Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka
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BUDDHISM, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN MODERN SRI LANKA Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka explores dilemmas that Theravada Buddhism faces in relation to the continuing ethnic conflict and violence in recent decades. In this book, prominent scholars in the fields of anthropology, history, Buddhist Studies and Pali examine multiple dimensions of the problem. It discusses in detail various Buddhist responses to the crisis and suggests ways how resources found within Buddhism and Buddhist institutions can help create peace in Sri Lanka. Evaluating the role of Buddhists and their institutions in bringing about an end to war and violence, this collection puts forward a critical analysis of the religious conditions contributing to continuing hostilities. Mahinda Deegalle is Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religions at Bath Spa University. His research interests are Buddhist Preaching, Mahayana Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Violence and Peacebuilding. He is the co-editor of Pali Buddhism (Curzon, 1996), and is currently researching on Buddhist monks’ involvement in Parliamentary Politics. ROUTLEDGE CRITICAL STUDIES IN BUDDHISM General Editors: Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism is a comprehensive study of the Buddhist tradition. The series explores this complex and extensive tradition from a variety of perspectives, using a range of different methodologies. The series is diverse in its focus, including historical studies, textual transla- tions and commentaries, sociological investigations, bibliographic studies, and considerations of religious practice as an expression of Buddhism’s integral religiosity. It also presents materials on modern intellectual historical studies, including the role of Buddhist thought and scholarship in a contemporary, critical context and in the light of current social issues. The series is expansive and imag- inative in scope, spanning more than two and a half millennia of Buddhist history. It is receptive to all research works that inform and advance our knowledge and understanding of the Buddhist tradition. A SURVEY OF VINAYA THE RESONANCE OF LITERATURE EMPTINESS Charles S. Prebish Gay Watson THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF AMERICAN BUDDHISM AWARENESS Edited by Duncan Ryuken Williams Paul Williams and Christopher Queen IMAGING WISDOM ALTRUISM AND REALITY Jacob N. Kinnard Paul Williams PAIN AND ITS ENDING BUDDHISM AND HUMAN Carol S. Anderson RIGHTS Edited by Damien Keown, EMPTINESS APPRAISED Charles Prebish and David F. Burton Wayne Husted THE SOUND OF LIBERATING WOMEN IN THE FOOTSTEPS TRUTH OF THE BUDDHA Edited by Sallie B. King and Kathryn R Blackstone Paul O. Ingram BUDDHIST THEOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS IN Edited by Roger R. Jackson and John AUSTRALIAN BUDDHISM J. Makransky Michelle Spuler THE GLORIOUS DEEDS OF ZEN WAR STORIES PURNA Brian Victoria Joel Tatelman THE BUDDHIST EARLY BUDDHISM – A NEW UNCONSCIOUS APPROACH William S. Waldron Sue Hamilton INDIAN BUDDHIST THEORIES CONTEMPORARY BUDDHIST OF PERSONS ETHICS James Duerlinger Edited by Damien Keown ACTION DHARMA INNOVATIVE BUDDHIST Edited by Christopher Queen, WOMEN Charles Prebish and Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo Damien Keown TIBETAN AND ZEN TEACHING BUDDHISM IN BUDDHISM IN BRITAIN THE WEST David N. Kay Edited by V.S. Hori, R.P. Hayes and J.M. Shields THE CONCEPT OF THE BUDDHA EMPTY VISION Guang Xing David L. McMahan THE PHILOSOPHY OF SELF, REALITY AND DESIRE IN THE BUDDHIST REASON IN TIBETAN PALI CANON PHILOSOPHY David Webster Thupten Jinpa THE NOTION OF DITTHI IN IN DEFENSE OF DHARMA THERAVADA BUDDHISM Tessa J. Bartholomeusz Paul Fuller BUDDHIST THE BUDDHIST THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGY SELF-COGNITION Dan Lusthaus Zhihua Yao RELIGIOUS MOTIVATION MORAL THEORY IN AND THE ORIGINS OF FANTIDEVA’S BUDDHISM FIKSASAMUCCAYA Torkel Brekke Barbra R. Clayton BUDDHIST STUDIES BUDDHIST THOUGHT AND FROM INDIA TO APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL AMERICA RESEARCH Edited by Damien Keown Edited by D. K. Nauriyal, Michael S. Drummond and Y. B. Lal DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY BUDDHISM IN CANADA IN MEDIEVAL Edited by Bruce Matthews JAPANESE BUDDHISM BUDDHISM, CONFLICT AND Edited by Richard K. Payne VIOLENCE IN MODERN and Taigen Dan SRI LANKA Leighton Edited by Mahinda Deegalle The following titles are published in association with