By Ranga Jayasuriya
Kirama Wimalajothi Thera, Leader of the controversial Sinhala Buddhist organization, Bodu Bala Sena, in an interview with Ceylon Today answers some pertinent questions about the objectives of the organization and why the organization does not accept the multi-cultural, multi religious compositions of Sri Lanka.
Q: What is Bodu Bala Sena?
A: We formed the Bodu Bala Sena to put our house in order – that is to salvage the Buddha Sasanaya in this Sinhala Buddhist country from the current mess it is mired in. There is no leadership, guidance or clear source of authority as far as the affairs of Buddhism is concerned, in the country. This has resulted in the deterioration of Buddhism. Conmen have begun invading the Buddha Sasanaya and duping hapless laymen. Bogus Buddhas began to emerge and the people started to follow them. And some others offered to give margapala while others began to distort Buddhism. About 400 Christian extremist organizations began converting families of Buddhists to Christianity. Therefore, we, a group of monks, came together to protect the Buddha Sasanaya. What we did at the outset was to apprehend those bogus Buddhas, disrobed them, and handed them over to the police. Some of them were psychopaths, who covered themselves in the saffron robe. One such person said Lord Buddha was born in Sri Lanka.
Then we hounded bogus monks who were collecting funds in Colombo. We have caught 30 such con monks.
We, also, alerted the monks in the villages about religious conversion. We also found out that everyday, about 30-40 Sinhala Buddhist mothers were sterilized by an NGO funded by Norway and England. The sterilizations had been carried out in government hospitals. We informed the public and took action to bring an end to that practice.
Then we intervened in this Halal issue. The Halal certification is issued by some organization called Jamayyathul Ulama. They take all recipes from our businessmen secretly, and charge money for the certification. From the very beginning we realized that we have no issues with traditional Christians, be they Roman Catholic or Protestants or Anglicans, who have been living with us for centuries in solidarity. The trouble makers are a minority of those extremist groups who broke away from those traditional Christian churches. They are now promoting a new brand of fundamentalism.
We also realized that we do not have any issues with the traditional Muslims who have been living with us for centuries. The trouble makers are, again, a minority who follow this new brand of extremist Islam. They create trouble. They are those who want women to cover their face.
Soon after the war, they started buying property and businesses in the south, paying enormous sums of money. Now that the statistics are out, they reveal that there is a drastic decline in the percentage of the Sinhalese whereas the percentage of Muslims has increased.
Q: But there are serious concerns that the Bodu Bala Sena is dragging the country towards a major religious conflict. You are already targeting Muslims…
A: No, definitely not. We have suffered for well over 30 years due to a war and we don’t want to start another war. We are idiots if we want to start a new war. Those who are making those allegations are a minority. We are talking about the Sinhalese and we are only shouting at the Sinhalese Buddhists. The monks have a historical role in giving leadership to the people. What has happened since Independence was that the Buddhist monk, who gave leadership to the laymen, was made redundant. Monks are losing in their character and integrity due to the nature of education they are being given at present. That trend began after the then politicians converted the Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara pirivenas into universities. The Buddha or Arahat Mahinda did not even pass the Senior School Certificate (SSC). Why do monks need degrees? Monks began to pursue university degrees in order to find jobs. We all know what happened since then. Around 90% of them leave the Sanga Sasanaya after the graduation. By doing so, they cause a great deal of disappointment in the hearts and minds of the devoted Buddhist public. There is a total collapse of the education of Buddhist monks. These are the questions we have raised. This is a Sinhalese Buddhist country.
Q: Why are you against the Halal certification? That certificate is accepted as a business practice in many other non Muslim countries?
A: Why do we have to eat Halal? If they want to eat, sell them Halal food in a special area in the supermarkets. We don’t want to eat it. If this trend continues, one fine day, one would say that the Quran bans idol worship and that therefore we should bring them down.
There is no extremism in our philosophy. We are not talking about the Muslim people. We are only telling them don’t impose your ideas on us. We don’t want them.
Q: Although you say this is a Sinhalese Buddhist country, isn’t there a sizable number of Tamils, Muslims and Burghers among our population? Aren’t we a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country?
A: This is a Sinhala Buddhist country. Can you go to England or the US and say that they are a multi-religious country. Of course there are other communities in those countries, but they are Christian countries. It’s the same here. Other communities have been living here, but this is a Sinhala Buddhist country. You call a coconut plantation a coconut plantation. We don’t identify it by the other small plants that have grown there.
