RETURN TO SILENCE

ORDINARY LANKANS
BEING REFLECTIONS OF ORDINARY LANKANS
WALKING THE PATH OF PEACE …..

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  Peace in our time ….

 Re-engagement with self

 Re-engagement with society

 Return to silence

 Who are the ordinary lankans?

About the cover

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The mandala drawing on the cover page is offered as an aid to meditation.

There comes a time in the life of a nation when only silence can offer what
we really need.

PEACE IN OUR TIME …

Peace in our time is attainable. It requires however that you and I should WALK
THE PATH of peace as ordinary lankans. This means having faith in goodness

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and therefore cultivating the strength to fight and if necessary die for it. We
cannot have faith in goodness if we don’t know what goodness is. There may be
individuals in this country who can still discern wisdom and ignorance; but
collectively we have strayed from this basic ground, this path of sanity.

We have no moral consensus on basic issues like killing and cheating. When a
human being is killed (whether by a terrorist bullet or by a mindless bus driver)
we get carried away by the label of the victim and the label of the killers. We
don’t see the alienation, separation and hatred that runs underneath as forces
we have all served to bring up to their shocking dimensions today. Consequently
they are forces that each and every one of us must address at a fundamental
level i.e. at the level of our individual selves.

We value nothing. In other words we value all the wrong things. Therefore we
deserve nothing. As a society we have slid into a pre-civilizational stage. This
therefore is a time for true warriors and pioneers. They are ordinary people who
acknowledge that they deserve nothing; that they are complete idiots and fools
whose real education, about life and about hearts and minds, has hardly begun.
They will search for wisdom in a spirit of humility – not mere knowledge, and
wisdom will ultimately posses them. This journey that we undertake, step by
step and day after day is the PATH.

This is a commitment, and commitments are not convenient. On the path we

aspire to standards of morality that are absolute. We may slip from time to time
but our resolve will not diminish. We stay close to the straight and narrow until
we are one with the path. It will make us sacrifice the self for the nation instead
of sacrificing the nation for our little selves – as we have all been doing so far.

Terrorists from all walks of life – the political terrorists, the economic terrorists,
the moral cowards to those bus drivers who terrorise us on the roads are all
mocking us that we do not possess the moral strength to bring order, peace and
discipline into our lives. As far as the past was concerned they were right. The
future is different. The future belongs to all peace loving ordinary lankans who
have HAD ENOUGH. Having endured for this long there comes a point when we
shall resolve that we are not going to tolerate this cruelty and stupidity any
longer. This day must dawn for intelligent lankans sooner than later.

We are all surrounded by negative energy. You and I are very much a part of
this negative field. Our positive energies are trapped within a blaming and
compartmentalized culture. We live in little boxes and point our fingers at each
other. We need to realize that the bonds of separation that imprison us are mind
created. Lo and behold! They are a delusion. They don’t exist apart from our
imagination.

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Let us for a moment apply the wisdom of Gautama Buddha. There is no UNP.
There is no SLFP. There is no JVP. There is no LTTE. There is no Tamil Eelam.
There is no Sinhala Buddhist land. These are all imaginings of deluded minds lost
in a world of generalizations and concepts. There are only 19 million human
beings suffering on a tiny island on an insignificant planet spinning around an
insignificant sun in a timeless and boundless universe.

The Buddha taught us to see the dhamma – the essence, the only thing to which
we can attach the description reality. What do we have here? We have greed.
We have hatred. And this greed and hatred in their different forms and degrees
is due to our failure to see things as they are. This is nothing new. It has been
the issue facing human beings for a long, long time.

Why are we bound hand and foot, to these forces? What are the real sources of
negative energy?

The whole world – not just Sri Lanka, is trapped between two extremes. They
are the extremes of greed and hatred. In an address to the YMCA Colombo on
November 15, 19271 Mahatma Gandhi said:

To you young Ceylonese friends 2 I say: Don’t be dazzled by the splendour that comes to you
from the West. Do not be thrown off your feet by this passing show. The Enlightened One has
told you in never to be forgotten words that this little span of life is but a passing shadow, a
fleeting thing and if you realize the nothingness of all that appears before your eyes, the
nothingness of this material case that we see before us ever changing, then indeed there are
treasures for you up above, and there is peace for you down here, peace which passeth all
understanding and happiness to which we are utter strangers.

So be not lifted off your feet, do not be drawn away from the simplicity of your ancestors. A time
is coming when those who are in the mad rush today of multiplying their wants, vainly thinking
that they add to the real substance, real knowledge of the world, will retrace their steps and say:
‘What have we done?’ Civilisations have come and gone, and in spite of all our vaunted progress
I am tempted to ask again and again ‘To what purpose?’ Wallace, a contemporary of Darwin has
said the same thing. Fifty years of brilliant inventions and discoveries he has said, has not added
one inch to the moral height of mankind.

It is not simply interpersonal greed and interpersonal hatred we are dealing with.
Today we have structures of greed and egoistic materialism legitimated by the
capitalist system. And we have a structure of hatred legitimated by the criminal
process.
The pursuit of happiness has been misunderstood as an individual rather than a
collective goal. A few have amassed untold power and wealth. At the other end
of the spectrum, millions die every year of starvation disease and conflict. The
social unrest generated by such injustice is contained (within the box) by the

1
Gandhi and Sri Lanka, 1905-1947, Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha 2002, p 59,60.
2
The YMCA had among its members Buddhist as well as Christian youth.

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criminal process which deals with the manifestations and not causes of anti-
social behaviour.

When human problems fester and linger without solution there is revolution
which takes the form of egoistic idealism (also referred to as terrorism). This
force is also driven by ethnic, religious or class hatred.

What are the values that drive these systems? Fundamentally they are greed and
hatred. This does not mean that capitalism, the criminal process and idealism
cannot have compassion. There are indeed features within all three that promote
the collective good. But this happens when they promote collective as opposed
to sectarian goals. However all three systems – by definition – have their
preferred client base and ‘others’ who must be either controlled or eliminated for
the well being this client base.

Many of us take this old paradigm for granted. And so we continue to search for
solutions within this old box. We cannot see that the box itself has collapsed and
is crumbling around us. Although the physical structures of capitalism and the
legal systems that support it stand they are bereft of legitimacy and relevance
for the good of mankind. When this first level of support goes a lot of coercion is
needed to keep them alive. This is why so much of our collective resources are
spent on armaments. Moving from one paradigm to another is not easy.
However this movement has already begun. The shape of the new paradigm will
be found by intelligent people who bother to examine and understand their own
human condition. They will proclaim one day that relationships are as important
as rights and that compassion is as important as reason.

Let us join this grand movement. Let us confront the true enemies of mankind
with intelligence, experience them, analyse them and understand them. They are
present both within and without. We cannot do battle with an enemy we have
not identified and recognised. Every great warrior has fought this lone, hard
battle before taking the field. Once we do this as ordinary lankans we will be on
solid ground. We will then be able to deal with external situations with precision
and intelligence – with a stillness and calmness that can defy the devil himself.

In the short articles that follow we have attempted to provide clarity, precision
and courage. This is needed to cut through the deception and moral confusion
that surrounds us. Seeing through the deception we have created is imperative
to defend our common humanity in the face of the unprecedented threat levelled
against it by our own citizens (both formally and informally) who have digressed
into destructive and anti-social ways.

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 Re-engagement with self
1. The re-engagement …

THE PATH OR RE-ENGAGEMENT

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By Susil Sirivardana

One very common cry heard from all classes of citizens and folk among us is the
cry of frustration - in fact of great frustration. While it can be explored and
explained in a thousand ways, let us take a familiar route. That is the frustration
arising from an abiding sense of failure after fifty seven years of Independence.
The vision and mission and social relations of 1948 lie in pieces before our eyes.
Violence and blood and division and suspicion and hypocrisy and rhetoric is the
mindscape that we inhabit. We live - visionless, mission-less and teetering on the
edge of social relations we have managed to salvage against great odds. Yes,
this all too familiar scene surrounding us is depressing. Hopelessness and
helplessness are the dominant qualities. Then how do we survive and feel and
smile and love? How do we communicate with ourselves above all? By a quality
of the self which is not self. By some thing deep within, a spirituality, a light that
makes us see and feel something new, something different. And yes it can bring
us out of that pervasive frustration. That is what has been called here The Path.
Or Re-engagement. A Re-engagement with Self and Society.

As we contemplate that spirituality, that light, we see that it possesses a quality

of resistance, a quality of saying yes to the creative and no to the life-destroying,
which is within every human being. And to you and me caught up in this societal
crisis in our country this quality of resistance is what enables us to look at
ourselves in the mirror, to respect ourselves and those whom we care for. This
impulse speaks to us penetratively and insists that we have created something
no negative force can touch. We have created a spirituality within ourselves that
we may not be sufficiently aware of. The personhood. The personhood of myself.
But not the ego.

CHOICES

The route to The Path is circuitous, somewhat indirect. That is perhaps best
explained as a matter to do with choices. That is, there were a number of
possible choices to be exercised before reaching The Path which was the last.

The first of these was to embrace the frustration itself and attempt to make
something endurable out of it. How? By simply saying that there was nothing I
could do about the situation I found myself in. Therefore accept it. Bow to it.
Recognize its hopelessness and vicariously live off it. Don’t try to change it. That
will be fatal. For the one certainty is that it cannot be changed.

There was a second choice. In a way that seemed easier. That was to leave the
country. Yes emigrate. All around me, a minority of people were exercising that
option. Many have already gone. Others have already decided to go. But surely
there are many who cannot even consider it an option. There can be many

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reasons why it is not a realistic option for many. It is after that choice was
rejected that one came to the third and last.

That was the path of re-engaging with self and society. That was in fact the path
that many were being pushed in to take today. As we tried to capture in our
opening prelude, there is something particularly compelling about this choice.

The real challenge here is the question how? How can one engage with self and
society? Can we recapture some lessons from those who have experienced it?

RE-ENGAGING

The process of re-engaging is really a process of searching. It is therefore a form

of searching or re-searching for oneself and for one’s relationship with society in
a new key.

This conscious search along the route of inner experiences brings us to the
realization that all such experience is radiated by something called values. As we
investigate this still further, we come to the startling revelation that today we are
trying to live without values. Or something other than values have superseded
them. We have certain norms like money and power but they are totally
insufficient for my purposes and for the purposes of others like myself. Money
and power cannot contain and nourish my inner self and my spirituality. That
requires something which is moral and of the stuff of idealism. Whatever it is it
has to be abiding and enduring and above vanity and doubt and the self itself. It
is closely linked to humanness and humanity. What we call modern society
seems to have short-changed itself by bartering away attributes like values for
more material and ego-boosting attachments.

My search also takes me to a new engagement with myself. It takes me deeper

and deeper into parts of myself I have not traveled before. I rediscover aspects
of my being and body which make me more sensitive, make me see myself and
the world in a more holistic and interconnected way, make me see myself as a
part of nature, makes me aware of the potential for creativity lying within myself
and within society.

Another important engagement is with my work. I begin to examine very

carefully my whole relationship with my work. Am I happy with it? What me
makes me happy with some of it and what makes me unhappy with other parts
of it? The fact that I feel tired and worn out with aspects of my work is indicative
of something important which I didn’t take notice of all this time. Doesn’t this
happen when work is uncreative or mechanistic or imitative? I realize more and
more the need for work to enrich and inspire and satisfy my inner self. In those

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instances work is not really work. It is a part of my life which I look forward to
and don’t despise as I used to do when my understanding was incomplete.

I also realize that there are many pitfalls in my engagement with society. They
have to do with dehumanization. Here are so many attributes of today’s
globalized society which are harmful to the lives of children and women and
men. A major source of this malaise is commercialization and the advertising
industry. Commercialization and advertising is fundamentally about making
selling a compulsion and has nothing to do with adding value to the human spirit
or quality of feeling or life-relationships. There is an ongoing process of
desensitization and reductionism which numbs people’s sensitivity and makes
them less prone to feeling experiences spiritually. This reduces our human
capacities and narrows our vision. Alienation within families, between parents
and children, is a marked phenomenon in both village and town in our society.
We are also a society very prone to violence and domination. We cannot conduct
and sustain equal person to person relationships. We want them to be vertical
and dominating. As for violence, there is violence in our speech, our treatment of
ourselves, between gender and in our human and social relationships.

It was Gandhi who said that we must become the life we want to be. We too
have come to a turning point in our day to day lives. It has an alternative to offer
which is a path of hope and enrichment.

We have tried to give ourselves something of a perspective .We called it The

Path or the process of Re-engagement with Self and Society. Many have begun
to travel on it. It is something we should focus on.

2. Affirming Life …

ARE WE ALL MURDERERS THEN?

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Let us look at this issue on first principles, as simply as possible and as human
beings in five simple steps.

Step one - KILLING IS WRONG

The pre-meditated killing of a human being is wrong.

When I say wrong I mean that it is a negative and unskilful act.

The reference to skill is this. When we are alive in the sense that our heart and
mind is switched on – present and positive, we can be skilful. This is also being
awake and in touch with reality. Such a person is in a sound state of mental
health.

When we fall short of this as we generally do in degrees, we think, speak and act
unskilfully.

The opposite of being present and positive is being absent and negative. This is
being asleep and out of touch with reality. Such a person is mentally unsound.

So the pre-meditated killing of a human being is an unskilful act. A man who is

at least reasonably awake would neither kill nor encourage it.

This is because he fully appreciates his inherent dignity and worth as a human
being – not merely as an intellectual proposition but as a living reality. He knows
with every breath and every beat of his heart that he shares the same air and
the same basic energy with all other human beings. He does not feel separation
– only a sense of unity. Such a person knows that by harming others we also
harm ourselves. Conversely by helping others we also help ourselves. By so
taking care of our minds we enhance our sensitivity of heart and clarity of
thought – the hallmarks of a true human being. A human society is a living
and dynamic organism. It cannot harm or eliminate a part of it without
damaging itself in the process.

In considering standards relating to taking life, honesty and sexual misconduct

there is no room for compromise. The more we compromise the less human and
more animal we become. In the words of a great UN Secretary General:

“You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood
without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He
who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.”

[Dag Hammarskjold]

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If it is wrong for an individual to kill how can it be right for the State to kill. The
State we know is all of us and ultimately we are going to hire another man to
kill. Most of us don’t like to do it ourselves so we contract it out to the hangman.
The only difference is that we pay the hangman at the end of the month.

Elaborate rituals like trials etc don’t make a difference. A premeditated killing is a
killing. Don’t get fooled by labels like ‘punishment’ or ‘death penalty.’ Take the
label off and take a hard look. We are ultimately going to kill a defenceless
human being.

Step two – THOSE WHO KILL ARE MENTALLY UNSOUND

This is self evident. This applies not only to individuals but also aggregates like
States and Societies which kill in response to a killing by an individual. By joining
the ranks of the killer we are also going to partake of the same mental attitude
of alienation and separation.

Those who kill are labouring with an unresolved issue. This may relate to a
traumatic incident or a series of such incidents which they experienced after
birth. A traumatic incident that an infant, child, teenager or adult cannot make
sense of has a dual impact; a loss of self esteem and a loss of trust in others.

All forms of anti-social behaviour from insider dealing and market manipulation
to petty theft is rooted in a mind separated from the rest of society. In the case
of murderers the degree of alienation and suffering is obviously more.

As adults we can relate to something like infidelity of a spouse. This is why the
criminal law mitigates a killing by an enraged spouse who sees his/her mate
engaged in an act of adulterous intercourse. Of course our responses may take
any point between deep negativism and deep positivism. Essentially we can
choose not to understand or understand. Understanding is obviously better. But
because it challenges us to let go of our prejudice and hatred we prefer to stick
to them and take solace in self serving thoughts and self – pity.

The lack of maturity in human relationships should not surprise people living in
unstable societies. But they are frequently surprised because they engage in self
deception and try to make believe that things like crimes are abnormal. They
don’t see themselves as part of an abnormal society. This is well supported by a
sensationalist and blaming media culture.

Step three – DEATH IS FINAL

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Death is final no matter what you do or don’t do to the killer. Revenge can make
us feel good if we are also mentally unsound or if we feel inferior and want to
show the killer ‘who is Boss’. In a world dominated by ideas of winning and
losing we find it difficult to face reality, put the past behind us and move on.

Step four – THOSE LIVING MUST MOVE ON

We cannot live in the past. We must face present facts and deal with them. If we
have a sound state of mind we can do something about a person with a lesser
state of mind. We have more power than him. So we need not act on prejudice,
hatred, ignorance or fear. We must understand the source of his problem and
there is no better way to do this than by simply listening to him and talking to
him. It may take a long time but at least we are doing our best as human beings
– not admitting our inability and defeat.

Good communication is the first step towards problem solving. Unless

we address our minds to this issue all our efforts are non-starters and a
waste of time and energy. Short of killing and other negative acts
rooted in aversion we must be open to any method by which the killer
can be set on the road to psychological recovery. This is not rewarding
the killer. Simply being present and doing what is necessary.

This I sincerely believe is the way forward. We cannot afford to make any more
compromises and certainly we cannot afford to undermine the value of a human
life by our collective and deliberate actions. British criminal justice has divided
our nation and made us judge and punish the uneducated, the deprived, and the
mentally unsound. If we don’t take care of them who will?

Our own massive crimes of neglect and exploitation as an educated middle class
who were the sole beneficiaries of British reforms and the reforms after 1977 has
brought this island to this state. Let us admit at least now that we are all guilty
of a long list of crimes of acts and omissions – not one miserable scapegoat that
the police has got hold of.

Step five – PERSONAL CONVICTIONS MATTER

Let us honour the dead by affirming life – not just the individual but the principle
that all life is sacred. Ultimately the best reason for opposing the taking of life –
by organized entities like the LTTE or by the Judiciary or State is this.

Our personal convictions and our faith in what is right, good and true cannot be
thrown away at the altar of expediency of the forces of coercion and deceit at
the top. If I cannot bring myself to kill a fellow human being, if I cannot squeeze

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his neck and watch him die, I cannot in all honesty encourage another to do it or
stand by and watch. We must bring our thoughts, words and actions in to line
with what we believe and have faith in irrespective of who we are and where we
are. We can no longer afford to separate private from public morality because
they are inter-dependent aspects of our common morality. Only then can we as
men and women of honour assert our freedom and work towards unity and
peace in this island.

Are we all murderers then? Are we all sick in our minds? Let the answer be a
resounding NO.

There are two categories in our society – the himsaka (those who harm
themselves and others) and ahimsaka (those who protect themselves
and others). This society now needs strong protectors who can take
care of the weak in mind and guide them towards true adulthood and
maturity. And they need not wear ethnic, religious, judicial or other
hats. We need liberation – not domination.

CAN INTERNATIONAL LAW SAVE LIVES?

The latest international measure proposed to deal with the increasing violence
surrounding the people of this country was presented by the UN Special
Rapporteur on Extra – Judicial Executions Philip Alston in December 2005 in the
following words:

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“This is a potentially very important initiative” said Alston. “A truly independent international
inquiry holds out the prospect of resolving some of the horrendous events of recent weeks and
months and bringing the country back from the abyss”.

