CORE DEFINITION OF

THE SASANA AND ITS MODERN

RELEVANCE

Sajeeva Samaranayake

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FOREWORD Much heat – as opposed to light, is generated by the topic Buddha Sasana today. It is said that some are out to destroy it. Calls are made upon sinhala Buddhists to come to its rescue. Others are greatly perturbed by the reaction and resort to legislative activity by certain Buddhist representatives, which they perceive as an attack on religious freedom. We do not enter this controversy except to state that poverty, neglect and exploitation form a vicious circle that must be tackled empirically without getting side tracked by the identity or religious denomination of the exploited and exploiters. Those responsible for the different issues thrown up – the economic, social, religious and legal must all shoulder their respective burdens and resolve the issues that belong to their legitimate spheres. Coercion is always at the disposal of the State but it must be used with wisdom. Let us define wisdom simply as that rare attitude which freely acknowledges what is not known and looks around to find it. This essay is intended to help all concerned to understand exactly what is at issue. What do we understand by the term Buddha Sasana? As the Greek thinker Socrates put it; ‘before we start talking, let’s decide what we are talking about.’ The Buddha Sasana has endured in Sri Lanka for over two millennia. Next to the family it is perhaps our oldest social institution. Yet conventional thinking and historical generalizations conceal more than they reveal. The story of the sasana that was originally established by the Buddha; that which was planted in Lanka by Arahant Mahinda; and how it adapted, evolved and survived the vicissitudes and upheavals of an island civilisation is one that must be approached with utmost objectivity. Any type of social convention or agreement, be it religious, cultural or political, acquires forms of behaviour and organization designed to maintain the substance of human objectives sought to be attained. In the beginning forms serve the substance efficiently. But in the course of the inevitable cycle of growth, decay and decline forms acquire an egoistic and self perpetuating existence of their own. This is naturally at the expense of the substance. The substance then serves as a mere excuse for the perpetuation of forms that exploit the ignorant, the poor and the powerless. This in short has been the progression of the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka. Revival of the substance has in fact been undertaken since the beginning of the last century and this great enterprise continues today as a silent cultural revolution which has naturally shunned the limelight in accordance with the spirit of humility and simplicity inherent in the Buddha’s teachings. This effort to extricate and champion the substance will define the future of the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka with attendant positive implications for all of us who share this island. This essay seeks to lay bare the essence of the sasana. It relies on some well known existing treatises to provide the student of the Buddha Sasana with a reference or a single reading that updates him or her with the concept and its evolution. Needless to say the author owes a deep debt of gratitude to Ven. Walpola Rahula Mahathera, E. W. Adikaram and Michael Carrithers for their authoritative and illuminating contributions to this topic.

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Introduction This is not about the politics of Buddha Sasana but about the Buddha Sasana itself and what it means to the silent practitioner treading the middle path in his or her search for inner peace and harmony. The political perspective is dualistic, static and regressive. It leads to division and suffering. On the other hand the perspective of the honest practitioner is holistic, dynamic and evolutionary. It leads to unity and happiness. These two perspectives are not opposed. The latter includes the former and is simply the broader view. The true meaning of the Buddha Sasana is a matter that concerns all Sri Lankans regardless of whether they are officially Buddhist or non – Buddhist. This is because the Sasana was established by the Buddha for the benefit of all human beings who aspired for liberation through right or holistic understanding. As such it is a concept or institution that upholds human freedom and dignity in substance and eschews superficial distinctions. Nevertheless where ignorance reigns even a unifying concept can be abused to divide and sow conflict among the people. The historical association of the Sinhalese with the faith (dating back to its formal establishment by King Devanampiyatissa with the blessings of Emperor Dharmasoka around 250 BC) has been a great source of spiritual nourishment and confidence to them. The writer of Revolt in the Temple (1953) notes with reference to the Mahawansa that ‘For more than two thousand years the Sinhalese have been inspired by the ideal that they were a nation brought into being for the definite purpose of carrying the Torch lit by the Buddha.’ This idea of a favoured race can be found in most religious traditions. No serious practitioner however would ascribe such a deliberate intention to the Buddha. What the Buddha did however was to formulate 227 rules of Dhamma Vinaya or righteous discipline for the sangha or monkhood he established. [The reference to monks, bikkhus and the monkhood should also be understood as a reference to nuns and the order of nuns.] There is clear acknowledgement that the faithful and uncompromising adherence to Vinayais the reason for the survival and spread of the Sangha and the Buddha Sasana in the East and now in the West. The intimate connection between a Sangha that follows the Vinaya and the Buddha Sasana will be examined in detail later.

