Buddhist Sri Lanka faces a nationwide blackout because, officials claim, a monkey caused a power outage (WION Dispatch)
Showing posts with label colombo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colombo. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2025
Monkey darkens Buddhist Sri Lanka
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Buddhist Island deploys troops on protesters
Wisdom Quarterly; ColomboPage News (Dec. 14, 2011); Buddhanet.net
There is trouble in paradise. The Buddhist island nation and former British colony of Sri Lanka ("sacred land"), the teardrop on the tip of India, is still recovering from the longest civil war in Asia when it fought Hindu rebels.
It recently settled that decades-old Sinhalese-Tamil dispute with drastic measures and widespread abuses by its democratically-elected government in spite of the president dressing like a king.
Now that same nominally-Buddhist government is deploying troops against its own farmers who are protesting new governmental regulations.
The capital of Colombo has deployed troops to two towns to control farmers' agitations, explains military spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi.
Meanwhile, thousands of traders protested the government regulation to transport fruit and vegetables in plastic crates for a third day in downtown Colombo paralyzing business.
Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country. Theravada Buddhism is the major island tradition since its official introduction in the 2nd Century BC by the enlightened missionary mon Ven. Mahinda, son of the great Indian Buddhist Emperor Ashoka. This took place during the reign of King Devanampiya- Tissa.
Monks from Sri Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana throughout Southeast Asia. In the 1st century AD, during the reign of King Vatta Gamini, Buddhist monastics assembled in Aloka Monastery and wrote down the Tripitaka, the three divisions (baskets) of the Buddha's Teachings, now known as the Pali Canon, for the first time.
There is trouble in paradise. The Buddhist island nation and former British colony of Sri Lanka ("sacred land"), the teardrop on the tip of India, is still recovering from the longest civil war in Asia when it fought Hindu rebels.It recently settled that decades-old Sinhalese-Tamil dispute with drastic measures and widespread abuses by its democratically-elected government in spite of the president dressing like a king.
Now that same nominally-Buddhist government is deploying troops against its own farmers who are protesting new governmental regulations.The capital of Colombo has deployed troops to two towns to control farmers' agitations, explains military spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi.
The military spokesman has told Sri Lanka's national news agency Lankapuvath that a contingent consisting 200 soldiers have been sent to Dambulla (pictured above) and 100 soldiers to Bandarawela.
The troops have been deployed to support the local police to maintain "law and order" in areas where farmers have launched protests against a law that went into effect last month requiring them to transport their fresh produce in plastic or wooden crates.
Occupy the Island?
Meanwhile, thousands of traders protested the government regulation to transport fruit and vegetables in plastic crates for a third day in downtown Colombo paralyzing business.The traders sat in the middle of the road blocking traffic and creating huge traffic jams. They demanded the government withdraw the new regulation.
The Minister of Internal Trade, however, vowed to uphold it. According to the government, the improper transport of fresh produce has resulted in wastage amounting to billions of rupees. Source
(Image: Travel-to-Sri-Lanka blog)
What's so special about SRI LANKA?
Sri Lanka, once known as Serendip, is a land of many surprises. Its majority Sinhalese trace their roots and their Buddhism to the "Aryan" Buddhist region of Afghanistan.
Indeed, their tall Buddha statues echo those found in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, possibly in the vicinity of the original Kapilavastu, on the northwestern Indian frontier where Siddhartha grew up.
Sri Lanka, once known as Serendip, is a land of many surprises. Its majority Sinhalese trace their roots and their Buddhism to the "Aryan" Buddhist region of Afghanistan.Indeed, their tall Buddha statues echo those found in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, possibly in the vicinity of the original Kapilavastu, on the northwestern Indian frontier where Siddhartha grew up.
The island was the source of a strange spice the British could neither get enough nor find the source of -- cinnamon. It has singing fish, massive tea plantations, aborigines (Nagas), surfing, and UFO visitors from Indian mythology, having been the home of child-friendly sci-fi master Arthur C. Clarke.
Most importantly, it is the storehouse of ancient Indian Buddhism preserved in writing on ola palm leaves stored in massive white mound reliquaries. Buddhaghosa, the ultimate Buddhist scholar, commentator, and author of The Path of Purification, came to Sri Lanka from India to recover Buddhist teachings from sources only preserved on the island in ancient times.
In the island's self-serving chronicles (poetic histories), Sri Lankans believe that the Buddha meant for the island to serve as an enduring repository of the Dharma, and their mission as Buddhists continues to be to spread that message. Sinhalese Buddhists in America from Washington DC to Los Angeles are fully enlisted in this belief.
Amazing Buddhist History!
