*~Restless Ecstasy~*

Yeah, I’m careless…

I have now officially lost my NIC. You know what’s worse? I can’t remember how or where or when I lost it.
I waited for two weeks, hoping that someone would’ve found it and sent it back by post. But no! Nothing. Nada. Zilch!

So, I went to the police station on Tuesday, for the first time in my life.
There were a few people behind bars and policemen walking all over, idling (not surprising now is it?). We were directed to the complaints and reports areas where there was a long queue. It was fascinating for me because I had only witnessed such scenes in movies, dramas and soaps…. There were people in slings, bandages soaked in blood, women in tears, all making their statements and complaining away to this single policeman who probably didn’t give a rat’s rear about their problems. He was writing away - pages and pages of how it happened, why it happened, when it happened and the works.

“Oya miniha karapu balu wadeta oota hena gahanna oneh.” a woman wailed.

“Mama dannawa oya gaanita karana de” a man bellowed

“Mama balan innaddima eka mage minihata gahagena gahagena giya raalahaami” a woman whimpered.

All this was written word-to-word on that book of complaints.

After 3 hours - it was finally my turn.
“Mokada missy prashne?” the policeman asked me.
“Mage NIC eka nathiwela raalahaami” I replied.
“Aah aththada? Padinchiya thahawuru karala graama sevakagen liyumak genaawada?”
“Er…mama gaawa passport ekai, driving licence ekai thiyenawa. Madida?”
“Baa baa, ara liyuma arang enna! EELANGATA!!!!”

He pushed me off.
So basically, I sat there amidst murderers, rapists, people who were quarreling, women who were wailing; for 3 hours, all for nothing. I went back home.

I was told that the graama sevaka came next, on Thursday.
So, on Thursday when I went to get my letter from him, he took out his anger and frustration out on me. He bellowed in my ear for everyone around me to hear saying what a nuisance this was to him, and how corrupt the police was.

I just sat there listening to him. (I owe the patience factor to Mr Sandypwants)

After a big ha-ho, I was on my way again to the police station.
And once again, I was faced with that long queue of people. Atleast this time there were few people who’d visited the hospital minutes before they came to the station.
I also saw this prisoner in handcuffs walking about. o.O

Just when I got there, the officer-in-charge of the complaints section just left without a word. After an hour we got to know that there was no one to write in the complaints book till next week.

“Meh mona wikaarayakda meh? Poleeciya wasaa atha kiyala board ekak daapalla!” A man threatened and spat before he stormed out!

I smirked.

“Poleeciya mewata nisi piyawarak ganne naththang, apita piyawara ganna wenawa!” another man spat.

I was loving the drama.

A new officer was sent to the complaints desk. When it was finally my turn, the officer was like, “Oya dannawada NIC eke issue date eka?”

“Naa neh.” I replied.

“Ehenang birth certificate eke copy ekak genna!”

I WAS FUMING BY NOW.
It was the 2nd day that I came to this dump and they were making such a huge fuss just to WRITE a complaint saying I HAVE LOST MY NIC on that SHITTY BOOK!

I stormed out of the place, went back home, got my birth certificate and came right back, only to realize there was a new officer at the desk. When I showed him my documents he said “Aiyo, birth certificate eka oneh naa neh!”

THAT WAS IT!

I literally turned red in anger.
I kept my mouth shut and waited till he wrote down my complaint. It was all done in 10 minutes.

So yeah, the job that usually takes 10 -15 minutes took me 3 days to complete.

SRI LANKA - A LAND LIKE NO OTHER!

I like to think so.

Life’s been good after the marathon of A/Ls but has become very stressful at the same time. I guess it’s a phase of adjusting to the outside world and taking up responsibilities more seriously. The days where I was pampered and looked after are long gone, and I find myself out in the open road that was illustrated to us as this beautiful, carpeted highway with the appropriate directions and road signs, ready to guide us through. We all knew this was going to happen one day or another, so what seems to be the problem? Well, for starters, it turns out my open road is not a luxurious highway but a gravel road full of dust and dirt with large potholes with hardly any proper road signals and guidance.

Yes, life is tough. Especially when you are living in Sri Lanka anyway. When I asked my cousins whether they had a post-teenage crisis, all I got were sniggers and snorts.