We do not doubt the sincerity of such initiatives based on an abiding faith in

international standards and methods. But we will be failing in our duty as citizens
if we do not point out that this is too little, too late.

Nor does it go far enough in turning the light towards the international
community and their role here. The question still remains if the international
community – apart from fire fighting and providing relief in times of distress has
really clarified and defined its own role to play a pro active hand in this
situation. The proposals of Alston show that they continue to be blind to their
own weaknesses, assume that they can play a positive role and that all the
behavioural changes must come from the Government and LTTE.

To couch your words in UN jargon is the lot of the UN diplomat. We as citizens of

this country are not so bound from speaking in plain language and placing our
cards on the table.

Regardless of who has killed, and who is killed, a human life is a human life. It
has intrinsic value. This is the theory and this theory has no place in this country
today. We all know this. We also know that murder has been institutionalized as
a weapon and as a considered response by the very organizations (both state
and non-state) who now want SLMM to play the role of a better policeman.

We need to face the bitter truth that there is a complete absence of moral
leadership in this country. Mr. Alston states that he met ‘people from all
communities who reject the path of violence and demand higher standards from
those that claim to represent them.’ He is correct in qualifying the word
‘represent’ with ‘claim’ because there is only a claim today but no representation.

As far as I am concerned (and I dare say there are likeminded others) – not only
do I reject violence but I also reject all those who have consistently displayed
their moral impotence by either adopting violence or compromising with violence
to resolve disputes. These impotent men and women do not represent me in one
important respect, i.e. morally. They will only continue to do so with brute force,
nothing more. Their days in these positions are now numbered, in terms of years
may be, but numbered.

Mr. Alston ‘has no doubt that with the requisite political will and the appropriate
international support the current cycle of killings and violence can be ended.’

Given the pathetic performance of the political leaders and the international
community since December 2001 we have grave doubts about the capacity and

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moral courage of these two constituencies to stand up for what is right and to
stand up for the common man in this country. Their record speaks for itself. We
do not wish to deceive ourselves any more.

We have no further need of false courage that comes from being armed with
destructive weapons or a false morality that comes from being armed with high
sounding international human rights instruments. What we need today is true
courage derived from a perfected discipline of not having harmed your fellow
men and therefore not having any reason to fear them. This is the time for such
people to come forward in defence of our common morality and humanity.

The solutions proffered by the UN Special Rapporteur do not address the root of
the problem. Better investigations and monitoring mechanisms are simply part of
the negative paradigm which seek to identify, blame and punish offending
parties. They have their place but the present situation is too precarious to seek
solace from these dead horses.

For us in civil society who seek to deal with the heart of the matter it is sufficient
to know that one sri lankan has killed another sri lankan. Only we and we alone
know the pain and suffering we have undergone in this ong running conflict. And
only we will have the capacity to see our neighbour as our brother, talk to him
and understand the causes for this mutual alienation. We sri lankans must work
on the positive, spiritual and psycho-social side. Till then we will not transcend
our animal selves.

Well meaning as they are, the UN and other internationals will seek to play the
game as they know it and fail to educate us on lessons only we can learn as sri
lankans with broad minds and big hearts. For this we need to move away from
the way the present impotent leadership has defined the problem and re-define
it as human beings on our own terms. This is a human problem with racial
implications. Not a racial problem with human implications.

The international community is hopelessly in league with killers – both on the

government and LTTE side. Their hands are tied. Ours are not. We are the
sovereign people of this country who will ultimately decide our common destiny.

For this we cannot play the game on terms defined by the British and their
successors – the kalu suddas and radalaya’s who ruled us. The time has come to
throw off the shameful shackles of our semi-colonial and semi-feudal state. It is
time to break the famous unspoken and unwritten compact between Brownrigg
and Ehelepola that henceforth exploitation of the poor man in this country shall
be carried on jointly by the white man and his local supporters .

What is the first step on this journey? The Buddha said once:

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Let none find fault with others:
Let none see the omissions and commissions of others.
But let one see one’s own acts,
done and undone

[Dhammapada 50]

Having taken this step we must then come to terms with our shadow, our dark
side. That part of us we are in conflict with. It may be the LTTE it may be
something else. Ultimately it is our own negative emotions we are battling with.
The path to power over ourselves was outlined with great clarity by Sun Tszu in
Art of War a very long time ago.

He said:

The methods of the peaceful warrior are five – love, consciousness, silence, vigilance and
power. Relaxation and acceptance give rise to love, love and presence give rise to
consciousness, consciousness gives rise to silence, silence gives rise to vigilance. Love,
consciousness, silence and vigilance give rise to power.

John Paul Lederach – who wrote Moral Imagination, said that we must have the
capacity to imagine ourselves in a web of relationships that include our
enemies. Such an imagination, he said, must emerge from and speak to the
hard realities of human affairs.

Within this transformed and transformative imagination there is no problem, no

human rights violations, no atrocities, no heroes and no villains. It is a just a web
of relationships that must be patched up between individual human beings. As
Mother Theresa once said:

Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person.

Such a dialogue can take place at different levels in a human society. The
dialogue that goes on at the political level can also ascend to this level. But only
if there is honesty in that great turn inward referred to above and a continuous
commitment to stay that lonely course. I say lonely not in the sense of isolating
yourself from others but in isolating yourself from the distractions of a deceitful
and seductive world.

The peaceful warrior aligns his or her power with nature by dying to his petty
self or ego. This power will then run its course naturally without laborious plans
and schemes – flowing spontaneously towards fulfilment of a grand universal law
and design within which it peacefully plays its part.

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 3. Grasping the truth … the satyagrahi in you

BREACHING THE CONSENSUS OF COWARDICE

For us Sri Lankans this is the age of moral despair. Might is right and dishonesty
pays. Our experience – that great teacher, has confirmed this in our minds. Our
leaders also confirm this belief. Moral clarity and the courage of conviction has
not been a weakness for them.

We hunger for moral leadership, for true heroism and courage. At times of
darkness they light up the darkness even for a brief magical moment, giving us a
sign of hope that we must not succumb. We must not succumb to the code of
silence and the consensus of cowardice which threatens to put us to sleep and
make us slaves to the powers that be – whether these are political or economic
structures of human exploitation and whether these operate in the north, south,
east or west.

Today we quote from the past, from a work of art that deals with the superiority
of moral courage over physical courage and the art of the exponent of
truthfulness – the satyagrahi

The author is DC Vijayawardena. The book is Revolt in the Temple published in

1953. The extracts are culled from a chapter which deals with what the author
calls Barren Virtues of our times. He has listed three of them; physical courage,
apathetic contentment and material charity. We quote from that part which deals
with physical courage.

It is one thing to hold on, even at great cost, to what we honestly love and reasonably believe in.
But there is no “virtue” in conforming to expected standards to do what we want to do. What we
usually mean by fidelity is holding on to someone we have ceased to love, a religion we have
outgrown, a political principle we have never reasoned about at all, and our country – right or
wrong. We have got to learn a new fidelity; unfaithfulness to what was once right and has
become wrong, fidelity to ourselves as we are today and may be tomorrow.

Virtue must be sought for its own sake, quite apart from its results. What is good, the “things
meet and fit” can be known by reason, the wise man being guided by “the God within,” that is,
by his participation in the universal reason. There is a “natural law” which man can know and can
obey, and conformity to this law is the highest good. Obedience this law of Nature would
normally bring with it health and happiness. But if it does, happiness lies in conformity to the law,
not in the fruits of that conformity. And if it fails to bring these goods, it is possible that a good
man can be happy even on the rack.

“We have never understood,” says A. R. Wylie, in Our Pernicious Virtues, “why physical courage
should be so valued and rewarded in our modern life. It is as common to the human race as sex
impulse. Even in war physical courage is being out- moded.

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“When men roamed the jungles and wild beasts ravaged the forests, physical courage was a
utilitarian quality without which men could not survive. There are no sabre toothed tigers on our
streets today; and the actual calls upon the individual’s physical courage are so rare that the
average man goes through life without knowing whether he is brave or not.

“This is not to underestimate or disparage a quality that has been useful to man to conquer the
savage world. But that conquest has been made. Now we have to go on to the much more
difficult conquest of ourselves. And we need other weapons – intellectual and moral heroism.”

Moral courage is not merely a virtue; it is the virtue. Without it there are no other virtues. All
other virtues do not become virtues unless it takes moral courage to exercise them. “I have
never met,” said General Sir William Slim, former Commander in Chief, Allied Land Forces in
South-East Asia, “a man with moral courage who would not, when it was really necessary, face
bodily danger. Moral courage is a higher and rarer virtue than physical courage.”

Napoleon once remarked – and he certainly knew what he was talking about: “The only
conquests which are permanent and leave no regrets, are our conquests over ourselves.”

It is still true that he who overcomes himself is greater than he who takes a city. Moral values are
the product of will and intelligence, which enables us to submit to ourselves to discipline. Of
course man is fiercely inclined to satisfy his appetites. But he is a slave if he yields to those
passions. He becomes free only when his mind, and not an animal instinct, dominates his course.
The curse of our deification of physical force is that a display of it, in the individual or a nation,
can disguise a total bankruptcy in the essential virtues.

If we had any sense of what really mattered, we should regard the soldier as a self- confessed
failure and a martial nation as a nation of failures. For both are shirking the real business of life
which is to live and make life possible. Nazi Germany led by Hitler, deified the fighter not because
she was a nation of heroes, but because she was a nation of potential suicides, broken under
moral and emotional pressure, who knew no way out save through destruction.

From the earliest times, Indian ideals have been essentially pacifistic. European poets have
glorified war; European theologians have found justifications for religious persecution and
nationalistic aggression. This has not been so in India. Indian philosophers and Indian poets have
almost all been anti-militarists.

As an alternative to meeting physical force with physical force, which means strife, war and
bloody revolution, the philosophy of non – violence is a growing force in the modern world. It
may be accounted a growing force because, despite the fact that the majority of people still
believes in meeting violence with violence, the pacifist movement nevertheless makes headway,
particularly among the young intelligentsia. Mahatma Gandhi’s demonstration of the power of
Ahimsa, non – violence, during the Civil Disobedience Campaign in India in 1929, had an
enormous influence, far beyond India. Gandhiji believed that India could only be liberated, and
mankind in general saved from destruction, through non – violence. He regarded it as the central
teaching of religion, and thereby raised it from a political tactic to a religion.

THE TRUTHFUL ART OF THE SATYAGRAHI

Non – violence is not to be confused with passivity; it is, as Gandhiji emphasized, an active force;
a spiritual force pitted against materialist forces. It is a weapon as Gandhiji has said, not for the
weak, as passive resistance may be, but for the strongest and bravest; “If blood be shed let it be
our blood. Cultivate the quiet courage of dying without killing. For man lives freely only by his

19
readiness to die, if need be at the hands of his brother, never by killing him … Love does not
burn others, it burns itself, suffering joyfully even unto death.”

The tactics of non – violence are simply non – co-operation, civil disobedience, boycott, and in
industry Ahimsa stops short at non co-operation. Gandhiji believed that a complete social
revolution could be carried out non – violently by utilising all the tactics available in Ahimsa.

Violence and non – violence were for Gandhiji states of mind, and the practice of Ahimsa
demanded not merely sacrifice, but the discipline and self-control of a Satyagraha, spiritual force.
In Gandhiji’s own words, “A satyagrahi has faith that the silent and undemonstrative action of
truth and love produces far more permanent and abiding results than speeches and other showy
performances. There is no such thing as real defeat in Satyagraha … But fearlessness is
absolutely necessary, the abandonment of all fear of bodily injury, of disease or death, or the
loss of possessions or family, or of reputation.”

This famous doctrine, the gospel of renunciation of physical force, had its birth in the East, its
spiritual home. In turbulent times when life is insecure, injustice rife, when tyranny and violence
rule the mundane scene, there is for the virtuous man no refuge save in Satyagraha. When the
race is to the swift and the battle to the wicked and strong, the weaker and the virtuous must go
to the wall. In such times this gospel offers a peace within when there is none without.

Over outward things, so runs the satyagrahi thought, we have, it is evident, no power at all, over
the material elements or seasons, over chance or change, over decay and death. They are too
strong for us, and there is no logic in their proceedings. Nature is irrational: the just suffer no
less than the unjust, the young die as well as the old. Nature too is unmoral, and has for
goodness no more respect than the earthquake for its victims.

But man, man is rational, and his mind is an independent kingdom, over which material things,
over which Nature herself, for all her brutal strength, has no sovereignty. From its impregnable
fortress the Satyagrahi may look down upon, and defy, all her embattled powers. What matter
her atrocities? What matter any miseries the wicked may inflict upon the good. Withdraw into the
citadel of the self, and you can disdain these Satanic forces. Your contempt for them disarms
them. You are their overlord and master. ‘My mind to me a kingdom is,’ where I am the
unchallengeable ruler.

The virtuous man has thus supreme control over his own actions. Things beyond his power are
no concern of his, and towards them he maintains an attitude of calm indifference. ‘Give me’ says
Epictetus, ‘what you please, and I will turn it into a good.’ Bring me illness, poverty, suffering,
condemnation to death – all this shall be turned to profit.’ If the condition of your own heart be
sound, and if – here is the hard matter – you care not whether you are well or ill, in prison or on
the rack, whether your friends and children suffer and die, your country perishes, whether you
yourself live or die – if you can view all such things as unconcernedly as you observe the flight of
a bird or the falling of a leaf, you may, indeed, claim divinity.

POSTSCRIPT

As a nation which has already committed moral suicide we are hardly in a

position to judge the sincere satyagrahi for infringing the Vinaya Code of a
Buddhist monk. Today, the State and its component institutions that were
established for the common good are more fiction than reality; more shadow

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than substance. We are now reduced to a collection of human beings who must
re-establish our collective morality to re-build a new civilisation upon the
smouldering ruins of sinhalese, tamil and muslim culture which lie destroyed,
from within and without. The cancer which destroyed our collective culture or
morality is the alienation of man from man with the complete replacement of our
human identity with a racial identity. ‘Our rights’ were exaggerated and ‘their
rights’ were diluted. We could not, and still do not see that our rights and their
rights are inter-dependent and not separate. Geography stands against us
because this, after all, is one small island.

The satyagrahi owes allegiance to this truth. This is a truth cuts through more
than the racial barriers we have erected. It also cuts through our moral confusion
– our failure to call a spade a spade. If the State is serious about making this
country safe for all human beings (a right that precedes all other rights) it must
do more than refrain from killing. It must work positively to promote the right to
life. It must discourage killing and refuse to confer legitimacy to and deal with
those who continue to kill. We are willing to forgive past crimes, to reconcile and
let live. But we are not prepared to barter away our birthright to a life free from
the menace of political killings and abductions, at the instance of any power,
local or foreign. To be open is one thing; to be blind quite another. The safety of
all human beings on this island, whether they are in the east, south, north or
west is a paramount consideration for those entrusted with public power.
Neglecting it is an abdication of a sacred duty to themselves and others.

We are not concerned with signatures on pieces of paper. When signed by those
who lack moral legitimacy they are worthless anyway. True commitment to
human safety is more important. Without it we will fail to begin at the beginning
and embark on another process without a humane foundation. In no time we will
be back to square one. We appeal to all politicians to stop playing childish games
and to grow up. In the game of LIFE there are no winners and losers. Either we
all win or we all lose.

4. The ego within …

WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION?

Standing up for your religion and race does not go against secularism and
tolerance provided that this is done with a clear understanding of the true
function of religion and race in a human society.

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The true function of religion is to civilize and humanize the human being by
providing an ethical framework or code of values for peaceful living. Every
human being has a unique code of life based on his or her own interpretation of
a particular set of teachings. Thus the usual question “what is your religion?” is
wrongly put. The true question must be “what is your code of life and from what
specific teachings have you derived guidance?” Ordinary conversations however
generally don’t penetrate the label.

Albert Anderson pointed out recently that:

Religions are but one way in which spirituality is manifested in human life. It is as open to
corruption and distortion as other forms of personal existence … Contemporary global existence
requires a vision of spirituality that embraces not only Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam,
Buddhism, Hinduism, and dozens of other religions, but it must also include atheists, agnostics,
and humanists.

The true function of race or a group of people who perceive a common identity
amongst themselves is to nurture, foster and preserve this spiritual heritage.
Race must serve religion or spirituality – not the other way around. Both
spirituality and race in this relationship of inter – dependence must serve the
human being and human needs.

Reaching a correct understanding on this point requires an honest process of

individual truth seeking. Such a person must embark upon and stay on this path
of understanding without pre-conceptions and dogmatic beliefs using his or her
preferred framework instrumentally and not substituting it for true
understanding. We can only see things as they are through direct experience
uncluttered by explanations given by a teacher. Our experience may confirm the
teachings but they are not the same. The former is the real thing – the latter
only a description of it.

Above all we must learn to let go of our views and opinions and not become too
attached to them. This is the secret of not dwelling on anything longer than is
actually required, and being always present, open and vigilant. The middle path
of the true seeker is a path of ego reduction – not ego inflation.

Once a Christian brother asked Abba Peomen, “How should I behave in my

desert cell?” Abba Peomen replied:

Wherever you live, live like a stranger and do not expect your words to have any
influence, then you will be at peace.

Only the truth that is sought in a spirit of complete openness will liberate. Every
other ‘form’ of truth will keep us tied to the bonds of the ego. You cannot find
something if you believe it is already in your hand. The bonds of the ego are all
the same whether we label them as ‘sinhala’ or “tamil” ego’s or buddhist, hindu,

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christian or islamic ego’s. The human ego has mastered the art of using them all
to inflate itself.

The truth lies beyond the ego and our insecure habit of claiming monopoly of the
truth as members of a particular group. Having prattled about the ego for long
enough this is an appropriate point to follow the admonition of Nyanatiloka
Mahathera (following Socrates of a different era) to ‘define your terms’ when you
speak about them. Let us therefore attempt a definition of this troublesome
phenomenon which to me appears to be the root of all evil and suffering in every
part of this island. We are an egoistic society and this cancer has now pervaded
every sphere of our life including the religious sphere.

A definition of ego –

A solidified view of self as a stable and continuous entity; mind created; it has no basis in reality.
Its function is to separate the head from heart, mind from matter, the self from others and the
ideal from actual and assert a pseudo independence – which in fact is alienation. For example,
we feel unhappy when we are sick because we separate our ideal ‘healthy’ self from the actual
sick self. The ego by setting up 2 persons instead of one gives birth to a perpetual conflict within
the individual and prevents him or her from seeing, understanding and accepting things as they
are. Incidental to this separation is the need to claim ownership of things that are ‘external’ to
this non-existent ego. As part of this acquisitive habit we also need to define a relationship
between the ego and things artificially separated from it. From this is born passion, aggression
and indifference; all of them extreme reactions and deviations from things as they are. The
human habit of ‘naming’ everything from ourselves our thoughts, feelings and emotions, the
groups to which we belong all serve to strengthen this tendency towards selfishness as opposed
to selflessness. The ego is born out of insecurity – a primordial fear which is a direct result of
separating ourselves from other living beings and the rest of the universe of which we are a part
and with which we are inextricably linked. The distinction between needs and wants also
furnishes a basis for identifying the ego. The latter are dictated by it. This means that the ego is
simply a troublesome addition to human existence. It is really not necessary. All superfluous
thoughts, words and actions indicate that the ego is at work. Cultivating inner silence is the best
method of seeing the ego clearly and diminishing its effect on our lives.

