Opinion
Misbehaving monks, and laypersons’ responsibility
I refer to the opinion piece titled ‘Tears of hypocrisy’ – a response by G.A. D. Sirimal in The Island of 01 March.
Referring to one of your previous editorials where you have raised the question as to why the Mahanayaka Theras wouldn’t care to rein in unruly monks, Sirimal wanted to know what happened to a resolution tabled at the 86th Annual General meeting of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress in Kandy proposing the formation of a Sangharaja Mandalaya to hear complaints against the members of the Sangha. This forum was to be vested with powers to impose penalties on those found guilty and, if required, to expel the culprits from the order.
While this idea seems a well-meaning one at least at the surface, before trying out any solutions, one needs to dig deeper into the root of this multi-faceted problem to get a clear understanding of where the things have really gone wrong.
First thing to do is to reflect on the fundamental questions of “who a Buddhist monk really is or what sets a Buddhist monk apart from the rest of us?”. From what we could surmise from the Buddha’s original teachings, a Bhikku is someone who voluntarily leaves the worldly affairs to find a path of peace, essentially by cultivating a deeper understanding of how the human mind works. Such a person would deserve the respect and support from others, but if and only if they stick to that challenging path. This should essentially be the only basis of the respectful and supportive relationship the laymen might have with a Buddhist monk. In other words, it’s simply a social contract – not a legal contract – where respect or support needs to be earned by monks, just like in any other social relationship.
The sure and most effective solution to the issue of unruly or “un-Buddhist” monks lies not with any Sangharaja Mandalaya but with the laypeople themselves. It’s a matter of simply going back to the underlying social contract, the breach of which should mean ending the laypeople’s side of the bargain. It’s as simple as that. Why do we care to feed, house and respect anyone who is more concerned about sorting out worldly affairs than about their pursuance of the path of peace advocated by the Buddha?
Once the social contract between the laypeople and a monk ends, it should no longer be an issue or a worry for the laypeople as to what that monk is up to. Just as any other individual in the society, that monk should also be free to live in any manner of their choosing as long as the country’s laws are not compromised. For instance, someone wearing a yellow robe and drinking alcohol shouldn’t bother any layperson in the absence of any current social contract with that wearer. It shouldn’t be treated as a criminal offence either. However, driving while being drunk should be a criminal offence irrespective of what one was wearing at the time and should be dealt with strictly according to the law.
A wearer of any dress of any colour or form should also be free to earn money, participate in politics, engage in protests, jump over the walls, etc., as long as no law is broken. It’s up to the laypeople not to afford the respect and support they may otherwise deserve or demand. Our society is steeped in this tradition of respecting and supporting anyone who wears a yellow robe. This is partly the result of the society’s deep dependence on the ritualistic aspects that have crept into the popular Buddhist practice.
If we are to solve this problem of unruly and misbehaving monks, ending our social contract with them pronto is the easiest and surest way to achieve it. Once the laypeople have done their bit, the rest can be left for either the Mahanayakas or any Sangharaja Mandalaya to deal with as they think fit.
Upul P, Auckland.
The proposed expansion of the Kelani Valley railway line has prompted the squatters to demolish the buildings and the above photograph depicts the ad-hoc manner in which a building in the heart of Nugegoda town (No 39 Poorwarama Road) has been haphazardly demolished posing a risk to the general public. Residents say that the live electric wire has not been disconnected and the half-demolished structure is on the verge of collapse, causing inevitable fatal damages.
Over to the Railway Department, Kotte Municipality Ceylon Electricity Board and the Nugegoda Police.
Athula Ranasinghe,
Nugegoda.
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 departed Denver, Colorado for Chicago, Illinois. The forecast weather was fine. Unfortunately, engine no. 2 – the middle engine in the tail of the three-engined McDonnell Douglas DC 10 – suffered an explosive failure of the fan disk, resulting in all three hydraulic system lines to the aircraft’s control surfaces being severed. This rendered the DC-10 uncontrollable except by the highly unorthodox use of differential thrust on the remaining two serviceable engines mounted on the wings.
Consequently, the aircraft was forced to divert to Sioux City, Iowa to attempt an emergency crash landing. But the crew lost control at the last moment and the airplane crashed. Out of a total of 296 passengers and crew, 185 survived.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) declared after an investigation that besides the skill of the operating crew, one significant factor in the survival rate was that hospitals in proximity to the airport were experiencing a change of shifts and therefore able to co-opt the outgoing and incoming shift workers to take over the additional workload of attending to crash victims.
One wonders what would have happened if an overflying aircraft diverted to MRIA-Mattala, BIA-Colombo, Colombo International Airport Ratmalana (CIAR) or Palaly Airport, KKS during the doctors’ strike in the 24 hours starting March 12, 2025? Would the authorities have been able to cope? International airlines (over a hundred a day) are paying in dollars to overfly and file Sri Lankan airports as en route alternates (diversion airports).
Doctors in hospitals in the vicinity of the above-named international airports cannot be allowed to go on strike, and their services deemed essential. Even scheduled flights to those airports could be involved in an accident, with injured passengers at risk of not receiving prompt medical attention.
The civil aviation regulator in this country seems to be sitting fat, dumb, and happy, as we say in aviation.
Guwan Seeya
Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):
‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.
However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.
Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK
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