It would suffice to underscore at the outset that there is nothing wrong in the Sinhala Buddhist ideal referred to above provided that it is grounded in a clear appreciation of the core definition of the Buddha Sasana. If it is not, it can turn out to be a divisive and harmful political instrument, the very opposite of what the Buddha Sasana actually stands for. The basic path It is useful at this point to obtain a basic understanding of the path outlined by the Buddha. Once the Indian Master Atisha (982-1054 AD), accredited with

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founding Tibetan Buddhism, was asked the question – ‘what is the highest teaching of the path?’ He replied, The highest skill is in the realisation of egolessness. The highest nobility is in subduing your own mind. The highest excellence is in having a mind which seeks to help others. The highest precept is continual mindfulness. The highest remedy is in understanding the naturelessness of everything. The highest activity is not to conform with worldly concerns. The highest accomplishment is the lessening and transmutation of the passions. The highest giving is found in non-attachment. The highest moral practice is a peaceful mind. The highest patience is humility. The highest effort is to abandon attachment to activities. The highest meditation is the mind without pretension. The highest wisdom is not to grasp anything as it appears.1 [Emphasis added.] In short therefore the path is a continuous process of inner cultivation or mental development in which the monk or lay disciple is advised to exercise continuous discipline, continuous vigilance and continuous letting go. The acquisition of either material or spiritual credentials is eschewed as the way of the world or samsara, the wheel of suffering which keeps ignorant human beings entrapped. In this chapter we examine the original and core definition of the sasana in order to establish a reference point against which historical developments after the Buddha parinirvana up to the present day can be assessed and understood. Throughout the long history of the sasana in those Asian countries where it took root fundamental reforms that were undertaken from time to time were necessarily based upon an interpretation and application of this core definition. Michael Carrithers2 notes that the word sasana originally meant the ‘message’ or ‘command’ of the Buddha. Presumably this referred to those teachings which established the rules of individual conduct and forms of social organization for bikkhus through the 227 Vinaya rules. The Vinaya is also described as the fencing on either side of the monk’s path serving to guide, protect and ultimately enlighten him. The fundamental objective of these rules therefore was to facilitate the eventual liberation of individual monks from samsaric suffering. In this sense the sasana is not an end but the means to an end. Self-cultivation There are three inter-dependent aspects of this process of individual liberation. They are summarized as,

• Paryapti - learning • Patipatti - practice; and • Pativedha – penetration or enlightenment

1 Advice of the Indian Tibetan Master Atisha in Essential advice of the Kadampa Masters: Translated from the Tibetan under the guidance of Geshe Wangyal BPS 1988 Bodhi Leaves No. B 116 2 The Forest Monks of Sri Lanka, Oxford University Press 1983, 168,169

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These three aspects are elaborated by Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera3 in Vidarshana Parapura. Learning is the first step. The Buddha’s word should be learned with a pure, faithful mind. From learning one goes onto practice, patipat i, which is the fulfilment of learning, and is divided into sila, samadhi and panna or discipline, concentration and wisdom. The successful accomplishment of this practice is realization or penetration, pativedha. This is enlightenment. Thus learning is the foundation; practice the cause and enlightenment the effect.

