by Malinda Seneviratne
Those who do not understand the forest, do not see that it gives light to the world. They see darkness and perforce are terrified. To alleviate this terror, they set fire to the forest. They raze them to the ground. When ignorance, fear and greed combine, they produce blindness. This, in a nutshell, is the story of "development" in our country, as such has unfolded over the past few decades. We are today blindly groping the dark, as a people and a nation.

The government has recently agreed to "release" over 25,000 acres of the Villachchiya jungle in Thanthirimale, for a "Sri Lanka-Norway Cashew Project", an adventure sanctioned by the BOI without any environmental impact assessment. Not too long ago, a prominent politician of the area planned to destroy a similar acreage in and around Nochchiyagama in order to plant sugar cane. Nestle, meanwhile, had been planning to turn thousands of acres of jungle in Padaviya into grazing land for cattle. In addition to the milk, they were also planning to set up a meat processing plant. There is more. The USA, through the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, were planning to exploit the genetic resources in our forests. And much has been written about the dubious ADB project, Protected Area Management and Wildlife Conservation.

These are only the proposed and partially implemented projects which threaten our forest cover. There are also those projects which were fully implemented. This destructive process, which began with the profit-mad British destroying forests in order to plant coffee and tea, "progressed" over the kadinam Mahaweli and along the advertisement-oiled tragedy called the Express Highway, has displaced hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Those who weep copiously about the plight of Tamil refugees fleeing Prabhakaran’s terrorism, are conspicuously silent about the fact that the vast majority of refugees in this country are Sinhalese. "Development", in any event, is a terrorist second only to Prabhakaran in terms of displacement, destruction and disruption.

There are illegal timber merchants. There are those who, blinded by the glittering promise of progress, tear down forests. Then again there are those who silently conserve our forests. They do not get any media exposure. They do not participate in conferences and seminars about sustainable development. And most remarkably, they do not target the kuttiya extractable from the international aid market,. I am referring to the thousands of meditational bikkhus living in aranyayas scattered all over the country.

Due to the simple fact of their presence, several hundred thousand acres of jungle have survived the sharp axe of "progess". Perhaps because they do not have media coordinators, we seldom hear of them or how they, without any fanfare, resist the destructive onslaught of globalisation with all its demerits. For the same reasons, perhaps, no one acknowledges them as active, honourable and effective protectors of our fauna and flora. Instead, the political discourse is liberally coloured by the notion of the Buddhist Bikkhu as a parasite who, while enjoying comfortable lifestyles in temples, fuel racism and do their all to subvert the "peace process".

But is the bikkhu really someone who does not care about seela, samadhi and pragna? I wondered. And it occurred to me that a forest is not just something made up of trees, vines, ferns and other foliage, through which crystal clear waters flow, and which offers a home to thousands of life forms from the tiniest insect to the majestic elephant. Human society in a sense is also a forest. This too is periodically set alight by those who see "darkness" and therefore are plagued by all manner of fears. Majestic trees in this "forest" too are felled "to clear the way" for projects motivated by ignorance or greed or both. There are, then, those who destroy life. There are also those who safeguard life and lifestyle. Here too we meet the Buddhist bikkhu. This meditation brought to mind Rev. Dodampahala Sirisuguna.

That FM radio stations used the drought in the South East Dry Zone as a giant billboard and that politicians, religious organisations and other racketeers thrived off the thirst of that much ravaged human-ecological landscape, is history. Rev. Sirisuguna, observed all this in silence, from Pulinatalaramaya, Kalutara North.

He was one who had realised the worth of the dictum, "stand upon yesterday and fight today for tomorrow". He knew that the time-tested answer to the problem of drought and famine was the wewa. He knew that the wewa was also the foundational idea and artifact of Sinhala civilisation. He solicited the financial support of the Sampath Bank and the sweat of ordinary villagers and added to this mix his unyielding determination. The result was the complete renovation of the Udamaththala Wewa. Today, its waters turn the previously barren land into golden fields of paddy, quench the thirst of countless wild animals and teach us once again that it is the wewa that gave birth to and nourishes Sinhalaness.

It is not only Rev. Sirisuguna that stands firm on the Buddha Vachanaya and travels upstream against the current. Life is not just something that is made up of a particular mix of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins etc. A balanced diet is essential for preserving life in our physical bodies. And yet an individual, community and even a nation, requires a vision, purpose and a siritha in order to maintain a completely balanced engagement with life. Just as a forest fire destroys life, the destruction of the spiritual core of a community murders the nation and facilitates the naked and untrammelled plunder of territories and people. In this sense too, there is a forest that cries out for protection.

It is no secret that there are veritable hordes who, contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ and his doctrine of peace and liberation, use the crucifix as a corporate logo and invade cultures such as ours. This is not a phenomenon that ended once the Europeans "left" our shores. Many organisations, with BOI approved projects (they are then self-confessed "entrepreneurs" or "investors" and are here not out of love but for profit), roam freely around our villages, making mean use of our hospitality as they try to string our children with crosses with impunity. Moreover, they often enjoy the protection of those who ought to know better than to facilitate such cultural violence.

And again, there are those who meet such threats with strength of character and moreover without violating the teachings of the Buddha. For example, the Nayaka Hamuduruwo of the Aluthgoda Sri Sambodhi Viharaya, Thanamalwila. This is how he reads the process:

"There are numerous missionary groups that come to our villages. They say we are poor, and say they want to help us. They give our children books and pencils. They offer milk powder and biscuits. I tell my dayakayss, ‘take whatever they give’. If they give material for your roof, take it. If they give food for your children, feed your children. The body evacuates these kanabona things the following morning. With a bad smell too. Such people cannot challenge the Sri Saddharmaya which protected this land for so long."

Yes, we are not in debt to these people. The British, the Portugese and the Dutch, all of them are in debt to us. They have not yet returned the loot. All the missionaries who rode the victory wave churned by the power of guns and deceit owe us much. We should welcome them warmly. We should accept whatever they can give, for they are too poor even to meet the interest upon the loans they obtained. They are not deserving of our thanks, but let us say "thank you" nevertheless, just as we say "thank you" to the teller in the bank when we withdraw our own money. And let us not forget to show them the door, politely, when the transaction is done.

Not one bullet needs to be fired to safeguard Buddhism or our way of life. Not one church needs to be razed to the ground. Not one crook dressed in a cassock needs to be strung from his own entrails. All that is important is for those who know who their parents are, who know who they themselves are, who recognise their varigaya, jathiya and siritha, who are not scared to speak the truth or sit on the ground, to live the dharma that made them who they are.

The Buddha Vachanaya does not exist in the Dalada Maligawa or the Sri Maha Bodhiya. Not knowing this, Prabhakaran attacked these places. Sinhalaness is not held in the palms of the Venerable Mahanayakes. Not knowing this, our "leaders" have for decades believed they can purchase it from the high profiled bikkhus of the land. Civilisation does not rest in magnificent palaces or jewelled statues. It is founded on the love, compassion and kindness that is shown to the most dispossessed and vulnerable sections of society. Perhaps this is why even as our country is being sold for a song, even as our way of life is being pawned to those who know nothing about who we are or what our aspirations are, I do not feel helplessness. This is also why, all we need to do, is to look the invader (in whatever costume he/she may appear) in the eye and say, "Theruwan Saranai".