Tag Archives: Buddhism

Militant Buddhism, Nationalism, Ethnic Identity, and Politics in Sri Lanka

A Talk on Militant Buddhism, Nationalism, Ethnic Identity, and Politics in Sri Lanka

“The Politics and the Anti-politics of the Bodu Bala Sena in Sri Lanka”

Tudor_SilvaA Talk by Tudor Silva
Senior Professor of Sociology
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

4:30 Thursday October 30 2014
Bond Memorial Hall
Swarthmore College

Professor Silva’s talk will focus on a group of Colombo-based militant Buddhist monks the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), evolved in the aftermath of the military victory of the Government of Sri Lanka over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. In the backdrop of the resulting Sinhala Buddhist nationalist triumph and the tendency of the ruling elite to by and large ignore minority concerns and demands, the BBS articulates a populist Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian position vis-à-vis ethnic and religious minorities in the country, including certain Muslim and Christian groups who the BBS claims are all out to destabilize the “Sinhala-Buddhist nation.” The demographic clustering of ethnic minorities in urban Sri Lanka and their apparent economic domination and visible presence in trade and commerce as well as in the religious and cultural landscape have enabled BBS to target them in their various propaganda campaigns. The movement presents itself as free of and opposed to party politics in is effort to represent Sinhala-Buddhist interests but seeks to expose whatever it identifies as harmful to the cultural integrity and wellbeing the majority community. Employing a range of propaganda techniques including public rallies, mass media, face book and rumor, BBS has managed to influence a section of the Sinhala public, including youth, business lobbies and public sector employees, shaping their opinions, perceptions and sentiments. The mistrust so generated has been instrumental in some recent outbreaks of ethnic riots in small towns in the Western coastal belt in Sri Lanka.           While the BBS shares a lot with earlier Sinhala Buddhist campaigns, the direct involvement of militant Buddhist monks as cultural border guards publicly inclined to take the law into their own hands represents a new development in post-war Sri Lanka. The presentation will explore the implications of BBS for social harmony, multicultural heritage, ethnic reconciliation and political developments in the country.

Kalinga Tudor Silva is a Senior Professor of Sociology at University of Peradeniya. He has regularly served as a member of the Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education (ISLE) Program teaching faculty in Sri Lanka for over twenty-five years. Professor Silva has published more than a dozen books and over fifty articles and book chapters. His research interests include ethnicity, caste, economic development, and social aspects of health. His latest book Decolonization, Development and Disease: A Social History of Malaria in Sri Lanka was published by Orient Blackswan in March 2014.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Chan Khong, and Alfred Hassler

Screening of “The 5 Powers” film to celebrate the International Day of Peace

The 5 Powers

A film about the transnational peace work of Thich Nhat Hanh, Sister Chan Khong, and Alfred Hassler.

Thursday, September 18, 2014
7:00 – 8:45 p.m.
Swarthmore College
Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema (directions)
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Download a flyer and help advertise the event.

Each year, we mark the International Day of Peace at Swarthmore College as part of Peace Day Philly.

This year, we will screen a new documentary film, “The 5 Powers” about the transnational peace work of Thich Nhat Hanh,  Sister Chan Khong, and Alfred Hassler during the Vietnam War.

Sister_Chan_Khong_ccDiscussion  with the producers of the film (Anthony Nicotera, Gregory Kennedy-Salemi, and Stuart Jolley), Laura Hassler ’70, and George Lakey (who worked with Alfred Hassler of the Fellowship of Reconciliation) will follow the screening.

The 5 Powers film is organized around central tenets of Buddhist philosophy and features a captivating mix of comic book style animation (by Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame), live interviews, archival audio, photos, and documents, some of which were procured from the Peace Collection at Swarthmore.

Read more about the film and view the trailer here:

Sponsored by Peace and Conflict Studies, Film and Media Studies, the Religion Department, Asian Studies, the Swarthmore College Libraries, the Peace Collection, and Alumni Relations

5 Powers cover lo res

 

For parking:  See the campus map at http://www.swarthmore.edu/campusmap/ Enter campus at the NORTH ENTRANCE and follow the drive, Whittier Place, to the first large parking lot on the right. For drop-off, continue to follow Whittier Place, turning right at the corner of the parking lot.  The drive will proceed around the back of several buildings to a circular turn around at the Lang Performing Arts Center.  For more information about accessibility at the Lang Performing Arts Center, visit http://bit.ly/1uKd9uR For those parking in the large lot, walk to the corner of the lot, cross the street, and proceed diagonally across the quad to the Lang Performing Arts Center. The cinema is located just to your left as you enter the main lobby.