Features
Buddhism, Spirituality and Science
Some 800 km East of Bhutan is the city of Varanasi in India. In the 2566th year of the Buddhist era, human beings – members of the species Homo sapiens sapiens – total some eight billion individuals and still increasing. There is an estimated total of over two million separate species of animals, plants and microorganisms, with humans evidently poised at the pinnacle of evolution, on a planet that is 4.500 million years old. Today humans comprise a species ill at ease with itself, uncertain of its place and role in the scheme of things. Evidence of our cave dwelling ancestors date back to over two million years and our stone-age ancestors nearly 12,000 years ago.
An impressive recorded history of art, culture and civilization associated with modern man stretches over at least 5,000 years. Yet the past 100 years have seen the most dramatic changes in the entire history and destiny of our species. Alongside the acquisition of scientific knowledge and the explosion of technology on a grand scale, there has been a steady moral decline and decay which appears to continue unabated. The decline has a profound effect on the well-being of the planet itself. The Earth’s scarce resources of energy are being squandered, and its environment polluted in ways that threaten the very integrity of the planet.
The unbridled greed of the richer nations to amass a disproportionate share of the planet’s resources is leading to a situation where the inequality between rich and poor continues to rise. The number of people living close to starvation is reckoned, not in tens or hundreds of millions, but closer to several billion, and this number continues to grow. International aid projects are patronizingly conceived to pay lip service to “compassion” and to assuage the consciences of the rich, but the underlying causes of inequities are scarcely touched.
In the developed world, perhaps the most dramatic changes to the human condition have followed the weakening and virtual collapse of the social unit we call the family; a social unit that had served our ancestors exceedingly well for millions of years. Billions of humans are now left wandering hither and thither on the surface of a threatened planet like a disturbed swarm of bees, bewildered and without any sense of moral purpose.
Evidence to justify this grim caricature of ourselves can be seen everywhere. On a Friday or Saturday night in most of the major cities of the UK (for instance) one could see all the signs of a civilization in decline. Binge drinking in public houses and bars overflows into the streets in the form of disorderly conduct, even senseless murders – a pattern of behavior unmistakably symptomatic of a social system in the throes of decay.
Newspapers and the media the world over are full of stories of gratuitous violence at all levels. From strife within small social groups at the lower end of the scale to a simmering discord between nations that might eventually engulf the entire world in war. We are being constantly reminded of the horrors of international terrorism whenever we travel and pass through ever-more stringent security checks at our airports and seaports.
Against this grotesque backdrop of insecurity it is not too difficult to convince oneself that we are perilously close to self-destruction. Disaster could strike within a matter of a few years or decades unless measures can be devised to avoid it. And destruction, if it does come, will not be restricted to the humans; rather would it threaten the extermination of all life on the planet.
The long-term survival of humanity must be contingent upon the emergence in the very near future of a collective sense of sanity and group preservation – an Enlightenment. Whether this can be seen as an extension of the Darwinian process of natural selection, the struggle and instinct for survival, for which there is an evolutionary imperative, is left to be seen. As individuals we are unquestionably endowed with an instinct for self-preservation, but in the larger demographic groups of the modern world such an instinct appears to have become increasingly insignificant.
Natural biological survival instinct at an individual level may have to be replaced by a self-preserving philosophy of life embodying some form of moral code. Perhaps this can come from the emergence of AI (artificial intelligence) which seems to be emerging as an ever more powerful factor in controlling human behavior.
For centuries in Western Europe moral and ethical values were provided by Christianity that proved to be a powerful civilizing force. Even though such ethical principles failed to prevent the recurrence of wars and conflicts, they were adequate to secure happiness for individuals in society, maintain the cohesion of social units, and to ensure the survival of mankind. With the rising tide of secularism in the latter half of the 20th century, the influence of Christianity as a moral force for good began to wane, leaving a moral vacuum in a society that is now the poorer for its loss.
All this has happened against the backdrop of a unique empowerment of our species through advances in science. In a brief interlude of a hundred years the world has witnessed a technological revolution that has seen no parallel in the past. The atom was smashed in the 1930’s unleashing the formidable power of nuclear energy. The blue print of life – DNA – was discovered in the 1950’s, heralding the birth of biotechnology.
