Monday, Feb 24 2014
The Buddhist World lacks an effective
mechanism to help save a Buddhist Nation in Danger
The crisis facing the Buddhist world is neither a
decline in religious conviction nor an apprehension that truth underpinned by
rational argument and new scientific discoveries will one day overtake and
outstrip the core teachings of its founder which is a perennial fear bordering
on despondency that characterizes several other competing religions, but the
lack of an effective institutional mechanism that can lend support when a
Buddhist institution, Buddhist community or even a pre-dominant
Buddhist nation is in danger. We see the lack of substantial networks of
support driving threatened Buddhist nations or Buddhist communities into a
sense of despair and hopelessness at times of an emergency. Traditional
Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos are
now under severe pressure to distance themselves from extending state patronage
to Buddhism and erase their Buddhist country identity and embrace a secular
identity with no such pressure being applied to countries in other parts of the
world such as the Middle East or the Catholic belt of
Europe.
Despite a 2500 year old history that makes
Buddhism one of the oldest religions in the world, a worldwide presence that
makes it a global religion, and a way of life grounded in wisdom and compassion
that attracts the envy of other civilizations, Buddhism still retains its
biggest constraint i.e. lack of effective protections. It is a historical fact
that Buddhism has lost more territory and space in
Buddhism’s biggest appeal of being an eternally
passive, non – confrontational, peace loving religion that lacks a central
place to direct its affairs in the international arena unlike in the case of
say the Vatican (sovereign state enjoying both temporal and spiritual power) or
the World Council of Churches ( powerful and well – funded with influence
reaching to four corners of the world) or the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (promoting Muslim solidarity in
economic, social, and political affairs), has become Buddhism’s Achilles'
heel. Its organizational bases are relatively powerless when compared to the
aforesaid entities. For example, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations
which has a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization
is the collective voice of the Muslim world and committed to safeguard and
protect the interests of the Muslim world. It has its headquarters in Saudi Arabia .
Rising Challenges to Buddhism
The issue of rising challenges to Buddhism to the
extent of undermining its very existence as the pre-dominant religion of a
nation, hardly merits much attention in discussions of International Buddhist
Organisations, International Buddhist Conferences, or among National
Governments in countries with predominant Buddhist populations and
corresponding state and constitutional obligations to protect and foster
Buddhism.
Traditional Buddhist countries now find
themselves force fed with ideas that are foreign to Asia, that had been given
birth primarily in a Western setting and related to the interplay of dynamics
of European societies but are nevertheless required to be uncritically accepted
and transplanted in Asian societies without due consideration being given to
the social tensions that would be generated in transplanting such ideas. To
de-link state patronage to Buddhism is one such pressure brought on by various
religious interests that during the heyday of colonialism enjoyed exclusive
patronage from colonial rulers.
The solidarity that countries in Buddhist Asia
showed towards each other in the distant past i.e. pre - colonial era, has
greatly evaporated or become non – existent. The sense of kinship of being
fellow travelers in a spiritual journey overarched by Buddhist precepts and
bonded by common religious beliefs and foundations no longer act as a reference
point to summon or render assistance even between Buddhist peoples based in
neighbouring countries at times of need.
Recent events, for example, attacks on Buddhist Temples
in Bangladesh or the crisis
in Myanmar
hardly drew concerted attention or action in other Buddhist countries in the
form of assisting our co – religionists facing an existential
plight.
Areas of growing concern
1) Religious
conversions
Countries preserving Indian Civilizational
religions e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism etc. are seen as soft and easy
targets for manipulation and religious conversion of their people, and in turn
replacement of centuries old traditional culture with new cultures subservient
to foreign interests. The resulting change in religious demography brings
pressure on the State to disassociate itself with Buddhist values that underpin
the stability of the society, legal framework and moral direction of the
country.
2) Mass Media
The mainstream Mass Media in the English language
in pre-dominant Buddhist countries which act as the window to the world hardly
makes any contribution towards creating any Buddhist public opinion or provide
a voice reflecting Buddhist concerns. Instead it acts as a group largely
hostile to the creation of any such Buddhist opinion and thereby sacrificing
the interests of the wider majority of the country’s people. One hardly reads
newspaper editorials in support of a Buddhist cause. Instead Buddhists find
themselves repeatedly fed with a regular and steady diet of lectures on ‘human
rights’, ‘rule of law’ ‘democracy’ non – violence’ ‘peace and reconciliation’
despite no such intransigence on their part at a major level.
