call for a military dictatorship to replace it. And, simultaneously, whilst he’s at it, instead of the many Mahanayakes of various Nikayas, would he also call for a single Buddhist Pope at the Sri Dalada Maligawe to lord over the entire Sasana and to wield an iron fist and bring discipline to the Order of monks?