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The entire process of practice or sila, samadhi and panna (elaborated as the noble eightfold path) is one of conscious cultivation of the mind or bavana. Sila is to restrain the senses at the moment of sensory contact by focusing attention inwards to watch the heart-mind (citta). Samadhi is the harnessing of mental energy so conserved to focus accurately, i.e. honestly and openly, on the beginning, the middle and end of feelings, perceptions, underlying tendencies and thoughts (mental objects) generated by our sensory experience. Chogyam Trungpa refers to this as “a state of totality and a state of openness that does not seem to have any beginning or end.” According to Bikkhu Bodhi, The commentaries define samadhi as the centring of the mind and mental factors rightly and evenly on an object… The two salient features of a concentrated mind are unbroken attentiveness to an object and the consequent tranquillity of the mental functions, qualities which distinguish it from the unconcentrated mind.4

Samadhi is an outgrowth of sila that is consciously cultivated. Panna is an outgrowth of samadhi which is sharpened by apprehending with greater sensitivity and accuracy the different mental objects that pass through our citta. This is the supreme knowledge that gives joy and peace. Thus bavana is not merely sitting meditation but a mental culture that permeates every thought, word and deed of the bikkhu on the path. This is what is referred in the third stanza of the Maha Mangala Sutta, the Greater Discourse on Blessings as atta samma panidica or setting oneself on the noble eightfold path or in the right direction. Rules of organization

1. The Patimokkha or 227 rules of Vinaya This is the original sangha constitution as laid down in the canonical texts, particularly the Mahavagga and the Cullavagga. Carrithers observes that they

3 Nanarama was the chief preceptor (meditation master) of the Sri Kalyani Yogashrama Sansthava founded in the early 1950s by Kadawadduwe Jinawamsa Mahathera the pioneer who initiated and accomplished a successful reform of the Sangha by reviving the Theravada Forest tradition in Sri Lanka. A full account can be found in Op cit supra n 2. 4 Bikkhu Bodhi (1984) The Noble Eightfold Path – Way to the end of suffering, BPS Kandy, p 91.

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contain a complete and detailed legal system. Policy is conceived as already established by the teaching of the Buddha. The last 75 rules, called sekhiya or ‘trainings’ involve the personal and public etiquette of monks. They bear on the monk’s training in careful mindfulness, and they inculcate a grave and dignified manner. Most of the rest involve the monk’s use of his requisites, such as robes, bowls and living quarters. Their purpose falls roughly into two: some are designed to foster alpecchata, contentment with little, and therefore control the amount or kind of material goods used by the monk. Others are designed to prevent strife in the sanghaover such matters. In the case of these transgressions, as well as the trainings, the monk purifies himself by confession to another monk, or when an article of use is concerned, the monk both confesses and forfeits the article.

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5 The first 17 rules specify offences that entail expulsion or suspension from the order.

2. The egalita ian principle

Stemming from the goal of individual self-cultivation is the need to reconcile personal autonomy with communal harmony among monks. This is done by ensuring that organization is small – scale and within a face to face community. Though monks do form small groups organized by papillary succession effective control within such a group does not usually survive the death of the eldest.6 A number of rules attempt to ensure that only monks within a relatively small area (a boundary, sima) are allowed to participate in communal ceremonies and those within the area must participate. Consequently it is the whole community rather than a single monk in authority that censures the wayward.7

3. Uposatha ceremony – recitation of patimokkha

The effective conduct of the Sangha’s affairs and ceremonies including ordination requires the personal purity of each one of the participants. This is institutionalised through the uposatha ceremony which is a fortnightly recital in solemn conclave, of the 227 rules of Vinaya.8 According to Carrithers, It is a ceremony which gathers the Sangha around the central expression of its communal heritage, its discipline … it seems to be assumed that the ceremony was to be an occasion for the confession of transgressions and therefore the occasion for purification. In later practice however, transgressions were to be confessed by one monk to another in private, before the meeting so that every monk who entered the uposatha ceremony was already purified. This is the practice today.9 We find a dramatic example of this quoted from Cullavagga IX by Carrithers:

