Are Buddhists in Myanmar and Sri Lanka Forgetting Buddha?

Any given religion that does not appear to live according to the principles of its founder risks contradicting its “raison d'etre”.

I have just read the report of a meeting in Sri Lanka between two radical Buddhist organizations. I quote Reuters: “A radical monk who heads a movement accused of stirring violence against Muslims in Myanmar has announced a partnership with a hardline Buddhist group in Sri Lanka to defend their religion.”*

The leader of the radical 969 movement in Myanmar, Ashin Wirathu, wants to build a Buddhist alliance against radical Muslims. In his speech in an indoor stadium in Colombo, on Sunday September 28, he said: "Today, Buddhism is in danger. We need hands to be firmly held together if we hear alarm bells ringing,"** According to him and probably to a number of non-Muslim believers living in mainly Buddhist countries, Buddhism is under attack. But he also said: “his group and the Sri Lanla’s Bodu Bala Sena, use non-violent means to safeguard their religion.” In fact the radical Buddhist would like all Buddhist countries follow their example to stop the “Muslim expansion”. “It's the responsibility of the monks as Buddha's sons to teach bad and uncivilized people to become good and civilized.” He said.

We can argue that the two radical movements are well known for directly or indirectly encouraging violence against other believers, not only Muslims. I went to Sri Lanka and Myanmar a few years ago and the testimonies I received about some radical Buddhist monks had nothing to do with the traditional image I had of peaceful Buddhist monks.

In my travels around the world, I have met many religious leaders. Most of them think that in one way or another their religion is being attacked. They have some reasons to believe that, but they tend to forget one important value: human dignity. The priority of all religion should be the protection of human dignity and there is no human dignity without the freedom of choice, including the freedom to choose religion.

The non-violence of Buddhist monks has made Buddhism very popular in traditionally Christian countries. Temples have been built in the past 50 years in North America and Europe. Celebrities have been converted to Buddhism and Buddhism’s influence has reached a large portion of the non Buddhist population. We are used to Buddhist monks being on the side of peace and non-violence, not on the side of those who burn mosques and churches.

Learning what the radical Buddhists in Myanmar and Sri Lanka did, the Dalai Lama said: “I urge the Buddhists in these countries to imagine an image of Buddha before they commit such a crime.” *** This wise statement should be addressed to Muslims, Christians and others tempted to use violence or to support those who use it against those who don’t have the same religion.

*Reuters, Monday September 29, 2014. Rangal Sirilal, Radical Myanmar monk joins hands with Sri Lanka Buddhists.
** Idem
*** Speech to mark his 79th birthday in northern India. In www.cnn.com Monday July 7, 2014;

--- John Graz, Secretary General, International Religious Liberty Association

“raison d'etre”.