COLONIAL ERA POWER BASE

RE-EMERGING IN OUR MOTHERLAND?

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

There are clear indications that the Colonial Era Power-base – the Catholic and Christian
establishment, with its privileged Tamil component, is attempting to re-emerge as a force
to undermine our Nation’s Buddhist Character and to gain foothold in Our Motherland.
Devious means are adopted by this force including the mobilization of feeble politicians,
media personnel and others with little foresight, who do not have the interest to preserve
the Buddhist identity of our Nation. It is time the concerned Buddhists and others start
mobilizing vigorously and forcefully, to counter this undesirable anti-national trend by
taking all necessary action to reinforce the Buddhist foothold of our motherland.

Catholics and Christians today account for a mere 5% of the country’s population and a
fair proportion of them are Tamils, some being racist Tamil terrorists or their supporters
living locally or overseas. Among such supporters are some Catholic and Christian
priests. Even though their population is small, their religious establishment still continues
to have tremendous political influence in our country. A majority of the major business
tycoons, media organization owners, some journalists in the English media, some civil
activists and politicians, especially those in the Parliamentary Opposition are Catholics or
Christians.

In addition to their unethical conversion businesses, the Christian and Catholic

establishments have, in recent years financially sponsored and promoted a series of other
programs to undermine the resurgence of Buddhism in our country in recent years. The
Church appears to have mobilized their journalists, including those attached to national
media outfits, Christian scholars and professionals in big-business in our country and
their supporters, to help in the promotion of their devious activities.

Their aim is to disrupt the resurgence of Buddhism and Buddhist activities across the
country, with the elimination of Tamil terrorism and restoration of peace in the country.
Their devious activities are aimed at undermining the strength and influence of Buddhism
and Buddhists in the country, in subtle and indirect ways. Their actions are aimed to
demean and weaken in a most cunning and subtle manner, our nation’s Buddhist
leadership, our Maha-Sangha in particular, our Buddhist organizations, and in general our
traditional Buddhist cultural pursuits and practices. Our rich and meaningful traditional
cultural norms are corrupted by the introduction and highlighting of western cultural
superficialities and influencing the attitudes of the younger generation against their
cultural inheritance. They use the electronic media effectively to accomplish this anti-
national activity, this repulsive social menace.

2600th SAMBUDHDHA JAYANTHI CELEBRATION

The influence of these colonial forces to infiltrate and undermine important Buddhist
programmes organized by the government is well evident in connection with the
programme proposed by the government regarding the 2600th Sambudhdha Jayanthi
Celebration. For all purposes, this is an exclusively Buddhist event to be held in Sri
Lanka, and meant to be celebrated by Buddhists throughout the world. It appears that
this Buddhist programme has been infiltrated by the Catholic-Christian establishment,
thereby diluting and undermining the significance of this unique Buddhist event. This
controversial government programme has been proclaimed by the Prime Minister who is
also the Minister of Religious Affairs by his letter dated 05, August 2010. What is most
disturbing is that, this highly controversial programme, according to the PM, has been
approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Concerned Buddhists of Sri Lanka should strongly object to this anti-Buddhist action on
the part of a government that is in power today owing to the strong support it received
from the Buddhist community. It is an encouraging development that all prominent
Buddhist Organizations and genuine Buddhist leaders including the ordained and lay,
across the country have joined hands to protest against this unbecoming action on the part
of the country’s Prime Minister. They have taken necessary initial action by forwarding
letters to the President and the Mahasangha leadership, highlighting the controversial
nature and undesirable effects of the PMs proposals and its conflicting implications in
terms of the provisions in the country’s Constitution, which accords a prominent place
and special privileges to Buddhism and the Buddha Sasana, stipulated categorically in
Paras 9, 10, 14(1) & (2). According to the PM’s proclamation, all religions in the country
are being accorded the same privileges as Buddhism which is contrary to the provisions
of the Constitution. In view of accommodating other religions especially the Catholic and
Christian establishments in this exclusively Buddhist event, the 2600th Sambudhdha
Jayanthi Celebration programme is referred to in the PMs proclamation as an “Island
wide International Programme”. According to this programme, District Committees
representing all religions of the country will be formed to organize and conduct the event
on an island-wide basis thereby diluting the Buddhist character and spirit of this
celebration. No responses have been received for the letters sent to the President and the
Mahasanga Leadership.

