British Tourist Denied Entry to Sri Lanka for Disrespecting Buddhism

Local newspaper Lankadeepa Sinhalese reported that Antony Ratcliffe, 42, was forbidden to enter Sri Lanka because he demeaned Buddhist values when asked about the tattoo.

One of the immigration officials told the newspaper: "When questioned about the tattoo, he spoke very disrespectfully about Buddhism."

The officials at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo decided that it was best to deny him entry to the country for his own safety. They felt his opinion regarding Buddhism would offend locals and might provoke an incident.

"If he expressed such views after entering the country, it would have been a threat to his own safety," said the unnamed immigration official.

An airport source confirmed the incident, but did not disclose the reason behind the decision to turn Ratcliffe away.

According to a BBC report, Ratcliffe was passing through Sri Lanka en route from London to Malaysia. He denied any intention to disrespect local customs.

"I like the artwork in tattoos obviously and, due to my belief in Buddhist philosophy, which I have followed for many years, I thought a quality tattoo of the Buddha was rather apt. It wasn't something I took lightly or did on the spur of the moment," he said.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, 70 percent of the population in Sri Lanka follow the Theravada branch of Buddhism, which is recognised as the oldest branch of the religion. Ill-treatment of Buddha images is considered taboo in the country, and foreign nationals are strongly encouraged to respect local decorum and religious sensibilities.

Last August, a Sri Lankan court sentenced three French nationals to six months in prison with hard labour, suspended for five years, for posing with Buddha statues and pretending to kiss one of them.

In 2010, the American R&B singer Akon was denied entry to the country after one of his music videos showed scantily clad women dancing around a Buddha statue.

According to the BBC, around 100,000 British citizens visited the island nation last year, accounting for 10 percent of the total number of tourists.

View the original article here

All for enlightenment: 4,000 British troops to meditate at Bodh Gaya, Sarnath to beat stress

Home Europe

Patna, India -- The British Army will send about 4,000 of its troops, who are followers of Buddhism, in a group of 100-150 people to spend a week at Bodh Gaya and Sarnath to seek peace after their prolonged involvement in the war zones in different countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. They will all meditate under the famous tree at Bodh Gaya, where Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment in 6th century B.C.

Mahabodhi tree has been declared a world heritage site by the Unesco in 2002.

"The British soldiers will start arriving in Bodh Gaya from early next year," Bihar's minister for tourism Sunil Kumar Pintu told Mail Today on Monday. "They will arrive in separate groups of about 100-150 people and meditate under the holy tree. They will continue to arrive here throughout the next year."

Pintu said that the troops will spend six days in Bodh Gaya and one day at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.

The minister said that the tourism department of the Bihar government had entered into an agreement with an international travel agency, to facilitate the trips during the World Tourism Mart held in London last month.

"Bihar had taken part in the World Tourism Mart for the first time which was held in London between November 5-8 this year," he said. "It was during that tourism fair that the officials of the British army got in touch with us through the travel agency. We had three rounds of talks in this regard."

Pintu said that the exact dates of the British troops had not yet been finalised yet. He stated that the state government would take care of the security of the British soldiers and facilitate their smooth stay in holy south Bihar town. "We will provide our wholehearted support to the British soldiers troops who want to meditate under the Mahabodhi tree," he said.

The tourism minister said that the British Army had about 4,000 troops who were followers of Buddhism. "Since Bodh Gaya happens to be the holiest of the holy places for the Buddhists, the British army has decided to arrange the trips for its soldiers," he added.

Stating that he had discussed the details of the trip with the British army officials, Pintu said that most of the British troops coming to Bihar had been deployed in the different countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq in recent times. "The visit to Bodh Gaya and Sarnath is aimed at providing them peace and helping them distress them after their experiences in those countries."

He said that it was for the first time that such a visit has been organised.

Sushil Kumar Singh, managing director of the travel agency, said that his agency had signed an agreement in this regard with the British Army in London month. He said that Dr Sunil Karyakara, a Buddhist chaplain with the British army, had been made the coordinator for the trips. "We have entered into agreement with the British army to bring the stressed soldiers to various places on the Buddhist circuit," he said. "But they would spend most of the time at Bodh Gaya."

Singh said that the exact dates of the first round of the soldiers' visit had not been finalised but they would start arriving from early next year. "We will hold a meeting with the British army officials in January to chalk out the final itinerary in which Bihar tourism department officials will also be involved," he said. "The trips would continue in future as well."

Bihar has witnessed remarkable rise in the number of tourists from the foreign countries in recent years. Last year, the number of international tourists visiting Bihar was 8.70 lakh which was ten times more than what it used to be a decade ago. This year, 8.40 lakh had already visited the state till August and their number was expected to cross 10 lakh by the end of the year.

View the original article here

Battle-weary British troops find comfort in Buddhism

Home Europe

London, UK -- Buddhism is experiencing an extraordinary upswing in popularity in the armed forces. Since 2005, the number of servicemen and women practising the religion has risen from 200 to 3,800. Around 2,800 are Gurkhas, whose home nation Nepal has pockets of Buddhism.

