How Sri Lanka Bastardized the Buddha
Ruben Nagesparan Chandrakumar, BS
There is no finer example of how the life and teachings of a man can be distorted and misused in the name of evil than in Sri Lanka. While there are undoubtedly Buddhists within Sri Lanka that are genuinely good people or are striving toward goodness, there remains a collective myth that grips the Sinhalese population and leads them to despise, oppress, and silence the Tamil voice of sovereignty, freedom, and justice. While anyone can nominally claim to be a Buddhist, only the actions of that individual will determine if they are truly a follower of the Buddha’s teachings. Of these, the foremost are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. In Sri Lanka, these truths seem to have less significance than the greater, and more core, myths of the Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa—creating the unique and dangerous blend of Sinhala nationalism and Theravada Buddhism.
Despite the fact that there is substantial evidence that numerous Tamils were Buddhists in the 2nd and 3rd century BC, many of the Sinhalese, and the Tamils, have accepted an incorrect interpretation of history that treats the Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa myths as historical fact—ignoring that these were written centuries after there were Tamil Buddhists. Furthermore, the actions of both the tyrannical and bigoted government, along with the sentiment of hatred carried by the Sinhalese mobs, are directly antithetical to the teachings of the Buddha—who stressed the importance of nonviolence and was opposed to war. The most remarkable and comical example of this bastardization of Buddhism is held by many bhikkus of Sri Lanka; these individuals were largely responsible for the breakdown of negotiated pacts with Chelvanayakam that would have guaranteed a level of peace and shared sovereignty.
The unfortunate use of the Buddha’s virtues to justify the darkest and most evil desires within Sri Lanka is a disgrace to his legacy and his teachings. It made the religious philosophy of Buddha into a political dogma that offered no flexibility nor freedom to transform; it used the Buddha’s name to commit and cover up the most inhumane actions humans are capable of.