Why I Laugh At Unctuous Buddhist Monks
Dr. Jagath Asoka
I am not writing this article out of malice; if you were to read this article, you would probably understand what I am talking about, and you would laugh with me, not at any particular person; you would see my sense of humor, without hating a particular thing or person. But for some reason, if you do not have my sense of humor, it is fine with me. Only a sage would feign stupidity to give the hoi polloi a chance to have fun by ridiculing him. I think the Buddhahad a deep sense of humor when he said that even though all life is sorrowful, we must affirm it and say yes to life even when we are in excruciating pain, even when we are suffering, and even when we are experiencing privation and humiliation. So, it is your prerogative to get angry and act like a monkey or laugh like an enlightened human being. I will let you find out for yourself, so keep reading.
Venerable Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero - Kalakarama Sutta
When I express my opinions on Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka and here in the USA by Sri Lankans, I am not criticizing Buddhism at all: I am just laughing at the stupidity of the misguided hoi polloi, I am mocking the educated yet gullible followers, and I am ridiculing the myopic and unctuous monks who have sullied Buddhism. I know that some of you would feel intense hatred towards me and criticize me as if I were Devadatta or Judas, but that is fine with me, too. I would laugh at your comments, not at you.
If I were to express my opinion using abstract ideas and examples, it would be utterly boring, and would take fun out of your life; I abhor abstract thinking, including abstract paintings. So, I am going to use an example: a well know Buddhist monk. Since he is a Buddhist monk, he is used to this kind of mockery, satire, and caricature; I sincerely believe that he would read this article with disinterest and insouciance, not with anger and malice. If he is not used to mockery, satire, and caricature, I am certain that he would get used to it after reading this article.
I am going to use Venerable Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero as an example to tell my story: The purpose of this article is not to ridicule Gnanananda Thero and his followers, but to laugh at what he is doing as a Buddhist monk, to laugh at the status of Buddhism both in Sri Lanka and in North America, and to laugh at those who say “Sadhu, Sadhu,” to his rants. Gnanananda Thero have turned brothers into Cains and Abels; friends into archenemies, and Buddhists into barbaric heathens. He could not have done these things single handedly; his myopic, asinine followers are the actors, actresses, participants, and hapless victims of this drama called “Pure Buddhism, unsullied Buddhism, Buddhism without mundane rituals, and Buddhism based only on the Sutras, meditation, and chanting of Buddhist hymns.” I am not talking about Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther; I am talking about Theravada Buddhism marketed by Gnanananda Thero: Either he is the Clown or the Sage of the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhism. Read More