5 Id p 144 6 Id, pp 140,143/44 7 Mahavagga II 8 op cit supra n 2 p 142/43 9 Id

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Having gathered the monks to hear him recite the Patimokkha the Buddha stops and announces that he cannot proceed, for the gathering is not entirely pure. One of the chief disciples, Moggallana then reads the minds of the monks, and discovers the transgressor, who is described in terms strong enough to merit quotation. He was ‘of low morals, depraved, impure and doubtful in behaviour, deceptive, no seeker though pretending to be one, not celibate though pretending to be so, rotten, full of desires, inherently filthy …’ Moggallana takes the offender by the arm, puts him out the door, shoots the bolt behind him, and the Buddha proceeds. Furthermore the answers given by Arahant Mahinda to Devanampiyatissa’s question if the sasana was established in the island, yield the conclusion that the unblemished observance of the Vinaya by monks is the essence of the sasana of which the uposatha ceremony is the clearest manifestation. The Samanatapasadika10 records their conversation in the following terms: M: ‘O great king, the sasana is established, but its roots are not yet gone deep.’ D: ‘When will the roots go deep?’ M: ‘When a son born in Ceylon (Tambapannidipa), of Ceylonese parents, becomes a monk in Ceylon, studies the Vinaya in Ceylon and recites it in Ceylon, then the roots of the sasana are deep set. Rahula Mahathera11 states citing the same source that this ceremony was performed much later, even after the Maha Bodhi had been planted at Anuradhapura. The king’s nephew Maha Arittha Thera, who had formerly been a minister of state was elected by Mahinda for the act of reciting the Vinaya at the ceremony. It must be emphasized by way of explanation that observance of the Vinayafor the Buddhist Monk is not discipline for the sake of discipline but discipline for the sake of liberation from suffering. The undertaking must be whole hearted or not at all. According to Bikkhu Bodhi

12, True discipline must be undertaken freely, with understanding and appreciation, and this can come about only when one sees it as a source of joy and inner freedom, not as a clamp bringing fear and frustration. Rahula Mahathera also cites the Ariyawamsa sutta held in great esteem in the past13 by both the Sangha and the laity as containing ‘the essence of the life of a bhikku on whom the perpetuation of the Sasana depends.’ The four sections of the sutta are as follows:

10 Smp. (SHB), 60. 11 Rahula Walpola (1956), History of Buddhism in Ceylon, The Buddhist Cultural Centre, 56. 12 Bikkhu Bodhi (2000) Sangha at the crossroads, in Facing the future: Four Essays on the social relevance of Buddhism, BPS Kandy, Wheel 438/440, p 62. 13 Op cit supra n 11 at p 270,271. The footnote by the Mahathera records that it is still recited at Dimbulagala during the annual rains retreat or vas season.

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i. A bhikku is satisfied with whatever robes he gets … So is he with regard to

ii. Whatever food he gets, and iii. Whatever lodgings he is provided with14

iv. The bhikku takes delight in meditation and abandonment (renunciation). But on account of this quality he does not exalt himself, nor does he look down upon others.15

4. Autonomy of the Sangha

The unequivocal direction that the Sangha must ‘shoot the bolt’ on corrupting influences and gather in its own purity has a fundamental implication for its relationship with the rest of society. It becomes self-referring and autonomous with the Vinaya texts allotting no role at all for the monks in society.16 This independence of the monk in the pursuit of his primary business of self-cultivation must not be frittered away by getting sidetracked by ‘bahira vada’ or mundane matters. In the words of Kadawadduwe Jinawamsa Mahathera quoted in Carrithers17: A person who becomes a monk renounces even the hair that belongs to the lay estate. What is the point of putting on a yellow robe if you are just going to enter greedily the rat race (i.e. the field of strife) for office, gifts and honours, and property? This is like eating what you have just vomited … ‘However confident the monks are of their learning,’ writes Nanarama, ‘the dispensation is not complete unless there is also practice and penetration.’ As noted above this ideal requires monks to actually transcend the society of which they are a part. The essential relationship between the sangha and laity as laid down in the Vinaya was simple. The monks depend absolutely upon laymen for food, clothing, medicines and other supplies. This dependence is reinforced by other rules such as that which prohibits agricultural work. It follows from a rigorous application of this rule of autonomy that the Ariya Sangha or noble order is a state within itself and that it has no necessary claim to patronage and support from the secular state. Any relationship that develops between the lay state and the sangha would be a matter of convention or agreement – however hallowed it may be due to inveterate practice. Such a practice cannot be considered part of the ‘message’ or ‘command’ issued by the Buddha to his disciples. These observations require a re-appraisal of the linkage forged between the Buddha Sasana and a Sri Lankan state since 1972 with the unfortunate

14 Medical requirements are included in the pindapata or food itself. Id p 271. 15 Id 16 Op cit supra n 2 p 142. 17 Id p 208/09.

