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The mind won’t let you take clear and independent decisions if you become a slave to attachments
Tomorrow is Nikini Poya Day
Take the letters A and B in the English alphabet. It’s because of A that B exists. If A doesn’t exist, there’s no B. As A was born, B exists and when A disappears, B also disappears. We cannot talk of B without A. B exists until A exists. B vanishes when A vanishes. All these are relative to each other.
There is a Sutta called Nala Kalaapa in Sanyuktha Nikaya. Nala Kalaapa means a stack of firewood. If there are two stacks of firewood leaning upright together, if the right side stack is removed, the one on the left will fall. I reset the two stacks and remove the left one and the right stack falls. Now, do you understand that both are relative to each other? They exist only until they are together. If one is taken, the other falls.
That is the enlightenment. Now, realize that everything is interdependent. It is same even in the physical world. The fan is rotating due to the flow of electricity. When there is no electricity, the fan stops. Devotees listen to sermons because it is necessary to them. That means there is something behind each and everything, an interconnection. Everything functions in a circulatory system. Lord Buddha has explained in Nala Kalaapa Sutta about physical and mental recognition. These two are interdependent. They have a reversible reaction. Living beings exist due to this factor.
I preach on how to look into these two factors within yourself. Consider your own thoughts. Let’s assume one of you feeling hungry. Why am I feeling hungry? Because, I did not eat yet. What do I feel as hunger? There exists a memory in my mind about an occasion of having a full, half full and empty stomach. Compare them now. After the comparison, my mind says, the current situation differs from the previous situation of a full stomach. That is what you feel as hunger. The intention of the fullness is the cause for the emptiness. This is how you practice the cause and effect method.
I have a glass of water. Someone says the glass is full of water. I reduce the amount of water in the glass. Then the person says, “There is some water in the glass.” His reply is relative to two things. Make a response consciously. What are those two? The answer of that person is relative to the glass and the water. Now, I transfer the same amount of water to a smaller glass. Then, he says the glass is full. Here, he answered considering only the water. That is wrong. The answer should be given by considering both the water and the glass.
I talk about the activities of day-to-day life. Make responses by comparing both. My vision is clearer than yours. I see two when you all see one. That is the clearest vision or the reverse thinking pattern. One who perceives, see not only Dhamma but also the exterior more clearly. He is far-sighted. That means he sees everything in advance.
We go to a well around twelve noon and look inside. If the water is clear, then the bottom is seen clearly in the light. All of you have seen it. We stir water in the well by using a stick and look inside. Now, will the bottom be clearly seen? No, because the water is agitated. Think of yourself. You should understand that you cannot see yourself better because your mind is unclear. The reason is the ego.
You think that many things exist in the world should belong to you, they should behave as you wish etc. Such a person does not realize the reality of himself. Not only that, you form attachments to various things. As a result, your mind does not let you take independent, clear and accurate decisions as you have become a slave to the attachments. Think clearly and break all the gyves in your mind. Learn to think like a noble person without being confined to the traditional frames.
When searching for a set objective in life, keep the highest expectations, not the lowest. But, we don’t think that the maximum should be gained. We accept what we gain. Wish for the greatest. Work for the greatest. If it is not fulfilled, at least a lower level will be achieved. That is my idea.
The greatest gift you can give someone is the noble path, which emerges through the exploration of the meanings of Suttas preached by Lord Buddha. When you observe Suttas with wisdom, you will find the noble path in it. Go deep into the meanings of Suttas, only then you will be able to understand it. You cannot find them without a deep investigation. Walk through the path way. It is a different path. Everything exists in a reversible way.
– Ven. Sri Samanthabadra Thera
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PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks:
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC is not bound by recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, or presidential directives in that regard, according to authoritative sources.
They said that the AG couldn’t under any circumstances initiate legal proceedings until he had received the full PCoI report.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa received the PCoI report on Feb 1. The President’s Office delivered a set of PCoI reports to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Feb 23, a day after the report was presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Island raised the matter with relevant authorities in the wake of a section of the media reporting the PCoI recommending punitive measures against former President Maithripala Sirisena, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, IGP Pujitha Jayasundera, Chief of State Intelligence Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, Chief of National Intelligence retired DIG Sisira Mendis and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader and Samagi Jana Balavegaya MP Rishad Bathiudeen et al over the Easter Sunday carnage.
Sources pointed out that due to the inordinate delay in sharing the PCoI report with the AG, the department hadn’t been able to take preliminary measures required to initiate the proceedings. Sources said that a team of officers would take at least six weeks or more to examine the report before tangible measures could be taken.
