A Vesak thought

Thursday 23rd May, 2024

Vesak Full Moon Poya Day falls today. Elaborate preparations have been made for grand celebrations complete with thoran, dansel, magnificent lanterns and other such illuminations, in most parts of the country, despite the prevailing economic crisis. The government has evinced a much keener interest in Vesak celebrations this year than in the past because an election is around the corner. It is doubtful whether there is anything that is more politicised in this country than religion. Streets will be chock-a-block with milling crowds for a few days, as usual, and they will miss the Jataka stories depicted on pandals for myriads of colourful lights that have become the main Vesak attraction.

On the eve of this year’s thrice blessed day the government presented to Parliament the Economic Transformation Bill and the Public Financial Management Bill purportedly to enhance the management of public finance and put in place safeguards against future economic downturns. It may have thought Vesak celebrations would divert public attention from those Bills. Titles of Bills, etc., are often misleading, and it is only natural that the stated goals of the Bills at issue have come to be considered a mere pretext for heaping heavier economic burden on the public and doing away with state control over national assets.

Government leaders have issued messages extolling the sacredness of Vesak, as they do year in, year out. They will visit Buddhist temples today and fall at the feet of Buddhist prelates to make a public display of their religiosity. But it is obvious that they have not grasped the essence of the Buddha’s teachings, especially the Enlightened One’s advice to the lay community on economic management. If they had followed the fundamentals of Buddhist economic management instead of parading their knowledge of Buddhism to impress the public, the country would not have been in the current predicament.

Buddhism prioritises the achievement of wellbeing over the maximisation of satisfaction and encourages people not to multiply their desires but to simplify them instead and be content with minimum material comfort with enough food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. However, the corpus of literature on what has come to be known as Buddhist economics shows that Buddhism is not against the attainment of economic prosperity, without which the sustainable development goals cannot be achieved, or against other forms of material success as well as happiness accruing therefrom to laypersons. The Buddha has only advised them to engage in right livelihoods, acquire wealth righteously and consume the wealth so acquired usefully and wisely, the bottom line being that one’s expenditure must not exceed one’s income. Four important management principles that find themselves in the Buddha’s teachings are diligence, conservation of wealth, association with good friends and maintaining a healthy balance between income and expenditure. In Anguttara Nikaya one finds reference to the importance of moderate consumption. Sigālovāda Sutta tells us how the dissipation of wealth occurs due to various vices, which bring about one’s ruination. Such references to economic management abound in Buddhism, but they do not receive much attention.

Sri Lanka’s Constitution accords the foremost place to Buddhism, while assuring to all religions their rights and government leaders would have us believe that they are even ready to make the supreme sacrifice to protect it. There is no dearth of ‘loudspeaker’ sermons and Buddhist festivals. But it is a pity that the Buddha’s teachings about economic management have gone by the board, and there is no one to educate the rulers thereon.