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repetition in the Constitution of a formula first adopted in the Proclamation of 1818 to placate the sinhalese that the Buddhist religion would continue to enjoy the same position under British rule. Such a provision was no longer required after the British left in a country where more than 70% of the people are Buddhists. It must be stated with all due respect that Article 9 of the Constitution which requires the State to give foremost place to ‘Buddhism’ is ignorant of the dharma, (in particular the teachings on anatta or egolessness) and insensitive to the adherents of other religions. According to Bhikku Nanananda18: Concepts, be they material or spiritual, worldly or transcendental – are not worthy of beig grasped dogmatically. They are not to be treated as ultimate categories and are to be discarded in the course of the spiritual endeavour … the uninstructed average person succumbs to it; the disciple training on the Ariyan path resists it; and the Emancipated One transcends it. Wise rulers of the past, like Emperor Asoka, used formulations that were non-alienating and in accordance with the teachings. Thus he proclaimed through a rock edict: Dhamma sadhu, kiyam cu dhamme ti? Apasinave, bahu kayane, daya, dane, sace, socaye.

Dhamma is good, but what constitutes Dhamma? (It includes) little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity.

In short the present linkage is with a state possessing dualist fundamentals. Forming an ethic of separation (as opposed to an ethic of unity) it was superimposed on an island culture after the top down Colebrooke Cameron reforms of 1833. That state is now undergoing a convulsive transition before giving birth to what may hopefully become a modern and egalitarian nation state. The sangha today is the only institution that survives from the triple configuration of the ancient lankan state made up of the king, the sangha and the self – sufficient village. It is thus qualified to be at least one of the midwives of the future Sri Lankan state. So long as it remains linked to an obviously failed state, a relict of British colonisation, it would remain constrained from achieving the autonomy conceived for it by the Buddha. And until the sangha becomes autonomous it would lack dispassionate objectivity to guide the laity towards a modern nation state. This would appear to be the full significance of the following section found in the Kelaniya Declaration:

18 (1971) Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought BPS, Kandy, p 54,55.

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We, therefore, the Sangha of Sri Lanka, the Guardians of the Life and Liberty and Sponsors of the Well – being and Happiness of the people of this island, assembled on this hallowed spot sanctified by the feet of the Master, do hereby declare and publish, on behalf of the people, that Sri Lanka claims its right to be a Free and Independent Sovereign State, that it has resolved to absolve itself from all allegiance to any other Power, State or Crown, and that all political connection between it and any other State is hereby dissolved;

5. Nature of the advisory role and attendant implications

The laymen (including those exercising power in society) would depend upon the monk for spiritual sustenance and guidance. The advice given is thus personal, directed purely towards elevating the hearts and minds of the recipients. This dependence is a natural consequence of the spiritual stature of the genuine monk rather than the assumption by him of any role in society. As Francis Story pointed out, The Buddha did not essay to lay down laws for the conduct of human affairs in any but a strictly personal sense. He gave advice to rulers, as he did to ordinary householders, but did not attempt to formulate principles of state policy.19 More recently the renowned Vietnamese Meditation Master Thich Naht Hanh gave the following response to an interviewer20: Q: You led a retreat for some members of Congress. What did you tell them about responding to violence or the threat of it? A: I did not tell them anything, except offering them concrete tools in order to have more time for themselves, more time for their families; so that they can release the tension in their daily life, bringing some joy and happiness into their daily life so that they can serve better their nation and the world. I am not a politician. I am not going to prescribe a political solution for them. I am only a monk, and the best thing I can do is to help them to be more of themselves -- more peaceful, more compassionate. That is enough for me and for them, well, as a purpose in the retreat. The significance of this human developmental approach is that the Sangha would thus refrain from providing conceptualised and therefore impersonal solutions to conceptualised issues, like for example poverty, crime and to name the current issue – ‘religious conversion’. Let us examine this proposition in depth in view of its obvious importance. From reality to concept To conceptualise is to place a whole range of ‘similar’ situations within a pre-determined or fixed category or definition. A lawyer may label an incident as a crime while a doctor would come up with the diagnosis of a specific illness. One implication of this isolationist and professional approach is that the