The Buddha taught a doctrine of egolessness and selflessness. But our legislators
by dividing our spiritual heritage into four separate parts and giving one of them
precedence over the other three have conferred a solidity and ego on each one
of them. This mistake is in turn based on a British formula found in clause 16 of
the Proclamation of 1818. Its repetition in the Constitution of 1972 goes directly
counter to and undermines the doctrine of egolessness or anatta in the dharma.
There is no question that the Buddha Sasana must be protected in this island.
Following the advice of the Buddha this must be done from within. It is the inner
strength of the Sasana that should grow by the monkhood and laiety resolving to
integrate wisdom and compassion into their everyday lives. No laws or any other
form of external protection can do this for them.

As Krishnamurti pointed out very clearly:

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Where there is division there is conflict – this is the law

This Indian Philosopher once had a fascinating conversation with Walpola Rahula
Mahathera – the renowned scholar monk of Sri Lanka.

WR: But there is hardly any difference between your teaching and the Buddha’s, it is
just that you say the same thing in a way that is fascinating for Man today, and for
tomorrow’s Man. And now I would like to know what you think about all this.

K: May I ask sir, with due respect, why you compare?

WR: This is because when I read your books as a Buddhist scholar, as one who has
studied Buddhist texts, I always see that it is the same thing.

K: Yes sir, but if I may ask, what is the necessity of comparing?

WR: There is no necessity.

Human craving or desire is based on this fundamental mistake of separation and

the notions of ownership and possession. In fact the whole of our current
capitalist technological civilisation is founded on such a misunderstanding of
reality.

All this has tremendous implications for a vibrant and functional democracy in
which there can be free and respectful communication between individuals and
groups leading to the establishment of concord, amity and consensus on the
fundamental principles on which our co-existence as islanders must be founded.
According to Philip Eden:

The possibilities of progress are dim if people are not permitted to think freely and to express
ideas freely. Anyone who is sincerely seeking the truth has no attachment to any particular idea
or concept, if on reflection or as a result of new evidence a previously held point of view appears
to be incorrect the wise man discards it, no matter how inviolate or sacred society may regard
this particular concept to be. It is only the man who is afraid or uncertain who clings to ideas and
vilifies others who disagree with him. Such conduct is once again a sure sign of the ego at work.

If a comfortable belief which gave the ego a sense of security is questioned, it reacts predictably
by engendering anger and abuse in its subject. A person so conditioned by his ego consciousness
is no longer interested in establishing what the truth is. Indeed his own prejudices are
themselves described as ‘truth’ and all who question them are dismissed as heathens or heretics,
hence the sad history of intolerance and cruelty which has so often manifested itself under the
banner of established religious systems. When the ego feels threatened there are no bounds to
the self – deception which it will employ to regain its position of false security.

In this country we now have two sets of politicians – those in the north and
those in the south. Those in the south do not seem to tire of words even when
they have lost all meaning. Conversely our brothers in the north appear to have
no faith in words, but only in actions. At times these actions become destructive
to us all. They all share a strange faith in the efficacy of a preferred leader to

24
perform miracles when the people themselves are not prepared to lift a finger.
Dominated on the one hand by words and on the other by actions – both of
which lack meaning and congruence, the people are trapped.

Words and actions which lack meaning can only be understood and overcome if
they are both traced to their root – insecurity, separation of self and others, self
– deception and the master mechanism that directs all superfluous and harmful
human operations – the ego. The key to regaining the dignity of our citizenship,
in our lifetime is understanding how we have become an egoistic society, a
mirror image of our egoistic political, economic, social and cultural leaders. This
has progressively narrowed our vision and trapped our hearts and minds in a
cycle of unnecessary human suffering.

If what we practice is the test, our collective religion is egoism. There are many
paths that lead us away from it. Due to our human failing however whichever
path we choose the ego will remain with us right up to the end of our search.
Trungpa Rinpoche said that the ego must be worn out like the sole of your shoe
– journeying from samsara to liberation.

This is what unites us. When we cling hard to the self we suffer. When we let go
we become one with ourselves and our true nature. Clinging to yourself and your
other acquisitions like religion and race is as futile as trying to hold on to your
breath. Having breathed in you must also breathe out. Do not hold on to things
that do not belong to you. You belong in this world. You are a part of it just as
much as every other living being.

If you deny this truth to others, if you deny them love and respect, you also
deny these things to yourself. Have you observed in your close relationships how
the worst in one person brings out the worst in the other? Conversely our best
qualities also bring out the best in others. As human beings we cannot truly
suffer or rejoice alone. If we pretend to do this it is false suffering, and false
happiness.

This is why human happiness is a matter of global concern. In technical

language it is said that ‘States cannot violate human rights under the cloak of
national sovereignty.’ The human being is sovereign over this planet. The nation
state and every other form of social organization is the creation of the sovereign
human being. Through a gradual process by which deception replaced truth the
sovereign is now the subject of his creations which have acquired an ego of their
own.

As Bhikkhu Nanananda (Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought ) pointed

out,

25
Like the legendary resurrected tiger which devoured the magician who restored it to life out of its
skeletal bones, the concepts and linguistic conventions overwhelm the worldling who evolved
them.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 was an attempt to break out
of this vicious cycle. Predictably however the process of solidification and ego
formation set in. Proponents of human rights today seek to conquer with
authority (rather than understanding) and they show the same narrow
mindedness, intolerance and aggression which their ‘opponents’ the ‘human
rights violators’ show.

There is far too much emphasis on the narrow and legalistic aspect of human
rights and not enough attention given to human relationships. In life rights can
never be divorced from the essentially human process of communication and
interaction on which they are based and on which they depend. This was clearly
recognized in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 which
declared:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Human values of wisdom and compassion which sustain brotherhood go beyond

words, concepts and legalistic notions of rights and duties. They belong to the
realm of spirituality. This is simply the human heart and mind. The Universal
Declaration recognizes spirituality in this sense as the bedrock on which a
civilized social order and true human rights must be built. There is no conflict
between spirituality and rights if we interpret them holistically. Spirituality, in its
broadest form includes rights. This is because it is not merely concerned with
mind but with life as well. Likewise, rights, in their broadest form includes
spirituality. This is because it is not merely concerned with life but also with
mind.

It is through engaging with other human beings and working with relationships –
by seeking to understand the other side of the divides we have erected that we
understand the workings of the ego. Without such an in depth connection with
and knowledge of the human being rights are incomplete.

5. Uniting with what is …

BEING ONE WITH THE DHARMA

The Buddha did not proclaim Buddhism. He taught the dharma. (The noble triple gem
unites in the dharma.) Neither did he select a chosen race. His compassion extended
to all living beings. He liberated himself and liberated others. He claimed no monopoly
of the truth but invited intelligent human beings to find the truth within. Indeed he

26
 advised his followers to accept the truth irrespective of the form in which it is
couched. Thus a disciple of the Buddha will accept the substance of the teachings in
other religions which embody universal truths like respect, holism, inclusion, inter-
dependence and unity. Labels do not matter to him as he transcends the forms and
symbols which bind men who are not fully liberated. In essence the true disciple
affirms a simple truth – the truth of common humanity – no credentials or frills
attached.

May be someone has already said to you to take it one day at a time. My
suggestion is along the same lines. Take it one moment at a time. Try to live
fully in the present moment and to be positive – about yourself, others and
events which keep happening in that moment. Our real home is peace of mind
and no one can deprive us of that except our own thoughts and feelings. So this
is yoga for the mind. There is a neat definition of meditation that I came across
recently:

Meditation involves a deep listening - with kindness and sensitivity, to your body,
heart and mind, and then asks us to extend this careful attention to the world
around us.

Sensations, thoughts and feelings – whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutral

have their own dynamic of rise and fall. We just need to be aware of them. Let
them come and let them go. Note how we cling – either with delight or aversion
to what we label as pleasant and painful. This is the action of the ego and it
makes us suffer because we are trying to hold on to things that are fleeting,
transient and impermanent. We suffer because we go against this cosmic law.

We are all tiny atoms within this mighty universe – every one of us, with no
inherent significance except our sharing of this universal characteristic of
appearing and disappearing. Isn’t this what happens to everything? Human
beings like every thing else are born and they die from moment to moment.
Once you turn the light of awareness inwards and outwards you see this
characteristic of impermanence both within and all around you. So connecting
with our true nature is the first step to connecting with other people and the
universe itself. It is this free connection with ourselves – unobstructed by the
maya of ego - that we call love. Nothing more – it’s that simple. So to connect
you need to be silent – and open. Accept what comes into your life and let go of
what goes out.

To be present and positive in this way is to be Sath – Chitta – Nandan in every

sense of that meaningful and beautiful word. In Buddhism we call it nirvana. This
is the bliss experienced by a united heart and mind (Chitta) which is aligned
according to reality or truth. Experience this reality or the moment fully and
completely – without attachment and with equanimity. Our hopes and fears are
all outside this reality and take us away from life which is a succession of ever
new and fresh phenomena.

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Each community in this island has many miles to go. It is worth preparing for this
great journey, from suffering to happiness, from darkness to light and from
separation to unity. This is a state of unity that emanates naturally from people
who understand the magic of ‘sathchithananthan.’ Unity is ultimately a personal
and collective state of well being.

TRUE RELIGION: A SEARCH FOR UNITY

‘Politics’ is the noble art of governance. ‘Religion’ is the search of human beings
for unity, both internal and external. Adherents of individual religious traditions
may like to define their search in egoistic terms: nevertheless the search is for a
supreme law, to find it, live in harmony with it and find the highest happiness.

We see the phenomenon in our day of both politics and religion becoming the
flashpoints for division, conflict, discord and suffering. This is the opposite of
what people look for. When we see religion becoming the source of conflict and
confrontation we tend to explain it away by conceptualising and packaging the
whole problem. We talk of ‘politics’ or ‘religion’ with distaste and bitterness as if
the pollutant lay with these activities so that any human being who engages with
it gets polluted. We don’t look beneath the surface at the individual human
beings and their frailty and weaknesses that produce conflict at the macro level.

There is disunity at the individual level when there is discrepancy

between words and actions. Amongst our leaders we have gifted
speakers but almost none who have the courage for self – reflection
and the ability to bring their thoughts, words and deeds into one
wholesome unity. Almost all of them judge and criticize others but
none will admit their own mistakes. As a result they direct the blame
outwards even when their actions have taken them to prison. Those
who take responsibility for self can also take responsibility for others.
Those who cannot take the responsibility for self will also disown
responsibility for others. The germ is disconnection and separation and
the cure – connection and unity. Only forgiveness and love – for self
and others can promote healing and reconciliation. Even if we cannot
cure others we, and only we, can cure ourselves.

All religious conceptions of wholesome or holistic conduct are based on

this truth of non-separation. In protecting oneself you protect others.
In protecting others you protect yourself. A follower of truth is
protected by the truth. The notion of race does not defile any of these
concepts.

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The light of awareness must be directed inwards and it must be
directed continuously to penetrate the falsity we have cloaked
ourselves with. Only then will we realize that we are no different from
our fellow human beings.

Our unity and brotherhood as human beings must be realized, experienced and
reach the core of our beings for us to shed our petty differences. So long as the
equality of man remains a legal concept imported from abroad we will continue
to treat the shadows as real and indulge in childish games of separation and win
and lose. In this sense therefore true religiousness underscores our actual
transition from childhood to maturity. Both our politics and religion is in an
immature and childish state because they are both used for self –
confirmation and self – enhancement rather than for letting go of self.
Mahathir Mohamed once said of Islamism in Malaysia:
‘Malay Muslims are very rational … The majority of Muslims in Malaysia know
what Islam is all about and cannot easily be led by people who pretend to be
Islamic.

Lets us work towards a day when we can say the same about the four great
religions and their adherents in Sri Lanka. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and
Christianity have no independent existence apart from what their adherents
think, speak and do. We will simply end by quoting two great thinkers on the
magnitude and dimensions of true religion and how they transcend human
division, pettiness and narrowness in their grand sweep.

Rabindranath Tagore: the Religion of Man

The process of evolution, which after ages has reached man, must be realized in
its unity with him; though in him it assumes a new value and proceeds to a
different path. It is a continuous process that finds its meaning in Man; and we
must acknowledge that the evolution which Science talks of is that of man’s
universe. The leather binding and title page are parts of the book itself; and this
world that we perceive through our senses and mind and life’s experience is
profoundly one with ourselves.

The divine principle of unity has ever been that of an inner inter-relationship.
This is revealed in some of its earliest stages in the evolution of multi-cellular life
on this planet. The most perfect inward expression has been attained by man in
his own body. But what is most important of all is the fact that man has also
attained its realization in a more subtle body outside his physical system. He
misses himself when isolated; he finds his own larger and truer self in his wide
human relationship. His multi-cellular body is born and it dies; his multi-personal
humanity is immortal. In this ideal of unity he realizes the eternal in his life and
the boundless in his love. The unity becomes not a mere subjective idea, but an

29
energizing truth. Whatever name may be given to it, and whatever form it
symbolizes, the consciousness of this unity is spiritual, and our effort to be true
to it is our religion. It ever awaits to be revealed in our history in a more and
more perfect illumination.

Jalaludin Rumi

“Moses, what to you seems wrong is right to him. One man’s poison is another
man’s honey. Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence – what do these matter to
me? I am above all that. Ways of worship can not be put in ranks as better or
worse. It is all praise and it is all right. It is the worshipper who is glorified by
worship – not I. I don’t listen to the words. I look inside at the humility. Only
that low and open emptiness is real. Forget language – I want burning, burning!
Be friends with this fire. Burn up your grand ideas and special words!”

 Re-engagement with society

5. Applying the dharma …

RETURN TO LIFE IN TRINCOMALEE: FROM

COMPETITION TO COOPERATION

A few more words on the tragi-comedy in Trincomalee because lofty sentiment

must be translated into practical guidance for action.

Once you divide yourselves as Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims and take this
division as truth you have no option but to play the game to a finish. Games of
separation and win and lose belong to the playground. They have nothing to do
with real life which is about real communication, understanding and empathy.
You only listen to those you can trust. You only trust people you respect. And
you only truly respect those you love.

Most of us are Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims by the accident of birth. Hence we
follow different approaches to the same truth. There is only one truth – there
cannot be two. The search is real and the goal is real. This is what unites us. The
sincerely spiritual man can find profound peace whether he is standing before a

30
buddha statue, a kovil, a mosque or church. A holy environment is born out of
humility, self-denial and love. Not arrogance, self – affirmation and hate.

First and foremost, the Buddhists have a proud history on this land and they
must set an example to others in conducting their business with decorum and
propriety. The Buddha himself pointed this out in the Maha Mangala Sutta:

‘… Anakulaca kammanta …anavajjani kammani – etam mangala muttamam.’

[Propriety and decorum in one’s activities … to be blameless in one’s conduct …

these rank among the highest success generators.] Translation by Dhammavihari
Thera. Propriety and decorum, translated into the case in point means that
religious actions must be carried out in a religious spirit – with concord, amity,
respect and sensitivity to the environment.

Secondly, the law of the land must be obeyed. Once the law is violated it is no
excuse to point the finger at others. There is nothing more un-Buddhistic than to
point the finger at others to cover one’s own wrongdoing.

‘Let none find fault with others;

Let none see the commissions and omissions of others;
But let one see one’s own acts, done and undone’

[Dhammapada 50]

Life is not complicated. We have only made it so by hardening our egos by

following a destructive path laid by two dictators – one sinhala and one tamil –
one dead and one alive. True religion is to soften our ego, to start
communicating and learn the true art of human co-existence. It is to get out of
the child mode.

Human conflict is based on delusion – the failure of communication; failure to

see things as they are and the resultant re-creation of the playground mentality
of us v. them. Till we learn to distinguish the game from life we will not be able
to get on with the serious business of life itself.

This serious business of life begins when the human being elects to work for true
liberation. To do this he must find out who he is and then relate to his whole
environment – not merely the tamil, sinhala or muslim environment. He or she
must train in conscious living to tread the path of freedom and happiness. This
work is slow and it requires enormous patience. But as Nyanaponika Mahathera
assured us:

The resolute turning away from disastrous paths, the turning that might save the world in its
present crisis, must necessarily be a turning inward, into the recesses of man’s own mind. Only

31
through a change within will there be a change without. Even if it is sometimes slow in following,
it will never fail to arrive.

Unless you fight the internal battle with the right implements, that is, with
kindness and sensitivity, you will never discover how utterly devoid of substance
the external battles are. To know who we are and to be what we are as
inhabitants of this island we must seek to understand its history – not merely in
terms of who lived where and who defeated whom but what ideas and what kind
of culture inspired its leaders and people.

Too much energy has been wasted in either asserting or rejecting a traditional
homeland theory. Every community and every human being on this planet
deserves to live in freedom and dignity. There is room for all of us. What
separates us from this freedom and dignity is our own ignorance and our own
insecure and parochial thinking.

Our history shows us how the sinhalese, tamils and muslims when left to
themselves learnt to live in relative harmony by using their faith as a source of
inner strength and not as a point of external conflict. All this changed when this
shared ethic of unity and cooperation was replaced in the 19 th century with the
ethic of separation and competition.

Today it is the whole world that has come under the ethic of competition and
this is what is influencing our actions more than our identity as Buddhists, Hindus
or Muslims. We are all under the spell of this destructive ethic.

In order to break this spell we must understand that there is a powerful thing
called human relationships in addition to human rights. Rights will neither
take root nor grow on a soil that is barren, dry and emotionless. That rich warm
and moist earth we must re-create is human and humane relationships.

Rights without relationships are empty. They are not worth the paper they are
written on. Relationships are the key to happiness if they are handled with
maturity. In fact they will make ‘rights’ a residuary mechanism for immature
people to get advice from professionals as to how they should lead their life.

Let us all learn and understand our great religious traditions and use them for
our common good. Let us stop being neurotic fools and avoid the temptation of
using or perceiving religious symbols as instruments of racial hegemony.

CELEBRATING VESAK WITHOUT FREEDOM:

REGAINING THE FREEDOM OF SELFLESSNESS

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Part 1: Rise and fall of the buddhist nation

Our priority
This is vesak 2005. We (when I say we I refer to all of us who call this island our
home) have now been subject to external domination for almost 500 years. It is
therefore time we woke up and got some facts straight.

We cannot in any way belittle the achievements of our pre - independence

leaders in winning the separation of our country from the British Empire. But
today we have lost whatever freedom we gained on February 4, 1948. Regaining
our lost freedom is our priority now, because without it none of the ‘solutions’
that our political, economic and legal leaders are talking about will be of much
avail. Peace must be based on true freedom – not enslavement.