“Achchi ammek wage katha karanne nathuwa inna” (Stop talking like a granny) was one of the harsh replies.

But seriously, am I the only one who’s feeling this? Was life easier for young adults in the past? Is it the sky-rocketing inflation rates the cause of it all?

FINANCE-WISE:
To be honest I haven’t bought something fabulous in quite a long time now. I’m always looking out for bargains which can be so stressful and finally after a day’s of wandering around end up with NOTHING! Most of my hard-earned cash goes to my phone bill and food. Its depressing the way money disappears off these days especially when you have to go through so much to earn the darn thing.

I also don’t feel like asking for money from my parents. I know for a fact that even they are having financial crises with the ongoing economic situation in Sri Lanka. I try to even pay my tuition fees with my own money without asking from my dad. I often wonder how daily labourers and people who earn very little survive these days….do they starve? steal? beg or borrow? How do people overcome the stress of life?

EDUCATION/JOB-WISE:
The goal of most students nowadays is to get as much as certifications and qualifications as soon as possible. It’s more of a trend that everyone’s following really, but it’s given the statement “the survival of the fittest” a whole new meaning. Should I follow the trend? Will I be deprived of better job opportunities if I don’t?

My ambition as I’ve mentioned earlier is to become a policy maker on sustainable development. (hopefully) Thanks to financial situations, I am in Colombo University doing a degree in International Relations. (Yes, a B+ was not good enough for a Geography major) *sigh* They all say IR will help me in future, but will it really? Will I ever like it as much as I loved Geography? Will I achieve my goals in life with an BA in IR?

I hope things ease out soon. I don’t want wrinkles on my forehead before due time!

Yes, I’m a strong buddhist. I do not go to temple every day nor do I worship lord Buddha 2-3 times a day, but I believe in the buddhist way of life; I believe in karma : what goes around comes around. Is that what’s happening to this country? Is it all coming back to us now? Is that what’s happening to the entire world? Before expanding on to the entire world, I’d like to talk about what’s happening in our dear little country, Sri Lanka.

“Is there a place justifying violence and conflict in out religious traditions?”

This is something that has been in my mind since the day every one was all for the “all out war”. It’s been bothering me so darn much that I even picked it up as a project title for a course assignment at uni. *sigh*

Firstly, what is Buddhism?

It is, as we know, more of a philosophy than a religion per se, which focuses on personal spiritual development, a deep insight into the true nature of life and does not worship any gods or deities. According to Buddha’s teachings, the ethical and moral principles are governed by examining whether a certain action, connected to body or speech is likely to be harmful to one’s self or to others and thereby avoiding such harm. This is achieved foremost by cultivating good conduct by training in what is known as “The Five Precepts”. One should be aware of the fact that if one breeches any of it, it will result in an action that is known as “Karma” and one must examine how such a breech can be avoided in future.

Of these above mentioned five precepts, I’m going to stress on the first:

“To undertake training to avoid taking the life of beings”

This means that all beings, humans and non-humans alike, have a right to live their lives peacefully and this right should be respected.

Now let’s move on to Violence and its relation to buddhist ethics…

In modern use, “violence” is used broadly to describe negative human actions harmful to other living beings, living organisms, eco-systems and the environment. This is opposed in Buddhism as I initially confirmed by pointing out the first precept. Buddhism is a peaceful way of life and nothing in Buddhist scriptures gives any support to the use of violence as a means of resolving a conflict.

This is what Buddha feels about violence and conflict:

“Even if thieves carve you from limb to limb with a double-handed saw, if you make your mind hostile, you are not following my teaching.”- Kamcupamasutta, Majjima-Nikaya. 28-29

“Hatred will not cease by hatred, but by love alone.
This is the ancient law” - “Yamaka Wagga”, Dhamma Pada

“In times of war
Give rise in yourself to the mind of compassion
Helping living beings
Abandon the will to fight
Wherever there is a furious battle,
Use all your might
To keep both sides’ strength equal
And then step in to reconcile this conflict”

Given that Sri Lanka is the proud home of Theravada Buddhism and the fact that the majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists (69.3%) , it is unimaginable how and why within the last two decades Sri Lanka has experienced such severe violent activities. True, the violent activities has no direct link to Buddhism, but the the occurrence of violence in Sri Lanka has challenged sustainability of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and is seemingly influencing the society. This unhealthy conditions have become such a routine to us that we are oblivious to the gory details of such incidents unless the numbers of the deaths are high and more damage has been done.

