Why Am I A Buddhist?
By Parakrama
Around a century ago Buddhist journals in colonial Ceylon, dazzled by the glamour of Europeans
embracing Buddha Dhamma, gleefully published articles by some of them carrying such titles as
‘Why I am a Buddhist.’ Today, as an older Sinhala Buddhist, I look around with dismay at the
disturbing milieu in which we find ourselves and I ask myself, ‘Why am I a Buddhist?’ I often ask
myself this question, not because I doubt the Buddha Dhamma, but because I am deeply perturbed
about the unseemly twists and turns taken by Sinhala ‘exponents’ and ‘practitioners’ of Buddhism
in Sri Lanka today. This, dear reader, is a deliberately provocative article which, I hope, will make
Sinhala Buddhists think hard and long.
Memory takes me back about 25 years ago when well-meaning supporters honored the 80th birth
anniversary of a revered bhikkhu by ordaining 80 young boys as samaneras. They were all the sons
of poor village parents and all under ten years of age. The incessant sobbing of one of these boys,
which kept him up all night and the next morning, yet echoes sadly in my ears. This incident
symbolizes to me much that is wrong with the Sinhala Sangha. First and foremost, there seem to be
almost no ‘volunteers’ who have sought the yellow robe with understanding and a sense of
vocation. Most entrants to the Sangha have been ‘conscripted’ – young village boys pitchforked
into the Sangha by poor parents ridding themselves of one more mouth to feed. In the older and
more established Nikayas, scions of a few families have monopolized the position of Mahanayaka
and are determined to retain their grip on these lucrative fiefdoms. They are all village boys, poorly
educated, unprepared and often unwilling. This is the harsh truth that we must face and it is the root
cause of the rot in the Sinhala Sangha.
It is no surprise that these ‘conscripts,’ unwittingly deprived of their boyhood and youth, grow up
into hairy, unkempt undergraduates who, while pursuing studies irrelevant to the Dhamma, squat on
pavements and roofs and march yelling unseemly slogans and waiving raising fists. Other, grown
older and shrewder, have embarked on lucrative careers, some of which are listed below.
(1) Ayurvedic physicians and astrologers who ply their trade for money and perform no religious
activities whatsoever. This is an ancient and well-trodden path, now more commercialized than ever
and heavily advertised in the media.
(2) Paid employees of government institutions, mainly teachers, who personally pocket their wages.
Some are now competing for other administrative jobs as well.
(3) Squatters on government land, canal banks and other unsalubrious, slummy surroundings who
build rooms for rent, often for nefarious purposes. One recent such ‘temple’ had harbored a Tiger
terrorist tenant and had ammunition buried in its grounds.
(4) Renting space in temples for the parking of cars, taxies and lorries. A bomb-laden terrorist lorry
was recently found in such a ‘temple.’
(5) Conducting paid tuition classes for public examinations while failing to conduct Sunday schools
for children.
(6) Establishing front organizations (ostensibly religious) to siphon vast sums of money from
wealthy but gullible Japanese and Koreans who relish in photo-ops and hobnobbing with Sri
Lankan VIP’s which monks can easily arrange.
(7) Temple robbers who plunder relics, ancient artifacts and palm leaf books for sale to antique
dealers.
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Office bearers of trade unions, political and other non-religious organizations who control
considerable funds and wallow in related publicity.
(9) Monks who act as priests of Sai Baba, the south Indian ‘god man,’ and who prostitute their
temples and provide rich Sinhala matrons with a whitewash of ‘Buddhism’ for their primitive
idolatry. Recently a ‘pilgrimage’ to Sai Baba was being organized to observe the five Precepts on
Vesak at ‘His Lotus Feet!’ Need more be said of the ‘Buddhist’ matrons who pay such homage or
the ‘bhikkhus’ who pander to them?
(10) Sculptors, artists and songwriters who hold public exhibitions and launch their ‘artistic’ works
on the commercial market.
This sad list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive. Other examples abound.
We Sinhala Buddhists have to face up to the fact that most bhikkhus disgrace the Buddhist Sangha
and aware laymen turn a blind eye to their misdeeds. All too few bhikkhus observe the Vinaya or
study the Dhamma deeply or meditate to any effect. We all know that often sermons are by rote and
of extraordinarily poor quality. There is too little original thinking, commentary or interpretation by
discussion or in writing. The emphasis in most temples is on rituals and festivals aimed at raising
money for the construction of yet more buildings, all broadcast by the very loudest of loudspeakers.
