Sri Lanka It's Happening

September 11, 2005

Took my wife to the Kelani Temple today (she is a believer). While she was inside, went for walk around the premises only to see another classic example of how the buddhists with blind faith are the worst kind of people in this country.

Close to one of the entrances to the temple there is a man with a weighing scale. One glance is enough to tell you that he has trouble making ends meet, probably doesn't get to eat three full meals each day.

He makes his money by collecting a few bucks from anyone who wants to get their weights checked. While I was watching a group of people who visited the temple got on the scale one by one, there were quite a few of them, and it wasn't easy to keep count, the old man with the scale certainly couldn't and when it came to payment they argued over it! The group claimed that some of those who got on the scale were not with them!!

I was too far away to hear their words but I am sure that the difference would not have been even 50 Rupees. While inside the temple everyone in this group would have blindly recited the five precepts. One of those precepts is that you should not steal. If not paying a poor old man his due is not theft what is? The devotees would probably have spent at least five times as much on flowers, joss sticks and oil for the lamps.

In a country of bomb throwing monks, this shouldn't shock anyone.

Posted by raditha at September 11, 2005 1:42 PM