This is not only apparent in the ongoing war situation, but in the rise in crimes such as kidnappings, rapings and other anonymous murders etc. I believe that the roots of such violence in Sri Lanka are based on economic factors, linguistic issues, issues in equal opportunities and human rights, democratic representation in the political system and other issues which all reflect Buddha’s views on the link between “Thanha” (Greediness), “Aasha” (Necessitation) and Violence. The more you necessitate, the more your calm and composed frame of mind is impaired.

Do we need more than just Buddhist teachings? Yes, I believe that Sri Lanka is desperately in need of a “righteous leader”. Buddha states this, in a legendary outline (stated in the Cakkavattisihanada Sutta):

“In this way monks, money was not being given to the poor. Poverty flourished; because poverty flourished, theft flourished; because theft flourished, weaponry flourished; because weaponry flourished, murder flourished; because murder flourished, these beings’ vitality decreased.”

Because of this king’s inability to provide a means of wealth for the poor, poverty increased in that society and created a violent context. As a result, crimes increased. This can be taken as an example to compare the economic situation of Sri Lanka and to draw parallels to the increasing rates of violence.

Buddhism as stated earlier promotes a peaceful way of life. It speaks of Metta (Compassion), Ahimsa (Non-violence), Tolerance, Wisdom, The middle path and peace amongst all. But are any of these in any of our thoughts? We speak of wiping out the terrorists…..seems so simple doesn’t it? But it all involves breeching each and every concept that Buddha ever taught us; each and every good value that He tried so hard to instill in us. We speak of stopping a war…will we be able to stop the hatred people have against each other? Are we assured that another war will not be created? How are we to stop such a war when countries like England and USA could not fight off terrorism by means of armory?

I suppose we all like to hope…. for a better future. Ironic isn’t it?

Alright, fine! I’m a few days late, but it was made on New Year’s day…HONEST! *evil grin*

I was just reading up on our Avurudu Festival and the UPS started to wail. Yes folks, we had a LONG power cut on the day of New Year Celebrations. And that was how we started off the day. (Excellent timing LECO!)

Then when the power finally came on after around 3 hours, I checked up on the situation of the country. Apparently we are winning the war that has been going on for over 2 decades now. Who states this? The government of course! And this is while the LTTE states otherwise, mind you!

“Although we are having some difficulties in the country, the economy of the country is improving” states the government. Inflation rates are skyrocketing, New Rice prices are beyond Rs. 90 per kilo and bread which could be easily purchased by the common man is now becoming a luxury. (Some Prices are stated below)

Maalu Paan (fish bun) costs Rs.25 in bakeries and ranges from Rs.35 onwards in pastry shops.

Prima Brown Bread costs Rs. 105 per 540 gramme loaf.

Finnagle White Sandwich Bread weighing 500 grammes costs Rs.85.

Finnagle kurakkan enriched diet bread costs Rs.66 for a small pack and Rs.103 for a 430 gramme loaf.

And that’s not all, there’s a whole list of brands and food products who wish to increase their prices after avurudu; this includes petrol/diesel prices. (Yes, AGAIN!!)

But, the government harps on the fact that this shall be one of the best years ever. Let’s wait and see then shall we?

Oh! And Oba Samata Subha Nawa Wasarak Weva! *rolls eyes*

Ah yes, the early morning news: Bomb in Buttala 23 killed, 67 injured, another bomb to follow this topped off with some gunfire and the president of SL has “taken measures to assist those in need in this area”

Lovely isn’t it? You wake up in the morning, listen to the Ghastly stories which is probably “Music to most of our ears” because we are apparently “WINNING THE WAR” and it will all “END BY MID 2008″.

