Even in this village audience, crude as the preaching and dull as the
response to it may be, there is a certain sense of religious peace, of
an otherworldly calm. The _Dharma_ has not lost its power. What are
the deep roots which the great tree of Buddhism has put out in the
island of Ceylon? Of these the more intelligent Buddhist laity will
speak. Let us question this young lawyer, dressed in Western style,
who stands looking on with some contempt.
(a) _Appeal of its Traditions_.--Such men are impressed by what they
see of a very ancient and very real civilisation, which Buddhism
undoubtedly built. In the jungles everywhere are the remains of the
days when Buddhism taught the people to irrigate their fields, to
build strong cities, to write remarkable books, and to develop a
genuine culture. The ruined cities of Anuradhapura and Pollanaruwa, in
spite of the incursions of the jungle and of the neglect of centuries,
are still magnificent and eloquent monuments of what was a really
great civilisation when Europe was still barbarian. Here the patriot
sees the melancholy remnants of a great Buddhist nation, great not
only in the beauty of its art, but great in the tanks and irrigation
systems now almost hidden by rank undergrowth, but remaining to prove
that the whole of this vast deserted area was once under cultivation.
Great, too, was the spirit of some of these rulers. Imagine the
emotions which surge in the young patriot's heart as he thinks of all
the devastation caused by the great European war and then stands
before the calm statue of the noble Dutu Gemunu who to save his people
from war, sought out the invader and slew him in single combat, and
then in the greatness of his heart put up a splendid monument in his
honour! It is on account of such things as these that the young modern
Singhalese is convinced that Buddhism has still a place in the world.
Wave after wave of European aggression has swept over Ceylon, arousing
a resentment which leads the Singhalese even to exaggerate the glories
of ancient Buddhism. It is not strange that they do so. Moreover,
although it is fashionable in Ceylon to despise the mendicants of the
yellow robe, the fact that there are still about eight thousand monks
shows that in these days of disillusionment there are many world-weary
men, to whom the traditional attraction of the monastic life is
over-poweringly strong and who find under it protection and peace. I
have seen strong and true boys being drawn under its spell, and have
known some noble characters among the monks.
(b) _Its work of Reformation_.--The intelligent Buddhist layman
emphasises not merely the sense of peace and quiet satisfaction which
Buddhism affords; he also claims that it has done away with caste and
has purified religion. He will often compare the dignity, the stately
beauty, and the harmlessness of the Buddhist temple and its
surroundings with the incredibly gross indecencies of a Saivite shrine
in Southern India. Men must worship something: in Buddhism they
worship a good and great man deified. In Saivite Hinduism they mingle
the base passions of a perverted sexuality with their worship.
(c) _Its Leadership of Public Opinion_.--This apologist argues, too,
that Buddhism still retains the power of moulding public opinion. He
instances the strenuous appeals which the Buddhists have made to the
Ceylon government to suppress instead of encourage the liquor traffic:
and points to some of their good schools, where young Ceylon is being
taught the great moral lessons of their Faith. And though Theosophists
from the West have been most responsible for starting these, the
Buddhists keep them up and are adding new buildings and improving
their quality.
(d) _Yet Ceylon needs Christianity_.--It is clear that much as
Buddhism has done for this lovely land, it does need Jesus Christ as
indeed all lands, not least our own, need Him in increasing measure as
they face the complexities of the modern world.
He is needed in jungle village and in teeming city, to cast out fear
and sin, and to enable His people to live nearer to their ideals.
They, too, have gifts for Him! And we and they are partners in a
glorious enterprise: to establish His Kingdom of Love and Truth in all
the world. Their devotion to their Buddha, no less than their need and
helplessness to-day, is an inspiring motive to the Christian
missionary to win them to Christ.