These shenanigans involves the temples in an incessant hunt for patronage. There is a constant quest
for wealthy or socially /politically prominent supporters whose association with the temple will gain
it more glory and the supporter more ‘merit.’ There is a tragic disregard for the religious needs of
the community where the temple is located while prominent patrons are sought far and wide. The
contrast with the Christian churches which assiduously serve their respective parishes is sadly
obvious. Our temple management committees are just tame organizations for the greater glory of
their temple and are in no way orientated to serve the spiritual needs of the Buddhist community.
Yet another tragicomic feature is the Sinhala Sangha’s thirst for ‘honors.’ Every nook and cranny
boasts of a Mahanayaka or Anunayaka who revel in being photographed or telecast receiving his
insignia of office from some politician of dubious integrity and transient fame. Another phenomena
is that of the expatriate Sinhala monks who get themselves ‘anointed’ with due publicity as
Mahanayaka of some far off non-Buddhist country or other. Their vanity is tragicomic and
symbolic of the degradation of simple Sinhala Buddhist values. We Sinhala Buddhist almost always
gloss over the issue of caste which lies at the root of the degradation of the Sinhala Sangha. It is a
tragic farce that there is no organization in Sri Lanka as caste-ridden as the Sinhala Sangha. Every
single caste boasts of its own Nikaya or sub-Nikaya. Nobody of an ‘outside’ caste can ever
penetrate the hierarchy. They are often fobbed off with valueless high sounding titles carrying no
authority. A blind eye however, is readily turned on white Europeans who are welcomed with open
arms in every Nikaya. It is galling to see our ‘Mahanayakas’ lapping up the transient glory when
VIP’s call on them for ‘blessings’ on assuming office.
The tragic results of this proliferation of caste-ridden Nikayas is the absence of discipline or the
total unreadiness to exercise it over these errant bhikkhus by Nikayas that ordain them. The
newspapers appall us with accounts of ‘bhikkhus’ found guilty of assault, rape, murder, financial
racketeering and drunkenness. Not one of these malefactors has ever had the self-discipline to
disrobe himself until his name has been cleared. Many shamelessly go to jail yet wearing their
hallowed yellow robe. Tragically, no Sangha organization has ever exercised its inherent authority
to disrobe a single errant robe-wearer.
Politics has long been the bane of the Sinhala Sangha. They readily appear on political platforms
and other places where, under the guise of ‘saving Buddhism,’ they indulge in the most virulent
communalism. To most of them Buddhism comes a long, long way behind their Sinhalaness.
‘Bhikkhus’ vociferously endorse a variety of political parties – each claiming to safeguard the
Sinhala race better than their rivals. The Buddha’s exhortation to show loving kindness to all living
beings does not seem to extend to the non-Sinhala peoples of Sri Lanka – if one listens to our
‘activist bhikkhus.’
Today our Buddhist youth drift rudderless into the 21st century with no intelligent guidance from
the Sangha. We badly need a cohort of educated bhikkhus trained in modern thought who can
provide Buddhist guidance to today’s youth engulfed in the myriad temptations of modern life. This
is what we need – not larger, posher and louder temples. This is the real challenge the Sinhala
Sangha has to face. Let us not deceive ourselves by the high visibility of the Sunday schools with
their white clad boys and girls. They are the innocent victims of ill-prepared and unmotivated
teachers who parrot goody goody clichés and cram them for the unseemly competition of academic
exams in the Dhamma. We should remember that the insurgents of 1971 admitted under
interrogation that they had all gone to Sunday schools! This vivid proof of the abject failure of such
religious education never seems to have had any impact on the establishment which lumbers on
regardless.
One final grouse against our premier Buddhist organizations which have ossified into havens for
aged retirees. No young Buddhists have shown any interest in joining their fossilized ranks.
Decades ago there were active and effective organizations led by Anagarika Dharmapala, Baron
Jayatillala and G. P. Malalasekera in their vigorous youth. We need all the young Buddhist
intellects we can encourage to lead the community once again and wrestle the decedent Sangha
back to its sacred vocation. But are these organizations and their sadly limited Sangha committees
open enough? If they do not reform themselves to attract youth to their ranks, I foresee a rapid
dissolution of the Buddha Dhamma among the Sinhalese while at the same time ever larger and
richer temples flourish and loudspeakers blare dull sermons to sleepy old ladies.
In conclusion, let me try to answer my opening question –‘Why am I a Buddhist?’ It is because I am
convinced of the truth of the Buddha Dhamma and as a Sinhalese it keeps me in touch with my
roots and our ancestors who first embraced the Dhamma over 2300 years ago. My fervent hope is
that we will rid ourselves of the dross that adheres to its practice in Sri Lanka and that the pristine
Dhamma will lead our country for the millennia to come.
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