Space science and astronomy have advanced enormously in the past two decades with the development of a new generation of telescopes and instruments. The solar system has been thoroughly explored using space vehicles and spacecraft. Orbiting space telescopes like the Hubble telescope have unraveled the minutest details of astronomical processes that are taking place in the most distant galaxies. The Kepler telescope launched in 2009 have revealed the existence of many million habitable (Earth-like) planets in our galaxy alone.
In the past year evidence of life on an exoplanet over 100 light years away has been discovered. The origin of most of the matter in the visible universe had been thought to be traced to an explosive Big Bang – type event that occurred nearly 13.8 billion years ago. But this point of view has been challenged months ago after the discovery of galaxies much further away – far, far too close to the Big Bang itself.
We have understood the processes by which life arrived at the Earth, and spreads through the Universe, although the precise processes that led to the emergence of the first life in the Universe is still obscure. Maybe life and the Universe were always there, and there was no beginning or act of creation. This is what was stated in Buddhist scriptures of 2,500 years ago. It is becoming increasingly clear that life, even intelligent life, could be ubiquitous in the galaxy.
Computers, the internet, and mobile phones have transformed the lives of every inhabitant of our planet. Recently scientists have engineered a bacterium from synthetically constructed stretches of DNA. We are at the threshold of creating new forms of life in the laboratory, or for that matter lethal microbes that could kill an entire species at will. It is all too obvious that the fruits of modern science could be harnessed for good or for evil. Today bioterrorism and nuclear weapons in the possession of rogue states pose the greatest threat to the security of nations.
In the crisis that faces us it is perhaps no surprise to find more and more people in the West turning for solace to Eastern philosophies, philosophies in which peace and compassion are accorded pride of place. Buddhism is a supreme example in this category.
Buddhism has an immediate appeal to the intellect. It seeks solutions to the problems of the world by trying to understand their causes at a deep and fundamental level. Solutions are sought mainly by a process of meditation and self-analysis. Such a procedure might be expected to lead to the transference of interest in oneself and self-preservation to the benefit of larger groups. A deep concern for one’s own inner peace and tranquility could be quickly transformed into an equal concern for all mankind or even for all living things. So arises the Buddhist refrain, May all living beings be happy!
In its original form Buddhism may be seen as a pragmatic philosophy worked out by an Indian Prince Siddharta Gautama 2,554 years ago. As a royal prince, married and with a young son, he had enjoyed all the regal comforts that befitted his station. But such privileges did not make him blind to the intensity of human suffering that he witnessed all around him.
One day, at the age of 29, riding in his chariot in the royal gardens, he is said to have witnessed four sights: a decrepit old man leaning on a stick and shaking all over, a sick man, a corpse and finally a monk in calm repose. He began to ask questions about what he saw, but he could not find answers that satisfied him. He was so deeply moved by what he saw that he rode out at night to renounce all worldly pleasures and to lead the life of an ascetic. For six years he tried many forms of asceticism, including self-mortification and fasting, but to no avail. Finally he retreated to meditate under the shade of the sacred Bo-tree, seeking to discover his own solution to the problems of life, disease, suffering and death. His eventual enlightenment came after 49 days, after which he came to be known as Gautama, the Buddha – the enlightened One.
The philosophy that emerged from this enlightenment was at once simple and profound. lt touched upon all aspects of life, the cause of suffering and the nature of human relationships as well as the nature of the world in which we live. It was as all-embracing and comprehensive as any philosophy could be. An important point to note is that this enlightenment was not regarded by Gautama Buddha as a miraculous event or one that involved communication with an external divine agent.
It is presented as a state of mind at peace with the world from which objective knowledge flows naturally. It is a condition that every single human being could aspire to and reach to varying degrees in his or her own lifetime. For the remainder of Gautama’s life until his death at the age of 80 he travelled widely in Northern India preaching his doctrines and making millions of converts to his point of view.
