By

P.K.Balachandran

The Sri Lankan government’s bid to reform the community of Buddhist monks has all but failed, with the Supreme Court telling parliament that the bill on the rules of conduct for monks will have to be passed by two thirds majority and submitted to a referendum.

The court’s “determination” on the bill was announced by parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Wednesday.

When introduced, the bill was thought to be well-intentioned, given the unruly conduct of some monks, one of whom, Ven.Gnanasara Thera, is currently in remand for storming a court and threatening a litigant. But many leading monks and leaders began to say that it was too intrusive and in violation of time honored traditions.

Known as the Katikawath bill (Katikawath is the set of internal rules of conduct for monks in a Nikaya or Buddhist Order), it made it mandatory for a Nikaya/ Order/Chapter to specify the composition of its Karaka Sangha Sabha; the Code of Conduct for its monks; the manner in which inquiries will be conducted; and the punishments that will be meted out.

The bill also suggested a list of activities which might be banned. Among them were: involvement in trade or business; indulging in occult practices or practices akin to them; driving vehicles and obtaining driving licenses; and taking employment in the public or the private sector in fields other than education, social service and religion. Interestingly, the bill did not ban monks from indulging in politics perhaps because all political parties use monk power.

Ven Bellanwila Wimalaratna Thera, Chancellor of Sri Jayewardenapura University, told The Island daily recently, that the Karaka Sangha Sabhas of the various Nikayas or Orders were only wanting legal sanction for their internal rules of conduct (Katikawath). They did not want to be told what the rules should be. What the rules should be, ought to be decided exclusively by the Orders and not the State, he said. And the reality is that each Order has its own Katikawath.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa opposed the bill saying that the ban sought to be put on monks practicing astrology or prescribing charms, went against Lankan culture. Social Anthropologist Gananath Obeysekere wrote that historically, the Sinhalese kings went entirely by the advice of the Nikayas. Finally President Maithripala Sirisena assured that he will go by the advice of the Mahanayakas of the Nikayas.

Courtesy:New Indian Express