Mindfulness and awareness

The buddhist nation which historically took the leadership in safeguarding the
freedom and independence of this land is dead. The Buddhist notion of life and
death must be explained here. According to the Buddhist way of life to be
mindful and aware is to be alive. To be mindless and unaware is equated with
the death of our essential human nature. With the death of that essential human
nature we start leading a sub – human existence. This leads in the next life to
our acquiring a form of life that corresponds to our sub – human mental state.
Whilst there are buddhist individuals and groups of individuals who are alive in
this sense they are yet to influence and awaken the majority who remain asleep
and dead.

This ‘death’ was the logical culmination of a long historical process. When a
majority of individuals within a race or nation become unaware of their true
nature and of their surroundings in a global or environmental sense they must
naturally forfeit their freedom and dignity to other races and nations who exploit
this weakness for their own gain.

The rise and fall of the buddhist nation

This account is essentially the same as the history of other races which follow
the universal truth of anicca or impermanence and disappear from the earth,
except to note that ancient Lanka was one kingdom that did not prosper by
robbing its neighbours.

In the beginning we had the pioneers, endowed with the courage given by
wisdom and compassion who laid the foundations of a sustainable civilisation.
They understood the dhamma, distinguished concept from reality and
established the social structures to ensure sound and holistic governance of man

33
by man. But structures as we know cannot last forever and they are only as
good as the human beings who man them. In the beginning substance
dominates form and the people are free. Internal unity ensures the integrity and
independence of the nation. But then the inevitable process of decay sets in. The
substance is eroded by a blind and ritualistic adherence to form, institutional
tyranny sets in and forms ends up dominating and obscuring the substance.
Thus Buddha became God and saviour; monks became priests, the pragmatic
path to enlightenment became dogmatic religion and the ariya sangha became a
land owning class – something like a minor Vatican wielding power, privilege and
wealth.

The break up of internal unity is both facilitated and brought to fruition by

external interference. Such people can be enslaved into mechanical obedience to
forms and symbols they do not truly comprehend. This was the condition and
plight of the sinhala buddhist race when they confronted the might of the British
Empire in the early 19th century.

The last stand

The kandyan sinhalese had withstood successive waves of western imperialism
to maintain their way of life and institutions for another 200 years but the end
was surely near. It came in fact, not when their chiefs signed up to the Kandyan
Convention on March 2, 1815 but after their own war of independence was
brutally suppressed by the British invader in 1818. In Keppetipola, the sinhala
buddhist race found a fitting leader for their last stand – not only in battle but
also in defeat.

Courage and dignity in the face of death is a rare trait and Keppetipola displayed
both at his execution on November 25, 1818 at Bogambara. This was also a
reflection of his selflessness, which was either instinctive or based upon his own
realization of the truth of anatta or egolessness. The realization of egolessness is
lauded in meditative traditions as the highest skill on the middle path or ariya
magga.

Adopting an orphaned race

After the war of 1818 the British deprived this country of every leader who had
any love for the people. Over two millennia had taken their toll on those social
structures established by Arahant Mahinda and the buddhist kings. The buddhist
nation was out of step with a rapidly changing world which had prioritised
material development over spiritual development. Thus they forfeited their right
to organize their life in accordance with their ancient values to their new imperial
master.

Who decided the structural framework the inhabitants of Ceylon would live under
for the next 200 years? The adoptive parents of the orphaned and leaderless

34
populace were two well meaning Britishers, the Commissioners Coolebrooke and
Cameron. To them the legitimacy of Western values the conquest ushered in was
never in question and the worthlessness of the society they were replacing was
equally certain. In the words of Cameron in 1832,

The peculiar circumstances of Ceylon, both physical and moral, seem to point it out to the British
government as the fittest spot in our Eastern Dominions in which to plant the germ of European
civilisation …

The certified sinhala Buddhist race today are well equipped with the trappings of
both western and eastern civilisation. Yet we have integrated the values of
neither and are truly confused about our real identity. Clad in our western
clothes and other ridiculous costumes ill-suited to our climate we celebrate
vesak, not as the children of Arahant Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa but as
the children of Colebrooke and Cameron.

As the children of Colebrooke and Cameron we have built a society which

upholds the death penalty and has no respect for fellow human beings on
motorways; which gives a free rein to a shamelessly exploitative economy; which
objectifies and commodifies the woman in giant hoardings; which deceives the
people with false advertisements for political and monetary gain and which
promotes liquor towards the destruction of families and society.

The great turn inward

Every vesak day that is celebrated in this polluted society is a disgrace to that
race to whom the ariya magga was the perpetual refuge in its quest for
liberation. Outward shows cannot hide our shame. We must now turn inward
with the firm determination that we will master ourselves before we seek to
master others. It is only in fulfilling our self worth and in fulfilling the dhamma of
the Great Sage that we will also fulfil our duty as the protectors of all living
beings within the four corners of this island.

Part 2: Buddhist conception of justice and

governance

Conceptions of justice
Some of us are still crying over the colonial experience and its ‘injustice.’ This is
because of an alien conception of justice that the British taught us and the
international human rights community continues to teach us. The artificiality and
idealism inherent in this notion of justice – that individuals and states must
behave according to ‘norms’ agreed to by the international community must
necessarily fail.

35
The Buddhist conception of ‘justice’ is not an arbitrary and inflexible norm
imposed from above but a norm derived from a rigorous analysis of the way the
world actually works. This analysis is found in that part of the dhamma which
explains the law of dependent origination or the paticca samuppada. We are told
in short that negative causes and conditions produce negative consequences
whilst positive causes and conditions produce positive consequences. The
essential point here is to view the present in its authenticity as the genuine
product of a set of causes and conditions that led to it.

Thus if we subject our colonial experience to a buddhist analysis the scope of

inquiry would extend from an abstract judgement imposed on the foreigner to
all the causes both local and external as well as the structural, social and inter-
personal factors that led to it. As a buddhist cannot take sides and indeed must
view things from ‘no man’s land’ nothing is excluded from his or her
investigation. The distinction to be observed here is between the narrow morality
of right and wrong and the broader morality of causes and consequences.

The ultimate causes of all actions however are found within the recesses of the
mind. It is there that the enemy must be sought, identified and conquered – not
with force, but through understanding. The genius of the Buddha was to point
towards this dormant potential for self – transformation within every human
being and to lay down a clear path for its attainment.

Holistic governance
This noble path or ariya magga was comprehended wisely by our ancient fore-
fathers who laid the foundations of the sinhala buddhist civilisation on this island.
Governance thus encompassed both the spiritual and material welfare of the
people. The norms, forms, customs and ceremonies of the sinhalese sub-served
these purposes. According to Chogyam Trungpa ( Training the Mind and
Cultivating Loving Kindness):

The government that is supposed to run a country is a wide administration rather than a narrow
administration: it takes care of the psychology of the country, the economics, politics and
domestic situations.

In modern parlance this is the holistic view of governance. The capitalist

democracy now being promoted all over the world is a narrower concept. It is
prioritised in such a way that economics and politics take the front seat whilst
domestic situations and the psychology of the people take a back seat. This
imbalance is a failure of moderation and balance. Greed, competition and
insecurity has now taken over the realms of politics and economics. This is the
same whether we look at the leader of the so called ‘free’ world, the United
States, or a struggling, down trodden third world ‘democracy’. When greed takes
over, man is enslaved, no longer the master of his destiny of final liberation.

36
Means and ends
At the heart of this confusion is the simple question of means and ends. When
empire building (whether at international or local level) is disguised as ‘progress’
man exists for the perpetuation of institutionalised power (democracy) and
wealth (capitalism). These giants no longer exist for him. They are no longer his
servants. He is their servant. As Bhikkhu Nanananda (Concept and Reality in
Early Buddhist Thought) pointed out,

Like the legendary resurrected tiger which devoured the magician who restored it to life out of its
skeletal bones, the concepts and linguistic conventions overwhelm the worldling who evolved
them.

‘Human rights’ was the collective agreement of mankind to rescue the human
being from this subordinate position. But so long as we stop short of challenging
exploitation (under whatever name it takes place) it will only play a maintenance
role in society. It will keep the victim alive for a few more rounds of torture
without effecting any alteration to the status quo. To go beyond maintenance to
development, human rights must transcend the narrow morality or rights and
wrongs and take the broader perspective of causes and consequences. It must
be pro-human and anti-structural, not the other way round.

Until all of us who espouse human rights (under whatever shade or hue) resolve
to do this no community on this island will enjoy the dignity of citizenship. We
will continue to remain tenants, paying the rent for our miserable existence to
our exploiters – political, economic, professional and spiritual – all of whom are
busy trying to win our allegiance and sell their self-serving version of the ‘good
life.’ Whilst they seek to deceive us we are deceived most of all by our self –
deception. To overcome this we need to move from concept to reality. The first
concept we must unravel is this notion of ‘you’ and ‘me.’

As noted earlier the sinhala buddhist race that safeguarded this land, its people
and its morality for over two millennia is now dead. Those of us who bear this
mantle today must now re-discover the secret of their success. That secret was
self-knowledge and self-awareness. As Zen Master Dogen said with great clarity:

To study the self is to k now the self

To know the self is to forget the self
To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things ….

Full awareness of self also ensured awareness of others. That which was known
was understood, loved and respected freely without external compulsion. The
concepts they received, including the dhamma itself were learnt and understood
with intelligence and skilfully adapted to human welfare.

37
KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM AND POLICY – A LESSON
FROM POLONNARUWA

This current of thought was inspired by a striking quotation of King

Parakramabahu the Great of Polonnaruwa (1140-1173 AD). I have endeavoured
in all humility to build upon this quotation and extract the essence of this piece
of ancient wisdom in a manner relevant to our own age.

38
 Where there is a vacuum of knowledge

Policy is absent
Parakramabahu I

Let us now pick this historical thread and move on.

Where policy is absent, there is

A lack of direction

Where there is a lack of direction

There is disorder

Where there is disorder

There is confusion
Where there is confusion

There is insecurity

Where there is insecurity

There is a need to secure ourselves and our institutions

When we seek security in the midst of insecurity

We embark on a process of self – deception

How do we do this?

1. We disconnect; separate ourselves/our institutions from the rest of society.

We also see things in black and white terms – dividing people and events into
fixed categories of good and bad. We refuse to see the whole picture without
the aid of these comfortable and comforting divisions.

2. Aided by this separation we turn the light outwards; distract ourselves with
the enormous injustices committed by others – disown responsibility and play
innocent victims. This is relatively easy when there are enough heroes, busy-
bodies and do-gooders who are ready to exercise power and take
responsibility for our lives. It does not matter that this approach has quite

39
 clearly not worked because they can also blame some others. The facilitating
framework is readily available within a narrow blaming culture which has
legitimised and institutionalised character assassination and witch hunts
against individuals.

What is more challenging is to mobilize the collective will to tackle common

problems in a genuine participatory effort. Picking off individuals – (however
much we envy or hate them) should no longer be considered smart or
courageous. It is in fact the height of ignorance. No individual however ‘high’
could or should take sole responsibility. Everything happens within a certain
context and when the spotlight falls on an individual the context is minimized.
Likewise no individual however ‘low’ should be considered ‘expendable.’ This
observation applies equally to shutting people behind bars and forgetting them
and exploiting them for political and economic gains. We have learnt that these
doors once opened can be extremely difficult to shut.

All these individuals are part and parcel of our collective social inheritance. We
deserve them and they deserve us. We are all in this together – whether we like
it or not. We might as well accept the reality; understand what caused it and
then work together to address these causes. The simple and childish distinction
of right and wrong, moral and immoral does not reveal the full picture and it is
time we grew up as a society and learned to appreciate the shades of grey. Black
and white distinctions have narrowed and weakened the human spirit and led to
an over-reliance on formal mechanisms that could not tackle the increased case
load and deliver promised ‘justice’. Thus we need to broaden our outlook and
view human conduct within its overall context – a network of relationships that
fared differently in fostering the healthy growth of an individual being.

These are some of the practical and logical implications of human rights, yet to
be acknowledged in their fullest breadth and depth in this country.

Thus the apparatus of self – deception consists of psychological disconnection or

separation; seeing the speck in the brother’s eye but not the plank in your own
(Matthew 7:3); social disintegration and isolation and mistrust of and disrespect
for the individual human being as a human being. This is our present and it may
surprise you if I said there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. This is how things
are. They could not have been different.

What is wrong is our negative attitude when we look at the present. The way we
disconnect ourselves from it; the way we waste precious energy and spread
negativism by blaming others; the way we disown responsibility; the way we
steadfastly refuse to understand and acknowledge the full humanity of those
who do not come within our narrow racial, religious and moral classifications;
and the way we thereby demean and impoverish our own humanity.

40
The kind of knowledge that leads to enlightened policy is therefore the result of
a genuine connection between self and others; between ‘us’ and ‘them’. This is
the connection that provides awareness of the mutuality of social risk, the need
for a sense of social solidarity and the assumption of social responsibility. In
short what matures dry technical knowledge into wisdom is compassion, an
honest, open and sensitive understanding of self which extends naturally to a
deep understanding of others. Our awareness extends as far as our compassion
and no further. This is the weakness of sectoral representation that fails to
include ‘others’ or acknowledge that we are all related and connected. Limited
awareness and limited compassion serve as checks on both individual and
collective growth and prevent the realization of true peace.

Compassion is manifested in our every day lives when we listen with respect and
openness – understand and seek to respond to the needs of others. Within this
simple human dynamic lies the key to the effectiveness of all undertakings both
great and small.

It is not sufficient to just know that Farook from Kalmunai, Piyadasa from
Dambulla and Sinniah from Jaffna have sweated and toiled for the rice,
vegetables and onions that make up our rice and curry. We must also learn to
acknowledge this debt in our hearts. Until then we can pay pious lip service but
not lift a finger to help them.

All this was probably common sense to the proud cultivators of the Polonnaruwa
Period and the leaders who ordered their society. Hence the term knowledge
used by Parakramabahu presumably encompassed all those qualities of head and
heart that were handed down from generation to generation as the essence of
their cultural heritage. Knowledge without wisdom was no knowledge then; it
was nescience or avijja. A special feature of this heritage was the emphasis
placed on self-knowledge as the highest form of education and the sure
generator of humility, compassion and respect for fellow human beings.

It is a lack of humility stemming from this educational deficit that prevents

decision makers from accepting their ignorance and mistakes and learning from
them. Thus we need to commence a process of openness, constructive criticism
and higher education that will target decision makers at the highest to the lowest
levels in society. Transforming negative energy into positive energy and
enhancing the quality and quantity of human connections is the challenge that
faces all those individuals and institutions concerned with reconstruction and
development. There is no substitute to placing the human being and human
happiness first and engaging with fundamentals like human relationships, family
and community and a balanced life. We have drifted away from these moorings,
particularly after 1977 and must return home in every sense of that word. Let us

41
accept with both humility and pride that this is SRI LANKA – not another
Singapore or Taiwan (with all due respect to those nations.)

What then are the policies we need to adopt with compassion in our hearts?
Some things have improved in this island since the 12 th century and we now
have a document known as the Constitution which states in black and white that
the State shall:

Raise the moral and cultural standards of the People, and ensure the full development of human
personality
[Article 27 (2) (g)]
 

Recognize and protect the family as the basic unit of society.

[Article 27 (12)]
 
 
Pursue the realization by all citizens of an adequate standard of living for themselves and their
families, including adequate food, clothing and housing
[Article 27 (2) (c)]
 
 
Eliminate economic and social privilege and disparity, and the exploitation of man by man or by
the State.
[Article 27 (7)]

These four Articles deal respectively with the,

 
Human being
Family
Basic needs and,
a Social order which gives priority to the Human being
 
They capture that essential personal and social vision needed for balanced,
truthful and harmonious living. The blind pursuit of economic development to the
exclusion of social development can no longer be pretended to guarantee human
happiness. In fact the term economic development is a dangerous misnomer. Let
us understand once and for all that true development is the result of achieving
economic security for human and social development. We must turn the
priorities around to say that Gross National Happiness is more important than
GNP.

The policy framework set out above must necessarily form the cornerstone of a
balanced, moderate and realistic socio-economic policy which is the best
guarantor of peace in this island whether in the public or private spheres. For too
long the human being has been sacrificed in the name of abstractions like ‘law
and order’ ‘justice’ ‘the market’ and the ‘economy’. These concepts have only

42
served a minority which wanted to perpetuate institutions that safeguarded
money and power at the expense of the rest of the people.

Even if different communities succeed in breaking up parts of this country for

their exclusive occupation this socio-economic issue and making a reality of
social citizenship for all deprived members within their own communities will
remain. This is the solemn task to which men and women of letters must now
turn. The momentous challenge of nation building is open to every educated Sri
Lankan who wishes to shoulder his or her share of responsibility for our common
destiny. This is a time to stop useless talk. It is a time for silence; a time for
understanding; a time for re-discovering our own roots and a time for action.

NEED OF THE HOUR: LIBERATIVE LEADERSHIP

A revolutionary moment in the history of the nation is a time for revolutions, not
for patching up. It is certainly not a time for self - promotion or personal or
group agendas. We need to identify such agendas – distinguish between
the needs of the common man and the ambition of his arrogant,
pseudo representative; support the former and kick the latter out. This
will not materialize till partisan leaders continue to deceive their
respective flocks with unwitting help from a media that continues to
mirror the confusion within wider society.

Former American President John Adams, looking back at the American

Revolution said,

The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the hearts and
minds of the people.

What liberates the hearts and minds of the people is enlightened and
compassionate leadership. This leadership is grounded in humble and
respectful learning and humble and respectful service. It is different from the
dominative, top down leaderships which rely exclusively on mixtures of coercion
and deceit, both in the North and South – leaderships which appear to have
missed a golden opportunity to let go of irrelevance and ignorance. They
have missed the opportunity to make a bon fire out of the thousands of candles
of national consciousness born within the ravages of the Tsunami. Yet it is
important to keep those candles burning …. This is the time for
enlightened men and women to revolutionize their institutions from
within. We saw this happening within the Bar Association last week.

43
A positive and complete revolution requires a liberated heart and a
mind and an able body. One such man or woman can attract many like
minded others.

The two attempts made in the recent past in the north and south to
liberate the common people were both heartless movements. This is a
sad truth we must now face whilst paying homage to the thousands of
our own brothers and sisters (on both sides of the divide) who paid the
supreme sacrifice in a bid to change what was and still remains a
selfish and heartless society.

Both these movements, apart from being split on racial lines were led by un-
liberated men who were prisoners of their own flawed personalities. Hence they
sought to dominate – not liberate their fellow men. They raised the underlying
conflict in society to a different level only to set up another conflict. They were
inspired by hate and desperation; not by compassion and peace. The cruelty with
which both movements set about their task stands testimony to this fact. Both
these movements today need to liberate themselves from their bloody heritage
before they can liberate others. In this moment of truth they must repent and
forgive themselves and others for the massive crimes of cruelty they inflicted
upon innocent civilians and their families. Lessons of the past must be learned to
make a new beginning. Ghosts must be laid to rest before the task of nation
building can commence.