Q: So, you do not accept the multi-cultural, multi-religious composition of this country?
A: No. This is Sinhala Buddhist country. Other communities can live here in this Sinhala Buddhist country. We have no objections. Travel around this country. All you find is Sinhalese Buddhist ruins. Do you find any Christian or Muslim ruins in this country? There are some Hindu ruins. Others can live here. There is no other community as tolerant as the Sinhalese. So, no one should be worried about living here.
Q: You spoke about the extremism of other religions. But organizations such as yours, the Bodu Bala Sena, is giving rise to Sinhala Buddhist extremism…
A: There is no extremism at all. We are not extremists. Is it extremism to rise up against con-men who masquerade as Bodisathwas? That is not extremism. We have not spoken up against Islam, Christianity or Hinduism. What we are telling them is don’t dupe our Buddhists and impose your beliefs and practices on them. We don’t mind people converting into other religions out of faith, at 18 years, after they become adults.
Q: You said there is no leadership for Buddhism in Sri Lanka. But the Mahanayake Theras are there and a Ministry of Buddha Sasana. Buddhism is given the foremost place…
A: There are about 30 Mahanayake Theras. Do they meet at least once a year? There is no one to look after the concerns of mehenin wahanses (Bhikkuni). Who is looking after the grievances of monks in the rural temples? Does anyone at least ask them whether they receive their dane (alms) regularly? But now there is an awakening. The Mahanayake Theras have woken up. I heard that meetings are being held. That is what should have happened. And, there is no code of ethics for the media. How the media conduct themselves in this Sinhala Buddhist country should be re-thought.
Q: Have you received any help from the government?
A: We discussed issues that are crucial for the survival of the Sinhala Buddhists with the government. The President spoke to us, and so did the Defence Secretary and the Commander of the Army. They asked us what we are doing and where we are heading. I told them that we are not an extremist group, and what we foresee is that the Sinhalese Buddhists have no future if we continue on this path. We are going to villages advising the people not to be duped by the slogan – punchi pawla rattharan (The small family is golden). Is this extremism?
Q: But there will be complications when you advocate more children, when parents cannot afford to feed them and educate them.
A: The government should look after those issues. Are you telling us to have one child and keep idling when others take four women and procreate? That will ruin the future of Sinhalese Buddhists.
Q: Back to the previous question. There are allegations that the government is behind your organization.
A: We have not received any support whatsoever, from the government. The President did not even send a vehicle to take us to the President’s House for the meeting we attended some time back.
Q: Not even from Gotabhaya Rajapaksa? He is an ardent Sinhala Buddhist.
A: No, I told you we have not received any support from anyone. We have not received any help from the Defence Secretary. What he told us was, “Hamuduruwane, please don’t create trouble.” I told him we do not create trouble and that he or anyone in the government should not worry about that.
Q: There are allegations that you receive funds from Norway…
A: Some have said that the Defence Secretary is giving us money. Some others have said we are receiving funds from Norway. I can swear, even before the Buddha’s statue that we have not received a red cent from anyone. If anyone proves that we are lying, we would close our organization next day. I owe Rs 240 million to banks for a loan I obtained to renovate the Sambuddha Jayanthi Mandiraya. It is the vehicles of my Bauddha Sanskruthika Madyasthanaya that are used for our work. I myself authored Dhamma books and printed them with the help of Buddhist philanthropists.
Q: Are you sure that you have not received any funds?
A: Yes, we have not got a red cent from the government, any country or any NGO. We are planning to initiate a membership drive and collect a membership fee. We plan to recruit 100,000 persons, both lay and clergy members by the end of the year.
Q: You said the monks have given leadership in crucial national matters. But we have not seen such a leadership in the recent past. For instance, when the Chief Justice of the country was unlawfully sacked from her position, the monks were silent.
A. We cannot interfere in every affair. What we came to do is to clean the Buddha Sasanaya. Our position is that we don’t do politics.
Q: What is your position on the devolution of powers?
A: We don’t have a position on devolution. We have not discussed it, yet. I don’t think devolution is an appropriate solution. Instead, it would create further problems. Can you see the problems that have been created by the segregation of schools on religious lines? Now, the Sinhalese students don’t know Muslim students. They don’t respect each other’s culture or religion
COURTESY:CEYLON TODAY