Perhaps our Prime Minister and his Advisors may be unaware of the fact that moves to
establish “Inter-Religious Committees”, “inter-faith committees” are a creation of the
Christian/Catholic Church to weaken and subvert Buddhists and to reduce the impact of
Sinhala Buddhist programmes and activities. Those who are better conversant with their
activities know that the Catholic and Christian clergy have been highlighting and
promoting this cunning idea, this subtle approach of scheming against established
religions such as Buddhism, by means of infiltrating them through these so-called
“inter-religious” and “inter-faith” organizations and committees”. Their hidden motive is
to infiltrate and undermine the Buddhist establishment and weaken its position of
prominence and significance.

DIRECT INVOLVEMENT WITH LTTE TERRORISTS

These Catholic-Christian leaders and groups preach that the cause of all the problems in
Sri Lanka, especially of the Tamil communities, is the Sinhala people, especially the
Sinhala Buddhists and the panacea is power sharing and secularism which is the
euphemism for Christianization ("Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid
and International Charity" by Michael Maren, David Rieff's; LTTE and the Christian
Church, Gerald de S Samarasekera, LankaWeb, Oct. 03, 2004; Tigers Eelam: Nothing
Hindu or Tamil about it, by B.R.Haran, Sri Lanka Guardian, July 05, 2010; "A Bed for
the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis", recent columns by Rajpal Abeynayake and
Neville de Silva in Sunday Times; the Communiqué from President Tejan Kabbah of
Sierra Leone to Kofi Annan just before the 1997 Western backed military coup, who
accused the London based Christian Nordic funded NGO ‘International Alert’ of
meddling in Sierra Leone's internal affairs and supporting the RUF terrorists and
"sabotaging all efforts at implementing the peace","Lords of Poverty: The Power,
Prestige and Corruption of the International Aid Business" by Graham Hancock;).

It is a well known fact that Christian priests were directly aiding and abetting the LTTE
to carry out terrorist attacks. In the late 1990s, there were several newspaper reports of
Christian priests being caught trying to smuggle-in banned items used to make bombs to
uncleared areas. In the past the racist Tamil Tigers have been using some churches in the
Kotahena as safe houses.
Our people should know that the racist terrorist LTTE's attacks on Buddhists, including
the bombing of the Dalada Maligawa, the massacre of Buddhist monks in Aranthalawa,
shooting of hundreds of devotees at the Sri Maha Bodhi site in Anuradhapura, and the
recent killing of 64 Sinhala Buddhists in Kebitigollawa, all have the hidden paw of the
Christian Church behind them.

It is noteworthy that it was the Bishop of Mannar, Rasappu Joseph who declared open
the "Embassy of the Tamil Eelam", the Eelam House in London” during the
heydays of the LTTE. He has the audacity to make a submission a few days ago, at
the LLRC in favour of the Tamils, portraying them as a “suffering lot” who need
support and proposing power sharing as the solution to their problem.

The so called “Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam is led mosty by Catholics and
Christians. It is no secret that the LTTE was strongly backed by the Church and is a part
of a neo-colonial conspiracy. Many members of the Catholic and Christian clergy acted
front men of the LTTE and the so called Fr. S.J.Emmanual; the former Vicar General of
Jaffna is a prime example. Today he lives in Germany helping the Eelam cause.

It is said that once the Eelam is created, the Church of South India that has contributed so
much to the Tamil separatist cause, is set to re-establish itself as the "Church of Tamil
Eelam" and become the official Church of the new state. It is said that this is the ultimate
end that the Western countries, NGOs, the Christian Church and the LTTE are striving
for. Chelvanayagam, the father of Tamil separatism was a Christian. As D.B.S. Jeyaraj
wrote in the Christian owned Sunday Leader sometime back, that Christians have
contributed more to the "Tamil cause" than Hindus. LTTE's ideologue the late Anton
Balasingham, a former employee of the British embassy in Sri Lanka was a Christian.
The same goes for terrorist Prabakarans’s son - Charles Anthony and many of LTTE's
lackeys across the globe, ranging from NGO ‘parayas’ to British and Canadian
parliamentarians.