Movements are made up of individuals and resolutions such as these are initially
honest personal acts. There is no need to cling to self deception any more. The
Tsunami found us all naked, helpless, terribly deluded and very, very mortal.
May be we need a Truth Commission. On the other hand our society may still be
trapped in hate and selfishness and its leaders lacking in spiritual maturity to
lead the way.

Nothing symbolises our collective ignorance and lack of forgiveness and

compassion better than the prison. The prison at Bogambara was the most
impressive building put up by the British after March 2, 1815. Fifty years after
the acquisition of pseudo independence by an educated yet stupid middle class
(the ranks of which have swelled now) we continue to neglect and discriminate;
then discipline and punish the very people that Keppetipola and Madugalle
fought and died to liberate in 1818. They were our last liberators and we pay
homage to them by sending more and more peasants into Bogambara Prison. At
the end of the day we should recognise that we are all collectively
imprisoned – by our self interest.

The highest in the land have no freedom (or time) to walk on the roads – except
in a foreign land. Whose independence did we celebrate with a mindless show of

44
uniformed and mechanical men and women on February 4 th? Do we realize that
we have lost our freedom and that we need to win it back?

Resources have flooded the country but the resources of honesty and humility
are remarkably lacking in the arena of public leadership. Disgraceful self-
promotion, contrary to all norms of our ancient culture is still the order of the
day.

We saw during and after Tsunami that compassion has no race or religion. It is
boundless. True patriotism is compassion that extends to all the people within a
defined territory. We are all human beings and we all share one little island and
its common resources. This is the powerful and simple message of human inter-
dependence that both Gandhi and Mandela – true leaders of men - gave
common humanity.

Forgiveness and compassion for self and others makes sense. Nothing else can
give us a fresh start now. Great cruelty and great deceit is the result of great
suffering which has not been fully understood and overcome. Conversely, great
compassion and openness, the hall mark of a true leader, is the result of great
suffering which has been fully understood and overcome.

Trungpa Rinpoche says that the basic idea of compassion is skilful

communication. And this can only develop through relationships. According to
the Chinese Chan Master Caotang:

There is essentially nothing to leadership but to carefully observe people’s conditions

and know them all, in both upper and lower echelons.

When people’s inner conditions are thoroughly understood, then inside and outside are
in harmony. When above and below communicate, all affairs are set in order. This is
how leadership is made secure.

If the leader cannot minutely discern people’s psychological conditions, and the feeling
of those below is not communicated above, then above and below oppose each other
and matters are disordered. This is how leadership goes to ruin.

It may happen that a leader will presume upon intellectual brilliance and often hold to
biased views, failing to comprehend people’s feelings, rejecting community counsel and
giving importance to his own authority, neglecting public consideration and practicing
private favouritism – all of this causes the road of advance in goodness to become
narrower and narrower, and causes the path of responsibility for the community to
become fainter and fainter.

Such leaders repudiate whatever they have never before seen or heard, and become set
in their ways, to which they are habituated and by which they are veiled. To hope that

45
the leadership of people like this would be great and far – reaching is like walking
backward trying to go forward.

[From Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership, translated by Thomas Cleary (1989),
Shambhala Boston and London - a guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions
of authority.]

Another ancient master – Lao Zi said:

He who wants to lead the people should place himself behind them
In this way the sage is above the people, but the people do not feel him as a burden;
He is in front of the people (leading them), but the people do not feel him as a
hindrance.
Therefore all the people under Heaven revere him and do not tire of him.
Just because he does not compete with others,
Nobody under heaven can compete with him.

Finally, the media can do us all a favour by doing two things.

One is to accept that our current leaders are the best we have. If not they would
not be where they are. If these leaders are insecure let us secure them by
supporting them. This done by following the middle way and treating them with
respect and sensitivity – as human beings; nothing more and nothing less. They
too deserve our kindness and understanding. To place them on pedestals
and make them demi-gods and then kick them down and treat them like dirt
when they don’t conform to our demi-god expectations are both extremes that
should be avoided. Deepening their insecurity is destructive for all of us. Lesson
number one is that personalities don’t matter but principles do. The Tsunami
taught us that. Personalities may sell but the blind pursuit of personalities since
1948 has taken us on the path of ignorance – not wisdom. The essential
question that our worthy editors and directors of radio and TV stations
must ask themselves is this: Are they part of the stagnant cess pool of
political conflict (the problem) or are they part of the pending social
and cultural revolution in this island?(the solution).

Lesson number two is to economise on newsprint. Our forests are more

important than repeating the meaningless drivel of insecure personalities who
spend their time arguing about nothing. At least after Tsunami we have better
things to do than read what x said and what y thinks about what x said. Silence
and admitting that we don’t know is better than speculating on what we really
don’t know. Also use pictures – not to excite our animal senses but to calm
them. Even blank pages are better because it soothes the eyes and we can write
on them or draw our own pictures.

46
This is a time for silence and the rediscovery of inner peace. A time to dream,
think big and think different. And if we don’t have good leaders today let us
invest in patience. Patience is the best investment. You and I can then be the
change we want to see in our little island tomorrow.

6. Humour and humility …

VARADA KAGEDA? DESPERATE TIGERS AND

SLEEPING LIONS

Varada kageda? Whose fault? One late and great journalist mused upon these
words and pointed out that the fault (varada) lay in the word whose (kageda?).

The whole nation has just been through a contentious phase and we need to
take stock again. We also need to do so with a gentle touch of history and
humour so as not to leave a bitter taste behind.

There is a problem in words like ‘crime’, ‘terrorism’ and other definitions of

problems based simply on manifestations because they overlook the indication of
an underlying disease.

Mankind has always known terrorism. It generally raises its head in order to
transform human misery and a situation of powerlessness into one of power. The
global middle class imperialism unleashed on us with a vengeance today is the
reaction of people who were long rendered powerless by kings and the elite.
Terrorism has many faces and what we in the third world in particular,
experience is the economic form of terrorism. One extreme form of behaviour
breeds another extreme. Unrestrained capitalism lacking a social vision has
produced conflict, disorder and terrorism in many parts of the third world. This is
the first deadly confrontation that takes place between selfish materialism and
selfish idealism. Both the goals of western style economic development and its
rejection using various enabling mechanisms like race or religion are wasteful,
productive of human suffering and environmental degradation.

Thus terrorism today is born out of a lack of social vision on the part of the rulers
and a lack of social solidarity on the part of the ruled in the third World. It is due
to prolonged neglect of the innate need of the human being for socio-economic
equality and freedom from exploitation and oppression. Exploitation and
oppression may be labelled in terms of the racial clothes worn by the exploiter
(and not labelled such if the exploiter belongs to the same race as the exploited)

47
but it is always a perennial relationship which has endured between human
beings.

The student of history knows that all over the world both empires and
civilisations have arisen, flourished, decayed and fallen. Any system of human
government in decay is not a nice picture. All the worst human qualities – held
back by human wisdom and good governance make a resounding comeback.
And then out of nowhere terrorism is unleashed on a complacent and
unsuspecting populace, still dreaming of past glories which have taken leave
without so much as a goodbye.

We talk about the great Roman Empire and closer home the Polonnaruva era,
that ‘Indian summer of sinhalese power.’ Let us, for a moment imagine how
crestfallen and sunk in misery their subjects would have been after the Teutonic
Barbarians and Kalinga Magha respectively had fulfilled their historical functions
as destroyers.

Today in Sri Lanka we are witness to the decay of another Empire and
Civilisation – the British raj which the Sinhalese gratefully inherited and
preserved faithfully without making any fundamental changes to its structure. Its
decay however was expedited by tampering from within by J.R. Jayawardene
and battering from without by the LTTE. Various other actors are performing
their historical functions today to close this chapter of nearly 200 years when an
alien ethic of dualism, separation and centralized hierarchical top down
governance impeding clear communication between the rulers and the ruled with
symbolism and imagery directly imported from Great Britain was inflicted on the
simple inhabitants of this island.

These inhabitants, having handed over their king and kingdom on a platter to
the British in 1815 fought twice – in 1818 and 1848 to regain their freedom.
They awoke again in the early 19 th century and were handed back the reins of
government again on a platter to the organized English educated Sri Lankan
elite. Independence in 1948 was more a moral victory for the British justifying
their interference in Sri Lanka rather than the re – birth or grand affirmation of a
true national consciousness as in India.

These two almost unreal transactions between the elite and the foreigner in both
1815 and 1948 had very little to do with the overwhelming rural and estate (in
1948) populations in the country.

This again was not the fault of the elite. We cannot deny the patriotic spirit of
our 1948 leaders. The problem was and still is that we have still not
accomplished a social revolution bridging the yawning gap between the lettered
and the unlettered in this country.

48
The sinhala lions went back to sleep after 1948. Their expanded middle class
after 1977 – particularly those in Colombo simply copied the ways of their British
masters and mistresses. They carry on today regardless of the discontent
simmering and seething under them. Not even Lord Tsunami (they still have this
habit of sending important people including their judges and the Buddha himself
to the House of Lords) could keep them awake for long. Some of their tamil and
muslim brethren also followed suit. After all greed has no race or colour.

Essentially this again was not the fault of the sinhala lions who had now become
pseudo british lions as they still continued to operate and cherish British
institutions, values and habits. Unlike the Indians who venerated mother India
these Brown sahibs venerated Britain and their ego was incomplete until they
could get a foothold or passport in the UK. It was a case of the structure making
the human being instead of the human being using the structure as in India.
Again a study of history around the world will show the Britons imitating their
Roman masters long before their English identity was established. All this is
simply grist to the mill.

Somehow there was one community on this island who had their feet more
firmly planted on the ground and these were the Tamils. The TULF manifesto of
1977 reveals how clearly the injustices and discrimination perpetrated against
the Tamils by the Brown Sahibs in the shoes of their British masters were felt by
the democratic tamil leaders and their willingness to share a social vision with all
other Sri Lankans.

The brown sahibs forgot that their religions and the ancient habits of their
forebears taught that a peaceful and prosperous coexistence was dependent on
true respect for the dignity of the human being. The human being after all was a
species whom the Buddha himself said had a horizontal and not vertical
relationship with the Gods.

But however much the tigers lit crackers and twisted its tail to shake the lion out
of his stupid stupor nothing worked. These desperate tactics only made the lion
more insecure.

What the LTTE has given a violent push to destroy is not the sinhala Buddhist
state. Historical forces had already accomplished that more than a century ago.
It was the advice of the Buddha to live in the present – not the past. A new Sri
Lankan state must now be re-created on a truly modern and humane foundation
which guarantees all human rights irrespective of and not because of race. Race
is not the foundation for a modern State. It is a return to tribalism and primitive
thinking smacking of apartheid in South Africa. This must be understood by
extremists on every side.

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No. What the LTTE has torn through is the aging, corroded, stifling and pompous
framework of the British raj. It is a framework which maintains the status quo
and enables the new urban middle class – in the North, South, East, West and
the Centre to exploit the new working class and the alienated rural youth for
their narrow political and economic ends. Domination, in whatever guise, is not
liberation.

When the sinhala lion finally wakes up, he would do well to keep his mouth shut.
The lion cannot roar just yet. Instead he must observe and get his bearings. In
the past 200 years since his freedom was taken away the world has changed
beyond recognition. He has much to learn from both the past and the present.
Learning is not the accumulation of information or hate. It must be based on
openness, compassion and wisdom. He must discover the path that true warriors
– those who first conquered themselves – have trod before. He must destroy the
self for the sake of the universe and not destroy the universe for the sake of the
self. If he does this he will not fail in his destiny to guide the other lions, tigers
and all other creatures out of the jungle they find themselves in towards a new
civilization.

WANTED: A TSUNAMI AGAINST INDISCIPLINE,

INEQUALITY AND IGNORANCE

To suffer another process of pseudo development – equally flawed by the

structures and foundations of inequality we are yet to identify and challenge,
would be a fate much worse than Tsunami for Mother Lanka. Let us return to
face some facts which have suddenly appeared clearer in the wake of the terrible
catastrophe we experienced.

1. Our institutional order is not geared towards the equitable distribution of

the basic needs of ordinary people.
2. We have major communication problems and mistrust between
governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. There is
also separation, competition and a lack of unity between GO’s as well as
between NGO’s.
3. As a nation we lack autonomy. Regaining autonomy is therefore a priority.
This will not happen until Colombo develops a horizontal and respectful
relationship with the outstations, starts listening, understanding and
feeling for the outstations and stops imposing its half baked solutions
which don’t have much relevance to our rural and plantation brothers and

50
 sisters. Colombo must now understand that the party is over and that it is
after all the colonial, rootless and pseudo – modernized capital of a poor
third world country. In short Colombo and its inhabitants must start
getting grounded in this country. It has now been the capital of the
colonisers, both foreign and local for 500 years. Enough is enough.
4. There are vast untapped reserves of positive energy and compassion both
here and abroad. In our hour of need they have affirmed our common
humanity and restored our trust in human nature.
5. Those reserves have been wasted, are being wasted today and will be
wasted tomorrow if we don’t understand and confront the structures we
are trapped within. The sinhalese in the south are trapped within an
apparatus of deception. The tamils in the north are trapped within an
apparatus of coercion. The whole thing is based on dualism – the
distinction between self and others; between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
6. These structures may be symbolized by demonised individuals. However
we need to confront these negative forces within ourselves first if we
really want to make a difference. Before tsunami, during tsunami and
after tsunami – all significant battles were and will be waged, within the
self. Please leave the demons and their faithful critics and hunters alone.
We have work to do and we don’t have time to waste.
7. We are now confronted with a deeper truth than all the muckraking and
destructive journalism of the last ten years could unravel: our common
vulnerability and our unity in suffering. Unless we realize this and unite in
suffering – as an island nation and as human beings we will never
commence our journey towards progress.

Although we are equals and the Constitution tells us so we have inequality being
meted out to us by the judiciary, the legislature and executive and by hundreds
of other functionaries big and small throughout the length and breadth of this
island. Let me cite an example:

The driving license of a young officer from a State Department was taken by a
traffic policeman for a minor offence. This was an officer who stood in a position
of power viz a viz the police. However he went to the police station and tendered
a statement to the policeman. When the statement revealed his official
designation the demeanour of the policeman turned to one of respect and he
asked ‘Sir what can I do for you?’ Replied the officer, ‘you treat me like an
ordinary man.’ He was put to some inconvenience and he had to pay a fine but
his honour was intact.

We must regain the pride of our citizenship and our identity as heirs to a great
culture and civilisation that is second to none in the history of mankind. Sri Lanka
is a unique nation that did not become rich through slavery or by deceit or by
robbing its neighbours. The greatness of ancient Lanka lay in its self – conquest.

51
Not in the conquest of others. Who we are and this soil we stand upon is of
greater moment than our insignificant trappings and titles.

If we reduce the standards we are entitled to expect from those who hold high
office and if we tolerate indiscipline and arrogance we must be prepared to
remain in the third world for another hundred years. If we are honest there is no
reason why we must tolerate dishonesty. If we are non-violent there is no reason
why we should not stand up against violence. Standards must be absolute. They
cannot be negotiated. It is not enough to set a personal example. We must also
speak out at the appropriate moment – without malice but with great firmness.
Post – tsunami the simple message to all those who hold positions of
responsibility must be simple and direct – learn or depart.

As a first step I would recommend that we insist that our ‘leaders’ and ‘law
enforcers’ if they are really leaders and law enforcers and not actors and
pretenders should come back to earth and start obeying road rules. This may be
painful at the start but believe me it is really good for your health not to rush
about and just flow with the traffic. At one time reasons of security were a
convenient excuse but this should not be a cover for sheer indiscipline. I would
in fact invite educated and intelligent senior police officers to set an example to
their drivers and juniors. If we don’t get small things right do we have a hope of
getting big things right? So let us start at the beginning.

Another simple exercise is to hold up each social institution whether secular or

religious – to which we belong and ask two words – ‘for whom’. For whom does
it claim to work and for whom does it really work? These are fundamental
questions that those inside the institutions must ask themselves first. How many
of us can claim we are working for others and our society at large?

When the British changed the economy and social system in this country after
1833 they gave us trousers and shirts, socks and shoes and made some of us
‘mahattaya’s in our own country. Our irresponsible new rich middle classes, less
than 200 years old are still very young in historical terms. As a result they are
not secure enough and ill-accustomed to exercise their new found economic
power and status in a manner that is harmonious with the Sri Lankan
environment. Prof. J.B. Disanayaka once wrote quite correctly that all Sri
Lankans are villagers at heart. We are a nation of villagers and so we must drop
this whole pretence that the British foisted upon us. Most of us – specially those
in Colombo who have had the opportunity of an education and broadening our
minds still think in the same way the British taught us to think – that we were
nothing without their language, manners, habits, institutions and divisive,
negative and backward looking laws. Till we learn to think independently – true
development, which is an outgrowth of true independence, will continue to elude
us.

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So let us eschew violence. It has wreaked enough havoc. Let us revolt this time
around with precision and intelligence.

DEALING WITH VICTORIA’S SECRET:

THE MIDDLE WAY
Introduction

Victoria’s Secret modelled some bikinis on which appeared Buddha images. This was followed up
by an apparently well meaning petition supported by a website which invited people to sign up to
a petition that protested against an insult to so many millions of Buddhists the world over. The
question we probe is this. Should Buddhists or their well meaning friends from other faiths be
offended at all considering the context in which this behaviour has taken place. Should we not
explore ways and means of modifying and changing the context rather than react to individual
manifestations of a destructive, wasteful and disrespectful capitalist order?

The capitalist system for which nothing is sacred other than the perpetuation of
its insatiable appetite for pleasure and entertainment turns out regular
embarrassments like what we recently witnessed. But have no fear because it
has its own solution to the problem – which is moral judgementalism, the simple
and shallow distinction of right and wrong.

So they commit the wrong and also come up with the answer. Yes a petition we
can all sign and send and feel good about. Another petition into the bottomless
pit of human suffering spawned by capitalism. Who cares? One week later we
can walk into a glitzy shop and buy what we like. After all we did our bit by
signing that petition. Why should we deprive ourselves of the good things in life?

And so capitalism rolls on and every one is happy – or so we think. Western

industrialised nations who compose 20% of the world population enjoy 85% of
its total gross national produce amounting to 18 trillion US Dollars: Vimukthi, a
four monthly magazine published by the National Catholic Commission for Justice
Peace and Human Development. WHO (in its 2002 State of World Health
Report) lists "lack of sufficient food" as the biggest cause of poor health and
death in the world today. Up to one-fifth of America's food goes to waste each
year, with an estimated 130 pounds of food per person ending up in landfills.
The annual value of this lost food is estimated at around $31 billion. Roughly 49
million people could be fed by those lost resources, more than twice the number
of people in the world who die of starvation each year. Source: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, "A Citizen's Guide to Food Recovery," 1999 ; Every year over 10
million children die from preventable causes. Of these, the percentage of
children's deaths caused by malnutrition (mostly not getting enough to eat) is

53
drastically increasing; http://www.politicsofhealth.org/hungertalkingpoints.htm :
Viewed: 18 May 2003.

