Intrafaith Dialog - Hinduism, Buddhism And Jainism

[Hauma Hamiddha]

Shri Lanka is indeed a difficult situation. But we must always remember that both the parties in the struggle have a link to the main land of bhArata. The fact must be noticed that the bauddhas monks of theravada school in Lanka are rather aggressive. This has helped them to hold their own against the Christian assault, but has also created a tendency for animosity against the tamils who are mainly Hindus with connections to the siddhAnta tantras of the Urdhva srotas of the shaiva path. India needs to intervene actively, not militarily, but diplomatically, by trying to highlight the importance of the common ground termed dharma shared by the nAstikas and AstIkas. It should also be driven home to the Lankans, both Hindu and bauddha, that under the rubric of dharma that we share there can be no room for violence of the genocidal kind that is being followed there. Unfortunately the predominantly Kangress govts that have misruled bhArata in the past 1/2 century have had no moorings or understanding of dharma to play this diplomatic role. Lanka shares both cultural and to a notable degree racial/ethnic common ground with bhArata. In the bigger picture throughout Asia the other nations that share cultural commonality with us, do not have this degree of racial/ethnic identity with the exception of Bali. However, as the ethnic factor has not been a major hurdle in the past, the cultural common ground should be stressed, while allowing for their local quirks. I am not clear what the author above means about Mahayana, but it is clear that modern Mahayana bauddha political states are not currently major players in the power equation.