(Vidya Jyothi Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe, MBE, MA, PhD, ScD (Cantab) is an internationally renowned Sri Lankan-British astronomer. Former Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, former Professor at Cardiff University, Honorary Professor University of Buckingham UK, Ruhuna University and National Institute of Fundamental Studies Sri Lanka)
(To be continued next week)
Vidya Jyoti Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe
Representatives of almost all the main opposition parties were in attendance at the recent book launch by Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila. The book written by the PHU leader was his analysis of the Easter bombing of April 2019 that led to the mass killing of 279 persons, caused injuries to more than 500 others and caused panic and shock in the entire country. The Easter bombing was inexplicable for a number of reasons. First, it was perpetrated by suicide bombers who were Sri Lankan Muslims, a community not known for this practice. They targeted Christian churches in particular, which led to the largest number of casualties. The bombing of Sri Lankan Christian churches by Sri Lankan Muslims was also inexplicable in a country that had no history of any serious violence between the two religions.
There were two further inexplicable features of the bombing. The six suicide bombings took place almost simultaneously in different parts of the country. The logistical complexity of this operation exceeded any previously seen in Sri Lanka. Even during the three decade long civil war that pitted the Sri Lankan military against the LTTE, which had earned international notoriety for suicide attacks, Sri Lanka had rarely witnessed such a synchronised operation. The country’s former Attorney General, Dappula de Livera, who investigated the bombing at the time it took place, later stated, upon retirement, that there was a “grand conspiracy” behind the bombings. That phrase has remained central to public debate because it suggested that the visible perpetrators may not have been the only planners behind the attack.
The other inexplicable factor was that intelligence services based in India repeatedly warned their Sri Lankan counterparts that the bombings would take place and even gave specific targets. Later investigations confirmed that warnings were transmitted days before the attacks and repeated again shortly before the explosions, yet they were not acted upon. It was these several inexplicable factors that gave rise to the surmise of a mastermind behind the students and religious fanatics led by the extremist preacher Zahran Hashim from the east of the country, who also blew himself up in the attacks. Even at the time of the bombing there was doubt that such a complex and synchronised operation could have been planned and executed by the motley band who comprised the suicide bombers.
Determined Attempt
The book by PHU leader Gammanpila is a determined attempt to make explicable the inexplicable by marshalling logic and evidence that this complex and synchronised operation was planned and executed by Zahran himself. This is a possible line of argumentation in a democratic society. Competing interpretations of public tragedies are part of political discourse. However, the timing of the intervention makes it politically more significant. The launch of the PHU leader’s book comes at a critical time when the protracted investigation into the Easter bombing appears to be moving forward under the present government.
The performance of the three previous governments at investigating the bombing was desultory at best. The Supreme Court held former President Maithripala Sirisena and several senior officials responsible for failing to act on prior intelligence and ordered compensation to victims. This judicial finding gave legal recognition to what victims had long maintained, that there was a grave dereliction of duty at the highest levels of the state. In recent weeks the investigation has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest and court production of former State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Sallay on allegations linked directly to the attacks. Whether these allegations are ultimately proven or disproven, they indicate that the present phase of the investigation is moving beyond negligence into possible complicity.
This is why the present moment requires political sobriety. There is a danger that the line of political division regarding the investigation into the Easter bombing can take on an ethnic complexion. The insistence that the suicide bombers alone were the planners and executors of the dastardly crime makes the focus invariably one of Muslim extremism, as the suicide bombers were all Muslims. This may unintentionally narrow public attention away from the unanswered questions regarding intelligence failures, possible political manipulation, and the allegations of a broader conspiracy that remain under active investigation. The minority political parties representing ethnic and religious minorities appear to have realised this danger. Their absence from the book launch was politically significant. It suggests an unwillingness to be drawn into a narrative that could once again stigmatise an entire community for the crimes of a handful of extremists and their possible handlers.
Another Tragedy
It would be another tragedy comparable in political consequence to the havoc wreaked by the Easter bombing if moderate mainstream political parties, such as the SJB to which the Leader of the Opposition belongs, were to subscribe to positions merely to score political points against the present government. They need to guard against the promotion of anti-minority sentiment and the fuelling of majority prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities. Indeed, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in his Easter message said that justice for the victims of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks remains a fundamental responsibility of the state and noted that seven years on, both past and present governments have failed to deliver accountability. He added that building a society grounded in trust and peace, uniting all ethnicities, religions and communities, is vital to ensure such tragedies do not occur again.
