Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

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23 December  2019

SINHALA BUDDHISM & THE PRESIDENT

Rathinam our gardener handed over 5 months’ Electricity bills to our coordinator. The last one for the temple showed a total of Rs. 3,409.53. I generally approve over the phone any amount below Rs. 500. My instructions were to handover the bills as soon as Rathinam collected them. I asked our coordinator to pay a month’s salary and inform Rathinam that his  services were no longer needed. To most – the decision may seem harsh. To some others it may seem entertaining – to the extent Rathinam showed off  his status through this position – often using abusive language to punish rather than discipline by including. Such inclusion becomes difficult because Rathinam is very attached this his children and grandchildren who the sources of his motivation to work at this age. Rathinam is over 70. Rathinam started arguing with me over the phone – saying that he did not use the Electricity and Water. That was his measure of right and wrong. I said I was terminating because he had continued to breach due processes. Last week when he received his wages he did not handover the bills. I had to remind our coordinator to ask him.

Due Processes like law – confirm invisible Energy of the person/group that forewent pleasures to develop structures that would preserve the Energies of the original power. Merging that Toddy Tapper community with wider society required commitment to higher pathways. Like English being the link-language as per Sri Lankan Constitution – I became that  link in Thunaivi through the secular rules and laws. My concerns with Electricity was that the youth tap into our system – which is not uncommon in that area and secondly the meter readers skip a few months and then charge us cumulatively at the marginal rate. The pain I underwent previously led me to set down some processes that were to be followed without question and with diligence. This required respect for my authority. But when they do not see me – they takeover authority and make out that it is their private business.

Many times I could not explain to Rathinam because due to his age he had difficulty coping with a different pathway. Those were more serious breaches but due to isolation (caste-based) Rathinam would not have understood the logic. Nor did he respect me as an elder even though he would ‘show’ it when he desired something from me. I received the ‘show’ as genuine  and hence maintained the connection. But Rathinam was not grateful. Without gratitude nor respect there was no real connection / pathway through which we could connect mind to mind. I reduced his workload but not his wages. Yesterday’s manifestation’s reasoning would fit Rathinam’s cumulative attitude with me. Had I treated it as an isolated ‘project’ I would have ended up demoting myself. I maintain records systematically and the extent to which I come down to do so – is the Energy that is stored in those processes. This then takes over leadership beyond a certain point. That point is when a wrong becomes a curse. Whenever I go down to grassroots level – I contribute to this Energy Saving. The value of Due Processes through which I expect connections to be maintained is that Energy. If Rathinam had cheated me in a big way by claiming ownership of the temple – which habit is in the genes of those folks – that would have become a curse for his whole family – who have been assisted by me in many ways. Hence when this happened – I was pushed to terminate his services. I now have to find another gardener but I felt good that I protected the Energy that protected that village. Ending that desire was ending his family’s demotion.

In the article Ceylon Today report  ‘President Gotabaya Rules Out Devolving Power To North And East’ Gagani Weerakoon highlights some breaches of the Due Processes laid down by Lord Buddha which are likely to promote Desire and therefore Dukkha confirming polarization when emotions are not raised to the intellectual level and/or level of truth where there is no difference between the two. Below are some of my responses:

1.     [While reiterating that he did not receive Tamil votes, and a majority of Muslim votes at the Presidential Election, he, however, said he will not promise to grant federalism or power devolution like any of his predecessors, to appease those in the North and the East.]

Devolution means that the Central Government deals only with  that which cannot be dealt with by the Provinces. In the above example – I am the Central and our coordinator is the local authority. North & East are different to other provinces including in terms of law and order – due also to religious and cultural laws including Thesawalamai and Muslim laws. But what the President fails to recognize is the Economic Advantage of Devolution to such provinces in recognition of their ability to manage through these local laws.

As per published figures, LTTE were, on average, about 8% of the official armed forces. If it took the Government 30 years to defeat the LTTE – one can work out that the LTTE was backed by the invisible power of ‘Ownership’ felt by the community and the Due Processes carrying that ownership Energy. In turn, the LTTE was a disciplined group due largely to Prabhakaran. Discipline is essential in any armed force to control is tendency to use emotional authority.

