The advent of Buddhism to Sri Lanka that took place in 3 BC also made the then ruler of the island of Lanka, King Devanampiyatissa an instant convert to Buddhism. Having waged war for decades and experienced a personal transformation after an encounter he had with a young Buddhist monk, Negrodha the novice, Emperor Ashoka of India also wished to share the newly acquired religious wisdom with the ruler of his neighbouring country and his friend. He sent his son Arhanth Mihindu and six others bearing a message of Dhamma and to date, King Devanampiyatissa remains one of the most famous converts to Buddhism of all time.
It seems that over the centuries, the style of religious conversions has changed so much in the world as well as in Sri Lanka, and in certain cases failed to be an enlightening and rewarding personal experience, whatever one's faith may be. An element of inducement or 'faith buying' seems to be replacing the inner transformation of embracing a faith. Sometimes, religion appears to be force-fed, and in extreme cases, even the physical traces that would bear testimony to early presence of other faiths are not tolerated, as in the case of Afghanistan's Taliban rule that wiped out ancient Bamiyan Buddha statues.
With a large section of the Buddhist clergy zealously campaigning for the introduction of a bill prohibiting 'unethical conversions', the issue is being dealt with renewed interest in Sri Lanka, one of the few remaining Theravada states.
The need to protect Buddhism has been made into such a huge issue that introducing the proposed bill became one of the key pledges of the all-bhikku party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) when it entered politics just four months ago. And while the government has already submitted to cabinet a draft bill seeking its approval, the JHU too has come up with its own draft anti-conversion bill.
For Buddhists, the issue of conversion has become a big problem, according to JHU Leader, Vidyacharravarthi Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thero. "This is one religion in the world that was not and will not be propagated at the point of sword. There has been a 'Dharma Vijaya' by Emperor Ashoka, when he shared the gift of Buddhism with the rest of the world through missionaries. We too are beneficiaries of that act of sharing of the Dhamma. But conversion today has become a dirty issue and has reached terrifying proportions," claims the Thero.
So much so that just before they entered mainstream politics, Rev. Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thero launched a fast unto death demanding legal protection for Buddhism. The protesting monk however does not agree that threatening to die for a cause or taking his life seeking protection for his faith is an anti-Buddhist practice.
Security from fundamentalists
" The style of conversion has changed dramatically. We wish to protect Buddhism from fundamentalists who are hell bent on offering inducements to increase the numbers," says Ven. Sobhitha Thero.
The JHU monks are unperturbed by the fact that they are being accused of trying to curb religious freedom. "This is not an act of religious suppression. It is only a move to protect the majority religion here and would afford cover to all other faiths facing the same problem," they claim.
And the monks are self critical to an extent about Buddhist monks failing to keep their flock with them. Most monks who spoke to The Sunday Leader felt that part of the blame should be accepted by the lack of activism by most Buddhist monks. In this light, they considered the late Ven. Gangodawila Soma Thero as the true disciple of Buddha who created public debate on religion and other issues.
" He was a true chief prelate, though he did not have such conferred on him. We are proud to follow the great example," says Ven. Kolonnawe Sri Sumangala Thero who believes that conversion could be best curbed by strengthening the link between the individual and the temple. But he too feels that legal protection has become mandatory as of today.
As for conversions per se, the Thero believes that Buddhism has never been forcibly promoted anywhere. " Take the case of the two chief disciples of the Buddha, Arhanths Sariputta and Moggallana. They heard what was being preached by the Buddha and went in search of religious wisdom," explained the Thero. But the situation has changed over centuries and today people are being offered 'bribes' of all forms including jobs and money to switch faiths. According to the priest, it is this "ugly" manner of faith-buying that has emerged as a huge threat not only to Buddhism, but also to Hinduism and the traditional mainstream churches as well.
"It is therefore a common call. Monks have failed to communicate with the lay people, and our temples lack religious activities to keep them connected to the village temple. This has to be addressed and corrective measures need to be adapted," explained the monk. (See box)
However, the monks who are out to champion the cause of halting " unethical conversions" do not feel that this would lead to splitting this fragmented society further. They do not foresee the possibility of the 1958 experience when Burghers left Sri Lanka with the introduction of a Sinhala only language policy or the more recent experience of 1983 when many Tamils left the shores feeling this was no longer their home.
Appalled by attacks
" We are appalled by the attacking of churches that has taken place recently. Attacks do more harm than propagation could. Buddhists are generally very tolerant and vandalism cannot be condoned in any way. No religious group should fear that we want to suppress their religious rights. Certainly not. We just want to secure the rights of the Buddhists better," explains Ven. Ellawala Medhananda Thero.
Like most of his fellow bhikkus, he does believe in the policy of 'live and let live' and does not find fault with the mainstream churches either. " We have no problem with the Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists etc. The established churches have functioned side by side with Buddhism and we have been most supportive of each other. It is the new fundamentalists who want to secure more numbers for their smaller and less accepted faiths," he says, directly accusing the Evangelical Christians of spearheading unethical conversions.
"We also appreciate the sense of maturity displayed by Christians by not reacting to vandalism. It has spared this country ugly backlash. But, we are living in an age when monks get beaten to pulp inside parliament, and incidentally by some Christian elements there. It does not augur well for a country that needs religious tolerance at a higher level," explains Ven. Medhananda Thero.