Buddhanet.net
Buddhanet.net
Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country. Theravada Buddhism is the major island tradition since its official introduction in the 2nd Century BC by the enlightened missionary mon Ven. Mahinda, son of the great Indian Buddhist Emperor Ashoka. This took place during the reign of King Devanampiya- Tissa.Asoka's daughter, the Indian Buddhist nun Sanghamitta, brought a branch of the original Bodhi Tree and planted it in Anuradhapura. From that time on, Buddhists in Sri Lanka have revered it. The original Indian tree was destroyed by Muslim fanatics but replanted in India from a cutting taken from Sri Lanka. So one can still go to either land and sit under a descendant of the original tree Siddhartha used to reach supreme enlightenment.
Monks from Sri Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana throughout Southeast Asia. In the 1st century AD, during the reign of King Vatta Gamini, Buddhist monastics assembled in Aloka Monastery and wrote down the Tripitaka, the three divisions (baskets) of the Buddha's Teachings, now known as the Pali Canon, for the first time.Sri Lankan nuns introduced the Sangha of Buddhist nuns to China in 433 AD. In the 16th Century the Catholic Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka and savagely persecuted Buddhism as did the Christian Dutch who followed them. When the British Empire took over at the beginning of the 19th century, Buddhism was on the decline. This encouraged British missionaries that then began to flood the island. More
Empire and the Spread of Buddhism
Wisdom Quarterly
An unintended consequence of invasion and colonization is that invaders take the spiritual traditions they find out into the world:
We have Buddhism in excellent English thanks largely to the work of early British and European scholars who translated the ancient texts they found as their empires plundered new lands.
This may be how history is meant to be. A famous German Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka, Ayya Khema, wrote a book with an interesting title (When the Iron Eagle Flies: Buddhism for the West). Its title derives from an ancient Tibetan prophesy that Buddhism would reach the outside world when there were planes in the sky ("iron eagles" that could fly).
Wisdom Quarterly
An unintended consequence of invasion and colonization is that invaders take the spiritual traditions they find out into the world:
- the American Empire and Japanese Buddhism (Zen),
- Chinese Empire and Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana),
- British Empire and Indian Buddhism,
- Roman Empire and Judeo-Christianity...
We have Buddhism in excellent English thanks largely to the work of early British and European scholars who translated the ancient texts they found as their empires plundered new lands.This may be how history is meant to be. A famous German Buddhist nun in Sri Lanka, Ayya Khema, wrote a book with an interesting title (When the Iron Eagle Flies: Buddhism for the West). Its title derives from an ancient Tibetan prophesy that Buddhism would reach the outside world when there were planes in the sky ("iron eagles" that could fly).
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Buddhist monks vow anti-government protests
Burma's Saffron Revolution was led by Buddhist monks, brothers of the Sri Lankan Sangha
(Sify News) Sri Lanka's influential Buddhist clergy vowed on Monday to launch a wave of anti-government protests after police arrested a dozen monks who demanded the release of the jailed former army chief. The National Bhikkhu Front (NBF) accused President Mahinda Rajapakse's government of committing an "unforgivable [error]" when police beat and arrested 12 monks staging a fast outside the main railway station in the capital Colombo. "The fast was to press for the release of General Sarath Fonseka," NBF head Dambara Amila told reporters in Colombo. "The government will have to pay for this." More>>
Buddhist monks fast to death for Fonseka’s release
(Daily Mirror) Four Buddhist monks who are members of the newly formed "People’s Forum for Redemption of the General" began a fasting campaign calling for the immediate release of detained General (Retired) Sarath Fonseka yesterday. The death fast was being carried out in front of the Fort Railway Station where a hut had been erected for the monks. Banners calling for the release of Fonseka were seen near the spot together with continuous chanting of protective chants (pirith).
