Remembering Ven.Bowatte Indraratana Thera

A little over a year ago on Vesak Day, May 24, 2013  to be exact, Ven. Bowatte Indraratana Thera made the supreme sacrifice by giving up his precious life opposite the Dalada Maligawa.

Practice of Buddhist Wisdom and loving Kindness

In the Karaniya Metta Sutta, Buddha has indicated many ways of leading a happy and contented life here on earth and also hereafter which ultimately leads to the eradication of all suffering.

Buddhist ethics is the only way to an ideal society

Brilliant senior surgeon of a bygone era now 93 years, whose surgical assistant I was for many years with whom I still maintain an affectionate teacher  - student  relationship, having read my article on Vesak Day asked me why I chose to  write about the Buddha’s  advice on family life and

Ariya Samatha as Expounded by Buddha

Samatha refers to the serenity of mind. It has a much deeper meaning in the Buddhist tradition as opposed to what is popularly referred to as Samatha today. First it is important to understand what causes mental turbulence or agitation which results in loss of serenity.

Owners and Custodians - EDITORIAL

Vesak is universally celebrated by Buddhists.  Poson is different in that it is of special significance to Buddhists in Sri Lanka.  Even though it is now acknowledged that the word of the Buddha reached the island before the arrival of Arahat Mahinda it is hard to dispute that the.....

They called us cheats

Jo Butler had moved far out - a yard out of the crease on Sky Television replays [Not mere inches]- indeed audacious after two warnings...

Tamil thinking needs a Paradigm shift

Velupillai Prabhakaran had a dream until it turned out to be a terrible nightmare that kept on haunting the forlorn hearts and minds of the people in the North in particular and the majority Sinhalese in the South for nearly thirty punishing years.

Engineering: Beware of overlapping

While there should be interaction between the three legs each bearing its own weight for stability...

The outcome of terrorism - EDITORIAL

The attack on the Pakistan’s biggest airport, the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Sunday that killed more than 20 people would have caused to flash the memories of the attack on the Bandaranaike International Airport by the LTTE on July 24, 2001 across the minds of many Sri Lankans.

‘Monks need not enter p’ment to change society’

With the direct involvement of Buddhist monks in the social political issues in the country, there is social discourse whether this direct involvement of monks is appropriate for Buddhism and for the monks. In this backdrop, Ven. Prof. Kotapitiye Rahula Thera......

The deep sea-bed and its resources - The common heritage of mankind

In the decade of the 1960s, scientists reported that the bed of the deep seas could yield virtually limitless mineral wealth (see for example, J. Mero, The Mineral Resources of the Seas, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1965).

EDITORIAL - Act now before it is too late

Just as the prophetic Pope Francis in a dramatic new Pentecost initiative held prayerful talks in the Vatican  with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Buddhist and other religious leaders in Sri Lanka need to play a more active......

Executive Presidency erodes democracy

Political activist and former President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA), Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri spoke to the on the revival of the FUTA campaign to win academics’ demands, the need to revisit the electoral.......

Organic Path to Health and Sustainable Living

Industrial civilization that flourished in the West over the last two centuries has made significant inroads into the rest of the world, particularly over the last few decades on the back of neo-liberal economic reforms adopted even by so-called socialist regimes.

EDITORIAL-Targets set but not met; what’s gone wrong?

Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena during a recent news briefing announced that Sri Lanka was setting up a US$2 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) target for 2014, but wasn’t US$2 billion the target set for last year as well?

Balance in motion?

With the historic election was of the world’s biggest democracy ushering in a new era of leadership and a break in the Nehru – Gandhi dynasty, India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited President Mahinda Rajapaksa to his swearing-in ceremony on May 26.

‘Imbulgoda Veeraya’ with us no more

SD Bandaranayake,one of Sri Lanka’s  colourful political personalities passed away on June 3, 2014 at the ripe old age of 97. The funeral of the man who represented the Gampaha Constituency for thirty years in Parliament will be conducted on Saturday June 7 at the......

Keeping Africa going up

Black Africa long went deeply down. Now it is rushing headlong up. But “up” brings problems of its own. A country’s policy makers have to work as hard in successful, speedy, times as they did when they moved painfully from the first rung of the ladder to the second and third.

Raise your voice, not the sea level - EDITORIAL

Environmentalist Ravi Prasad Herat in a thought-provoking feature published in the Daily Mirror on Thursday to mark World Environment Day said of the 30 million species of flora and fauna that the scientists believe exists in the world, only 1.4 million have been positively identified by....

Syria: Seek a solution for suffering millions

The people of Syria have suffered enough in the past three years for no fault of theirs.  The civil war has killed more than 162,000 Syrians and left more than 9 million people displaced.

WE ARE CEYLONESE

N. M. was for us young Trotskyites of the time our only hero. Why? Many dedicated, colourful intellectuals led the then Left movement. Philip Gunawardena, Dr. S. A. Wickramasinghe, Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Gunawardena, Bernard Soysa, Pieter Keuneman.....

Don’t cow down to milk mafia - EDITORIAL

For the past 35 years after Sri Lanka swallowed the globalised capitalist market economic system, one of the worst affected areas has been milk which is vital to provide adequate nutrition mainly for children and for others.

Change of government in India Blow to TNA’s aspirations

With Barathiya Janatha Party (BJP) returning to office in India, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) seems to be distraught somewhat. The TNA relies heavily on India to prevail upon the government of Sri Lanka to evolve a political solution acceptable to them.

Ruling party politicians are a law unto themselves

An ugly incident that shocked the country has put a little known deputy minister of the government firmly under the spotlight this week, once again raising questions about the state of law and order in Sri Lanka.

Principle of ‘minimum Govt. and maximum governance’

The recent political revolution, which occurred in what is considered to be the largest democracy in the world, continually educates us on the many spheres of political good-governance. The Indian government headed by the self-made politician Narendra Modi, has in.....

Vision of a pure tomorrow - EDITORIAL

movement committed to the re-creation of a ‘pure tomorrow’ outlined its vision and aims at a well-attended meeting held at the BMICH on Tuesday. Among those in the audience were at least two Cabinet Ministers, UNP Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and.....

We need a new political package - Champika Ranawaka

Minister of Technology and Research Patali Champika Ranawaka, the Secretary General of the Jathika Hela Urumaya, during a discussion with the Dailymirror provided reasoning behind the recent meeting with Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, who is widely considered to come forward as

Country or one Family?

Thirty seven years ago, in 1977, when the country was in the grip of a rule by one single Family, the Bandaranaikes, the country chose in an overwhelming manner to dispel that ‘Family’ from power. The scourge of the Family Tree was most starkly and succinctly illustrated in.....

EDITORIAL-Right to information

One would certainly be surprised to hear that the Chief Minister of Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran who is said to be fighting for the democratic rights of the Northern Tamil people has issued a circular depriving the same people of one of their key democratic rights - the right to information.

EDITORIAL - Deputy Minister’s thugs using ‘minimum force’

It appears that the thugs of a politician have used ‘minimum force’ on a police constable! The lead story of yesterday’s paper was about an assault on a police officer who gave a speeding ticket to a deputy minister who was little known before the incident.