Even Mahanayakes are not spared from threats, intimidation and blackmail

Diary of Terror- Part 15 24 Feb.2010

Sri Lankan Human Rights Watch

(February 24, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Reports of the Sanga Convention called by the three great chapters of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and signed by the four Sanganayakes led to severe and adverse reactions on the part of the government, and the result was that the three great Buddhist Mahanayakes were pressurized by government officials and through a section of Buddhist monks themselves to postpone the convention which was to be held on the 18th February. The details of the pressures that were brought on the Buddhist prelates are now public knowledge. This clearly indicates that now even Mahanayakes are not immune from threats, intimidation and blackmail by the government.

The theme of the meeting was a very simple one. It was to discuss to discuss the degeneration of democracy and good governance in Sri Lanka. The participants of the convention were to be the Buddhist monks of the country from all the different chapters of Buddhism.

The gathering of all the sanga in the country would have been a matter of historical importance. For many centuries there have been struggles for the regeneration of Buddhism and to unite the monks on agreements on the basics of Buddhist Dharma. In fact, the act of getting Buddhist monks together to agree on moral issues goes back to the origins of Buddhism itself and the times of the historical Buddha, as well as the great days of Buddhism under Dharmasoka of India. Unity between the monks was considered essential element of maintaining the influence of the religion in order to uphold the high moral standards within society

Buddhism differs from many other religious in its insistence of the priority of moral standards. Many other religions base their primary emphasis on the worship of gods and the maintenance of various kinds of pioustic traditions. However, the wheel representing the Buddhist dharma represents the basic moral norms of society.

Dharmasoka as one of the greatest emperors of all times realised the great role that Buddhism was playing in afflicting the moral standards of the day, and by adopting and supporting Buddhism, Dharmasoka taught a lesson in history on the duty of the ruler to uphold the norms of humanity. Dharmasoka is considered a rare ruler in the history of the world due to this approach as a ruler who was concerned with establishing the moral norms of society. He was opposed to the concept of power for power’s own sake.

Thus, the convention of the Buddhist Sanga, which was called by the Prelates, was an attempt to revive this great tradition of bringing in concern for high moral standards within society. Often the discussion on morals in Sri Lanka has been limited to issues such as the prevention of the use of liquor and issues of sex. However, greater morals in society are about the rules of the peoples’ participation in society. These are about the ways in which human dignity is maintained by human beings participating in the social discourse, and determining the type of society within which they live. The truly great contributions of religion are to those issues which determine the moral standards relating to the manner in which societies govern themselves. Thus, the theme chosen by the convention for the discussion on the revival of democracy and good governance are within the framework of great concerns that great religions have always been concerned with. Thus, the convention could have been a high watermark in the attempts that have been made in the past in order to bring the involvement of religions to strengthen the moral foundations of Sri Lankan society

However, the manner in which this attempt was denigrated and the initiators of the denigration were quite visible on the television and radio. Government ministers and monks combined in order to characterise the prelates of the three great orders as persons who had been mislead. The term “mislead” has in the past been used to describe youth who like those who were involved in the JVP rebellion of 1971 and thereafter, and the Tamil militants that formed the LTTE. The people who were involved in those movements were characterised as being misled. The monks supporting the government used the same terms against the Mahanayakes of the three great orders.

Some went to the extent of saying that one of the signatures had been taken from Sanganayake by misleading him and by forgery. A representative of the Mahanayake later condemned this attempt and explained to the public that the Mahanayake was very much saddened by this because he came to support the meeting after due consideration and a full knowledge of the importance of the decision.

The use of television and radio for blackmailing political opponents has now become routine in Sri Lanka. All political opponents are being blackmailed in the worst types of allegations. The most glaring example was the blackmail of Sarath Fonseka, the common candidate for the opposition in the presidential elections.

He was blackmailed by statements such as that he conspired to kill the president and his family, that he was engaged in an attempt to stage a military coup, and many other such allegations which later were abandoned by those who propagated them. That even the Mahanayakes of the three great orders of Buddhism are being treated in this manner is an indication of the depth of the repression that is taking place within Sri Lanka.

Circumstances leading to the postponement of the convention was explained by Executive Committee Member of the Sangha Convention, the Chief Incumbent, Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya, Ven. Walawahengunuwewe Dhammarathana Thero in an interview published in Sunday Leader:

The group of monks initially threatened the Mahanayake by saying that they would leave the sect if the convention was not cancelled.

“The Mahanayake said that it was nothing new, and that in the past monks have left the sect,” Dhammarathana Thera claimed.

“Realising that such threats will not get the Mahanayake to cancel the convention, this group telephoned the President, who personally spoke to the Mahanayake, urging him to cancel the convention, but the Mahanayake had been adamant about holding the convention,” Dhammarathana Thero said.

“The group had then asked whether the Mahanayake would like to see two or three bombs go off at the ‘Mahamaluwa’ and whether he would take the responsibility if the Temple of the Tooth is damaged,” Dhammarathana Thero claimed.

He said that such threats led to the postponing of the convention.”


Today, throughout the country there is the development of abysmal lawlessness. This involves attacks on any person who asserts any kind of independence. Abysmal lawlessness is accompanied by the relegation of all individuals into a zero status. Nobody is considered to have any kind of dignity and therefore no one is immune from threats, intimidation and blackmail. Even the prelates of the three great orders are no exception to this.