Being Buddhist during genocide

YESTERDAY was the Vap Poya (full moon) day. Today, on 7 October, the annual rains retreat (vassāvāsa) ends for Buddhist monastics across the Theravāda world, including those in Sri Lanka.

- By Prabath Sirisena

In many temples and monasteries where the monastic residents have spent three months in retreat, following the Vinaya and ancient custom, it is time for the Kathina, the ceremonial offering of a robe.

Over the centuries the Kathina has become one of the most significant religio-cultural events for Buddhists, and this year is no different. Like most Buddhist families in the country, mine has also prepared for the Kathina. My aunt has taken the responsibility for the ceremony this year in our ancestral village, a remote place nestled among the mountains of Sabaragamuwa, and the entire extended family is pitching in. Even those who are living thousands of miles away, such as myself, have been granted the privilege of taking part in this meritorious act.

Sharing merits with Gaza We Buddhists believe in the ancient idea even though it is not part of early Buddhist teachingsthat we can share the merits accrued by our good deeds with other people, both living and dead. In the case of the former, we invite them to rejoice at what we have done, and through that mental solidarity, it is said that they reap the karmic benefits. In the case of the latter, we believe that in their new life after death, if they happen to be in a position to see what we do, they will still be able to rejoice in our good deeds and thus enrich their own karmic balance. This exchange is called puññānumodanā in Pali.

As an academic in Buddhist studies, I am well aware of the scholarly discussion around puññānumodanā.

As a member of the Buddhist community, I am not too bothered by the incongruences between doctrine and custom here. I find it a beautiful and blameless practice, and that is sufficient for me to engage in it.

So, this year, as I join my family in offering the Kathina robe to the monastic community of the small temple in our rural, ancestral village, I share the merits with people who have often occupied my thoughts in recent times.