PAROCHIAL ATTITUDE OF MINORITIES

Unlike the Sinhala Buddhist community and their leadership, the large mass of those who
belong to minority communities and their leadership, including religious minorities such
as Catholics, Christians, Muslims and Hindus, have failed to think beyond their parochial
view. Separatism and divisiveness appear to dominate their thoughts when it comes to
their association with the country. This attitude of the minorities inevitably prevents them
from developing a sense of belonging to the nation, and cultivating better relationships
with the indigenous Sinhala Buddhist majority. It is a fact that the Sinhala Buddhists have
been the dominant majority community of the country from historic times.

This parochial attitude prevents them from understanding and appreciating the worthy
principles and values that characterize our nation, that give our nation an identity of its
own. Building a stronger sense of national identity holds the key to achieving true
reconciliation and social cohesion in our nation. Our nation needs to be united behind the
nation’s values. Extremism in any form, including religious, is not in-keeping with the
principles and values that form the basis of our nation. Our leaders and government
should provide the lead to encourage all communities, especially the minority
communities to be a part of the nation, to develop a national perspective, to participate in
national events and be participants in the national development effort for the common
benefit of all. As an initial step, the minority communities in our country should be active
participants in celebrating national events such as the Independence Day, Republic Day,
the Traditional New Year and so on, whereby they will have opportunities for
intercultural dialogue and building of cordial and mutually beneficial relationships with
the diverse communities that form our nation.

SPIRIT OF TOLERANCE AND ACCOMMODATION

History of our country reveals vividly that a spirit of tolerance and accommodation of
others irrespective of their religious or other differences has been a common
distinguishing characteristic of Sinhala Buddhists of this country from very early times.
Judging from the fanaticism and confrontational attitudes, utterances and actions of the
Catholic Church and the Evangelists in recent times, it appears that this spirit of tolerance
and accommodation on the part of Buddhists is not appreciated by them. It is being
exploited as a weakness to pursue their self interests of promoting their religions and
ways of life at the expense of Buddhism, Buddhist culture and Buddhist way of life. We
are yet to know the real underlying reasons for some of our prominent politicians to be
supportive of or to have become victims of the devious machinations of the Church.

APPROACH IN BUDDHISM

Unethical and confrontational approaches, including fanaticism and brutality adopted by

the Catholic and Christian religious establishments, often in the past and even today, to
promote their religious beliefs provide a stark contrast to the approach in Buddhism. The
Buddha Dhamma is described as 'ehipassiko', inviting one to come and see for himself.
There is no concept of coercion or proselytization in Buddhism. The Buddha taught the
importance of patience, tolerance, and non-aggression, providing a splendid ideal of
tolerance for Buddhists to follow. There is not a single occasion in the Buddhist
scriptures of the Buddha being less than compassionate, not only to those who accepted
his teachings but also to the followers of all faiths, not only to the good but also to the
wicked, not only to humans but also to animals and to all living beings. In striking
contrast to the spread of other world religions, which are replete with unethical and
forcible conversions and sectarian strife, the history of Buddhism is remarkable for the
complete absence of bloodshed in the name of the teacher.

The history of Buddhists of Sri Lanka during the four hundred years of foreign Catholic-
Christian rule prior to the country’s political independence is nothing but a long and
poignant chronicle of Buddhist tolerance in the face of direct and indirect oppression and
injustice. Atrocities committed against Buddhists by Catholics and Christians in Sri
Lanka during the 16th to 20th century period in particular, were extensive and
unprecedented. The undertaking to maintain the Buddhist religion given in 1815 by the
Christian British was grossly betrayed. Who but the Buddhists tolerated the rank injustice
of Catholic Portuguese rulers who used the revenue from one of the most sacred places of
Buddhist worship, the Dalada Maligawa, to pay for the construction of St. Paul's
Cathedral right in front of the Maligawa on land that belonged to the Maligawa. Who but
the Buddhists tolerated the rank injustice of the Christian British in destroying a
magnificent Buddhist Vihara in Kotte to erect in its stead a Christian School? Who but
the Buddhists tolerated the extortion from them of four hundred pounds a year for the
building of Christian Churches?

It would be ungrateful on the part of Sri Lankan Catholics and Christians to overlook the
fact that Buddhists gave them shelter and protected them when the Portuguese and Dutch
subjected them to untold harassment. It is ironical that when the Roman Catholics were
ill-treated by the Christian Dutch, they sought refuge among the Buddhists who gave
them shelter amongst them. Right throughout the Catholic- Christian colonial period of
our country, it was the Buddhists who showed compassion towards the oppressed, it was
the Buddhists who tolerated the dreadful Catholic-Christian injustices and wretchedness.

