Dan's Interview Transcript 1

So, why does Dan drive his 1968 Lancer down the Kandyian hills to stay at brothels or with creepy women? To get interviews like the following modified transcript of a recent interview. I have divided it up to 3 chapters with background for easier reading. The subject of the interview was a high-profile head of a large temple. He has been ordained for 50 years and at the time of the interview served as the chairman of a prominent council of 2500 monks. He held a PhD and has published several books including biographies of Buddhist and non-Buddhist figures. His residence was two stories, a demonstration of wealth in Sri Lanka. The interior had tiled floors and high ceilings, both luxuries. Dan and his research assistant sat on a sofa and the monk at in a chair. Behind the sofa was an ivory-handled monk's fan. I have removed all identifying information such as his name, his references to other individuals, the titles of his published works, and his geographical location. In Dan's transcription he leaves many Buddhist terms in Pali and Sinhala, which I have translated or defined. I want to thank Dan for allowing me to share this privileged view into his work.

Dan starts the interview focusing on the role of monks in society and their objectives in preaching sermons. The story of Ashoka is helpful in understanding some of the material in the interview. The Indian Buddhist King Ashoka lived from 304 BCE to 232 BCE, although the details of his life were not recorded until the 2nd century CE writings Ashokavadana, or "Narrative of Ashoka," and the Divyavadana, or "Divine Narrative." After a brutal early reign during which Ashoka took control of most of modern day India he converted to Buddhism. Ashoka is given the title "Chakravarti," or "Wheel-Turning King." If Siddhartha had never entered the world he would have become a Chakravarti. Once Ashoka had established his empire he renounced violence and proselytized Buddhism from Greece to Burma. After his renunciation the culture and infrastructure of his Maurya Empire flourished. He convened a significant council of Buddhism which enhanced the development of the Theravada monastic tradition and sent monks to all corners of the known world. He sent his own son, Mahinda, to being Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Ashoka recorded his accomplishments on pillars that he built all over India, several of which feature the Ashoka Chakra, or wheel, seen in center of India's modern flag.


Dan: What are your responsibilities as a monk?

Subject: I have four temples in this area. There are thousands of contributing families connected to these temples. I must participate in all of their religious and social activities. That is my primary responsibility. I provide leadership to those activities. I have seven or eight students living at this temple I am also a famous speaker so I go all over the country giving sermons. I am a writer. I have written books.

D: What are the qualities of a good monk?

S: According to the preaching of the Buddha. We need to be able to live according to the various climates and customs of different countries. We need to wear long sleeves in cold weather et cetera. However, according to Buddhist teachings, the life of a monk is uncomplicated and free. Now, monks these days have increased their responsibilities, taken control of temples and so that has changed. The Lord Buddha said that we should live in the charnel ground or under trees without any possessions. Now that has changed. We can’t change that. The Lord Buddha preached "Renunciation is like the sky. It is like a bird with no bonds." Now society has changed. It has changed in all countries. Renunciation is different in Thailand, Burma, and India. The food and drink are different. If it were done correctly, renunciation would be the same everywhere. The Sri Lankan monks, in particular, have a lot of responsibilities. From the day that the monastic community began, the monks have come to protect the country, race, language, arts, and culture. In other countries, monks are not like that. Monks in our country have an especially large amount of responsibility.

D: Why is that?

S: That is something that has come from the first day of the founding of this country. The kings of this country have served the community every since the day that the Venerable Mahinda came to this country. The group that arrived with Venerable Mahinda knew science, literature, language, arts, and architecture. Those monks had that knowledge. That is why they are the keepers of these things. While keeping monastic identity they have also acted to nourish literature and history.

D: On what occasions do you give sermons?

S: If there is a death, there is a sermon on the 7th day, three months and one year. Then there is the robes-giving ceremony. I preach on various inaugural/opening ceremonies in society. Other than that, I sermon at various religious and social events. I even go to sermon at the government departments and to government officers, demand for my sermons have spread everywhere.

