In the wake of future elections Buddhist Sri Lanka at a crossroads

Sri Lanka is a proud Buddhist country and it’s a well-known fact that the island even attracts foreigners who wish to get ordained here as novice monks and learn the rudiments of Gautama Buddha’s philosophy. 

Right now the country’s President Maithripala Sirisena is making elaborate arrangements to make the Tripitakaya (One of Buddhism’s main literary compilations) a World Heritage Document. For this purpose President Sirisena handed over a dossier containing Sri Lanka’s request in this regard to United Nation’s representative Hanna Singer, during a special ceremony held in Kandy recently.

• A three-decade civil war made the island a blood-stained battlefield
• We also read during these war days that there were Buddhist monks who derobed and joined the security forces

A blessing 

However critics pose the question whether Sri Lankans, led by their seizable Cabinet, among whom the majority are Buddhists, should make lifestyle changes to call themselves true Buddhists?

This is a country where Buddhist monks have been jailed for aggressive behaviour in public. There have been some occasions where members of the Buddhist clergy have opted to neglect the practices of monkhood and take up the role of lawmaker. Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera is a good example. Nowhere in the Buddhist teachings can be found an allocation having been made in the course of the day in a monk’s life to engage in politics. 

For the Sri Lankans it’s more about showing the world that they are ceremonial Buddhists. In the past the country has produced erudite scholars in this subject, but the knowledge some of them had was confined to books. The one percent practice has been absent most of the time and this has been pointed out by foreign Buddhist teachers who have visited the island. 

The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka specifically states that only a Sinhala Buddhist can become the head of state in this country. This condition is a blessing in a way because it forces the head of state of this nation to be a cultured and religious minded individual who has compassion towards everyone. But counting and arriving at a number of past Sri Lankan prime ministers and presidents who have lived according to the principles taught by Gautama Buddha might leave us struggling. This is because very few will qualify to be taken note of in this manner. 

A three-decade civil war made the island a blood-stained battlefield. Even monks in saffron robes weren’t spared by the ruthless tiger rebels. We also read during these war days that there were Buddhist monks who derobed and joined the security forces because they felt the need at that time was not spiritual progress but the liberation of the country from the clutches of the 
terrorist rebels.  

Right now we have the knowledge of who would be the presidential candidate from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He is no other than Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a staunch Buddhist who even has the blessings of the Buddhist order to be the First Citizen of the Country. In this context it must be mentioned when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Matale recently he was told by the Sanganayake of Kurunegala Ven. Rekawa Jinarathana Thera that he (Mahinda) should give his blessings to Gotabaya to be the next president of the country. 
But what many seem to conveniently overlook is that this presidential hopeful has some court cases against him. Gotabaya must clear his name with regard to these court cases; if not it would reflect badly on the country from an international perspective. 

Nowhere in the Buddhist teachings can be found an allocation having been made in the course of the day in a monk’s life to engage in politics

Gotabaya seems to have won the race for the presidential candidacy within the Pohottuwa Party. But there are names of others who are likely to surface as presidential hopefuls. One such name that’s mentioned in the political scene is of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Presently Jayasuriya was conferred with the title ‘Sasana Keerthi Sri Deshabhimani’ at a ceremony held at the Malwathu Temple.

According to those who conferred the title, they had taken into consideration Jayasuriya’s way of life, the service rendered towards the Buddhist order and the fact that he is a statesman who has held a clean track record before honouring him. 

UNHRC

Jayasuriya sometime back also came in for praise for the manner in which he handled the 52-day impasse where he did all he could to safeguard democracy in his capacity as the Speaker. 

Jayasuriya can give Gotabaya a good run at the contest for the presidency if he decides to be a candidate. 

We are a few months away from celebrating 10 years after defeating the tiger rebels; that memorable day is marked in the calender as May 18. But the cruel war has also put Sri Lanka in hot water because the new UNHRC resolutions give Sri Lanka two years to implement outstanding matters from the previous 2015 resolution (30/1) and also probe into alleged war crimes by government troops and tiger guerrillas through a hybrid court. Clearing all these issues is vital for a country like Sri Lanka which wishes to retain its position as a prominent Buddhist nation. 

This condition is a blessing in a way because it forces the head of state of this nation to be a cultured and religious minded individual who has compassion towards everyone

Whether we head forward in the right direction as a Buddhist nation that should promote peace for the benefit of the next generation or be armed for any future armed struggle will be largely influenced by who occupies the hot seat of the presidency in 2020.