the fall of sri lanka

[confusedlayman]

after contemplating certain geopolitics issue, i came to understanding that when leaders of country dont follow 5 precepts, it is expected country will come to doom.

with so many buddhist, why a greedy and corrput leader was choosen to run sri lanka? why cant buddhist elect one goodman and things will change for good.

Island has good natural resource, favorable climate for agriculture, seas and ports can be built anywhere, geographically accesible to many high gdp country to do business.

Only change require is politicians should be elected based on transperency, non voilance and non greed.

[SarathW]

There are many reasons.

- Many people are not interested in politics and they just vote for someone without much knowledge
- Short-term goals
- Corruption
- Ignorance
- General poor education of the majority of people
- Interference from powerful countries such as the USA and China etc to look after their interest
- Bribes
- People chose the known devil or the lesser of the two evil
to name a few

[SarathW]

Do not think this is only for Sri Lanka.
This may be well true for the fall of the world.
Sri Lanka is just the tip of the ice berg.

[TRobinson465]

after contemplating certain geopolitics issue, i came to understanding that when leaders of country dont follow 5 precepts, it is expected country will come to doom.

with so many buddhist, why a greedy and corrput leader was choosen to run sri lanka? why cant buddhist elect one goodman and things will change for good.

Island has good natural resource, favorable climate for agriculture, seas and ports can be built anywhere, geographically accesible to many high gdp country to do business.

Only change require is politicians should be elected based on transperency, non voilance and non greed.

The Buddha said that in the future the world will become corrupt. Political leaders will be corrupt and less virtuous, lining thier own pockets at the cost of their own people. This is not something unique to Sri Lanka, this is happening all around the world. The relatively clean government found in the first world is largely an anomoly in todays world and even then this has shown some signs of cracking over the past few decades.

Buddhism has little to do with it, except for Taiwan, no Buddhist country is in good shape, following the trend of the vast majority of countries in the world. Although virtually no Buddhist country other than Taiwan and i guess Sri Lanka actually elected thier government. So I guess thats a bad example. We basically only have a sample size of 2, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. one failure and one success. In every other Buddhist country, the people didnt choose thier government, and even in the few places they did the corrupt criminal military takes power for themselves and runs it as a corrupt mafia state.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

See The Sixteen Dreams of King Pasenadi.

[confusedlayman]

This itself enough to become dispassionate for human realm unless you are born in peaceful himalayas

[SarathW]

This itself enough to become dispassionate for human realm unless you are born in peaceful himalayas

Don't even wish for it.

[Dan74]

When a country has evolved a corrupt system with a corrupt elite that has risen to the top thanks to this corrupt system and depends on it in order to stay on top, then it is little wonder that whatever leaders come to power, will be corrupt and will continue to make sure the system does not change in any significant way.

Even if a truly honest leader were to somehow come to power, uprooting such entrenched corruption is impossible without very broad powers and a very competent technical team and extremely difficult even with these.

Replacing a corrupt institution with an accountable and transparent one is so tricky, since the corrupt people at all levels will make it practically impossible for the new people to take over and work. The new leadership will be promptly accused of corruption themselves and the difficulty of the transition used as evidence that they are even worse. Plus all kinds of threats and intimidation. Very hard work..

Perhaps Italy is a case in point. It's managed to improve its governance and significantly reduce corruption. The people who oversaw this could advise Sri Lanka on how it was done and how to apply it to Sri Lanka's situation.

[SarathW]

When a country has evolved a corrupt system with a corrupt elite that has risen to the top thanks to this corrupt system and depends on it in order to stay on top, then it is little wonder that whatever leaders come to power, will be corrupt and will continue to make sure the system does not change in any significant way.

Even if a truly honest leader were to somehow come to power, uprooting such entrenched corruption is impossible without very broad powers and a very competent technical team and extremely difficult even with these.

Replacing a corrupt institution with an accountable and transparent one is so tricky, since the corrupt people at all levels will make it practically impossible for the new people to take over and work. The new leadership will be promptly accused of corruption themselves and the difficulty of the transition used as evidence that they are even worse. Plus all kinds of threats and intimidation. Very hard work..

Agree.
When there is a corrupt country there is more than one reason for it.
- Uninformed people
- People with short-term rewards and goals
- Corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy
- A power play by powerful countries such as the US, China, India, Russia, and Europe, etc
For instance, China bribed Sri Lankan politicians and financed projects not profitable (not for Sri Lanka but for China)
On the other hand, Japan refused to finance a large project in Sri Lanka because politicians asked for bribes.
Another example is when Sri Lanka had a close relationship with the US, India supported the Taimil separatist movement in Sri Lanka by pushing the country 40 years back.
- Corrupt politicians

I put the responsibility of the corrupt politicians last.
Because this all starts with uninformed and corrupt people who vote for corrupt politicians

Basically, the individual has to take the responsibility for making this world a better place.


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[TRobinson465]

When a country has evolved a corrupt system with a corrupt elite that has risen to the top thanks to this corrupt system and depends on it in order to stay on top, then it is little wonder that whatever leaders come to power, will be corrupt and will continue to make sure the system does not change in any significant way.

Even if a truly honest leader were to somehow come to power, uprooting such entrenched corruption is impossible without very broad powers and a very competent technical team and extremely difficult even with these.

