The time has come for the Sri Lankan intelligentsia to admit, grudgingly as it may be, that Buddhism has come to a crisis state just as other social institutions in the country. It keeps inventing new rituals at a rate, rituals that have no meaning or purpose other than enriching a corrupt business enterprise, putting enormous economic hardships on the followers. As a result, it is argued that modern Buddhism has become a source of stress, guilt and anxiety instead of a source of solace and guidance for a meaningful life here and now for its followers, especially those who are financially challenged. It is this dangerous and harmful trend of deceiving, using fear and guilt tactics in the name of the Compassionate One, and creating a bartering system for commercial enterprises that compelled this writer to call this a crisis. If those Brahmins who opposed and debated Buddha back then could see Sri Lankan Buddhism today, they would rejoice with glee – finally, they have surpassed Buddha’s teaching.

Sadly, there is absolutely no way for the followers to know that they are being used as we have been brainwashed for centuries. That is why education reforms are urgently needed. The civic-minded have a responsibility to enlighten the masses, cautiously, without hurting their feelings, and to initiate necessary changes to ensure that the sacrifices our ancestors made to preserve this treasure, the Buddha Dhamma, is not wasted on the nation. And stop the exploitation of vulnerable faithful. There is no denying that breaking this vicious cycle is a tall order; but the socio-economic and emotional decline of the followers will continue beyond recovery if it is not addressed promptly.

The reader must evaluate themselves if the writer is crying wolf or is there grounds for his reasoning. As the Buddha taught, continuity with change is a natural law that governs everything in this universe. Not only nature, but all systems by which humans organise their society – the political, social, economic, intellectual, psychological, and most importantly religious systems are subjected to change according to this law. In our case, the five centuries of colonial rule had a major impact in accelerating that change. This is reflected in the colonial view: “the pioneer of civilisation has to get rid of the religion of India to enable him to introduce a better culture…” (The Buddhist Committee of Inquiry, 1956). Those forces were powerful, and they accomplished their goals; for example, we did not have five ordained monks in the country to perform Upasampada ceremonies by the 17th century. Let us admit that we lost Dhamma altogether at some point, as evident by the fact that a copy of the Tipitaka had to be brought in from Thailand for the Buddha Jayanthi celebration in 1956.

We are not responsible for what happened centuries ago, but we are guilty of ignoring the ongoing catastrophe. The Buddhist revival that started in 1956 did not have a solid foundation; it was driven by imported ideas. Let us be honest, they had good intentions but to what extent did the views of Olcott and Blavatsky align with the teachings of the Buddha remains anyone’s guess. Since we received an already transformed version of Buddhism, that could be applicable to the local leaders as well. Let us be clear, they all were well intended and they did their best, and we have benefited immensely from their efforts, this writer included. However, now it is our time to do our best to change it, instead of remaining prisoners of historical ironies.

What have we accomplished over the seven decades since the Buddha Jayanthi celebration? Materially, we have overshot our expectations: there are more temples, a Buddha statue at every street corner, mass media is choked with full of Dhamma talks, and people, especially women, attending religious services in increasing numbers. The largest sleeping Buddha statue in the world, with an ear big enough for one to sleep in, as the monk boasted. On the other hand, what has been the social and spiritual outcome? Statistics are there for anyone to see, but it suffices to say that Sri Lanka appears at the very bottom of all socio-economic indices of 193 countries, particularly notable is the corruption index. Spiritually, Buddhism has been reduced to the level of pouring medicinal concoctions around Bodhi trees and offering food and drinks to plastic statues for salvation. The same Brahminic practices that Buddha rejected, offering sacrifices and prayer in return for a better rebirth, are fine-tuned to be commercial enterprises, while what the Buddha taught is completely ignored. This points to the failure of our Buddhist education of both children and novice monks. Again, those who formulated the system did not know any better, they were going with an already transformed imported version of Buddhism.

So, what was Buddhism before it was transformed is a fair question to ask. Before the transformation, it was Dhamma, there was no ‘ism’ in it. Buddha had a simple message, and it was based on the natural law he discovered and named ‘Dependent Arising.’ This is the same ‘continuity with change’ referred to earlier, or the cause-and-effect law, as science calls it. It states that all phenomena that exist in this universe arise due to causes and conditions, and they cease to exist when their causes and conditions cease. According to Vinaya Pitaka, hearing this simple statement from Assaji, venerable Sariputta became a stream entrant. Is it a secret message in code? Why is it so difficult for us to understand its meaning? What is its relevance to daily life, or the next?