Sri Lanka’s post war history offers too many examples of how unresolved security crises become vehicles for majoritarian mobilisation. The Easter tragedy itself was followed by waves of anti-Muslim suspicion and violence in some parts of the country. Responsible political leadership should seek to prevent any return to that atmosphere. There are many other legitimate issues on which the moderate and mainstream opposition parties can take the government to task. These include the lack of decisive action against government members accused of corruption, the passing of the entire burden of rising fuel prices on consumers instead of the government sharing the burden, and the failure to hold provincial council elections within the promised timeframe. These are issues that touch the daily lives of citizens and the health of democratic governance. They offer the opposition ample ground on which to build credibility as a government in waiting.
The search for truth and justice over the Easter bombing needs to continue until all those responsible are identified, whether they were direct perpetrators, negligent officials, or political actors who may have exploited the tragedy. This is what the victim families want and the country needs. But this search must not be turned into a partisan and religiously divisive matter such as by claiming that there are more potential suicide bombers lurking in the country who had been followers of Zaharan. If it is, Sri Lanka risks replacing one national tragedy with another. coming together to discredit the ongoing investigations into the Easter bombing of 2019 is an unacceptable use of ethno-religious nationalism to politically challenge the government. The opposition needs to find legitimate issues on which to challenge the government if they are to gain the respect and support of the general public and not their opprobrium.
by Jehan Perera
* The new duty-free regime for Africa, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, is the most generous unilateral nonreciprocal trade concession offered by any country to developing countries since the beginning of the modern rule based international trading system.
* Yet, it is a clear violation of the cornerstone of the multilateral trade law, the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle.
* Hence, its implications on developing countries, without duty-free access to China, will be extremely negative. Sri Lanka is one of the few developing countries without duty-free access to China.
On 14 February, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will grant zero-tariff treatment to 53 African nations, effective 01 May, 2026. Under this new unilateral policy initiative, China would eliminate all import tariffs on all goods imported from all the countries in Africa, except Eswatini. China already enforces a zero-tariff policy for 33 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. Now this policy would be extended to non LDCs as well. This policy initiative clearly aims at reducing the continuously expanding trade deficit between China and Africa. In 2024, China’s trade surplus against Africa was recorded at US $ 61 billion.
This trade initiative, a precious gift amidst ongoing global trade tensions, is the most generous unilateral nonreciprocal trade concession given by any country to developing countries, since the beginning of the modern rule based international trading system.
Though this landmark announcement has far-reaching implications on global trade, as much as President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, it was almost overlooked by the global media.
Implications for Global Trade
This Chinese policy initiative, though very generous, is a clear violation of the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle and the “Enabling Clause” of the International Trade Law. The MFN principle is the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and is enshrined in Article I of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It mandates that any trade advantage, privilege, or immunity granted by a WTO member to any country must be extended immediately and unconditionally to all other WTO members. Though, the GATT “Enabling Clause” allows developed nations to offer non-reciprocal preferential treatment (lower tariffs) to developing countries without extending them to all WTO members, this has to be done in a non-discriminatory manner. By extending tariff concessions only to developing countries in Africa, China has also breached this requirement.
This deliberate violation of the MFN principle by China occurs less than 12 months after the announcement of “Liberation Day” tariffs by President Trump, which breached Article I (MFN) and Article II (bound rates) of the GATT. However, it is important to underline that the objectives of the actions by the two Presidents are poles apart; the US objective was to limit imports from all its trading partners, and China’s objective is to increase imports from African countries.
Though the importance of the MFN principle of the WTO law had eroded over the years due to the proliferation of preferential trade agreements and unilateral preferential arrangements, the WTO members almost always obtained WTO waivers, whenever they breached the MFN principle. Now the leaders of the main trading powers have decided to violate the core principles of the multilateral trading system so brazenly, the impact of their decisions on the international trading system will be irrevocable.
Implications for Sri Lanka
China’s unilateral decision to provide zero-tariff treatment to African countries will have a strong adverse impact on Sri Lanka. Currently, all Asian countries, other than India and Sri Lanka, have duty-free access, for most of their exports, into the Chinese market through bilateral or regional trade agreements, or the LDC preferences. Though Sri Lanka, India and China are members of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), preferential margins extended by China under APTA to India and Sri Lanka are limited.