BRITISH FAVOUR CHRISTIANS OVER BUDDHISTS

It is reported that in the 16" century, the Catholic Church came to Sri Lanka with sword
in one hand and the bible in the other. “They and their lay collaborators under the Pope's
Treaty of Tordesallas had been given license to plunder, destroy buildings, rape and kill.
That was Christianity old style as they rampaged destroying an entire civilization. Their
Protestant successors, the Dutch drove these marauders away. But Sri Lankans, who at
the time were almost exclusively Buddhists, gave Christians sustenance in their country,
and allowed them freedom to practice their religion. Their other Protestant successors, the
British, talking with double tongue favoured Christians and Christianity over Buddhists
and Buddhism, whom under the 1815 treaty they promised to protect. They created a new
collaborator Christian class drawn from spies and those who betrayed the country. They
rewarded them with lands stolen from the people and the Buddhist temples.

COMMON AGENDA OF ALL CHURCHES

It is no secret that all the world churches- most important of them being the Roman
Catholic Church and the Protestant Church -- have a common agenda which they call
"Evangelization 2000 and Beyond". Evangelization 2000 is not an isolated phenomenon.
It comes in wake of two other movements, globalization and Westernization.
Westernization has culturally enslaved the minds and lives of many people. All this
together constitute a single, three-pronged onslaught on our national sovereignty –
economic, cultural and religious. Evangelization is in fact homogenization. It seeks to
impose "one God, one Prophet and one Book” over all mankind. It is aimed at destroying
cultural pluralism and religious diversity. It is the evangelizing faiths that threaten the
rich and colorful diversity and impose a monolithic way of life over all peoples.

UNHOLY ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHURCHES

In Sri Lanka, there is competition and conflicts among the many different churches
established by different denominations like the Catholic, Anglican Wesleyan, Baptist,
Salvation Army and Methodist churches and the later entries to this island known as
Evangelical churches of Assemblies of God, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day
Adventists, Mormons, Apostle church, Calvary church, Church of Prayer, Divine Love
Church, East Lanka Evangelical Church, Four Square Church, Gethsemane Church,
Every Home Crusade and so on. Today there are over thirty seven Christian sects in Sri
Lanka.

The present Christian regrouping in Sri Lanka is an unholy alliance between Catholics,
Anglican Protestants and fundamental Christians from the USA. The Christian resistance
to the "Anti-conversion" Bills is carefully stage-managed with enormous amount of
money being spent. Foreign funded Christian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) is
being mobilized. The Evangelical Christians believe they hold a divine mandate, their
"Great Commission" from God, to spread their creed. But it is also a matter of policy as
far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Pope John Paul II, during his 1998 visit to India,
stated categorically that the "Christianization" of Asia is an absolute priority" for the
Catholic Church in the new millennium.
It should be emphasized that Christianity in whatever form did not spread in this island
through liberalism, that the Christian churches now expect the Buddhists to adopt. On the
contrary, the Christian faith came to stay because the Buddhist rulers accommodated
them not through ignorance but through their magnanimity and tolerance, a fact now
forgotten.

INTOLERANCE IN MONOTHEISM

Fundamentalist and intolerant stance, taken by any religion, is offensive to followers of

other faiths and to those of no faith at all. Overzealous attempts at conversion disturb
peaceful-coexistence. Intolerance is essential only to monotheism. An only God is by
nature a jealous God who will not allow another to live. When a religion sees its scripture
as revealed and divinely inspired, it finds a basis for exclusivity and intolerance.
Justification for intolerance is provided by the very nature of a Supreme Being who is
described as a jealous and angry being, who punishes those who defy Him with eternal
damnation. There are stories in the Bible which describe God as committing genocide on
unbelievers with violence toward men, women, children, and even the unborn. Buddhism
does not accept an omnipotent God, a Creator, nor any revealed scripture. Because faith
in God or a savior is not an issue for Buddhists, there is no reason for Buddhists to judge
others, to condemn them for their beliefs, or to feel compelled to convert them.

