Lord Buddha gave different meditation objects to different people. For some, just focusing on rubbing two pieces of material against each other worked, and for some others focusing on the breath worked. On Vesak poya day, we celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and the passing away of this great teacher. In Sri Lanka, almost every Buddhist family makes a lantern, ...

Straight quotes, nothing to addThe head of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has warned citizens against using Twitter, which is rising in popularity among Saudis. Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said anyone using social media sites – and especially Twitter – “has lost this world and his afterlife”. Twitter was the platform for those who did not have any ...

The mosque near Town Hall. Mohsin Hamid, author of How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia, has a nice op-ed in the Guardian. Money quote for me was ‘Individuals are undeniably real. Groups, on the other hand, are assertions of opinion’. If you go buy news reports Muslims or Jews or Sri Lankans or any number of groups ...

As time erodes the mind and a hundred thousand days run together in our thoughts, only the remarkable memories remain to us, clear, fresh and vibrant. With luck, we most easily recall the happy moments – the smiles, the laughs, and the loves.  Often, though, the good times are overshadowed by the worst. For those like me, who were born ...

A question that keeps surfacing to the top regarding the BBS fiasco is what the pure “Buddhist view” is, regarding racism and/or discrimination or the idea of someone being better than the other. The idea that Sri Lanka is a “Sinhala Buddhist” country, and how by being a Buddhist in Sri Lanka that it somehow elevates you above others, is ...

Four years ago, Sri Lanka ended a cold-blooded war that had haunted the island for more than 25 years. The reconciliation process was going to be the next step, at least that’s what many people thought. Unfortunately, it seems like a dream when one considers the events that have unfolded over the past year or so. We have gone backwards ...

The One Plate Project is an initiative by Yamu and ad agency JWT to create a uniquely Sri Lankan practice online. During most religious and cultural celebrations such as the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year, Ramazan, Thai Pongal, and Christmas, people of all ethnicities look forward to the celebrations, regardless of whether that particular festival […]

“Do not pass by my epitaph, traveler. But having stopped, listen and learn, then go your way. There is no boat in Hades, no ferryman Charon, No caretaker Aiakos, no dog Cerberus. All we who are dead below Have become bones and ashes, but nothing else. I have spoken to you honestly, go on, traveler, Lest even while dead I ...

It is not for us to decide the times that we live in, but it is for us to decide what we do with them and that which we will do – or not do, for that matter – shall shape the future for those countless generations to come after us. Should we choose the right path – which inevitably ...

I appreciate Anoja Fernando’s response (The Island, Tuesday 7th May) to my article (‘Where every prospect pleases, man alone is vile’, published on Groundviews) and her reference to those of DLO Mendis and E de S Wijeyaratna. Was the Bishop’s reference to Buddhist and Hindus (and Muslims?) in Sri Lanka, or to non Christian every where? Does it cover Atheists ...

As I observed in one of my earlier posts ‘Ghosts from Our Past’ (1) a new wave of anti-minority tide is sweeping across Sri Lanka. This phenomenon is led by Buddhist monks, in the name of preserving Buddhism and the ‘chosen race’. I came across a YouTube video titled ‘Buddhist Extremism’.(2) The person who made the video, I am certain, is ...

Statue in Jaffna town. Buddhist mindfulness meditation has changed my life in many good ways. Basically if I don’t meditate in the morning I’m a grumpy and depressive ass. If I do, I’m less so. I’m also aware that this isn’t the point, that it’s not meant to be a crutch for this life but rather a way out, ...

I went to school and grew up in a very Buddhist enclave in Panadura called “Nalluruwa” and I wondered what the connection was to the Nallur Kandaswamy temple as I wandered in to this famed Hindu Kovil on a cool balmy evening in 2009. The aura of peace and calm surrounding this most revered place of worship for God Skanda ...

I went to school and grew up in a very Buddhist enclave in Panadura called “Nalluruwa” and I wondered what the connection was to the Nallur Kandaswamy temple as I wandered in to this famed Hindu Kovil on a cool balmy evening in 2009  The aura of peace and calm surrounding this most revered place of worship for God Skanda ...

While racial hatred burns, with fires so ably lit by the ignorant on both sides of Palk Straits, there is another source of energy – hidden from view but none the less real – that burns deep inside. For the Sinhala Buddhist today, regaining identity and faith is necessarily bound up with reclaiming a lost inheritance. This inheritance is our ...

In a recent turn of events individuals making hateful and racist comments with regard to Bodu Bala Sena and Anti Muslim sentiments have been republished by another Facebook page, tagging them to their work places, prompting the organizations they work for to take action.

I have almost forgotten how to write one of those long ambiguous posts that is essentially just a bunch of my thoughts falling all over the place - that I have the overwhelming need to just put down on paper (figuratively speaking obviously).I'm sure there are people reading this and thinking I should get a diary. I used to keep ...

Sometimes a pinprick of doubt will nestle itself somewhere in the dark recesses of our mind. We may not be aware of it at a conscious level but it is there nonetheless rattling around in our subconscious. But then at a key moment, that doubt may come to surface through an event such as a statement made by a person ...

DAWN OF NEW YEAR Dawn of New Year in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) for Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart: Sunday14th April at 5:59AM. Dawn of New Year in Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) for Adelaide and Darwin: Sunday14th April at 5:29AM. Dawn of New Year in Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) for Perth: Sunday14th April at 3:59AM.   PERIOD OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY – “PUNYA ...

‘Buddhist Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’ Those who participated or wanted to participate in the candle-light vigil organized by a set of people calling themselves ‘Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’, those who witnessed what happed or part of what happened, those who saw images and footage, and others who generally comment on issues such as religious tolerance, democracy, human rights ...