This world we live in is a crazy place. It does not make rational sense. This is
because our thinking is shallow. Remember – high thinking goes with simple
living and high living goes with simple thinking. Simple living is also moderate
living, fully appreciating what you already have and understanding that
contentment is the highest form of happiness. The elite in Colombo have created
a First World for themselves within this Third World. All of us may not actually
belong to it but we don’t do much about it either, do we?

That is Victoria’s Secret. A self sustained and self perpetuating cycle within which
every thing is balanced by something else. It keeps the wheels of capitalism
turning – a few become enormously rich and the rest struggle in different
degrees. But they all suffer. More than they need to. The purpose of social
reform for the Buddhist is therefore not to get away from suffering because this
is impossible but to reduce that suffering which is attributable to ignorance.

The Ancients would have a hearty laugh at us. I would include in my definition of
ancients all those people who valued wisdom and compassion above all else.
Hopefully there still some ancients amongst us. There is a saying like this you
may have heard

Those who know their need

and yet don’t succumb to greed
are saints indeed
whatever their creed

Now to the actual ‘wrong’.

Buddhism teaches us to disentangle the substance from the form. Indeed one of
the first instructions given to a meditator is that all sense impressions are false.
This is because we are conditioned to see things as we are – not as they are.
Reality is the opposite of what people think it is. This is because we don’t
distinguish the form from the substance and get misled by forms.

So the Buddha you saw was not a real Buddha. It was a product of some
person’s mind. Essentially a piece of cloth with an image on it. None of us can
remember (even if we saw him) what he looked like. The Buddha images we
have are based on what people thought he looked like a few hundred years after
he died. Since then we agree that this is the Buddha image or at least that it
symbolises the Master. Note the distinction between truth and convention.

Now images and statues are dangerous things because they turn that which is
fluid and impermanent and a process into something solid. Even this solidity is

54
more apparent than real because it is also subject to wear and tear.
Impermanence spares nothing. The Buddha eschewed the personality cult and
always placed the dhamma (as opposed to his personality) in the forefront of his
teaching. That is why he exhorted his followers that he is best honoured by
practice rather than worship which can easily become a matter of form lacking in
substance in the sense of right understanding.

Among the last words of the Buddha were these.

Those who see the dhamma shall see me.

The Buddha was Vijja Charana Sampanno – perfect in both knowledge and
conduct. Not only did he understand the truth but he lived truthfully. He was the
embodiment of truth and blended perfectly and integrated himself fully with the
universe. He had put an end to all inner conflicts and was thus able to teach men
and gods for 45 years without bringing himself into conflict with others.

As the dhamma or reality is a process it must be experienced by each individual

for himself or herself. In short this consists of the three aspects of phenomena
which must be both experienced and understood:-

 Transience or impermanence
 Stress of constant change or suffering in the sense of the absence of rest
or peace
 Lack of an abiding essence – anatta or impersonality of all phenomena –
humans included.

So the dhamma or nature or reality cannot be possessed. Everything belongs to

it. This includes the bikini, the top and the whole wide universe. Human beings –
capitalist or not, are powerless before the dhamma. It is all embracing and all
inclusive. As the dhamma is beyond appropriation it is also beyond
misappropriation. Likewise the Buddha and dhamma are truly above and beyond
the marketplace. They cannot be bought and sold or defiled. On the other hand
symbols and expressions of the dhamma are forms and forms from the highest
to the lowest are species of property which are subject to the vagaries of those
who have temporary control over them. In the final analysis we should not get
attached to them and fight for or against them. We should neither love nor hate
them but transcend them by seeing them as they are. This is the Middle Way.

We live in an era dominated by forms and property. We need to rise above them
and assert our autonomy in so far as they are not essential and actually
detrimental to our spiritual development. Certain forms are manifested
physically; certain forms verbally and certain forms mentally. These forms appear

55
and disappear following their own nature. Human beings for example are
temporary psycho-physical forms.

Sri Lankans of yore understood forms correctly and conserved their energies on
worthy enterprises like cultivation and spiritual development. Hence the saying
that they were not saddened or moved by worldly dhammas such as praise and
blame; gain and loss; and fame and obscurity. Every thing was understood as
creatures of time. It is said that the solution to the problems of this world is the
realization that there is no solution.

Only this realization brings in the realism, moderation and compassion that is
necessary to create a better world.

If you now look at those offending ladies and the ignorant capitalism behind
them you will understand that they are indeed quite truthful about what they are
and what they represent. They lack sensitivity, restraint and they are also quite
bold. These are the very qualities that modern businesses appear to thrive on.
We see this in the giant hoardings of certain big businesses that don’t forget to
dole out a pittance for ‘social causes’. It all fits very nicely.

Human beings can never be untruthful. Even when they lie they are in effect
saying that they are dishonest – which is fundamentally honest. It is up to us to
understand the causes. Some causes have now become institutionalised and the
whole weight of our combined social karma appears too heavy to do anything
about.

This however is the point at which human beings must close ranks. It is
necessary to preserve our humanness. Compassion is the everyday face of
wisdom and it is the lack of compassion that keeps both capitalism and its
supporting judgemental processes alive. So even when we look at these bikini
clad ladies who are surely victims of their own circumstances (as many of us in
this world are) let us never forget that they are also human beings. Just as forms
can change people too can change. We all need to work to create those
conditions which induce people to change for the better.

Economic growth per se is not the answer. Human growth is more important.
Human growth is disabled when we turn outwards instead of inwards and we
react in ways that are pre-programmed by the capitalist order. It is only when
we turn inwards and become aware of our reactive tendencies that we enable
compassion, wisdom and positive growth.

So as conscious beings intent on developing our minds we meet fire with water,
ignorance with wisdom, shallowness with depth and hate with compassion. In a

56
world of unlimited demands and limited supplies these are endless reserves that
can never be exhausted.

WHY DEVELOP?
Let us start with two quotations:

The major problem in the Third World is development. Although the First and
Third Worlds are divided by their many differences, most of these problems
are related to development. Generally the First World developed politically
through evolving governmental systems that are broadly representative and
are generally supported by their populations. This not true of most of the
Third World. Furthermore the Developed World experienced the First Industrial
Revolution (basic industrialization), progressed through the Second Industrial
Revolution (the orientation of the economy to service and consumer
functions), and is now in the Third Industrial Revolution (the Information
based economy). In contrast, much of the Third World has not even entered
the First Industrial Revolution.

Snow, Donald M. (1993) Distant Thunder: Third World Conflict and the New World Order New York St
Martin’s Press Inc. 25

Our habitual instructors, our ordinary conversation, our inevitable and in-
eradicable prejudices tend to make us think that "Progress" is the normal fact
in human society, the fact which we should expect to see, the fact which we
should be surprised if we did not see. But history refutes this. The ancients
had no conception of progress; they did not so much as reject the idea; they
did not even entertain the idea. Oriental nations are just the same now. Since
history began they have always been what they are. Savages again, do not
improve; they hardly seem to have the basis on which to build, much less the
material to put up anything worth having. Only a few nations, and those of
European origin, advance; and yet these think---seem irresistibly compelled to
think---such advance to be inevitable, natural, and eternal. Why then is this
great contrast?

Modern History Sourcebook: Bagehot Walter (1872) The Use of Conflict, From: Walter Bagehot, Physics and
Politics, New York, 1873, pp. 41-52, 64, 75-80.

Alright folks, let’s talk development.

The quotations above give two extremes – one the aspiration for a ‘European
like’ process of development by going through not one but 3 revolutions. I
shudder to think of the human misery such processes will recreate in the 3 rd
world if attempted. Indeed we have already seen the consequences wrought in
this island itself by such a misguided and unbalanced attempt at ‘development’.

Bagehot refers to the primitive societies which did not even countenance
development. This notion did not exist for them. Survival was their only reality.

57
Here I am reminded of a reply the buddha 3 gave a deity (deva) who asked how
he transcended and uprooted his own suffering; how he crossed the flood of
samsara or cyclic existence. This was the reply:

“By not standing still, friend and by not struggling I crossed the flood.”

According to Jootla this metaphor describes balanced effort. He “sank” when he

did not work hard enough, but if he strained too hard he became agitated and
got “swept away.” When he discerned how to cross over with just the right
balance between energy and calm, he transcended the flood of suffering fully
and permanently.

Can we apply this simple, yet profound lesson to the way we progress
collectively – as a society?

We need not emulate either those Western countries who had their own reasons
for developing as they did or indeed keep still as some primitive societies have
done. In the end neither is satisfactory, sustainable and conducive to true human
happiness. There is in short, a middle way … the path of balance, the path of
moderation and the path of humanism and intelligent compassion. Above all it is
our own Way … the way of peace for self and others.

If this is practiced by so many of us in the developmental field let us make it

explicit and talk that language. Then when someone says

“Only through additional economic growth and fiscal revenues will the country be able to target
resources to poverty alleviation”

we can respond – yes sir we have heard this before. It is the same old tune –
the tune of the post colonial development project. Perhaps there is something
more fundamental we can add from our own insight into the matter–

like our own emotional poverty, our inability to share what we have
and make the best use of our own finite resources ….

So let’s stop using dualistic language and stop beating about the bush. The case
for human and social development has been fought out at international fora
during the whole 90s decade and we need not re-argue the proposition that
investment in human and social development not only makes sound economic

3
You might ask why the simple ‘b’? Because he always placed his own personality in the
background and gave prominence to the dharma or the law or the way things are. He was one
person who integrated himself fully into this world – in the words of one contemporary teacher –
‘reduced himself to a grain of sand’. So using the simple b is appropriate and truthful. Of course
in another sense he is unique and deserving of the capital B. I hope the point is taken.

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sense but is the only alternative to building on sand – which is what we were
doing all this time.

In the 80s when I was in school, development meant the Accelarated mahaweli
development programme. We did not know then that those who fell by the
wayside in the competition since 1977 and started trekking to the Middle East
would eventually become top Forex earners and so help a certain section of the
community to rush about in indecent haste in Volvo’s and BMW’s in 2004 …
shoving us out of the way and not stopping at pedestrian crossings and all
that ... No the migration of poor mothers was not part of our social studies.

I chose it as my child development topic for my joint law and social work LLM in
UK at the ripe age of 34. My one year in UK taught me more about social
development and social responsibility than any thing I learnt here. It is in a
sense true that those outside the 3 rd world have a clearer picture about us
thanks to their mature global outlook and a media that does not just dance
around symptoms and manifestations like our own here. This is my personal
experience. In any event there are many in the 1 st world who are sensitive and
united with us in our suffering though we may not know it.

So I thought that we should balance economic and social development.

By and by I heard the phrase human and social security as well.

So now there is a tendency to talk more in terms of social security and not social
development. I suppose you would now get the idea as to what is serving what.
Well the idea is that we keep the poverty stricken masses sufficiently fed and
sufficiently distracted to carry on with this business of economic development.
We don’t want any troublesome riots commotions and disruptions to production
and sales.

It’s a question of means and ends. We humans are really behind this massive
edifice called free market capitalism – rooted in greed and productive of
immense human suffering and misery. The collective ego of capitalism has driven
the human being to the position of a true wage labourer. 150 years after Marx
wrote his manifesto we see the consummation of his analysis in the form of
globalization.

Every year 900 billion dollars are spent to protect this collective ego – a simple
state of delusion but real in its hold over the human psyche. It is true but the
biggest obstacle facing the human race is one which does not exist; we believe
in the ego but it has no physical existence. 350 billion is spent protecting the
farmers in rich countries just to ensure that come what may their basic needs
will be met. 50 billion is spent as foreign aid.

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It’s not that we want more dollars. In fact aid is part of the problem. What is
important is to understand the structure. It is built on IGNORANCE. As Shunryn
Suzuki said on being human and being ignorant

When we express our true nature, we are human beings. When we do not we do not know what
we are. Not an animal because we walk on two legs. We are something different from an animal,
but what are we? We may be a ghost; we do not know what to call ourselves. Such a creature
does not actually exist. It is a delusion. We are not a human being any more but we do exist.

It may appear that the situation is hopeless. But we console ourselves that we
are working for human and social development – placing this at the centre of our
collective endeavours and using the economy for this purpose. So economic
development is out. The whole notion is wrong.

But so is the notion of human and social development. The word development
gives us the idea that we must get something that we don’t have already. We
start on an assumption of poverty, inadequacy and ignorance. This starting point
is what we need to question because without the confidence a true realization of
our position can give us our journey is a non-starter.

It’s a bit like the full moon that Buddhists observe on Poya days. In fact the
moon is always full and always present. It’s only the reflection of the light from
the sun that gives the impression of waxing and waning. So the state of the
moon has nothing to do with the moon itself.

Likewise the state of our mind – which moves between passion, aggression and
boredom must be distinguished from the MIND itself which is inherently
peaceful, serene and clear. We listen to sounds but do we ever listen to the
silence – within and without?

Our hearts and minds are therefore original and self sufficient. We are, each one
of us tremendous people in our own right. If only we had the courage to be what
we are just humans and just sri lankans or little islanders, humble but secure ...
Of course to be what we are we need to place a mirror in front of our own mind
and get a good look at what goes through – the interminable traffic ….

So when we drop the whole idea of development we are left with that happiness
that is here and now. It is little Bhutan – hanging on to sanity guided by a wise
king that got it right when they coined the phrase GNH

Gross national happiness.

This is not happiness that is bought and sold. What is bought and sold is
suffering. The happiness referred to here is that solid earthy sense of being here

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and now and being content with what IS. In short being present and positive –
aware and compassionate.

It partakes of the idea of balance and moderation, which is essentially a matter

of good health. We are composed of the 5 elements

Earth
Water
Caloricity (heat and cold)
Air
Empty space

We become ill mentally or physically when the balance gets upset. It is the same
for a society of human beings. Because we are psycho-physical creatures our
mental health is EVERYTHING and everything else including our physical health
revolves around the balance we achieve mentally. Sound mental health obviously
equates with happiness.

So there is a lot of sense in the two lines

Health is the highest gain

Contentment the greatest wealth

(arogya parama labha

santutti paramam danam)

So to wind up – it is simply balance that we are looking for – in our personal

lives and collectively as a society of human beings.

This is perhaps another nice quote to end with.

The day will come

when nations will be judged
not by their military or economic strength,
nor by the splendour of their capital
cities and public buildings,
but by the well-being of their peoples:
by their levels of health, nutrition and education;
by their opportunities to earn a fair reward for their
labours; by their ability to participate in the
decisions that affect their lives; by the respect that is
shown for their civil and political liberties;
by the provision that is made for those who are
vulnerable and disadvantaged;

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 and by the protection that is afforded to the
growing minds and bodies of their children.4

7. Engaging with violence … honestly

ENGAGING VIOLENCE

There is not one but two recognized ways of looking at

violence …

We are in the midst of violence, and it is increasing. We need desperately to

make sense of this violence. In order to do so we must first make sense of the
way we think about violence. This is because unknown to ourselves the way we
think about violence may in fact be a contributory factor towards it.

Everything in Sri Lanka is connected. It is more so because we are an island. The

actual parties to the violence are connected by a web of human relationships to
all other human beings who live and work here. This connection is not a mere
matter of imagination but a reality that must be felt deep within us.

It seems to me that there are two views on violence – one dualistic and one
holistic.

According to the dualistic view we have ideas of good and bad; right and
wrong. We understand the world by dividing it. This is in fact a childish mode of
processing information. Normally when a child grows up he or she learns to
appreciate the shades of grey; the sophisticated idea that people and events are
neither wholly good nor wholly bad but a mixture of both.

The ‘shades of grey’ approach comes under a lot of pressure when it comes to
moral issues, like abortion, violent crime, violence against women, child abuse
and terrorism.

What we do in such cases is to revert back to the childish mode in order to make
sense of what we really cannot understand.

In this way the only explanation that can be given by dualist thinkers for violence
is that it is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong.’

4
The Progress of Nations, published annually by the United Nations Children’s Fund, is yet another
contribution towards that day.

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In short we judge what we cannot understand. From this view, peace and
violence are opposites. One assumes the absence of the other. There is a sharp
line between them and they cannot coexist.

According to the holistic view of violence the world is seen, not in

compartments of good and bad but as a whole. This whole includes the past and
the context. Relationships are appreciated so that actions are viewed and
understood in context.

From this perspective an action is not maximized or blown up due to its

‘sensational’ nature. We know that when this happens the context gets
minimized.

According to this view violence is looked at non-judgmentally; as an objective

fact. It is a message of nature, and like all messages of nature it is based on a
set of causes.

From this perspective violence is neither good nor bad but an objective fact
based on objective causes. Likewise peace too would be an objective fact based
on objective causes.

Moreover peace and violence are not opposed to each other. They are partners
that give way to the other in the same way that day gives way to night, sun
gives way to the moon, land gives way to the sea and vice versa. There is no
sharp line, for example, dividing the day from night. What we need to
understand is that there is a flow, a universal scheme of things that we cannot
turn back. When the conditions are ripe, when the time is right, things happen
naturally. Our ability to change things therefore requires us to know where
things are right now and which way they are heading. It is by understanding
these two things that we can learn to gradually undermine the negatives and
enhance the positives.

We can love the day and hate the night. This is our personal preference. It does
not change the fact that there are reasons underlying both. If we don’t really see
or understand these reasons it is our problem; not that something is inherently
wrong with the night.

If we are in the middle of the sea there is no point in asserting that we should be
on land. We need to acknowledge that we are at sea as an objective fact.
Secondly we must work out the distance to land and the conditions that would
enable us to travel that distance.

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The man who takes a dualistic view by dividing that which is whole does violence
to himself in thought. This same violence can be translated to words and then
deeds and ultimately become habit that forms, or let us say deforms character.

The connection between violence in thought, word and deed is significant. By

uttering careless words another equally careless man may be provoked to
violence. In this case there would be a causal nexus between both acts. It is
sheer speculation to wonder which act of violence deserves more censure.

This short composition does not seek to censure any one. It merely seeks to
point out that there are two views on violence; and that we need to work out
which view is being articulated by the speaker.

It may also be noted that the holistic view does not really challenge the dualistic
view or deny the obvious reality that many people cling hard to it. It simply takes
a higher or broader view – and most importantly does not prevent its holder
from sympathizing (though not agreeing) with the dualistic view.

Moving away from violence requires us to move away from

monologues …

Violence is the product of a fragmented and alienated society which shares a

dualistic state of mind. Divisions are real. Even though these are constructed
barriers fear and mistrust ensure they remain to block a genuine dialogue – the
pre – condition for breaking the vicious cycle of holistic violence i.e. violence in
thought, word and deed.

Words are the vehicles of thought and we need to use language skillfully to
move away from this culture of violence.

Violent language is an indispensable part of any culture of violence. This is much

broader than language which is obviously violent in a physical sense. It
encompasses the full range of dualistic thought and expression of human beings.
Let us go to the beginnings of human communication to understand this.

Most of our communication lessons are learnt as infants in our interactions with
our immediate caregivers. These lessons are carried over to adulthood. Where
there is connection and empathy in these communications needs are understood
and met and we become happy, balanced and secure people. If not, we become
unhappy, imbalanced and insecure. The key proposition here is that human
suffering is the result of flawed communication where monologues replace
dialogue. In extreme cases this leads to physical violence and a continuing series
of negative consequences.