Whether the Sri Lankan Government acknowledges it or not – Tamils, Muslims and Christians were alienated by the Government through Sinhala Buddhist majority.

When we divide at visible outcome level – we shrink. When we share power at Policy level we carry the power exponentially – as in Soul Power. This is the value of true ownership which is exponential and therefore the value of the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.  

2.     [He said this when asked about his plans to garner votes in the North and the East, and his future plans to achieve reconciliation. President Rajapaksa said he could only promise security and economic development to the people in those areas.

"Security is vital. If there is terrorism and communal violence, there won't be peace or reconciliation. I will ensure development, so the gap between rich and poor will be reduced. I met Bishops from those areas, and they all spoke about vocational training opportunities and skills development, to end unemployment in those areas. I will promise those," he said.]

This year’s Easter Bombing happened in West and East. The fact that tourism was targeted confirms opposition to ‘foreigners’ as in Bali bombing. Through shared ownership we diffuse the urge to separate and therefore cure ourselves of the ‘separatism’ weakness. That way security is self-developed and natural forces protect and lead us.

3.     [President Rajapaksa insisted that they should not expect power devolution or federalism from him, as he will not promise those like any other politician.
"They have been promising those for so many decades to deceive voters. I will not promise those because it is not practically possible to keep those promises. I will not do anything against the wishes of the majority," he emphasised.]

Where the Will of minority is stronger than the wishes of majority – devolution happens naturally – as manifested  in 1977 and in 2015 when Tamil Political group became leading Opposition in National Parliament. Whenever Sinhala-Buddhist politicians use Buddhism to show majority power – they downgrade themselves. Being influenced  by wishes of majority effectively is a promise to rule by desire. Anyone who values Buddhism would recognise that:

1.     Dukkha - Suffering is Natural.

2.     The root cause of Suffering is Desire

3.     Cessation of Dukkha ends with cessation of Desire

4.     The pathway is one that would lead to Nirvana / No Desire.

The example of Dukkha identified by the President is:

["When I was the Defence Secretary, I remember a father came to see me. He brought sand collected from the site where his son got killed in an artillery shell attack, and wanted to do a DNA test from whatever human specimen found in that sand, to make sure that his child was actually killed. No matter what, as parents, it is difficult for a parent to digest that their child was killed, unless they see the dead body," he elaborated.]

What was the Root Cause of this father’s Dukkha ? To my mind it was his desire to know that his son should live.

The President did not identify with the solution – i.e. the Cessation of this father’s desire for his son to live. 

The reason why the President could not identify with the solution is in the following passage:

[Asked whether he would lead the election campaign, President Rajapaksa said; "Well, the faction I represent has the most popular and the best politician Mahinda Rajapaksa to lead the campaign. When it comes to setting out and executing the election mechanism, we have Basil Rajapaksa, who is undoubtedly the best. I will just support them, as those two can lead the campaign."]

A President who is himself strongly attached to his biological brothers to ‘win’ votes – is the parallel of the parent who wants continuity of his body through his son. The family is an autonomous unit and when one experiences completion through that unit – one takes only the Truth / Nirvana of that experience – into one’s work / social / Public life. When one extends those relationships – one confirms rebirth which confirms continuity of Desire and Dukkha.

Hence if the President’s family wins – we are assured of More Dukkha.

The end of body completes life only when one loses consciousness of that body. The father needed to know whether his son got killed – so he could perform the ceremonies/Due Processes  to raise the life-value of that son towards higher value in next birth. There are numerous  parents like the above father who do not know whether their children are living or have died. The need is to share in their pain as if it is that of the nation’s and therefore of the President’s. If the father who came to the President was a Tamil – then by including Tamils as part of his ‘family’  – the President would have ended his own desire and that of the Tamils who politicized ‘missing persons’. To deny knowledge is also politicising.

To my mind, the Right Pathway is Commonness until we see no beginning nor end. One who ‘sees’ the beginning needs to see the end to complete. At the age of 70 – a President who is strongly attached to his biological connections – can promise only division and therefore more seeing and not Nirvana. Sinhala-Buddhists who elected him would thus demote their branch of Buddhism to physical connections and continue to multiply their Dukkha.

Those who opposed this President – including Tamils and Muslims – would attain Nirvana by managing with the little they have and by exponential sharing through higher level.