"The conversions are fast assuming a fundamentalist character here. This is a predominantly Buddhist country and we want to safeguard that character of this state. The government has already come up with a similar bill to that of ours. It demonstrates a larger need which is not only felt by Buddhists but by many other religious faiths that are now facing the threat of induced conversions," adds Ven. Dr. Omalpe Sobitha Thero.
The monks feel that there is no truth in the touted fears of Christian fundamentalists that the country is moving towards a religious state from that of a secular one like Iran. "The only Buddhist propagation is through intelligent discussion. Buddha said, 'Question and accept. Do not blindly accept.' Increasing numbers by banging on uninterested peoples' doors has never been our call. We maintain a presence in society and make religion available to people," explains Sumangala Thero.
The monks stand is that before the move to bring in legislation is condemned, it is important to take a look at Sri Lankan society, which is threatening to erupt after years of religious harmony, barring the occasional flare up. The sudden fire merits probe, they collectively urge.
They accept the fact that any society would experience an element of religious switching which is most natural. They also believe that religious conversion is a powerful, personal experience and it should be so. Not force-fed, as it appears to be happening today. And this, they are willing to fight tooth and nail.
Matter of choice
Meanwhile, there are those who feel that if someone is willing to convert to another faith due to inducements alone, he or she should be allowed, as his faith is not secure. "If one's faith is like merchandise and could be purchased at a price, let it be so purchased. I don't believe in maintaining numbers but only in having a handful of true followers of the Buddha. A few who understand and appreciate what he preached," said Kapila Sumanatissa, a devout Buddhist frequenting Vajiraramaya.
But the likes of Sumanatissa are in minority. Though he believes that religion is something very personal and that laws should not seek to draw definitions or ensure a religious state, fears are very real that if preventive action is not taken promptly, Buddhism would be wiped out in Sri Lanka.
But Sumanatissa agrees with the JHU thinking on one score, that alleged fundamentalists funded by undisclosed sources abroad do not set up Buddhist missions on the sly. " The Christian argument is that Buddhist temples are allowed to be built in countries which are Christian by faith. True. But there is nothing to prevent anyone from building a church here," he adds.
"Both religions, Christianity and Buddhism are missionary religions," as explained by Ven. Ellawala Thero. But, there is a difference. No Buddhist monk is likely to be seen walking from house to house, compelling someone to hear him out. They also open up missions abroad often at the invitation of the state. It is a gentle, non-aggressive sharing of religious knowledge and this fact the entire world would acknowledge if not being hypocritical. This is a religion not forced on anyone and wars have not been declared for the cause of Buddhism," adds Ven. Medhananda Thero.
According to him,- it is the style that largely differs. Establishing a presence in a country is always done on invitation and nobody could say that a Buddhist monk offered inducements or practically waylaid a person to convert. "It is through the process of learning the dhamma at a personal level that people have converted to Buddhism, not because someone penitently pursued you or appeared at your door to force-feed religion" he further states.
Suppression
The monks collectively refute that the move amounts to suppression but insist that it is merely the protection of a right. They also fear that a section of the Buddhists are losing their patience, long tested in many ways by being made victims despite being the majority.
In this backdrop, the Evangelicals defend that they are expected to spread the word of God and hence, the propagation activities amounts to practicing the religion. Several individuals who spoke to The Sunday Leader said that their personal experience with the evangelists was a "mild form of harassment" with religious pamphlets being delivered uninvited and an intrusion on their privacy by making short speeches. The traditional churches, they said, completely differed in their practice. They found what they called "the new cult" aggressive, insensitive and immature when preaching of the world of God.
As mentioned before, advocators of protective legislation feel that the entire issue has come about outside the traditional churches and now challenge the new wave of evangelical religious activism.
Former Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran speaking to The Sunday Leader said that this overzealous religious activism of a section of the fundamentalist Christian elements has become a big concern for Hindu Tamils living in the war-ravaged north east. Due to their extreme poverty, largely caused by a protracted war, they are more susceptible to conversion that comes with a "bag of goodies". According to him, a few thousands have traded in their faith.
Sadly, what emerges in the entire debate is that switching faiths has altered in character. It is no longer a very personal experience but sometimes on compulsion complemented by inducement, which has given rise to a battle cry by a section of the Buddhists led by monks. The monks vouch for many personal experiences related to them by their dayakas as to what is on offer if they are willing to switch.
"It is highly insensitive. This is a predominantly Buddhist country and our traditional tolerance has been tried too much. Instead of co-existing, they are out to grab followers and are not averse to using money as a weapon. Therefore, protective legislation has become the need of the hour," claim the activist monks.
Malwatte prelate offers solution...
Offering a solution to part of the problem last week was the newly appointed Malwatta chief prelate Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Siddhartha Thero who has claimed that it would be helpful to prevent Buddhists from being converted if vocational training institutions were set up in preaching halls.
The chief prelate brought the matter up when President Chandrika Kumaratunga paid a courtesy call on the new chief prelate. The Ven. Thero informed the head of state that a vocational training centre was not sponsored by the PA government at the Ridi Viharaya, his original temple, as he did not participate in a Pada Yathra organised by her government.
(Sunday Leader ,4th July 2004)
