'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's intolerance.

Everywhere, the intolerant preach a doctrine of hatred. The Buddha's teaching tells us to remove our own faults and not to concern ourselves with those of others.

If we can remove all anger, we will be free from fear too.
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pulga
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by pulga »

Sri Lanka needs to hammer out a Constitution equally applicable to all its people.

http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/srilanka.htm
"Dhammā=Ideas. This is the clue to much of the Buddha's teaching." ~ Ven. Ñanavira, Commonplace Book
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Virgo
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by Virgo »

What becomes evident is that even the human realm is filled with all types of [conventional] suffering. I don't think there is any solution, and whether we are happy or mad, think there should be a constitution, a revolution, etc. (whatever we think), things will not play out the way our minds desire.


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lyndon taylor
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by lyndon taylor »

edit
Last edited by lyndon taylor on Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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pilgrim
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by pilgrim »

Many reports coming out of Sri Lanka and Myanmar appear to be one-sided. I think news about mis-behaving Buddhists are a novelty and sells better. I do not know much about the events in Sri Lanka except for the halal-issue which I followed for awhile.

The report said " As for the ban on the Halal logo, an obvious barrier to the religious freedom of Muslims in the country, Withinage considered Halal as something “that Muslims should enjoy”, but also kindly pointed out that “Halal is used by Muslim organisations to promote Islam; to promote Muslim fundamentalism." This does not give the correct impression at all. Sri Lankans really do not care about the dietary requirements of the nation's Muslims who comprise about 10% of the population. For centuries, Muslims have been free to choose their own diet and label it accordingly. This has not changed and there has been no ban on the use of halal markings on their food.

The complain was the requirement by a certain Islamic organisation for the nation's food manufacturers to certify if their food was halal and which the government acceded to. To avoid cost of dual processing lines (one halal and the other non-halal) manufacturers made all their food halal. Manufacturers are also required to pay a fee to the Islamic organisation for the halal certification based on their production. So the effect was that thousands of manufacturers are now enriching the Islamic organisation and is funded by the country's majority Buddhist population. Millions of Buddhists now have to bear part of the additional cost of the halal certification which they did not request.

Not only is this obviously unjust, the consistent poor reporting in many such articles is quite damaging as can be seen by some of the responses here.
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by Goob »

pilgrim wrote:Not only is this obviously unjust, the consistent poor reporting in many such articles is quite damaging as can be seen by some of the responses here.
So in your eyes the fact that companies had to comply to new regulations to ensure that everyone could practice their religion is justification for arrogant, nationalistic bullying? Did you miss the part about the violence?

Mix any religion with a strong state that constantly produces a discourse about national purity and you'll have this sort of problem; buddhism is seemingly not an exception.
Last edited by Goob on Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
dagon
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by dagon »

Hi all

I think this is a useful, informed and balanced article about Buddhist Muslim relations in Asia - well worth a read
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... -ugly-head

metta

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pilgrim
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by pilgrim »

richard_rca wrote: So in your eyes the fact that companies had to comply to new regulations to ensure that everyone could practice their religion is justification for arrogant, nationalistic bullying? Did you miss the part about the violence?

Mix any religion with a strong state that constantly produces a discourse about national purity and you'll have this sort of problem; buddhism is seemingly not an exception.
No, what I think is that you are reading into my post what is not there.
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by dagon »

i happened to be following another thread and followed a link. In it was this that i believe applies to both sides in both Burma and Sri lanka. People have been using religion for their own mundane ends for as long as there has been recorded history
When we talk about our human suffering, it brings out our compassionate tendencies. But when we talk about our opinions, about what I think and what you think about politics and religion, then we can get into wars. I remember seeing a film in London about ten years ago. It tried to portray Russian people as human beings by showing Russian women with babies and Russian men taking their children out for picnics. At the time, this presentation of the Russian people was unusual because most of the propaganda of the West made them out to be titanic monsters or cold-hearted, reptilian people - and so you never thought of them as human beings. If you want to kill people, you have to make them out to be that way; you cannot very well kill somebody if you realise they suffer the way you do. You have to think that they are cold-hearted, immoral, worthless and bad, and that it is better to get rid of them. You have to think that they are evil and that it is good to get rid of evil. With this attitude, you might feel justified in bombing and machine-gunning them. If you keep in mind our common bond of suffering, that makes you quite incapable of doing those things
.

http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm

metta
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Goob
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Re: 'Buddhists Are Making Life Hell for Sri Lanka's Muslims'

Post by Goob »

Although I've only read parts of it I can recommend the book 'Legends of People, Myths of State' by Australian anthropologist Bruce Kapferer who discusses and compares state discourses, nationalism(s) and social hierarchies in Sri Lanka and Australia and in what ways they are produced and maintained. Probably one of the best reads if one wants to understand Sri Lankan ( and Australian) nationalism and the recent conflicts.

http://books.google.se/books/about/Lege ... edir_esc=y

It might even be read online here: http://bookre.org/reader?file=1195469&pg=1
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