No, but really……WHO are we fooling? Does NO ONE in this country understand the FUTILITY of WAR?
Each side blames the other, and apparently (according to each side) they are winning. WHO is winning? WHAT is happening? How are we to know? Do we SEE what is going on? We believe what we HEAR! How Marvelous! And to see, we have a literacy rate 90 something percent. Yet, we don’t have the BRAINS to realize what is really happening here.

Yes, we are killing the LTTE soldiers…..does that mean that they are not killing us? The war which has been happening for the last 30 years is going to end in 6 months? You really think so?

If anyone of you has watched Kingdom (WARNING: SPOILER CONTENT- do not read if you have not watched the Kingdom) and remember the last part of it….. You will realize WHAT I am talking about. The main terrorist in the movie whispered to his grandson before his death ” We will KILL THEM ALL” and at the beginning of the film, the FBI dude says the same about the Terrorist. The IRONY of it: Both parties fail to achieve this objective.

Yes, say we killed off all of the LTTE by mid 2008. Do you really think that’ll be the end of it? There are thousands of LTTE supporters who believe in their “Cause”. Will they not continue their fight?

Rhetorical Questions really do amuse me………

I highly doubt it. Sorry for being such a cynic, but 2008 seems worse than ever in Sri Lanka. During the 1st week itself there were shootings and bombings not too mention price hikes.

Yesterday we went out to have lunch with a couple of buddies…. and we realized that out of what we ate, we gave like a quarter of the money to the bloody government. For what? Continue the war which is (ACCORDING TO THOSE BIASED IDIOTS) going to end soon.
Wake up and smell reality people! This is a guerrilla war you’re talking about! And SAY we won this war by hook or by crook, what is the guarantee that this whole so called “Ethnic Situation” won’t rise again?

Oh well, everything seems so expensive nowadays, it’s a headache when planning an outing. The hypocrisy is that while everyone else is suffering and paying HUGE taxes, the hundreds of ministers are enjoying away…

First of all, if MR is SO sure of winning this war, the first thing he should do is cut additional costs of all ministers..we seem to be paying taxes NOT for the war to progress but to fatten our ministers as well as himself and his family.

I really want to go on about this topic, but I will leave it for tomorrow as I have to jet off.. GRRRR!

First of all….im wondering if the president and his other FRIENDS (as in the JVP and JHU) are actually in the country these days…cuz we are hearing very little from them…Remember those days when the elections were going on??? The way they were screaming abt how the UNP was trying to give away a part of the country etc etc….???? Good joke isnt it??? At least those days there were no bombs and such brutal killings unlike nowadays…. And now they are blaming the ceasefire agreement for all the problems… The prob with Sri Lankans are that they forget the past VERY SOON! Little do they remember that even before the ceasefire agreement the LTTE freely roamed around the country….that they could bomb all the main buildings of SL (which happened) and even bomb the bloody airport……and mind u ppl…this was BEFORE the CFA!!!!! but……..our poor souls dnt remember these……..

And where are these ppl who were screaming their guts off those days…..where’s Mr. Weerawansa and them??? Oh yeah….i forgot….They are PROTESTIN….. (as usual..) but check this out folks…..they arent protesting against the LTTE this time…instead they are urging the UN to help Lebanon…What a joke!!!!! Honestly??? Can ppl be soo jobless and ignorant? When we have a crisis situation here wit the LTTE, our ppl are trying to help OTHER countries… without atleast TRYING to take SOME kind of action against the LTTE!!! This is why I think that our country is beyond repair…..I’m normally very very optimistic abt stuff but when it comes to this topic…i think that as long as there are dumb kind of ppl like Mr.Weerawansa and the the monks from JHU….our country will NEVER develop…..nor will the wounds heal….!!! Im a buddhist but Im ashamed about the behaviour of those monks of the JHU….If anyone is going to the “apaya”(hell) it’ll be them first and then the rest of the ppl……..

Honestly I think peace is better than war but the peace settlement should be carefully and well structured….there should be NO loopholes what so ever! The LTTE cannot be brushed off by big mouths who dont do anything other than shout to solve probs….it must be done by using BRAINS….A good plan could actually set a trap to wipe those Mother Fuckers off! So like someone said (in Dimi’s blog) war is bad but bad peace is the worst!!!!

To the JVP- Loketa parakase gedarata maragade!!!!!