The value of China’s imports from Sri Lanka had declined from US$ 650 million in 2021 to US$ 433 million by 2025. However, China’s exports to Sri Lanka increased significantly during the period, from US$ 5,252 million to US$ 5,753 by 2025. This has resulted in a trade deficit of US$ 5,320 million. Sri Lanka’s exports to China may decline further from next month when African nations with duty-free access start to expand their market share.
Let me illustrate the challenges Sri Lanka will face in the Chinese market with one example. Tea (HS0902) is Sri Lanka’s third largest export to China, after garments and gems. Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of tea to China, followed by India, Kenya and Viet Nam. During the last five years the value of China’s imports of tea from Sri Lanka had declined significantly, from US$76 million in 2021 to US$ 57 million by 2025. Meanwhile, imports from our main competitors had increased substantially. Most importantly, imports from Kenya increased from US$ 7.9 million in 2021 to US$ 15 million in 2025. For tea, the existing tariff in China for Sri Lanka is 7.5% and for Kenya is 15%. From next month the tariff for Kenya will be reduced to 0%. What will be its impact on Sri Lanka exports? That was perhaps explained by a former Ambassador to Africa, when he urged Sri Lankan exporters to “leverage duty free access from Kenya” to expand their exports to China!
(The writer is a retired public servant and a former Chairman of WTO Committee on Trade and Development. He can be reached at senadhiragomi@gmail.com)
by Gomi Senadhira
Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya was a famous actress and her name still rings a bell with many. And now in the spotlight is her daughter Senani Wijesena – not as an actress but as a singer – and she has been singing, since the age of five!
The plus factor is that Senani, now based in Australia, is also a songwriter, plays keyboards and piano, dancer, and has filmed and edited some of her own music videos.
Says Senani: “I write the lyrics, melody and music and work with professional musicians who do the needful on my creations.”
Her latest album, ‘Music of the Mirror’, is made up of 16 songs, and her first Sinhala song, called ‘Nidahase’, is scheduled for release this month (April) in Colombo, along with a music video.
‘Nidahase’,
says Senani, is a song about Freedom … of life, movement, love and spirit. Freedom to be your authentic self, express yourself freely and Freedom from any restrictions.
In fact, ‘Nidahase’ is the Sinhala translated version of her English song ‘Free’ which made Senani a celebrity as the song was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award in the RnB /Soul category and reached the Top 20 on the UK Music weekly dance charts, as well as No. 1 on the Yes Home grown Top 15, on Yes FM, for six weeks straight.
Senani went on to say that ‘Nidahase’ has been remixed to include a Sri Lankan touch, using Kandyan drums and the Thammattama drum, with extra music production by local music producer Dilshan L. Silva, and Australia-based Emmy Award winning Producer and Engineer Sean Carey … with Senani also in the scene.
The song was written (lyrics and melody) and produced by Senani and it features Australian musicians, while the music video was produced by Sri Lanka’s Sandesh Bandara and filmed in Sri Lanka.
First Sinhala song scheduled for release this month … in Colombo
Senani’s music is mostly Soul, Funk and RNB – also Fusion, using ethnic sounds such as the tabla, sitar, and sarod – as well as Jazz influenced.
“I also have Alternative Music songs with a rock edge, such as ‘New Day’, and upcoming releases ‘Fly High’ and ‘Whisper’“, says Senani, adding that she has also recorded in other languages, such as Hindi and Spanish.
“As much of my fan base are Sri Lankans, who have asked me to release a song in the Sinhala language, I decided to create and release ‘Nidahase’ and I plan to release other original Sinhala songs in the future.
Senani has a band in Australia and has appeared at festivals in Australia, on radio and TV in Australia, and Sri Lanka.
She trained as a vocalist, through Sydney-based Singing Schools, as well as private tuition, and she has 5th Grade piano music qualifications.
And this makes interesting reading:
“I graduated from the University of Newcastle in Australia with a Bachelor of Medicine and I work part time as a doctor (GP) and an Integrative Medicine practitioner, with a focus on nutrition, and spend the rest of the time dedicated to my music career.”
Senani hails from an illustrious family. In addition to her mum, Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya, who made over 40 films, including starring in the first colour movie ‘Ranmuthu Duwa’, her dad is Dr Lanka Wijesena (retired GP) and she has two sisters – all musical; one is a doctor, while the other is a dietitian/ psychotherapist.
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