by B. R. GOWANI
Screenshot from News 1st TV, showing a Buddhist monk exposing himself in front of Dambulla mosque. PHOTO/Tamil Guardian
“Last Friday a mob of about 2000 Sinhalese, led by a group of Buddhist monks, stormed into a mosque in the historical city of Dambulla. They caused disturbances so severe that Friday prayers had to be cancelled. Reports suggest that the mosque had been hurled at with petrol bombs the night before, causing minor damage, and security forces were deployed to control the situation.” PHOTO/Ground Views TEXT/The Platform
suddenly, a half a century old mosque
became an encroachment on Buddhist “sacred zone”
in the past, the monks have attacked
other religious places too
they have failed to fathom “moderation”
which Buddha taught long ago
and one monk’s understanding of “Middle Path”
is absolutely screwed up
thus spoke Gautam Buddha:
O ye monks, neither indulge in “sense-pleasures,”
nor go for “self-mortification”
stay away from extremes – practice moderation
“it gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm,
to insight, to enlightenment and to Nibbana.”
and I call that the “Middle Path”
the angry monk showed the middle leg
by exposing himself against the mosque
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com