(Daily Mirror) Four Buddhist monks who are members of the newly formed "People’s Forum for Redemption of the General" began a fasting campaign calling for the immediate release of detained General (Retired) Sarath Fonseka yesterday. The death fast was being carried out in front of the Fort Railway Station where a hut had been erected for the monks. Banners calling for the release of Fonseka were seen near the spot together with continuous chanting of protective chants (pirith). Monday, April 5, 2010
Sri Lanka arrests Buddhist monks; Thais riot
Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo
The arrested monks belong to a left-wing nationalist party. Sri Lankan police have arrested 12 Buddhist monks who were demonstrating against the detention of the opposition politician, Gen. Sarath Fonseka. Late on Monday, a police spokesman told the BBC the monks would shortly be freed, but this could not be confirmed. The arrests in the capital Colombo are another episode in the bitter fallout of the so-called Fonseka affair. More>>
The arrested monks belong to a left-wing nationalist party. Sri Lankan police have arrested 12 Buddhist monks who were demonstrating against the detention of the opposition politician, Gen. Sarath Fonseka. Late on Monday, a police spokesman told the BBC the monks would shortly be freed, but this could not be confirmed. The arrests in the capital Colombo are another episode in the bitter fallout of the so-called Fonseka affair. More>>Thai protesters clash with riot police
Jocelyn Gecker (AP)
BANGKOK – Thousands of anti-government demonstrators clashed with Thai police and military troops trying to prevent them from leaving from the capital's commercial district Tuesday to stage protests elsewhere in Bangkok. The demonstrators [which recently included Buddhist monks] pushed against police lines and pelted the riot squads with eggs and plastic water bottles along a tree-lined boulevard in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. "Have we reached a point of no return? I hope we don't have to fight fellow Thais," said a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
10,000 Buddhist monks bless president
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A special religious ceremony to bless Sri Lanka's re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa took place today at the Sugathadasa Inddor Stadium in the capital Colombo with the participation of 10,000 Buddhist monks. More>>Senior Abbot warns Sri Lanka president
A Mahanayake Thero (chief incumbent) says the state media's behavior might lead to the breakdown of rule of law. The chief incumbent of the Malwatte chapter [of the Sangha] in Sri Lanka has warned the president that non-compliance with supreme court orders might lead to the deterioration of law and order. The elder monk, Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera, in a letter has drawn the president's special attention to the state media...
Buddhist monk killed in grenade blast
Two persons including a Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) were killed in a blast in Gampola, Sri Lanka yesterday. Police spokesman SSP I.M. Karunaratne stated that police were conducting investigations to find out if this was an incident connected to politics. He stated that the blast went off in front of Sri Bodhirajaramaya Buddhist temple at Thambiligala in Gampola following a clash between two groups. The senior monk, Ven. Matara Vimalananda Thera, was killed in the incident. Six other persons received severe injuries in the blast and were admitted to Gampola hospital. The Gampola Magistrate has ordered a postmortem on the bodies of the victims.Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sri Lanka: Rebel's Last Stand?
Separatists Last Stand? (World)
Michele Kelemen
Listen Now [4 min 37 sec]
Weekend Edition Saturday, April 11, 2009 Human Rights Watch says one of the most dangerous places on earth these days is a tiny sliver of land in Northeastern Sri Lanka.
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That's where a Tamil separatist group is holed up, along with tens of thousands of civilians. The LTTE is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. government.
Sri Lanka's foreign minister made the rounds in Washington, saying he thinks the Sri Lankan government will soon defeat the rebels.
Monday, February 2, 2009
War in Sri Lanka
Stark warning issued to civilians trapped in fighting Monday, a day after shells hit a crowded hospital in the combat zone, killing at least nine people (AFP).
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A mother and father lay on the floor, their two young children cradled between them. Floral pillows and other bedding were strewn about: They were apparently sleeping when an artillery shell hit their makeshift shelter in northern Sri Lanka, instantly killing them all.
This photo, taken Jan. 23, along with other pictures and video footage taken last week were given to The Associated Press by independent observers. They offer a rare glimpse of the growing toll the civil war has taken on the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the all-but-sealed conflict zone.
The images show that despite repeated government denials, civilians are being killed and maimed in the fighting.
Some of the victims were attacked inside a government-declared "safe zone" in rebel-held territory and the wounded were brought to the nearby Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital, which itself has come under attack. More>>
- Sri Lanka may be verging on victory in 25-year civil war (McClatchy Newspapers)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Explosion in Sri Lankan capital wounds at least 44
Bharatha Mallawarachi (AP)
Sri Lankan soldiers patrol the 'de facto' frontline at Nager Kovil in the Jaffna Peninsula. Sri Lankan troops killed 10 Tamil Tiger rebels during fresh clashes in the north as the military inches its way towards the guerrillas' political capital (AFP/File/Lakruwan Wanniarachchi).
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- The Sri Lankan military says an explosion has rocked the capital, Colombo. A military official says details on casualties were not immediately available after Saturday's blast. Pushpa Soyza, a spokeswoman for a Colombo hospital, says 44 wounded people are receiving treatment there. The military official spoke on condition of anonymity citing government policy. Sri Lanka is immersed in a decades-long civil war with Hindu-separatists in which more than 70,000 people have been killed. The Tamil Tiger rebels (LTTE) have been fighting for an independent state in the north and east since 1983.
Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu devotees take part in an annual cart festival by inserting hooks through their skin at Mayura temple in Colombo August 8, 2008. The act of inserting the hooks is one of the ways devotees fulfil their vows to Hindu gods (Reuters/Buddhika Weerasinghe).
A bomb destroyed bus in Kandy. Strife-torn Sri Lanka is bracing for intense and bloody battles as security forces close in on the political capital of the Tamil Tiger rebels, according to military analysts (AFP/File).
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