Friday, June 27, 2014

Decency is the Bone Marrow of Society

Decency is what, our parents taught us
While we were growing up
It should be in every man’s bones
Like You & Me
Resting in our marrows.

Decency is the bone marrow
Of living society.

Marrow starts a war as and when
The defence of the body is breached
Kills and destroys the harmful
Invaders.

Decency should work the same way
What marrow does for the body.

As and when society is threatened
By indecent invasions
Do not wait for others to cast the first stone
Or to fire the first salvo.

Let decency
Our parents taught us
Let decency
Imbedded in our bones
Come to rescue and save society of
Becoming indecent, insensitive and intolerant.

Decency is the bone marrow
Of society.

Decency is what, our parents  taught us
While we were growing up.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Minority Moderates among Hypocrite Majority ?

Clad in a saffron outfit does not make one a Buddhist monk automatically. 
Ordination is just a Ceremony of affirmation and having ordination too does not make anyone a Buddhist monk automatically either. 
There is a clear path to be followed, if one needs to be really qualified to be a Buddhist monk. That is to follow the path of a Bodhisattva. 
A Bodhisattva is a person who devotes his or her life to the Buddhist way. 
The vows focus on doing compassionate deeds, striving to benefit every human being and seeking enlightenment. 
Not setting fire and or pelting others’ places of worship. 
Then you become a hooligan and or a murderer than a monk. 
The saffron outfit will not protect such people. 
During the recent incidents in the South of Sri Lanka, I see the Social media was awash with many postings, some in favour and some against for the actions of hooligans in saffron outfits. Among the Against lot, I found an interesting number of Buddhists along with people from the community that was affected. 
I understand the mindset of those who were affected but what were the Buddhists among them were thinking, I was pondering. 
They call themselves the Moderate Buddhists. 
Then the next question sprang into my mind was, where were the Moderates people of other faiths. 
I did not see anyone crying foul when the Buddhist shrines in the East of Sri Lanka were vandalized by bulldozers or the Tigers Flag was taken to the Vatican a few years back. 
Are only Buddhists moderate? 
If so, why I wonder.

Minority Moderates among Hypocrite Majority ?

Clad in a saffron outfit does not make one a Buddhist monk automatically. 
Ordination is just a Ceremony of affirmation and having ordination too does not make anyone a Buddhist monk automatically either. 
There is a clear path to be followed, if one needs to be really qualified to be a Buddhist monk. That is to follow the path of a Bodhisattva. 
A Bodhisattva is a person who devotes his or her life to the Buddhist way. 
The vows focus on doing compassionate deeds, striving to benefit every human being and seeking enlightenment. 
Not setting fire and or pelting others’ places of worship. 
Then you become a hooligan and or a murderer than a monk. 
The saffron outfit will not protect such people. 
During the recent incidents in the South of Sri Lanka, I see the Social media was awash with many postings, some in favour and some against for the actions of hooligans in saffron outfits. Among the Against lot, I found an interesting number of Buddhists along with people from the community that was affected. 
I understand the mindset of those who were affected but what were the Buddhists among them were thinking, I was pondering. 
They call themselves the Moderate Buddhists. 
Then the next question sprang into my mind was, where were the Moderates people of other faiths. 
I did not see anyone crying foul when the Buddhist shrines in the East of Sri Lanka were vandalized by bulldozers or the Tigers Flag was taken to the Vatican a few years back. 
Are only Buddhists moderate? 
If so, why I wonder.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Are Only Buddhists In Sri Lanka Moderate ?

Clad in a saffron outfit does not make one a Buddhist monk automatically. 

Ordination is just a Ceremony of affirmation and having ordination too does not make anyone a Buddhist monk automatically either. 

There is a clear path to be followed, if one needs to be really qualified to be a Buddhist monk. That is to follow the path of a Bodhisattva. 

A Bodhisattva is a person who devotes his or her life to the Buddhist way. 

The vows focus on doing compassionate deeds, striving to benefit every human being and seeking enlightenment. 

Not setting fire and or pelting others’ places of worship. 

Then you become a hooligan and or a murderer than a monk. 

The saffron outfit will not protect such people. 

During the recent incidents in the South of Sri Lanka, I see the Social media was awash with many postings, some in favour and some against for the actions of hooligans in saffron outfits.

Among the Against lot, I found an interesting number of Buddhists along with people from the community that was affected. 

I understand the mindset of those who were affected but what were the Buddhists among them were thinking, I was pondering.

They call themselves the Moderate Buddhists. 

Then the next question sprang into my mind was, where were the Moderate people of other faiths. 

I did not see anyone crying foul when the Buddhist shrines in the East of Sri Lanka were vandalized by bulldozers or the Tigers Flag was taken to the Vatican a few years back. 

Are only Buddhists moderate? 

If so, why I wonder.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Should Sri Lanka have Blasphemy Laws?

Should Sri Lanka have Blasphemy Laws?

Such laws are already in existence in many parts of the World.

Should Sri Lanka have religious police too?

Such institutes too are already in existence in many parts of the World.

Then again you have to ask yourself two important questions.

The first one is to protect what, such laws are needed now.

The second one is who will oversee the implementation and execution of the laws to the last letter in a fair manner.

Thinking loud on social media, like most of us do these days will not take any of us anywhere, unless we find the right answers to those two very important questions?

Have a dialog with yourself first, before venture in to start  " thinking laud " on social media platforms. 😓

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Happy Father's Day !

Text message received from my daughter on the Father's Day celebrations made me think of you.

How do I start was my dilemma.

You were a man of few words.

I got most of your physical appearance than my other siblings but the quality of few words, I was not endowed with.

The younger brother has received it from you and you know God has very mysterious ways of working and assembling things around.

You showed us the length and the breath of the country by taking us to various places during school vacation times but I knew that your world was just confined to within our shores only then.

But you showed us the World in a different way by introducing and encouraging us to read at a very early age.

That way you managed to take us far beyond your physically confined shores.

I still remember that every week you used to bring at least two books from the Officer Library and we were on them like the vultures on a carcass.

That early induction to reading made us wanted more and to “Think freely”.

And we know now that, it was what you wanted us to acquire then.

Though Your other message, though conveyed in a very subtle way not in very words was “Never come home get beaten up by someone else in the street”.

“Beat the hell out of anyone and come home victorious and I will defend you to the last tooth”.

Those two messages “Think Freely” & “Never come home get Beaten up by someone else” came in real handy in our later lives but I do not think that none of us got around telling you that how much we were benefitted from those two messages.

At least now we have such celebrations like “Father's Day”, which we have never heard of, when we were growing up, gives us an opportunity to at least say “Thank You තාත්තේ (Father)!” even it is a few years too late now.

We would be eternally grateful to you.

Yours loving

පොඩි පුතා (The Black sheep in the family).