19 Story, Francis 20 INTERVIEW: Thich Nhat Hanh September 19, 2003 Episode no. 703 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week703/interview.html

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‘decision maker’ defines the problem, and with it the solution which also happens to be pre-determined either in a legal or medical book. How well the decision maker understands the ‘full picture’ or the reality depends greatly upon the quality of communication between him and the laymen affected. The context is structured against the attainment of such clarity because,

a. the relationship is vertical and unequal; and b. the thinking process of the professional is to move the reality as it

affects the layman into a concept or a fixed category. Truth or reality is superseded by the concept which then becomes the sole operative criterion for understanding, thought, speech and action. The present world order is built upon two master concepts that complement each other. They are the human being as the ‘consumer’ and the human being as the ‘criminal.’ The former is rooted in greed and the latter in aversion. The former facilitates exploitation of man by man leading to the accumulation of wealth and power by a select few. This generates powerlessness and poverty among the many leading to disaffection and hatred against the social order. The consequent anti-social behaviour is suppressed by an overt symbol of public morality which operates as a covert instrument of social control. Have we ever wondered why it is always the powerless and the poor who are at the receiving end of the criminal process? Have we also wondered why it is always flawed implementation that is blamed for the iniquities of the criminal process but never the structure? This is what happens when concepts which simplify and solidify reality start ruling over us. They become an end instead of the means they were originally supposed to be. When people start mistaking the concept for reality and when the two are not critically examined the concept becomes the end and the human being the means. This also applies to the principal topic under discussion – the Buddha Sasana. The end result is that people become mechanical, blindly following ritualised forms – trapped by their own failure to see things as they are. They become victims of the forces of craving, aversion and delusion. This global pattern which gathered pace with the industrial and technological revolutions in the West and then spread to the rest of the world through colonization and globalisation was aptly summarized by Tanner in the following words: Just as the world is coming to be dominated by impersonal forces so also are the inhabitants of this world becoming as impersonal, mechanical and inhuman as the forces that guide them.21 From concept to reality

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21 Tanner, Tony (1963). The Lost America: The Despair of Henry Adams and Mark Twain, in Henry Nash Smith (Ed) Mark Twain. A Collection of Critical Essays, P entice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

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That truth is not a static entity which can be conceptualised, fixed and proved but a process which must be experienced and engaged is a fundamental lesson learned by a Buddhist disciple – monk or layman, who follows the noble eightfold path of sila, samadhi and panna. Thus the meditative practice is a movement from concept to reality – to uncover the true nature of physical and mental phenomena we experience in their simplicity, immediacy, freshness, uniqueness and what Nyanaponika Mahathera22 describes below as their ‘self-luminosity’. Generalizing thought inclines to become impatient with a recurrent type, and after having it classified, soon finds it boring. Bare attention, however being the key instrument of methodical insight keeps to the particular. It follows keenly the rise and fall of successive physical and mental processes. If mindfulness remains alert, repetitions of type will, by their multiplication, exert not a reduced but an intensified impact on the mind. The three characteristics – impermanence, suffering and voidness of self – inherent in the process observed, will stand out more and more clearly. They will appear in the light shed by the phenomena themselves, not in a borrowed light: not even a light borrowed from the Buddha. These physical and mental phenomena, in their “self luminosity,” will then convey a growing sense of urgency to the meditator. Then if all other conditions of inner maturity are fulfilled, the first direct vision of final liberation will dawn with the stream winner’s indubitable knowledge: “Whatever has the nature of arising, has the nature of vanishing.” As Carlo Gragnani23 put it: To say that existence is characterised by impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and absence of self is to express ideas, concepts, meanings, to put words into use. This is not necessarily tantamount to live accordingly. But for him who lives in accordance with them, those words, concepts, ideas emerge from reality as he experiences it. What is the advice that a monk who experiences reality as mentioned above can give to a layman? In the first place, advice given by such a monk is rendered relevant, meaningful and effective by virtue of his personal example of a life lived in accordance with the teachings, the dhamma. Secondly their interaction and communication will be enhanced by the four brahma vihara’s or sublime qualities of the heart which can be summoned by a practising monk. These are Metta – selfless love Karuna – compassion for the suffering of others Muditha – rejoicing in the happiness of others Upekkha – equanimity which balances the first three sublime emotions Knowledge of the transient, stressful and void nature of all phenomena (anicca, dukkha, anatta) provides a realistic, balanced and moderate perspective on life and death. It provides a solid, holistic and earthy foundation for avoiding the two extremes threatening to destroy the world