Replacing a corrupt institution with an accountable and transparent one is so tricky, since the corrupt people at all levels will make it practically impossible for the new people to take over and work. The new leadership will be promptly accused of corruption themselves and the difficulty of the transition used as evidence that they are even worse. Plus all kinds of threats and intimidation. Very hard work..

Agree.
When there is a corrupt country there is more than one reason for it.
- Uninformed people
- People with short-term rewards and goals
- Corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy
- A power play by powerful countries such as the US, China, India, Russia, and Europe, etc
For instance, China bribed Sri Lankan politicians and financed projects not profitable (not for Sri Lanka but for China)
On the other hand, Japan refused to finance a large project in Sri Lanka because politicians asked for bribes.
Another example is when Sri Lanka had a close relationship with the US, India supported the Taimil separatist movement in Sri Lanka by pushing the country 40 years back.
- Corrupt politicians

I put the responsibility of the corrupt politicians last.
Because this all starts with uninformed and corrupt people who vote for corrupt politicians

Basically, the individual has to take the responsibility for making this world a better place.


-

Yes there's a reason the 1st blessing of life is to not associate with the fools. Even in Afghanistan the US was powerless to uproot the corruption pervasive in the culture. A culture of corruption leads to more corruption. It's easier to be corrupt when everyone is doing it. Just as it's easy to be racist when everyone is racist (back in the olden days in the west). Even countries that modeled thier constitutions off the balance of power structures of the first world countries failed to uproot corruption simply because it was pervasive in the culture. The single biggest success about Singapore was it's first president made it a priority to root out corruption and truly serve the nation as a politician. The reason the US doesn't have coups even when it was commonplace in Europe was because of the magnanimous humility of our first president refusing to stay in power for life. Following the model of Cincinnatus rather than Caesar and putting country greed for personal power.

[rajitha7]

So certain kamma-vipaka involves 2 parties. There is a doer and a receiver. For example, a thief cannot break into a house whose house holder is not himself a sinner.

Sri Lanka fell because of this.



The value of its currency was lost overnight. This was not becuase a sudden increase in the level of corruption. I have a good idea why but suffice to say this is only the effect. The cause lies somewhere else. What needs to be removed is the cause.

This is the cause.



The house can only be broken into when there is a sinner living within.

The sinner are these bogus monks and their political backers covering up the worlds biggest kept secret. Gotama Buddha lived in Sri Lanka all his life. They are hiding from everyone the history and the authentic teaching - thus blocking it to those who deseve.

As long as this keeps going on Sri Lanka will keep falling. All Buddha's are universal phenomina. Anyone or country will be crazy to think it can be covered up and hidden.

[SarathW]

Politicians use religion to stay in power.
This is no different even in America and the UK I suppose.
The way I understand that the Pope influences American politics is perhaps all over the world including Sri Lanka.
Politicians and monks are in partnership to pull the wool over your eyes as far as the general public is uninformed and uneducated.

[Scabrella]

There are many reasons.

Hello. I have found your posts on this chatsite interesting. I must assume you are Sri Lankan. Today, you posted about "Israel kids". About Israel, the Jews have existed, survived & thrived for thousands of years, because they followed their religious law strictly. In more recent years, as Jewish society became more secular & atheist, the former strictness of their religious law has now become a strictness in their political/social "law" or cohesiveness. They changed their religious law into a social law. But their strict compliance to this "law" remains. These Jews have discipline. They have strictness. They have loyalty to each other, which was what their religion always emphasized.

In contrast, I find the Sri Lankan way of thinking about Buddhism made in your many of your posts, such as about prostitution, arahants being concepts, etc. to lack discipline; lack strictness; lack obedience to either religious law or social law.

The fall of Sri Lanka must be primarily from not understanding Buddhism very well.

I hope this land blessed by good geography can survive in this dangerous world.

[TRobinson465]

Politicians use religion to stay in power.
This is no different even in America and the UK I suppose.
The way I understand that the Pope influences American politics is perhaps all over the world including Sri Lanka.
Politicians and monks are in partnership to pull the wool over your eyes as far as the general public is uninformed and uneducated.

I dont think the Pope influences American politics, considering the fact that every single president except for Kennedy and Biden have been protestants. If anything itd be the american evagelical leaders influencing our politics.

[SarathW]

There are many reasons.

Hello. I have found your posts on this chatsite interesting. I must assume you are Sri Lankan. Today, you posted about "Israel kids". About Israel, the Jews have existed, survived & thrived for thousands of years, because they followed their religious law strictly. In more recent years, as Jewish society became more secular & atheist, the former strictness of their religious law has now become a strictness in their political/social "law" or cohesiveness. They changed their religious law into a social law. But their strict compliance to this "law" remains. These Jews have discipline. They have strictness. They have loyalty to each other, which was what their religion always emphasized.

In contrast, I find the Sri Lankan way of thinking about Buddhism made in your many of your posts, such as about prostitution, arahants being concepts, etc. to lack discipline; lack strictness; lack obedience to either religious law or social law.

The fall of Sri Lanka must be primarily from not understanding Buddhism very well.

I hope this land blessed by good geography can survive in this dangerous world.

Contrary to your belief Sri Lankans are not following the Buddha's teaching.
They are very strict in social laws and religious laws.
Many Sri Lankans got the Buddha's teaching the wrong way.
There are lot of discrimination based on color, cast, religion,wealth,social status,sex,nationality etc. which are totally against Buddhism.