UNETHICAL PROSETYTIZATION MENACE

In recent decades, the Evangelical Christian unethical prosetylization menace has become
an increasingly serious problem for Sri Lankan Buddhists. Since late 1970s, there has
been a massive inflow of Evangelical organizations to Sri Lanka, supported by huge
funds from western countries, especially from the US. These Fundamental Christian
organizations, numbering nearly 500 and certain NGO's have been taking advantage of
Buddhists and Hindus in poverty or in distress. Besides allurements and other fraudulent
means, they even use force, threats and undue influence to convert these innocent people
to Christianity. This has been a big threat to the traditional Buddhist norms that
characterize these neighborhoods, which helped to establish social cohesion and generate
harmonious relationships in our rural areas. Christian conversion activities have resulted
in divisiveness and disharmony, in addition to moral degeneration in some of our
historically peaceful and moral rural neighborhoods.

INCOMPATIBLE TO THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE AND CULTURE

What these Christian missions are attempting to introduce to our predominantly Buddhist
country, is incompatible with the way of life and the social value system of the country.
Sri Lanka has a well-established Buddhist culture which extends to a period that exceeds
2200 years. It is based on non-violence and compassion towards all living beings.
Buddhist way of life is based upon the Five Precepts of Buddhism. The Buddhist way of
life has resulted in the development of cohesive communities with closely knit families
with strong and lasting family bonds. This socio-cultural cohesiveness of Buddhist
communities is destroyed by the western norms and lifestyles introduced with Christian
prosetylization menace. It has had a divisive effect on our societies. There are instances
of serious disharmony in families where some are converted and others not. Youth
subject to conversion adopting lifestyles that are not in-keeping with the traditional
cultural norms has caused much disharmony and turmoil.

Those Sri Lankans, who have been well exposed to the western world, are aware of the
largely individualistic tendencies that the western corporate culture promotes where
excessive aggressiveness, competition, greed, craving and sensuality reign supreme. In
these ‘Christian’ countries, most people suffer from undue stress, depression and ill-
health owing to limitless craving for material possessions, physical comforts and sensual
pleasures.

RESPONSE OF BUDDHISTS TO PROSELYTIZATION

In recent decades, Evangelists have been quite active in their proselytization work in
remote Buddhist villages of Sri Lanka. This threat should not be taken lightly. On the
other hand, the Muslims are encroaching on Buddhist temple lands and destroying
Buddhist monuments and archeological remains in the Eastern Province. Buddhist
communities that have become victims and potential victims to Christian proselytization
are mostly poor and illiterate. They are easy targets for evangelists. It is important to
realize that there cannot be Buddhist spirituality where there is widespread hunger and
poverty and in addition widespread illiteracy, ignorance and superstitions. It is time for
Buddhist leaders in particular to get their act together, look out for one another and
redeem themselves by rallying to the Buddha's call to "go forth... for the good of many,
for the benefit and well being of many." If we do not organize ourselves without further
delay and adopt appropriate strategies and measures to help these impoverished and
forgotten Buddhists and let the Evangelists have their way, then the only ones to blame
will be us - the indifferent, indolent, complacent Buddhists.
THEISTIC RELIGIONS BASED ON UNVERIFIABLE BELIEFS

God exists only in belief. All God believing societies are based on beliefs that are
unverifiable. Any society which can only exist based on a lie or a bunch of lies is a
society which has no right to exist. As a human being it is one’s nature to live by reason,
not by force. To live by force is to attempt to be something other than what one is. It is a
path which can only lead to pain and unhappiness and my eventual destruction. Catholics
and Christians argue that their God exists and is the only god. Then, there are Muslims
who profess Islam arguing that their Allah exists and is the only god. This means these
two groups have different gods. How can both of these beliefs be true? Allah and God
cannot both exist. That which cannot be shown to exist should be assumed to be
nonexistent.

NO CLAIM OF DIVINE AUTHORITY IN BUDDHISM

Sri Lanka has to be a genuinely Buddhist country if we are to have a free and moral
society. We cannot have a free and moral society until an ethical code based on
observable, objective reality is derived, taught, and internalized. It is Buddhism that
serves this purpose. Theistic societies are based on beliefs whereas Buddhist societies are
based on a totality of verifiable truths.