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What is interesting to note is that violence is not only caused by monologues
between the relevant parties. It also leads to further monologues. There is a lot
of talking done by all sides, but they have different objectives, different jargon
and essentially different languages. So we end up with an orchestra gone crazy;
all the players are playing to their own tunes and there is no conductor to
harmonize and balance the music.

Some of the clearest examples of insensitivity and dualistic speech emanate from
the religious sphere. In times of violence we look to the religions for guidance.
Instead of help what we normally get is egoistic, self affirming and self serving
jargon which assumes that only ‘my religion’ has the answers and ‘only the
founder of my religion has got it right.’ This kind of speech, apart from failing to
address the real issues at hand also alienate the listeners and eventually make
them anti-religion A or B. The baby is thrown out with the bath water and
whatever good can be obtained from religious teachings are also shut out in this
sea of monologues.

The same goes for politicians, lawyers and human rights advocates. They all
come out with their own professional jargon. No one really steps out to engage
with the reality of violence – as a human being. Mahatma Gandhi once said:

There are so many religions as there are individuals …

Let me explain what I mean by religion. It is not the Hindu religion … but the religion that
transcends Hinduism, which changes one’s very nature, which binds one indissolubly to the truth
within and which ever purifies.

We have traded our humanity for a professional identity and then got trapped in
it. Within an institutional structure which has separated and compartmentalized
issues as political, economic, social, legal, religious, psychological and the latest
category thrown in – human rights, our roles are confined to what we are
professionally competent to speak on and do. Venturing out to engage with the
reality is unorthodox, subjective and ‘unprofessional’.

This is the very structure which has bred and nurtured violence; and we look to
it to provide solutions! This is our tragedy. Breaking out involves re-defining and
re-interpreting personal, professional and institutional roles. Politicians must
become humanists and leaders, professionals must engage with society and
human rights advocates must also work on the side of human relationships.

The present monologues, apart from dealing with issues at a biased political and
conceptualized level seek to cover up this subjective and self-serving act under
the guise of objectivity.

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An assessment of the objective evidence and an objective conclusion is not the
end of the matter. This is what criminal courts do. Let us stop pretending to be
judges and Gods. There is something more that we need in any assessment of
the causes of societal violence. This is a deeper level of subjectivity at a personal
and collective level. We need to search our own souls first.

Violence ultimately originates in the self. If we shut out the knowledge that
comes from deep personal experience in a quest for ‘scientific evidence that can
be objectively verified’ our understanding will be impersonal and impoverished by
a lack of personal insight. We need a balance between personal and impersonal
view points – between spiritual and scientific approaches to form a truly holistic
conception of the causes of violence.

This is what Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have done in other countries.
However they cannot succeed where a whole blanket of deception has been
thrown over our public and private lives.

We Sri Lankans have been deceiving ourselves for a long time and we have
never really shown any capacity for humility and honesty. Given this national
weakness and moral failure we must be ready to face more and more violence till
that day dawns when we fall on this earth and seek forgiveness for our collective
sins.

We are all guilty of violence. Even if we have not descended to the physical level
we have, as ignorant human beings committed violence at the level of thought
and words. In a little island like ours these three levels of violence – spiritual,
verbal and physical are inextricably inter-linked. Let us now share the blame, as
men and women of nobility and courage. And let us share the responsibility for
ending violence together.

8. Two bullets for Sovereignty …

SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE:

FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY

Introduction

We need to halt this peace discourse and ask ourselves what we really want.
We had peace before all these troubles began. In fact the 133 years under
the British and the period from 1948 to 1977 was a period of ‘peace’ by

66
present standards. Yet this was the period when all the troubles afflicting the
poor people of this country brewed and fermented – neglected by those in
power - to blow up on our television screens after 1977. Yes they did not
blow up on our faces. It was somehow ensured that these conflicts remained
those of the poor. The rich got the spoils and the poor lost their lives.

Do we wish to return to such a peace? Or do we wish for something more.

Do we for example wish for what the British took away in stages – our human
right and freedom to decide the economic and social conditions under which
we would live in a globalized economy? Should our national interest remain
subjugated to the interests of our multi national exploiters? Should we remain
a bastard state fathered by our illegitimate fathers – the British and a beggar
nation before the international community in this new millennium? To
complicate the matter further we now have the undemocratic structures set
up by Jayawardene and Prabhakaran to contend with and the egoistic
concern of those occupying those structures about the long term well being
of their ‘egos’.

This conflict has not only seen the alienation of races but also the alienation
of those who came to power within those races and the people. Right now
the needs of those in power take precedence over the needs of the people.
This is only to be expected within the present undemocratic set up.

Consequently the assertion of sovereignty by the people will be the assertion

of their needs – as human beings and not merely as sinhalese, tamils or
muslims and the long and protracted process of convincing those in power
that that these human needs are also their true needs. Through this process
we may also see a leadership representing the people replacing a leadership
which merely claims to do so.

To facilitate and expedite this process we must stop speaking of human rights
ignoring the essential pre-condition for their exercise – our own sovereignty
and freedom as a nation. Our fragmented thinking has failed to appreciate
the connection between true sovereignty or autonomy and human rights.
Just as parents without autonomy cannot look after their children a state
without autonomy will fail to look after its citizens.

These are points to ponder and we humbly offer two bullet points for the
national intelligentsia.

 Bullet One – Holistic sovereignty

 Bullet four – No sovereignty without brotherhood

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 Looking at our present pathetic situation this vision and mission resembles a
man sitting in a hovel gazing at the stars. But whatever of worth and value in
human history has been achieved because one man or woman started off by
doing simply that.

Bullet One

HOLISTIC SOVEREIGNTY

In his path breaking work ‘Commentary on Sinhala Kingship: Vijaya to Kalingha

Magha’ (Sridevi 1993) P.B. Rambukwelle the former law college Principal makes
the following insightful observations.

The territorial extent over which a sovereign power asserts its authority is axiomatic in dealing
with the expression of sovereignty in institutions such as kingship or the modern state.
Sovereignty, it is said resides in the state. Evaluated by this juristic norm, as is applied today for
the admission of a state to the United Nations Organization there is no doubt that with the
enthronement of Vijaya as early as the 6 th Century BC the Sinhala national state had sprung
firmly into de jure and de facto existence.

It was this sovereignty which found expression in the longest unbroken line of monarchs
recorded in the history of the world. Naively, at least uncritically, the Convention of Senkadagala
Mahanuwara – (Kandy) in 1815 is regarded as the vanishing point of this sovereignty. More
accurately as the verifiable evidence unambiguously demonstrates it was in the breach of the
Convention by the unilateral actions of British colonialism culminating in 1833 by the umbrella
camouflage known and proclaimed as the Colebrooke – Cameron Reforms that throttled the
ancient sovereignty.

Equally it would be plain misconstruction to assume that by the Independence act of 1947 the
British regime retransferred power to those who lost it or to their heirs and assigns.
(Emphasis added.) The putative recipients of the gift of independence were and remain a
statutory creation, ‘actually as a matter of fact’ a brand new state. (Emphasis added.) To link
or de-link sovereignty with that of ancient Thun Sinhale is the heart of the present crisis.

This is not yet another empty boast on behalf of the so called ‘sinhala Buddhist
race.’ The salient point is that the people of this island were blessed for two
millennia with a tradition of leadership and management that upheld the national
interest with wisdom despite great odds. Wisdom was the quintessence of
political rule on this land – a tradition which we must now re-claim making
proper use of our combined spiritual heritage. Between a full blown linkage with
the ancient sovereignty of Thun Sinhale and a complete severance as has been
attempted by the Constitution writers since 1947 lies a middle way which must

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be found to provide a stable foundation for the common destiny of all Sri Lankan
citizens.

In the first place a distinction must be drawn between sovereignty and its
exercise – a distinction between mind and matter and substance and form. If we
use the noble eightfold path in Buddhism it is the distinction between holistic
understanding and holistic action. They are of course inter-connected and one
leads to the other. Sovereignty becomes a troublesome and contentious issue
when the ethical and spiritual aspects which go to the root of being human and
humane are divorced from the understanding of leaders and their actions.
Another aspect of sovereignty is that it is embodied from time to time in the
consciousness of a leader who liberates himself (or herself) and then proceeds to
liberate others. This is the classic bodhisattva approach. In modern times we
have seen how Gandhi and Mandela embodied the soul of their nations to re-
define the concept of national sovereignty after a period of unjust rule. When
nations lack such a guide both the understanding and exercise of sovereignty
becomes incomplete and flawed. That understanding cannot be supplied from
without – a point which the well meaning busy bodies will learn one day. Does
this mean that we must await a son of the soil – a sri lankan ghandhi? The
answer is yes. From nineteen million human beings there must awake just one
soul to lead us to peace. If there is more than one of them – so much the better
because they will not compete with each other in the disgraceful and wasteful
manner the presidential aspirants are doing today. Their values are already
compromised.

In short sovereignty is more than a mere matter of form – it is a matter of

substance. Here things like race, religion, culture to say nothing of forms of
government like federalism are all either disabling or enabling mechanisms for its
exercise. It should not be confused for the real thing which is freedom – total
freedom from the concepts mentioned above to arrive at a wise, realistic and
practical and sustainable solution to the problem of human co-existence on this
island, not in a narrow way but in a way that we make this island a strong, self
sufficient and independent unit in this era of globalization. Concepts like race,
religion and culture must be USED without allowing ourselves to be used by
them. The question whether sovereignty can be divided should likewise not
admit a dogmatic but a pragmatic answer. Sovereignty itself cannot be divided
because it is intangible and it belongs to the entire human race as long as they
occupy this planet. Appropriate forms however can be devised for their proper
exercise.

Distinctions are on account of those geographical, historical and cultural forces

which have shaped where we live today and how we live. Thus if we really think
about it most of us – especially the elite Sri Lankans are neither sinhala, tamil

69
nor muslim but ENGLISH. Concepts can deceive and fool us. Only honesty,
openness and detachment can enlighten.

In all this we need to strike a balance between autonomy and inter-dependence;

rights and relationships. One should not be at the expense of the other.

Bullet Two

NO SOVEREIGNTY WITHOUT BROTHERHOOD

Domination is not liberation

Liberation is freedom with dignity. Domination is pseudo-freedom sans dignity.
The exercise of power by those in authority in free societies is generally positive,
constructive, beneficial and enlightened. In societies which lack freedom it is
generally negative, destructive, harmful and ignorant. Those who dominate
never concede this fact and they devise various modes of deception to rule over
their subjects. It is always a mixture of coercion and deception. The minimal use
of institutionalised coercion and deception is a sure indicator of a society having
freedom.

Nowhere in Sri Lanka can its citizens boast of freedom in this sense. The
converse is true. They are well and truly shackled: within due to an endless
stream of deception practiced on them and without by the naked use of
coercion. We have often experienced this on the road when uniformed bullies
advice us to disappear so that the VIP’s they guard can travel in perfect comfort.

Domination is generally (but not always) preceded by the acquisition of positive

power. Nations like the English and Americans fought and achieved their own
freedom long years ago. Subsequently they became empires and learnt to pay
scant respect for the freedom of other nations. This is a well established
historical pattern.

There were however certain nations which refrained from interfering with the
freedom of others. Ancient Lanka is notable in this regard and its kings (subject
to the unfortunate exception of Parakramabahu I) remained faithful to the
injunction of non-aggression proclaimed by Emperor Asoka.

Domination of your fellow beings (whether in the same country or others) is

generally a historical phase that comes long after liberation. If domination comes
first then it cannot be part of a liberation struggle but an obstacle that stands in
the way of a true liberation struggle on behalf of the ordinary people of this
country.

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When we look at our historical background without bias we can see three forms
of domination the people of this country were subjected to since the fall of the
Kandyan Kingdom in 1815.

1. Domination by imperial policy of Great Britain and the economic,

administrative and legal structures which remain

2. Domination by the capitalist dictatorship set up by J.R.Jayawardene which

also spawned a new breed of political exploiters without shame and with
no respect for themselves or others.

3. Domination by the LTTE dictatorship set up by Prabhakaran in the Vanni,

partly in reaction to the Jayawardene dictatorship.

Each form of domination succeeded the other. They have not brought any
benefit to the ordinary man – only suffering in ever increasing doses. It is
imperative that both the Tamils and Sinhalese (and to some extent the Muslims)
should realize that true liberation is not a mere individualized racial goal but a
common goal for all lankans. Their liberation as ordinary citizens has now
become a historical necessity for this island nation to move forward.

True liberation for the Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim never was and never will be
mutually opposed to each other. The contrary assertion is a fiction invented by
the politician and pseudo freedom fighter.

Holding up the structures of domination mentioned above is our own emotional

poverty and selfishness; our refusal to acknowledge the pain, loss and suffering
of our fellow citizens (whatever their ethnic label) as no different to our own.

As Sharon Salzberg, author of Loving Kindness – the Revolutionary Art of

Happiness, put it

Sometimes as individuals, or as members of a group, we may sacrifice the truth in order to

secure our identity, or preserve a sense of belonging. Anything that threatens this gives rise to
fear and anxiety, so we deny, we cut off our feelings. The end result of this pattern is
dehumanisation. We become split from our own lives and feel great distance from other living
beings as well. As we lose touch with our inner life, we become dependent on the shifting winds
of external change for a sense of who we are, what we care about, and what we value. The fear
of pain that we tried to escape becomes, in fact, our constant companion.

The heart of lanka

We are a people without a heart or soul. The heart of lanka is divided, full of
fear, anger and confusion. This heart beats within us. So our first task is to
tackle our own emotional poverty.

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Can we within this short lifetime, already half spent, learn to share the joys and
sorrows of our brothers and sisters, irrespective of where they are, what they
believe in, how they fulfil their wants and needs and how far they have
progressed as human beings? Only then will we leave these straggling streams
and burbling angry brooks and join the great life force which flows to the sea
with one mind like the great river Mahaweli. Our unity must first experience and
then transcend race and religion in this way to embrace all humanity.

Let us listen again to Salzberg:

What unites us all as human beings is an urge for happiness, which at heart is a yearning for
union, for overcoming our feelings of separateness. We want to feel our identity with something
larger than our small selves. We long to be one with our own lives and with each other.

If we look at the root of even the most terrible addictions, even the most appalling violence in
this world, somewhere we will find this urge to unite, to be happy. In some form it is there, even
in the most distorted and odious disguises. We can touch that. We can draw near and open up.
We can connect, to the difficult forces within ourselves, and to the different experiences in our
lives. We can break through the concepts that keep us apart. This is the true nature of
love and the source of healing for ourselves and our world. This is the ground of
freedom.

To be stuck in your race or religion is like being stuck in the birth canal of your
mother. You are then in a state of suspense – not quite born and not quite a full
grown human being. To be born you must die as a foetus. You cannot remain a
foetus and be born. You must let go of your racial identity to become a true
citizen of Sri Lanka. This is not to disown your race but to rise above it –
transcend it. Your race will remain a part of your rich background and instead of
fettering and chaining you it will be a resource and instrument in your able hands
for the benefit of all humanity.

No sovereignty without brotherhood

This is the psychological obstacle we must overcome to have a proper foundation
for peace in this island. Only then will we be free – and only a free people can
decide what is right for them. We can then exercise this freedom as sovereign
human beings – and deliberate upon the appropriate mechanisms and
processes for the exercise of our common sovereignty. This is to put the horse
before the cart. Right now the cart is before the horse. An ignorant set of human
beings who claim to represent us have arrogated to themselves a power to draw
up constitutions and forms of government in a futile attempt to bind us and our
future generations. How can we assent to such an exercise when we are in
chains?

Be that s it may these pieces of paper will be torn to shreds when the people
truly awaken and give to themselves a fitting constitution as a free people. The
ordinary citizens of this country will decide how soon or far off that day will be.

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As noted above in my illustration of a foetus stuck in the birth canal, sovereignty
– that fullest expression of freedom is never gained in terms of a particular race.
The race is simply a battle cry and a label affixed to a set of people gathered by
their leader. As it was for Dutugemunu so it is for Prabhakaran. Leaders master
the concept of race – their followers become servants to it.

It is never the real thing. Race is a process without beginning or end. Not being
‘pure blooded’ it is just a convenient label. Freedom in the sense of sovereignty
is won with your heart and mind and these don’t have a specific kind of blood
going through them which the scientists have divided into racial categories. As a
matter of fact if you stay deluded on this point it will guarantee that you will not
achieve freedom. This is because freedom is also wisdom – the trait that
distinguishes the homo sapien from its duller animal counterparts.

Freedom in the sense of sovereignty is gained when you act in a spirit of

brotherhood with a set of human beings with whom you must share the
resources of this earth – subject to geographical limitations. As far as this tiny
island is concerned this means all of us who call this island our home for a
pathetically short lifetime.

It is true that we are shackled but the strongest of them is our own ignorance.

 Return to silence

9. Who, or what do we fear?

WIDENING THE CIRCLE OF BROTHERHOOD

The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 1948 states in Article 1,

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

This is a citizen’s exercise in applying this fundamental duty to a defining

problem of our times. This problem can be framed as follows.

How do we view the LTTE?

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In any issue or dispute we have two sides. Take the LTTE for example because
we cannot find a better example. Many people in this country including myself
considered them the ENEMY. There are many justifications we can provide for
this attitude. If argument was the best way of settling a question a reasonably
good case could be made out for this attitude.

Now our attitude is based on the past actions of the LTTE. The only problem in
this approach is that this attitude must serve us for our present and future. Even
if we deem our attitude justified by looking at the past, how can we justify it for
today and tomorrow?

Today is taking shape with our own actions and these actions will affect our
tomorrow. Our attitude can be changed if we acknowledge that we are free and
sovereign and not victims of the past. The measure of our freedom is our ability
to make a brand new start with every dawn.

Morning has broken

Like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird
Praise for them singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing
Fresh from the earth

[Cat Stevens]

The baggage of the past is not with us any more. We are only carrying it in our
hearts and minds. And it is from our hearts and minds that we must cleanse the
anger, disappointment, frustration and fear which keeps us chained to our hurt
and our inability to open our heart any more.

As it is for us – so it is for the LTTE. Ultimately they are no different from us ….

It is in human hearts that negative emotions find a home.

What keeps us bound is the emotional distance we have developed over the
years. The space between us has become poisoned with fear and aggression –
so much so that we cannot venture out without the false security of our weapons
and cyanide capsules.

Death is not an escape or a solution. These bodies will eventually decay and die
anyway. There is something stronger and intangible by which we are bound and
these are our emotions. The emotion of hate by which we are imprisoned can
only be transformed or overcome by the emotion of love. The basic energy that

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lies underneath both hate and love is the same. Hate becomes love when we
realize that we are not two but one and we connect the essential innocence,
simplicity and freshness within us with what we find in the other.

This can happen in many ways. To me just reading about the tigers and their
progression from boys to guerillas in the book by an Indian author served to
emphasize a sneaking suspicion in my mind that they were also human beings.
What makes them special is that they were prepared to sacrifice their lives (and
more importantly their higher emotions like sensitivity and love) for a cause they
came to believe in. There is an element of selflessness in them which the
educated, professional and English speaking elite in Colombo can learn from. We
must indeed give thanks to them for demonstrating the emptiness of our book
learning and the sheer hypocrisy of our preaching that we never had the courage
to practice.