But the other 1,000 are British, with many converting since they joined the military. According to spiritual leaders, the reason behind the phenomenon is that Buddhism allows service personnel to escape the stresses and strains of military life.

Sunil Kariyakarawana, the Buddhist chaplain for the armed forces, said: ‘Buddhism has a different perspective about things.
‘The military is a very stressful place. People go to war, that is one factor, and have to fight.

‘Personnel see a lot of suffering in theatre. People are finding that Buddhism can help with these mental agonies.

‘It is laid back and they can practise their own way.’

Dr Sunil said Buddha, who lived 2,500 years ago, never ruled out force: ‘Sometimes you have to choose war as the least bad option.’

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Straddings, who heads up cultural diversity for the Army, said the society was ‘hugely important’.

He said: ‘British society today is hugely different from the Army I joined 25 years ago. Approximately 25 per cent of young people are no longer white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

‘They are the future. They are the people who represented the country at the Olympics, at football and they are the people we need for the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force of the future.’

In 2005, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh chaplains were appointed by the armed forces for the first time.

The appointments reflect the increase in ethnic minority recruitment to the Army, Navy and RAF in recent years.

View the original article here

How faith communities can appeal to 'post-religious' British Columbians

In British Columbia, religious people feel on the defensive.

Neither Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist nor other faith communities have gained as much traction here as they have in other regions of the world.

B.C. has a greater proportion of people than anywhere else in North America - 35 per cent - who say they have "no religion." And even many who feel lingering loyalty to a faith like to declare: "I'm spiritual, but not religious."

Suspicion toward religion is no recent trend in B.C. either. Gonzaga University historian of religion Patricia O'Connell Killen suggests the West Coast has had a "post-religious" culture since settlers arrived in the 19th century.

By way of example, Killen says the first Anglican Bishop for British Columbia, George Hills, wrote in frustration in 1881 to his Church of England superiors. He complained of the "constitutional religious apathy" of West Coast pioneers.

This is not to say that active Christians, Sikhs, Muslims and others have not punched above their weight in B.C. Organized religions have had "an impact disproportionate to their numbers" in providing social welfare, health care and education.

Yet Killen convincingly describes two key reasons faith communities in B.C. and the rest of the Pacific Northwest have never gained "the depth and power" they've enjoyed elsewhere.

One factor is high mobility. People here are always on the move.

They're either migrating in, to escape the constraints of the past. Or they're going out, heading off to the next opportunity, usually economic.

"I would suggest," Killen says, "that 'temporary' and 'tentative' are qualities that we breathe in the air and drink in the water in the Northwest."

Every move severs relationships and creates "a state of amnesia," she says, which makes communitybuilding more difficult.

The other big reason British Columbia (and Washington and Oregon) have long had a post-religious quality is the stunning, overwhelming wilderness.

B.C.'s natural environment competes with institutional religion and other wisdom traditions, Killen says. "The grandeur of our surroundings de-centres the human and feeds the post-religious character of this place."

Teaching at a Jesuit-run university in Spokane after decades at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Killen is a Roman Catholic with recommendations on how faith communities, if they are open and self-critical, can offer something valuable to the skeptics of the Pacific Northwest.

Killen suspects people of faith in B.C. have an advantage over more traditionbound religious adherents in the East and U.S. South. Members of B.C. faith communities know the "temptations" of this region, and are more willing to adapt.

Like others in this mobile province, actively religious people know how easy it is to take pride in being uncommitted. "We make a virtue of always keeping our options open."

Religiously involved British Columbians also don't find it odd when people claim utter self-sufficiency, Killen says. "We think 'I'm responsible for me. You're responsible for you.' And that's it."

People who regularly attend churches, mosques, temples, gurdwaras and synagogues also know the delights of West Coast flora and fauna.

Like the spiritual-but-notreligious, members of B.C. religious communities have felt "awe" and "wonder" witnessing sunsets and forests. B.C. religious people appreciate how unaffiliated searchers are drawn to direct experiences of the sacred.

"We know the exhilaration and beauty of nature, the release of being dwarfed by mountains. It almost makes us feel invisible sometimes."

All in all, Killen believes B.C. faith communities can reach out to spiritual-butnot-religious people by listening to their often-profound questions - and even by adapting some of their practices, be it contemplation or nature reverence.

Using Biblical metaphors, Killen hopes people of faith can become "salt" and "leaven" to the many British Columbians who still find religion "unintelligible and boring."

She recommends three intriguing ways faith communities can reach out:

. By becoming places where people are reminded "that all that exists is relational;" that "we can survive on our own, but we do not become human on our own."

. By being "carriers of memory;" healthy communities that offer "the virtue of stability," as well as a sense of history and a shared story.

. By being "crucibles of commitment;" where people can "learn to live joyfully and extend themselves on behalf of others."

dtodd@vancouversun.com

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

View the original article here