Buddhism does not claim to be the one and only valid spiritual path. It is not based on, or
claim divine authority. Buddha never claimed to be divine or sent from God. Buddhism
does not attempt to suppress reason by dogma. Unlike most other religions, Buddhism
isn't so much about things to believe, as things to do. It is a technology of mind
improvement. This is why Buddhists often refer to themselves as practitioners rather than
believers. The Buddha told his students to trust their own experience of the effectiveness
of the teachings, and not believe things just because he said so. The Buddha’s teachings
are to be judged by their effectiveness in promoting peace and spiritual realizations,
rather than unverifiable claims to their origin.

ABSOLUTE RELIANCE ON FAITH IN THEISTIC RELIGIONS

In order to justify themselves against attack by reason, the God/Allah-based religions
place absolute reliance on faith, which is seen by them as being superior to reason. They
refer to it as the divine truth. Their argument is that since it is the divine truth whatever it
says is true and all other competing beliefs are the work of the devil.

They promise heaven for belief and threaten eternal punishment in hell for disbelief.
They boost the believers' egos by telling them they are 'chosen' or superior to believers in
other false beliefs. These religions teach that they are the one true path to salvation and
all unbelievers are cast into hell. This is a doctrine known as exclusivism. They establish
themselves as belonging to the One True religion usually by reference to some sort of a
holy book – Bible or Koran. Buddhism is not exclusivist. Any person guided in their
activities by compassion is regarded as following a beneficial spiritual path. In
Christianity exclusivism went to extreme lengths with many denominations claiming that
they were the one true faith and the other denominations were corrupt, this is still the
official policy of the Vatican.

MEANS TO PROPAGATE RELIGION

God based religions argue that they are required according to the word of God as the case
may be, to propagate their religion by resorting to various means. One such means has
been the so-called Holy War to convert or kill all unbelievers. Intimidation and terrorism
are common methods used even in modern times. Threatening and discriminating against
unbelievers is a common practice. In 1999 the Catholic Church was publicly seeking
forgiveness for the errors, injustices and human rights offences it committed in the past.
The Church asked pardon for the sins and weaknesses of Catholics down the ages.
Among the Church's past sins, was "the use of force in order to impose the truth" -- an
apparent reference to forced conversions. The Pope was seeking pardon for "the failure
to respect and defend human rights."

Buddhism is a religion which has never attempted to propagate itself and exterminate its
enemies by war and tyranny. Buddhism recognizes that one of the most destructive
delusions is excessive attachment to any view, which will thus appear virtuous and right
for all people. The harm that can be done by fundamentalist attachment to ideologies and
abstractions is far greater than that caused by attachment to wealth or material objects.

RATIONALITY IN BUDDHISM
Buddhists have no need to suppress, censor or misrepresent the teachings of other
religions, as Buddhist philosophy is totally rational and quite capable of withstanding
criticism from other belief systems. In fact, Buddhism appears to be the only spiritual
system which can provide counterarguments to theistic beliefs and Western Materialism.
Buddhism has not even been slightly corroded by modern scientific discoveries.

Buddhism is a set of tried and tested methods which are used to develop the mind by
producing altered states of awareness. In effect it is a psycho-spiritual applied science. Its
methods of mental development are designed to free the mind from the accumulated
delusions of millennia, and lead to a state of peace and tranquility. Using Buddhist
meditation techniques one could examine the rubbish left over in one’s mind from
childhood indoctrination and reflect upon and clear one’s mind from the various mind-
polluting and divisive belief systems driven by fear, guilt, wanting to conform, wanting
other people to conform, or alternately pride in being better than non-believers.

The Buddha always encouraged his students to gain understanding of his teachings by
putting them to the test of personal experience, and not just relying on his authority. In
fact the Buddhist idea of authority has much more in common with the idea of scientific
authority than it does with ecclesiastical authority. Buddhist authority carries with it the
idea of the possession of knowledge which can be conveyed to others and confirmed by
reproducible experiences. In Buddhism there are no unsupported statements which one
must believe without questioning. There are no threats of hell or promises of heaven
attached to being a Buddhist as opposed to being a non-Buddhist. The condition of future
lives is determined by actions of body, speech and mind and not by religious affiliation.
If a religion encourages positive actions and states of mind then it is doing its job. If it
causes hatred, division and pride then it isn't working.

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

Vancouver Canada

February 5, 2011