There appears to be a calculated move to place
Buddhists, metaphorically speaking, in the ‘dock’, make Buddhists feel guilty
of alleged crimes or misconduct and then extract more and more concessions
totally out of proportion to what Buddhists enjoy as a religious minority in
non – Buddhist countries.
3) Status of
Buddhism as an official religion
Reciprocity is the norm that governs diplomacy or
grant of religious concessions. Buddhism hardly enjoys official status as a
religion in Europe or in the Middle East .
Freedom of religion is honoured in the breach when it comes to acceptance of
Buddhism as an official religion in these parts of the world. In Europe only Russia and Austria recognize Buddhism as an
official religion.
4) Hidden Agenda
of 'Secularism'
The proponents of secularism in Sri Lanka like in India are those clearly bent on
repudiating the civilisational ethos of this country. Their main objective is
to marginalize Buddhism from the public - political and social –
life. In the West we find that secularism had stood for rationalism,
universalism and humanism. In Asia , secularism
is being used as a smokescreen and a shield to push Indian civilizational
religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism away from the centre stage
and replace them with religions and ideologies that were introduced much later in
time to these lands.
In pre-colonial Sri Lanka there was never any
conflict between the State and organized religion. It is essentially a European
phenomenon. What we are now faced with is an increasing challenge to an
ancient, indigenous Buddhist civilisation which is gentle, accommodative and
pacifist by later introduced religious cultures that have a track record of
intolerance and violence and close association with colonialism and a
self-declared objective of world conquest. They use the language of human
rights and freedom of religion but their goals are very much political and
predatory. They support the country’s adversaries in the international arena to
engage in the game of finger – pointing, naming and shaming our leaders and
people. It is also a battle for the moral conscience of Sri Lanka which
our people and rulers have worked so hard relentlessly to keep over many
centuries as an expression of our indigenous religious beliefs and outlook.
League of Buddhist Nations
During the last five hundred years or so, since
the beginning of the western colonial era, the governance and steering of the
world was very much in the hands of powerful western nations using their mono
religio- cultural framework as terms of reference in policy making and implementation
of policy. That era is now drawing to a close. Sino – Indic civilizations will
take over from euro-centric civilizations. The question is not whether but
when. The old world will give rise to a new world and revert to Asia its traditional leadership role of the world.
Buddhism is well - integrated and deep seated in
both the Chinese and Indian cultures. To the Buddhists in Asia
the challenge is to develop new structures and institutions that reflect
current realities. It would be feasible for countries with pre-dominant
Buddhist populations to consider developing closer ties with each other in the
spheres of economic, cultural, and trade and investment. The Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) provides a role model for the Buddhist world to adopt
and establish at summit level an equivalent body to give voice and make
representations on behalf of the Buddhists.
Buddhist heritage countries such as China , Japan ,
Korea , Thailand , Myanmar ,
Vietnam , Taiwan , Cambodia ,
Laos , Bhutan , Nepal ,
and Sri Lanka
among others should engage in increasing close cooperation in international
affairs and regularly meet like the European Union or the OIC in the form of a
League of Buddhist Nations. Sri
Lanka as a traditional Buddhist country with
the longest continuing Buddhist history in the world is eminently well
qualified to take an initiative in this direction.
Buddhist Television Channel on par with
BBC, CNN and Al - Jazeera
The Buddhist voice is relatively speaking largely
unheard in the international arena. Buddhist nations which are embattled or
threatened by more powerful vested interests have to rely on International news
agencies or foreign Television Channels such as BBC, CNN or Al – Jazeera which
have different policy objectives and are largely unsympathetic or sometimes
even prejudiced towards the Buddhist cause, to air their position. This is an
unsatisfactory situation. The time has come for the Buddhist world to seriously
consider the inauguration of a Buddhist Television Channel on par with the
aforesaid major TV Channels.
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