With the AG scheduled to retire on May 24, 2021, even if the AG Department received the P CoI it would be quite a tough task to initiate proceedings ahead of retirement, sources said. However, in terms of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in last October, both the AG and the IGP could receive extensions beyond 60 at the President’s discretion.
Dappula de Livera received an Acting appointment as the AG a week after the Easter Sunday carnage whereas his predecessor Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, was elevated to Chief Justice.
Responding to another query, sources said that the Attorney General two weeks ago requested Secretary to the President for a copy of the P CoI. However, the AG was yet to receive one, sources said. In spite of the AG not receiving a P CoI copy, the AG had instructed the IGP to obtain a copy of the report when he requested the police to complete investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage. The AG issued specific instructions after having examined police files pertaining to the investigations.
The IGP, too, hadn’t received a copy so far though some sections of the report were in the public domain.
Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage displayed at a live political programme on Derana a copy of the P CoI report he received at the cabinet meeting earlier in the day.
Sources said that the Attorney General’s Department couldn’t decide on a course of action in respect of the Easter carnage on the basis of a section of the report. In terms of the Commission of Inquiry Act (Section 24), the AG enjoyed significant powers/authority in respect of investigations; sources said adding that the Department urgently required both the P CoI report and police investigations report. The Attorney General’s Department has raised the delay in receiving a P CoI report amidst the Catholic Church attacking the government over the same issue.
Sources said that ministerial committee appointed to study the P CoI report couldn’t decide on how to proceed with the recommendations and the matter was entirely in the hands of the AG. Sources pointed out that the delay on the part of the government to release the report had received the attention of sections of the international media, including the New York Times. Public Security Minister retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera having met Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at the Bishop’s House on Dec 8, 2020 said that the AG would get a copy of the P CoI report once the President received it. Minister Weerasekera said that the CID had handed over the relevant files after having completed investigations into eight blasts. Referring to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report on the Easter Sunday carnage, the former Navy Chief of Staff said that all such documents would have to be brought to one place and considered before initiating legal proceedings. Acknowledging that there could be delays, lawmaker Weerasekera said that on the instructions of the Attorney General a 12-member team of lawyers was working on the case. The minister vowed to expose the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks. Investigations continued while some of those wanted were overseas, the minister said.
The minister acknowledged that the Attorney General couldn’t proceed without the P CoI report. Minister Weerasekera reiterated that once the President received the P CoI report, it would be sent to the Attorney General. The minister said that there were documents two to three feet high that needed scrutiny. The minister assured comprehensive investigation. The minister said that investigations pertaining to eight blasts had been completed and the reports handed over to the AG. However, the Attorney General had found shortcomings in those investigations.
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By Saman Indrajith
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday bombings had failed to identify the mastermind of , the JVP said yesterday.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath said that the PCoI report had levelled accusations against former President Maithripala Sirisena, former IGP and head of intelligence for their dereliction of duty, shirking of responsibilities and not taking action to prevent the attacks and negligence. There were reference to the causes of the terror attacks and actions to be taken to avoid such attacks and the influence of extremist organisations. “However, there is no mention of the mastermind of the attacks, the handlers of the attackers and those whose interests the carnage served. It is also not mentioned whether there has been any foreign or local organisation behind those attacks. As per the PCoI report the attack took place as a result of culmination of extremism.
“According to the PCoI the extremist activities were a result of the prevailing political situation then. The entire nation was waiting to see who was responsible and who masterminded those attacks. The PCoI has failed to identify the true culprits responsible for the terror attacks. The report says that the leader of the suicide cadres killed himself in the attacks and it was a puzzle. That means those who are actually responsible for the attacks are still at large. The report does not provide exact details of the sources of the attacks. The PCoI had sittings for one year and five months. It summoned various persons and got their statements but it has failed to shed any light on the terror attacks. Everybody knows that the top leaders of the government and heads of security and intelligence establishments failed in their duties. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the second in command and he too is bound by the responsibility but the PCoI report fails to identify him as one of the persons against whom legal action should be instituted. The PCoI has treated Wickremesinghe and former President Maithripala Sirisena differently. We are not telling that this report is a total failure but we cannot accept this as a complete report. The PCoI handed over its report to the President on Feb 1. After 23 days it was sent to Parliament. Now, a copy of the report is there in the parliamentary library for the perusal of MPs.”
Herath said that the PCoI did not have powers to take punitive action. “It only has powers to name those responsible and recommend action to be taken against those named.