the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies The Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies conducts and promotes rigorous teaching and research into all forms of the Buddhist tradition. EARLY BUDDHIST METAPHYSICS Noa Ronkin MIPHAM’S DIALECTICS AND THE DEBATES ON EMPTINESS Karma Phuntsho HOW BUDDHISM BEGAN The conditioned genesis of the early teachings Richard F. Gombrich BUDDHIST MEDITATION An anthology of texts from the Pali Canon Sarah Shaw BUDDHISM, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN MODERN SRI LANKA Edited by Mahinda Deegalle First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2006 editorial matter and selection, Mahinda Deegalle; individual chapters, the contributors This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Buddhism, conflict, and violence in modern Sri Lanka / edited by Mahinda Deegalle. p. cm. – (Routledge critical studies in Buddhism) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Buddhism and social problems – Sri Lanka. 2. Reconciliation – Religious aspects – Theravada Buddhism. 3. Violence – Religious aspects – Theravada Buddhism. 4. Nonviolence – Religious aspects – Theravada Buddhism. 5. Ethnic relations – Religious aspects – Theravada Buddhism. 6. Ethnic conflict – Sri Lanka. I. Deegalle Mahinda, Ven. II. Series. HN40.B8B83 2006 294.3Ј372Ј095493–dc22 2005022413 ISBN10: 0–415–35920–1 (Print Edition) ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–35920–7 A TRIBUTE TO MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE PROACTIVE IN CREATING PEACE AROUND THE WORLD CONTENTS List of contributors xi Acknowledgements xiii List of abbreviations xiv 1 Introduction: Buddhism, conflict and violence 1 MAHINDA DEEGALLE 2 Is the Sri Lankan war a Buddhist fundamentalism? 22 RICHARD GOMBRICH 3 Hindu influences on medieval Sri Lankan Buddhist culture 38 JOHN CLIFFORD HOLT 4 The Theravada analysis of conflicts 67 MAHINDA PALIHAWADANA 5 A ‘Righteous War’ in Buddhism? 78 P.D. PREMASIRI 6 Semantic transformations of the dhammadipa 86 PETER SCHALK 7 Sinhala fears of Tamil demands 93 ALVAPPILLAI VELUPPILLAI 8 Historiography in conflict and violence 114 ANANDA WICKREMERATNE ix CONTENTS 9 Buddhism, ethnicity, and identity: a problem in Buddhist history 134 GANANATH OBEYESEKERE 10 Identity issues of Sinhalas and Tamils 163 BARDWELL SMITH 11 Roots of the conflict and the peace process 177 R.A.L.H. GUNAWARDANA 12 Buddhist monks and peace in Sri Lanka 202 CHANDRA R. DE SILVA 13 The role of Buddhist monks in resolving the conflict 210 ASANGA TILAKARATNE 14 Sarvodaya’s pursuit of peace 226 GEORGE BOND 15 JHU politics for peace and a righteous state 233 MAHINDA DEEGALLE Bibliography 255 Index 267 x CONTRIBUTORS George Bond is Professor of Religion at Northwestern University, USA. He is the author of Buddhism at Work: Community Development, Social Empowerment, and the Sarvodaya Movement (2004). Chandra R. de Silva is Dean of College of Arts and Letters at Old Dominion University, USA. He is the author of Sri Lanka: A History (1987) and the co-editor of Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka (1998). Mahinda Deegalle is Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religions, School of Historical and Cultural Studies, Bath Spa University, UK. He is the co-editor of Pali Buddhism (1996) and the author of Popularizing Buddhism: Buddhist Preaching in Sri Lanka (State University of New York Press, 2006). Richard Gombrich was Bowden Professor of Sanskrit at University of Oxford and Fellow of Balliol College. He is the author of Precept and Practice (1971), and Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo (1988). R.A.L.H. Gunawardana is Emeritus Professor of History at University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is the author of Robe and Plough: Monasticism and Economic Interest in Early Medieval Sri Lanka (1979) and Historiography in a Time of Ethnic Conflict (1995). John Clifford Holt is Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College, USA. He is the author of Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitefvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka (1991), The Religious World of Kirti Fri (1996) and The Buddhist Visju: Politics, Religion and Culture (2005). Gananath Obeyesekere is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, USA. He is the author of Medusa’s Hair (1981), The Cult of the Goddess Pattini (1984), A Meditation on Conscience (1988), The Work of Culture (1990), and Imagining Karma (2002). xi CONTRIBUTORS Mahinda Palihawadana is Emeritus Professor of Sanskrit at Sri Jayawardhanapura University, Sri Lanka. He is the co-translator of The Dhammapada