Robed In Anger

Buddhism in Sri Lanka has turned radical, with a lack of sympathy for Muslims and Tamils.

- Lakshmi Subramanian

AN AWE - INSPIRING sight greets you as you step out of Kandy railway station—an 88-foot-tall, white statue of the Buddha. It is 6km away from the railway station, atop the Bahirawa Kanda (Devil’s Hill) and shows the Buddha seated in the nirvana pose. A smaller golden-coloured statue of the Buddha sits below it. It has white lotuses and purple flowers etched on it; photos of the most important Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka flank it. Near the statues, a boy with a tonsured head, clad in a maroon robe, is folding a flag that represents the aura that is believed to have emanated from the Buddha when he attained enlightenment. The young monk touches the flag gently and seems to have been transported to a world of peace and tranquility.

At the same time, near the President Secretariat in Colombo, burly monks dressed in robes similar to the boy’s were up in arms. The police were forced to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the mob. These monks were part of the hardline Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). They were demanding the release of their leader Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero (thero is the title for head priests). He had been sentenced to six years in jail on charges of intimidation; during the trial, the court had also held him in contempt.