22 The power of Mindfulness, p 115. 23 Gragnani, Carlo (1977) the Search for Meaning, in Concept and Meaning Two Essays by Charles F. Knight and Carlo Gragnani, BPS Kandy, Wheel Publication No. 250 p24.

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today – egoistic materialism (in the form of greed for wealth and power) and egoistic idealism (in the form of terrorism, by state as well as non state entities.)

Positive implications for a society with an autonomous Sangha Steering a human society on the middle path eschewing such dangers is the peculiar function of what may be termed its ‘spiritual backbone.’ Different societies have different organizations that have traditionally performed this vital function. In Sri Lanka it was the Sangha which naturally assumed the responsibility for the maintenance of the agrarian ethic of care. This was a paradigm in which cooperation and holistic self help were the organizing economic principles. This ensured a reasonable congruence and interdependence between human spiritual development, social well being and economic security. The agrarian ethic of care provided a strong moral foundation for this island society for over two thousand years. A sense of unity and oneness between man and the natural environment; man and work and man and man characterised this way of life. Significantly this philosophical orientation came to be shared in the course of time by the tamil cultivator in the dry zone and the sinhala cultivator in the wet zone. This is testified by the relative positions of superiority occupied by the Brahmin priest and vellala farmer on the one hand and the Buddhist monk and the Govi kula farmer on the other. The challenge faced by Sri Lanka today in particular and by the Third World in general relates to the colonial super-imposition of a trade ethic of justice. This ethic which stressed and elevated rights at the expense of relationships was responsible for alienating man from nature; man from his work and man from man. This is a paradigm in which individualism and specialised service provision became the organizing economic principles. The traditional sinhala and tamil social systems were undermined in the process of inducting Ceylon into the globalized economy. The erroneous pattern of sacrificing human spiritual development and social well being for an externally defined goal of economic development, first committed in 1833 was also repeated in 1977. We have now learned in ample measure that rights without relationships are as useless as relationships without rights. Striking the correct balance requires a clear understanding of the fundamental nature of the human being and human society. The post – renaissance transition in Europe was a movement from faith to reason. This was a pendulum swing from one extreme to another. As a result it is the head that has come to dominate the heart in modern society.

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The professional focus on the human being which ignored his or her relationships is highlighted by Howe et al24 in the following passage: The quality and character of children’s close relationships is proving to be the central concept linking the myriad of factors that have a bearing on development. Relationships provide the key experience that connects children’s personal and social worlds. It is within the dynamic interplay between these two worlds that minds form and personalities grow, behaviour evolves and social competence begins. All the more remarkable then that, until 30 years ago, only clinicians appeared to be interested in relationships. ‘By an extraordinary omission,’ admits Hinde (1995:1) ‘the psychological sciences simply by passed what is the most important issue in most people’s lives – the nature of interpersonal relationships.25 Meditative practice on the other hand nurtures a holistic and wholesome conception of the human being. As Soma Thera noted, writing in 1941: Analysis of the parts lays bare the constituent components. Analysis of the relations gives a sense of the totality. All the differences that make for uniqueness of the personality, individuality, and entirety of a living being depends on the countless number of everchanging relations, their infinite variety, subtle nuances, and endless possibilities in each separate life flux.26