D: What is the most common occasion that you give a sermon?

S: The most frequent occasion is when Buddhists die. One needs to preach on the 7th day, the third month and the one year anniversary. If a father or a mother dies, we have to go preach.

D: What is the goal of a monk in preaching a sermon?

S: To increase people’s knowledge of the Dhamma [teachings] as much as possible. People have flaws, you know? They drink and such. I aim to free them from such things. If people have economic disadvantages, I try to pick them up from that. Why do people become disadvantaged? Why do they do wrong? We must speak about such things. We must preach about all of these subjects. We also must preach about good behavior. In our country, good behavior is in decline. We tell them to respect their parents and their elders. Since such things have become rare in our society, I preach about them. I tell them to respect their parents and to take care of them. I preach many sermons with this goal in mind.

D: Imagine that I am a little monk. Tell me how to preach a sermon.

S: Little monks learn about this in the monastic colleges and other educational institutions. They learn about how to hold a sermon. We give the little ones advice about how to improve their lives. We have an old tradition of this. We teach them about this. They need to teach them to wake up in the morning, study their books and work in a certain way. We tell them the value of monastic life. This is the highest life in the world. If I were to ordain today I would bow to my mother and father. That is something that never happens anywhere else in the world. That is because of the special regard and respect for the monastic life. So, we teach little monks about that.

D: Could you tell us about the sermons that you give to soldiers?

S: We cannot approve of war according to Buddha's Dhamma. Do you understand? War is an unnecessary thing. This was made clear by King Ashoka. It is a destructive thing. Sri Lanka is like that also. The monks in Sri Lanka have not approved of the war. They have not approved of the war even to protect the country, the race, or anything else. Monks cannot approve of war. Buddhist monks cannot approve of war. However, this kind of thing happens: Monks can tell people to protect certain things. They can advise people to protect things. They cannot tell people to go to war. They cannot advise people to go to war and kill others. Monks cannot do such things. A monk is an individual who has Maitri [loving-kindness] for all beings. When one has Maitri for all beings one cannot say what the race, country, or caste of a being is. We have Maitri for all, whether Thai or Indian or American. It is not just people; we also have Maitri for animals. Our dharma does not condone the harming of any type of being. We show Maitri for all people and animals. When a war starts, we must only try to stop it. The Lord Buddha also settled such disputes. The Buddha stopped the war over the Rohini River. He stopped the war by asking what was more valuable, water or people’s lives. In the army they are trained in certain rules. In that way, all of the armies of the world are similar. Soldiers are controlled by certain rules in the army whether in Thailand, India, the USA, or Russia. In the army people follow various religions. There are Buddhist, Christians, and Muslims. Their religion cannot be separated from whatever training that they have received. They cannot completely separate it. People who join the army must do their duties as soldiers. Take for example a Buddhist soldier; he may have compassion and loving-kindness in his heart. He may have to shoot someone sometime. However, he tries not to do that. That is the internal spiritual power of religion. However, he must shoot according to army discipline. If not, he will be shot himself. While he bound by military discipline, he cannot completely get rid of his religious knowledge and feelings. There is an example of this, the story of William Frederick. The Frederick gardens are in Havelock town. Frederick was ordered to shoot Sinhala people. He said that he couldn’t shoot his own people. Afterwards, he was shot and killed. The Frederick garden is built at the spot where he died. He didn’t shoot even though he was promised his weight in gold. He didn’t shoot because of his religious orientation and inclination. It was because of that they he didn’t want to shoot. Moreover, he did not want to shoot his own people. No matter how much training one receives from the army, religion still influences a person.

D: Tell us about a time that you gave a sermon to the army.

S: We go to the army temple all of the time. We go there for religious activities. We perform temple chores and perform Dhamma teachings. We bless the army there. We do not tell them to go and fight the war. We simply bless them, telling them “May you have courage, may you have strength.” We also bless them, “May you have mental and physical strength.”