by Brian Griffith
There's a big protest that's been blocking University Avenue in Toronto all day, and, I think, through the night, concerning the ethnic war in Sri Lanka.
I visited Sri Lanka in 1984, and we went to the shrine of the Buddha's tooth in Candy. The people in Colombo were of course mainly Buddhists, and I expected it must be a peaceful country. But the newspapers were announcing revenge on the Hindu Tamil separatists, who had launched terror bombings of buses, etc. The government sent its air force to bomb Tamil towns, seemingly to "teach those people not to bomb". I tried to argue it was counterproductive, but most people I spoke to on the buses just laughed at my stupidity.
At the time I was thinking that Buddhism had emerged as the religion with the best reputation in the world for decency and compassion. I wondered if some problem might arise to challenge that reputation. And I realized there was such a possible problem right before my eyes.
I can't relate to the notion of "prayer". But if I ever had the urge to pray, it would be for the people trapped in that war zone down to the present morning.