09 December 2021
DID LORD BUDDHA
WRITE – BUDDHISM FOREMOST?
[“They
should declare that such practices are wrong and it is not written anywhere in
their religious doctrines and no Islamic preachers, Muslim politicians, and top
officials have said so. They should also make it known that even if it is
written in any religious books, it is wrong, and that is not the right
interpretation,” he added.
If
Muslims don’t make this declaration, such ghastly murders and lynching will
continue to take place, he added. “If such murders in the name a religion are
committed, they will not go to heaven, but to hell,” he added. ]Sri Lankan Minister of
Public Security, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, while condemning the brutal
killing of Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot, Pakistan – as per Ceylon Today report
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan.
This
Minister was very much part of the Government Forces that killed Tamil
combatants. This minister is a Buddhist. Article 9 of the Sri Lankan
constitution states :
[9. The Republic of Sri Lanka shall
give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the
State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions
the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).]
Was
the war against the LTTE by the Government that represents the State – as per
Buddha Sasana and if yes, where is it written specifically? Given that almost
all members of the LTTE were non-Buddhists – did the Government of Sri Lanka
ensure that the rights granted by Articles
10 and 14(1)(e) were satisfied?
Where
the law is unwritten, it is left to the highest ranking officer to decide as
per her/his intuition. The decision is then exercised as per discretionary
powers provided for by the law. In terms of Articles
10 and 14(1)(e) – a Buddhist officer does not have the moral authority to use
such powers. The officer needs to be advised by the highest ranking officer of
the respective religion to exercise such discretion.
When Ven Gnanasara Thero was pardoned by President Sirisena, the head
of the order that Ven Gnanasara Thero was part of ought to have been consulted. This
would reduce the risk of the power of a believer of the same order damaging the
inner unity of that order, followed by publicly visible separations.
When Mrs Bandaranaike introduced Buddhism
foremost in the 1972 Constitution, it seems to have been due to fear of
insurgency. The fear would have been automatic due to her husband being killed by
a Buddhist priest. Desire and Fear are Equal & Opposite forces. The 1971 JVP
uprising due to Marxist-Leninist ideology would have confirmed the separation
from Buddhism. It is highly likely that this fear strongly influenced the introduction
of article 9. It would not have been written by Lord Buddha himself.
Preferential votes are the democratic
version of the use of discretionary powers at the top. As per Wikipedia:
[Open list proportional representation,
sometimes known as "preferential voting" in Europe and
nations such as Sri Lanka, with preference votes used by
the voters to express preference to individual candidates on the party list]
This is like a conscience vote – individual soul to
individual soul. When our mind is natural this soul-power manifests. If the
consciously calculated vote is a clever vote – the preferential vote is a good
vote. In Jaffna district the SLFP candidate got this – confirming alliance of
the LTTE with the SLFP – including in facilitating Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa to
become President in 2005.
Here in NSW,
this popular vote in favour of Ms Gladys Berejiklian is recognised – due to overwhelming identity with the
lady as an individual. The ICAC inquiry seems to have promoted this.
In his recent interview with
CNBC, Raj Rajaratnam highlights this
Balance of Power. He accepted the Judicial system’s punishment but also declines
his ‘natural’ vote to such a system which confirms the pattern that
overregulated institutions do not make clever business. Watch CNBC's full interview
with Galleon Group's Raj Rajaratnam - YouTube
But he is now wiser about his own ability to prevent
such punishments. The indicator is in the following by Wikipedia:
[Rajaratnam
contributed $3.5 million to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a group
whose assets were frozen by the USA due to its alleged close connections to
the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) which
are proscribed as a terrorist organization in 32 countries. TRO's offices were
raided by the FBI in 2006 but the organization was never charged with any
wrongdoing.. The chief of the investigations unit of at the Sri Lankan central
bank found that Mr. Rajaratnam's donations were made in good faith. At the time
the contributions were made the TRO was not outlawed by the U.S. nor Sri Lankan
governments. The Sri Lankan justice ministry has acknowledged and thanked Mr.
Rajaratnam for the millions of dollars contributed to rehabilitating child
soldiers conscripted by the Tamil Tigers. ]
During the above mentioned interview Mr Raj Rajaratnam
confirms that his ‘intelligence’ was due to millions of dollars invested in
research. I appreciate that very much due to my own focus in research – where I
lack direct experience. In that research mode I go into the issue in virtual
mode – starting with the truth I have experienced. Gradually – I lose consciousness
of specific outcomes – which means I become the Common Truth. Then this informs
me and leads me. That is how I have remained untouched by the karma of the
LTTE. When approached for money I always declined. Instead, I offered my ‘intelligence’
in development work.
The way we earn the money may be just in our
environment. But that is only half the equation of Dharma. If we spend in a way
to hurt a genuine investor in Peace for example – then our earnings in terms of
status and/or money is diminished.
During
Tsunami Reconstruction work in East, I wrote the report for TRO because they
lacked the expertise. As per my intelligence - Mr Raj Rajaratnam lacked the
intuition that renders the discretionary powers in relation to the ethnic issue
in Sri Lanka. Feeling sorry does not render one the moral authority to donate
to such groups that are parts of our origin.
To judge Pakistanis – Minister Sarath Weerasekara needs to
escalate the issue to higher common authority or use natural powers as Sri
Lankan to share in the pain of fellow Sri Lankans. Towards this he needs to
free himself of the title ‘Rear Admiral’ – so he would connect to the natural
intelligence of Sri Lankans without portfolios – in this instance Defence
portfolio. That I feel is the ‘Middle Path’ in Buddhism - which is also the
Common Path in secularism.
Each
Nation combines natural religious values with secular values as per its on
needs. If Buddhism Foremost is needed by Sri Lankan Politicians – then Islam
Foremost would be needed by Muslim nations.
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