For forty years, Buddha explained it in many ways to suit his audience and occasion. That created a vast amount of information we referred to as Tipitaka, a tome of over fifty thousand printed pages. Over the centuries, commentators tried to reinterpret, summarise, and catalogue all that into a coherent narrative in diverse ways. Unfortunately, the results are not what was hoped for; instead of simplifying them, they ended up complicating it further. During this process, Dhamma transformed into Buddhism, not one, but thirteen different schools with vastly different interpretations and practices.

According to Dependent Arising, there is no independent existence; and humans are a part of a vast interconnected and interdependent network. That makes life a continuously changing state (anicca) with no agency (anatta); not a satisfactory situation (dukkha), like a piece of driftwood caught in a mountain stream at the whim of its forces, beyond control. Buddha explained that we do not have to surrender to this condition; there is a way to liberate ourselves from it and live a happy and harmonious life (samadhi) here and now.

The escape path the Buddha described is the Noble Eightfold Path (Magga). It is a way to live in harmony (samadhi) within and with everything else. The Path has three interrelated aspects: wisdom (panna), ethical conduct (sila), and harmony. Buddhist ethics are meant to conserve, propagate, and advance the said harmony with the vast network. It is not a reward and punishment system set by an unseen higher power, but a set of practices based on the cause-and-effect law. All actions, speech, and thoughts impact the network positively or negatively. Having the wisdom and discipline to control one’s thoughts and actions is the way to live a happy, prosperous and meaningful life.

Achieving that wisdom and having the ability to control thoughts and actions at the highest level brings ultimate happiness and contentment – Enlightenment (Arhant). Arhant has stopped the cause-and-effect process at mental level, but it continues to control their physical body. At the passing of the Arhant the cause-and-effect comes to a complete stop; this is the ultimate happiness – Nibbana.

The Buddha did not preach another truth, but he elaborated this one truth in diverse ways. There are no metaphysics or magical formulas associated with this approach. Every aspect of it can be explained using modern science. If there are any mystic formulas, they were added by the commentators, and Dhamma can be realised without them. The challenge to intelligentsia, academics, educationists, reformists, and civic minded individuals is to get this message to the masses in an accessible way. I omitted religious leaders for a reason; Theravada orthodoxy fiercely resists change, just as they resisted the re-establishment of Bhikkhuni Sasana on false grounds until the intervention of the Supreme Court. They will resist any change as without the bartering system and scare tactics the commercial enterprise will not work. One can only hope that the Bhikkhunis will not become the female version of the same failed system.

There is another challenge, unlearning is much harder than learning. This makes education reform a multigenerational project. Therefore, the time to start is now. As the first step, the transmission of wrong views, beliefs, rituals, and mysticism to the Alpha Generation, i.e., the cohort born between 2010 and 2024, must be curtailed. Most importantly, teaching poems as facts for government examinations should be stopped. They must be given the freedom of free thinking to separate epics, legends, and historical embellishments from facts; and that temple murals are expressions of artistic freedom.

The cultural aspects of rituals must be separated from the spiritual aspects. For example, our ancestors used oil lamps to light temples and grounds; they had no other way. But now we have electricity; must we light hundreds or thousands of oil lamps? Is there a hidden reason or benefit? No, let us explain that in clear terms.

In formulating the curriculum, we must rely on what the Buddha taught and reject the transformed bartering system found today. The utility of Dhamma, or the relevance of sed. It must be explained to the children and novice monks alike, in accessible terms, how unethical behavior has resulted in the socio-economic collapse of the country. Encourage them to rationalize how ethical living can solve all problems we face. Dhamma education can be delivered in the language of science by linking it with STEM education; both are about living a happy and prosperous life. Unlike the older generations, the technology savvy next generation will grasp the truth readily. Buddha’s message is a simple one, using science as the language, we can deliver it to the Alpha generation without complicating it the way our ancestors did for us. Let us get the process going, now.

by Geewananda Gunawardana, Ph.D.