The LTTE know that for as long as this elite of brown sahibs remain selfish they
can have the edge in national politics. What keeps the rest of us bound is the
whole notion that we are separate and two – not united and one. This is the
basis for constructing the ethnic issue and the Tamil problem. We forget that the
tamil problem is also a sinhala and muslim problem because as islanders we are
all related. Martin Luther King once pointed out that ‘before you have breakfast
this morning you will have depended on half the world.’

In fact and in truth we are all working day in and day out to keep each other fed,
clothed, housed, protected and even entertained. Of course there are many anti-
social elements who do their best to disrupt this basic work of humanity but on
the whole the struggle goes on.

So to come back to the basic question whether the LTTE is our enemy or friend
we need to ask ourselves if the construction of the ‘enemy’ is based on fear,
hate, suspicion and incomplete understanding. This is a process I would ask my
fellow citizens to embark on. Likewise I would ask child rights activists whether
they have classified the adult abuser as their enemy; women activists if they
have classified the male abuser and molester as their enemy; human rights
activists if they have designated the police torturer as their enemy and the
people if they have designated other classes and individuals as their enemy.

In all honesty most of us must answer this question ‘yes.’ My next question is
this. Have you succeeded in changing the behaviour of any of your enemies?
This after all is the objective of our crusade. If we have not been very effective
we need to re-consider this approach and be open to consider other options.
This is a duty we cannot shirk if we are truly and genuinely seeking to advance
the welfare of the class of human beings we have decided to champion and on

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behalf of whom compassionate people all over the world have provided us with
fees, allowances, benefits and even foreign travel.

The true human rights champion cannot fulfill the duty of brotherhood by having
enemies. Those who harbour ‘enemies’ within, are part of the problem – not the
solution.

Let us for a moment consider this enemy as our friend. A friend is a person who
can be honest, considerate and helpful. He or she will also seek to prevent a
friend from the danger of self-harm. True friendship is a commitment – it is
much more long term than a holiday in Geneva or Bangkok. It can only grow
from seeds planted in the soil of mother lanka. It is only if we develop a positive
attitude towards all human beings – not just some that we will be effective in
changing others. Mahatma Gandhi said – ‘before you can change others you
must change yourself.’ Some of our greatest teachers have developed and
imparted this to us in different ways referring to metta, Christian love, divine
love, brotherhood in Islam etc.

A friendly disposition takes away our own fears and releases the full range of our
positive energies needed to take on a suspicious and faithless brother. Our
brothers will change in their own time. The acknowledgement that another
person does not control or dictate our response to him is indeed a very powerful
discovery. By changing our attitude we also transform the dynamic of the
relationship. Negative energies need like negative energies to stay alive. When
confronted with positive energies they embark on a lengthy process of testing
and challenging them. If the positive energies are sufficiently strong the negative
energies will die out. This is a fairly clinical description of a rather messy process
of mutual interaction and learning which takes place in real life.

We do none of these things with our enemies. With enemies it is a game in

which there are winners and losers.

Violence takes place because of the complexity and inefficiency of human

communication. In the beginning neither the powerful nor the powerless know
how to communicate. The powerless give a message but the powerful don’t get
it. In frustration the powerless unleash violence. Then the powerful start hearing
but they still don’t get the true message. By this time the powerless have
tasted power and they don’t want to give it up. Since violence has worked more
than any thing else they don’t see the point in giving up violence either.

The whole dynamic is based on mutual fear. So long as fear remains we go

through a cycle in which the victim becomes the oppressor and the oppressor
becomes the victim. The two sides simply exchange positions in order to inflict

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violence and damage on the other. It is only by taking the element of fear out
that true listening and understanding can be revived again.

We only fear what is unknown. So the reason for fear is not a lack of courage
but a lack of realization. With realization – of the humanity inherent in each and
every one of us – comes the knowledge that fear is baseless. Fearlessness or
courage is simply an acknowledgement that there is no reason to fear our own
brothers. Moving from insecurity to security; from suspicion to trust; from
ignorance to wisdom and from isolation to brotherhood is a long process, and as
I mentioned before – a messy one. It starts however at the individual level when
enlightened men and women start crossing those boundaries which are a legacy
of our past. This legacy, this dead hand of the past, will continue to reach out
and throttle the creative potential of our future so long as we take these
boundaries for granted.

Being a realist I do not expect a sudden transformation of those who have

turned life into a game of fear. For the moment let us try and distinguish these
two approaches and understand that we will need to keep on playing games for
as long as adults in this country keep behaving like children.

10. Finding peace in silence …

SILENCE AND THE RE-ENGAGEMENT WITH SELF

What do we turn to when we need courage, inspiration and wisdom?

Some of us have either individuals, traditions or even the environment to turn to

– Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohamed, Gandhi, Sai Baba, prayer, meditation,
solitude, nature …

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There are indeed many approaches. The need however is for simplicity amidst
complexity and unity amidst diversity. What do all these forms of introspection or
soul- searching have in common?

The truth seeker who leaves the crowd begins to tread a ground that is shared
by warriors of a different sort – those who elect to settle their battles internally.

This ground is silence.

It is in silence that the true warrior encounters the thoughts, feelings and
emotions that in the ultimate analysis constitutes his or her world.

In this self-examination – silence provides the background for detached

observation, honesty, non- judgementalism and non violence. This is what truly
enables us to see what we are.

Whether such insight is the result of deliberate practice or instinctively acquired

through years of experience the result is the same. Silence enables us to
understand ourselves – a mandatory first step towards understanding others.

Listening is impossible without silence.

If we Sri Lankans had more respect for silence and learned to listen to ourselves
and others more, we would not have been in this predicament today.

Speech, interaction and communion are important. But unless we come to terms
with our habitual sense of boredom and learn to make friends with and cultivate
silence – our realization of self and others and our speech will necessarily be
flawed.

This, we would respectfully assert, is one of the facts we must face in our re-
engagement with self. Let us therefore pay homage to that ever present,
never absent source of peace, energy and illumination – the silence that
surrounds each and every one of us – here and now.

AN APPEAL TO THE GREAT SANGHA

SILENCE PLEASE …

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I write this for all of us who treasure, value and need silence and peace.

In this land of confusion it may be too much to ask for silence on poya days.
However I believe in the intrinsic value of respectful dialogue and the need for a
public discussion on this issue.

Monks and priests

We have both Buddhist monks and priests in Sri Lanka. The monks follow the
path of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha – the noble triple gem. The life of a
monk is by definition a meditative, quiet and peaceful one. Priests on the other
hand officiate in public rituals and ceremonies and provide a service to people.
The function of the latter is to mediate between nirvana and the laity and to
confer blessings on them. I would not say that priests are not following the path.
Probably many or some of them do. Yet they have developed a different lifestyle,
and one that is closer to that of the worldly modern professional rather than the
renunciate monk.

Priests and their loudspeakers

The priests are in the habit of using loudspeakers – so much so that a religious
function on a Poya day without a loudspeaker may seem incomplete to them.
The result is that all those people within hearing range of the loudspeakers are
gratuitously subjected to pirith, sermons and other details of these rituals and
ceremonies. In short this is a disturbance, an invasion of privacy and an assault
upon peace and quiet of the ordinary citizen. The priests may or may not be
obtaining a permit under the Police Ordinance from the local OIC of the Police
Station. Even then it is my respectful position that disturbance of peace and
silence of a whole community in order to conduct a religious ceremony for a
fraction of that community cannot be justified in terms of the law and certainly
not in terms of the dhamma.

Significance of a sacred day

The fact that major events in the life of the Buddha and even other subsequent
events like the arrival of Arahant Mahinda to Lanka took place on Poya days
indicate a strong connection between nature and Buddhism. The full moon has
many qualities we can learn through observation. Although radiant, it is naturally
silent and peaceful. By illuminating the dark sky it provides light where there is
none. This is precisely the effect of the dhamma which guides ignorant human
beings towards enlightenment.

The great elements and suffering

Moreover, life on earth is the result of a combination of sun and earth which has
produced the 4 great elements of matter – Apo (water), Thejo (caloricity or heat
and cold), Vayo (air), Patavi (earth). The fifth element is of course Manas (mind

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or empty space) without which nothing can subsist in this universe. It is the
constant interaction of these elements which is at the bottom of stress, dis-ease
and suffering, what the Buddha referred to as dukkha. Human beings are simply
a combination of these five elements. They use the energy generated by this life
process to pursue their cravings and fight their aversions and so keep on
producing kammic energy that keeps them bound to an endless cycle of births
and deaths called samsara. Loudspeaker chanting and preaching is a sidetrack
on the spiritual path, and a drift to spiritual aggression. In the words of the late
Tibetan teacher Trungpa Rinpoche in his classic work – Cutting through Spiritual
Materialism (1973):

Perhaps you are fighting to develop love and peace, struggling

to achieve them: “We are going to make it, we are going to
spend thousands of dollars in order to broadcast the doctrine of
love everywhere, we are going to proclaim love.” Okay proclaim
it, do it, spend your money, but what about the speed and
aggression behind what you are doing? Why do you have to
push us into the acceptance of your love? Why is there such
speed and force involved? If your love is moving at the same
speed and drive as other people’s hatred, then something
appears to be wrong.

Active and passive energy

Living as we do on a planet where everything is in motion it is the moon that
provides us with a natural symbol of the Noble Truth of cessation of dukkha.
There is no life on the moon because two key life producing elements, air and
water are absent. It is inherently peaceful and on full moon days it reflects the
light from the sun as if to demonstrate that we can use the energy of the sun,
not to uphold the wheel of suffering but to gain release from it.

We should not however equate the sun with life and the moon with death. They
manifest two forms of energy – the former active and the latter passive, and it is
really the using and balancing of these two aspects that we are called upon to
do. The spiritual path is a gradual process of integrating balance into our lives.
Life itself is a perpetual exercise of balancing needs. When we are thirsty we
drink; when we are hungry we eat; when we are tired we sleep. Our problem is
simply that we fail to take good care of our bodies and minds by attending to
these needs in a timely and appropriate manner. This is why we need the Poya
every month to get in touch with our sources of passive energy, our own
patterns of feelings, emotions and thoughts and our own silence. Having got
duped by the material market for 29 days this 30 th day is not to get duped by the
competition of the religious market.

Investing in passive energy

The Poya day is set apart by Buddhists all over the world, from time immemorial,
to turn away from their worldly burdens, concerns and activities. It is a time for

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rest and a time for cessation of those things that we must shoulder as of
necessity in order to live and grow together as a human society. It is a time to
stop, pause and reflect on our own lives and devote some time for prayer,
teaching, worship and meditation to refresh our spiritual energies.

The first condition for any of these activities, prayer, teaching, worship and
meditation is the ability to compose oneself and cultivate inner silence. It is only
by emptying yourself that you can engage in religious activities with a whole and
pure heart.

Return to silence
Internal silence is aided by external silence. A peaceful and orderly environment
helps us to find peace and order in our own minds. As a society we have drifted
far away from attaching any importance to the value of silence in public spaces.
We fill these with televisions, loud music, loudspeakers, cricket match
commentaries, motor vehicle horns etc, etc. These are classic symptoms of a
society revelling in dukkha, restlessly seeking more and more forms of
entertainment to find an escape from our own selves. It is not a surprise that
this general disease of the mind has infiltrated our temples – traditionally a place
of peace, quiet and dignity, but now a public nuisance that is shamelessly
exhibiting the arrogance of the majority that proclaims this to be the ‘Land of the
Buddha’. Let us talk of the liberation of the Buddha instead – a liberation that he
attained by abandoning and letting go of everything. Let us speak no more of
“land.” The Buddha was not a land developer, either in a material or spiritual
sense.

Silence does not have to be created. It has and always will be a part of nature.
Listening to one self and listening to others – the basic skill of a human being
cannot be cultivated without silent periods and silent spaces that respect this
universal human need.

Let us resolve today, in the spirit of humility and compassion the Buddha
advocated, to do everything in our power to restore this right to Buddhists and
all our brothers and sisters in this island who need silence to discover inner
peace.

THE MESSAGE OF THE BUDDHA STATUE

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Legend and ancient chronicles state that this island was civilized and made habitable for
human beings by the Buddha.

This civilizing influence has clearly faded, but it has not died out.

In the long history of this island we have faced several episodes of collective insanity in
which the forces of ignorance temporarily usurped power to rule over us. The present
predicament is no different.

On such occasions in the past liberators have appeared to fight for the freedom of the
people and this country has never lacked them. They have always appeared when they
were ready to take on the forces of ignorance.

Our last liberator was a commoner named Konappu Bandara who was crowned in 1694
as Vimala Dharma Sooriya I. Konappu Bandara had a single minded dedication to
preserving our ancient way of life and our freedoms. He saved the Kandyan kingdom
from falling into the clutches of a marauding Portugese force. The Portugese as we
know earned notoriety for practising terrorism upon the people including women and
children in the 16th and 17th centuries. Translated into English Vimala Dharma Sooriya
means sun of the pure doctrine.

The pure doctrine states that you must liberate the inside before you can liberate the
outside. When there is turmoil and confusion outside where can we find peace and
clarity?

The Buddha statue provides a timeless message. What does it exude and manifest? It
exudes great peace, stillness and silence. Inner calm and outer calm unite upon the
serene face of the Buddha.

Forget rays of light and aura. These are transient phenomena. We might as well be
dazzled by passing clouds, wind in the trees or a flying bird. But as we all know –
familiarity breeds contempt.

This silence has always been here. It never left us. Under the assault upon our dignity
and battery upon our senses committed by the might of Western and Japanese
technology starting with the Portugese canon, we have forgotten the potential of the
silent and peaceful mind.

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The busy mind tends to dominate and conceal the silent mind underneath. The present
world with all its problems and suffering is a product of this restless and anxious mind.
Modern living with its 101 distractions, entertainments and titillations play on our
feelings and emotions and make us victims and even slaves of our emotions. This pulls
the mind in different directions and deprives it of the ability to know itself.

Just like the body needs rest after an active day the mind also needs a proper rest to re-
discover inner peace. But because of our frustration and discontent even when the body
sleeps the mind is restless with its dreams and nightmares.

So when we need to bring our busy mind to rest where do we place it? Generally the
mind escapes from the present into the past or future when we are not happy to be
where our body is.

In uncovering the peaceful mind we also uncover the indestructible source of peace and
happiness in the world.

The time has now come to return to silence. In silence we will understand and make
sense of our common plight as islanders. In silence we shall resolve to liberate our inner
selves. And in silence we shall liberate this beautiful island – our glorious mother lanka
who waits patiently for her next liberator.

The message of the Buddha statue is clear. Return to silence and all will be revealed to
you. Return to your habitual and mindless speech and actions, and everything will be
hidden as it was before.

No liberator accomplished his task alone. He only gave direction and unity to a universal
awakening. Every human being therefore counts in this attempt to restore humanity
once more.

DISCOVERING PEACE WITH SATI AND SAMPAJANNA

Sati is knowledge of that which is still – the silence.

Sampajanna is knowledge of that which is in motion – thoughts, feelings, expressions,

words and actions – all of which come and go.

Together they cover the whole spectrum of phenomena we experience.

We experience these phenomena all the time but without sati and sampajanna. So what
is the distinction between our ordinary, mundane experience and the meditative and
supramundane experience; between delusion and seeing things as they are?

When we practice with sati and sampajanna, in anapanasati meditation for example, we
become one with the silence, and we become one with the breath. In other words

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there is no me and you – just the silence and the breath. The silence and breath make
no demands upon each other. They co-exist in perfect harmony.

Thus by becoming a living embodiment of sati and sampajanna we also embody the
dhamma – the way things are, without the superfluous imposition of a self, experiencer
or ego.

So sati and sampajanna are within us and we need to discern how we habitually turn
away from them through our conditioned responses to phenomena, both internal and
external. The busy mind tends to dominate and conceal the silent mind underneath. The
present world with all its problems and suffering is a product of this restless and anxious
mind. In uncovering the peaceful mind we also uncover the indestructible source of
peace and happiness in the world.

In practical terms, sati is the habit of recollection, of pausing and letting the space come
in to break the incessant chain of thoughts words and actions of our daily life. It is like
bringing your car to an absolute stop at a busy T junction to decide how you should
proceed to cross the road negotiating the oncoming traffic and observing if the traffic on
the opposite side of the road is providing space for you. Every moment of mindfulness
you bring to bear on this simple operation has an element of sati (silence) and an
element of sampajanna (clear seeing), in it.

At other times sati is the question you pop to yourself in the course of a busy day at
your office desk, ‘what am I doing?’ If you are really mindful, sampajanna will reply ‘I
am sitting.’

In this world there are unconscious meditators who use both sati and sampajanna
without knowing them. The conscious meditators acknowledge them, cultivate them and
develop true peace, equanimity and happiness.

An ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB says:

In making things end, and in making things start, there is nothing more
glorious, than KEEPING STILL.

Peace cannot be found in words; anymore than it can be found through landmines,
bombs and bullets. Nor can it be found in more sophisticated verbal formulations,
concepts or systems of thought.

There is far too much active energy – restless and searching and too little passive
energy to balance it. Peace can only be found through a continuous and faithful
return to silence – a silence which is always here and now.

Only silence can truly re-energize us and give us that stillness, calmness and clarity of
thought. We must now return to this untapped and under-estimated well spring of
peace within us both individually and collectively.

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Wisdom is born in silence – not through endless intellectual speculation about things we
have never truly experienced and understood within.

THE TAO OF LIFE …

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step … 5

it continues with a single step … and

it ends with a single step.

Why?

If we define our reality – realistically as the present moment, you will see that
we are only called upon to take a single step at a time – nothing more. Presence
of mind is required every step of the way.

Without presence of mind we may not be walking in the right direction ….

We may also not complete the journey. We may die halfway through. As you
know life is fragile anyway … and not merely because modern life is dangerous
…. This is the way things are.

Nevertheless there is value in making the journey mindfully because those who
come after us will recognize the clarity of our footprints and keep walking
towards the light – the end of the journey. This is how humankind has
progressed and will progress in future.

Happy walking ….

5
This famous saying is attributed to Lao Tszu – the father of Taoism (the pragmatic and earthy companion
to the Buddhist way of life) and a contemporary of Gothama Buddha.

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 Back cover
Peace cannot be found in thought and words; anymore than it can be found through
landmines, bombs and bullets. Nor can it be found in more sophisticated verbal formulations,
concepts or systems of thought.

This conflict began with thought and words. Thoughts and words are the problem – not the
solution.

There is far too much active energy – restless and searching and too little passive energy to
balance it. Peace can only be found through a continuous and faithful return to silence – a
silence which is always here and now.

Only silence can truly re-energize us and give us that stillness, calmness and clarity of thought.
We must now return to this untapped and under-estimated well spring of peace within us
both individually and collectively.

Wisdom is born in silence – not through endless intellectual speculation about things we have
never truly experienced and understood within.

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