Given this breadth and depth of the meditative focus on the human being the Sangha of today is entrusted a natural function which does not contradict or deviate from the basic path outlined by the Buddha. This is to achieve a balanced engagement with society that eschews the extremes of monastic isolation (under – engagement) and active involvement in politics (over – engagement) so that it is able first of all to gain a clear insight into the state of human society in the 21st century. Such a balanced engagement would necessarily respect pluralism and exhibit positive respect and regard for all expressions of universal truths found in other religions. The case for engagement is well stated by Bhikku Bodhi.27

One of the primary tasks facing Buddhism in the global world of the future is to develop a comprehensive vision of solutions to the social, economic and political problems that look so large today. This is not a matter of blending religion and politics,28 but of making an accurate diagnosis of the destructive fixations of consciousness from which these problems spring. The diagnosis must lay bare how human defilements – the same greed, hatred and ignorance responsible for private suffering – take on a collective dimension embedded in social structures. What is necessary is not only to expose the oppressive nature of such structures, but to envisage and strive for fresh alternatives: fresh perspectives on social organization and

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24 Howe, David., Brandon, Marion., Hinings, Diana., Schofield, Gillian., (1999) Attachment Theory, Child Maltreatment and Family Support: A Practice and Assessment Model, Houndmills: Palgrave. 25 The reference to Hinde is Hinde, R (1995) A suggested structure for a science of relationships. Personal relationships, 1:1-15. 26 Soma Thera, (1941) The way of mindfulness, the Satipat ana Sutta and Commentary. 27 Bikkhu Bodhi (2000) The changing face of Buddhism, in Facing the future: Four Essays on the social relevance of Buddhism, BPS Kandy, Wheel 438/440, p 53. 28 Jawaharlal Nehru once reformulated this negative sounding phrase as ‘spirituality and science’.

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human relatedness that can ensure political, economic, and social justice, the preservation of the natural environment, and the actualisation of our spiritual potential. Although such a project, on so vast a scale, will be a new challenge to Buddhism, it is a challenge that can be partly met with the Buddha’s insights into the origination suffering and the means to its resolution. But only partly for creative thought is needed to apply these insights to today’s unique problems. This means in effect expanding the liberative dimension of the Dhamma by giving it a collective or even global application. In this enterprise Buddhists must join hands with leaders of other religions committed to the same goal. Beneath their inevitable differences, the great religions concur in seeing our grave social and communal problems as stemming from a primordial blindness rooted in the delusion of self, either personal or blown up into ethnic and nationalistic identities. Having gained a clear insight into the nature of society with the aid of the dhamma it should once again be placed at the disposal of Sri Lankans in any appropriate form to be used as an ethical and scientific foundation for re-creating a benevolent and compassionate human society on this island again. In particular the message of the Buddha retains a continuing relevance for securing and strengthening the human being and human relationships – an indispensable foundation for any civilised social order. Human rights and human relationships; autonomy and interdependence, are therefore not opposed but equally important aspects of the wholesome and holistic human personality. This is a clear message of the foundation article, article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.

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.

Reference to the duty of brotherhood here indicates that human rights must be based on a compassionate foundation of human relationships. This duty includes 3 connected duties of

communication understanding and positive action based on accurate empathy29

This is a holistic approach of deconstruction and engagement with human problems without taking temporary refuge and shielding ourselves behind egoistic, self-serving concepts and generalisations. Such an empirical and dispassionate view is precisely the view advocated by the Buddha among several other great teachers that humankind has been blessed with.

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29 We have already referred to the four brahma vihara’s or sublime qualities of the heart as a fully developed system of training that guides the true disciple in all his or her relations and interactions with others. They provide the necessary tools for overcoming the present domination of head over heart.

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