Selling Religion!

Yesterday, I received a SMS from Dialog Telekom saying "Dial 556 to listen to Buddhist Teaching from Pitiduve Siri Dhamma Thero. Register before 6th Sep for free two weeks". I called and found out that after two weeks it'll be 65 rupees a month. I am amazed. This is simply and directly selling the Dhamma.

I think during past few years we have seen lot of commercialization of Buddhism. This appeared after the emergence of this so called media giant monks. Its true they are good preachers of Buddhism and they convey a good message to the public but underneath a huge business is flowering. If you go to one of their Asapuwas you will see that. One of them is marketing the Meithree Bhodisatva. According to him you have to observe strict pansil and practice dhmma AND buy his yanthra and other stuff to get the blessings of Mithree Bhodisattva so that you flourish economically and otherwise. Well, If you practice good dhamma do you have to buy his yanthra? Another one is selling books. Lot of books, just the Buddhist teachings and Sinhalese meaning, and sold everywhere. I read one book on Ruwanveliseya. Well, it's better than "Alice in Wonderland" when speaking of fairy tales. According to that basically king Dutugemunu has done nothing much. Everything is done by the gods.

This trend has spread to the smaller temples also. I saw in one 'old' temple, pirith nool for sale. Well, not the normal one, but a one imported from Thailand! If you go to most of the pilgrim "attractions" you will experience this one way or the other.

The story is two fold. According to what I gather, as contrast to the era controlled by the kings, there is no fixed income for the temples. They have to be maintained, acquire new things, like building and status etc. So, monks have to come up with lot of marketing ideas to do this. At the same time some write perfect success stories with millions of income.

I think its time to say no to this. This should stop somewhere. Again one might ask why shouldn't a monk experience a luxury life. Do we know what luxuries were there in Devram Vehera! We have noticed that Bhudda, the grate mother of all, did not try to acquire anything. They just reached the grate teacher. If one is getting luxury due to the good deeds done by the person that is another story, but it should not be by selling the Dhamma. Again one might say, you have to buy Buddhist Books, but they really include the cost of printing and publishing. Buddhist monks who has written good books are not so called commercially successful ones.

Give this a thought, and if you think 'enough is enough', do what you can. Send a mail to Dialog Telekom or call customer care hotline and say that as a Buddhist, you are against this. Stand against selling of Bhudda the grate one, and Dhamma, the real path.

FOCUS. . .

The Time...

Dear students,

We come across different kind peoples in our life time, very rarely few of them marking there’s foot prints in our heart. I don’t know why, it is very hard to describe; I was really upset when I am leaving you guys… Well, being a sensitive man is a hard thing to maintain.

You got to go a huge journey; a long journey. I am just a mile-post of it. I am just a tool and I just helped you same as other guys. So, now it is the time for set me back again and get back to complete the journey. You got to start it over and should complete it in successful manner…

I don’t mean that our relationship is over, no; never, I am there whenever you needed my help. :)

In remembrance of Michael Jackson

Exactly 358 days back in a morning one of my friends phoned me & said "dude, MJ has passed away". I immediately checked the date to see whether it was April 1st. but no, it was 25th of June. then i again asked & he seemed to be very serious. next thing i did was obviously, logged in to net. Gosh it was true. I couldnt believe my eyes & ears. even though all the news were about the death of a great legend i was in a denial state. i still wished that it was a false news . i kept on thinking that i would get to hear that he survived from that drug overdose. but that news never reached my ears.....truly it was sooooo hard to accept. it took me many days to realize that he is no more there.

Since my small age i was a big fan of MJ. in the age of VCR i managed to find MJ Video cassettes & secretly watched them at home. My parents were very strict on us. so had to watch them in low profile. I shared them with my other friends. he was a very big person in my life. i never believed the allegations he was charged with. i had the passion to listen his music all the time. Now he is no more. He is gone too soon. a legend that could have lived many years to come. though he is not in this world he will be forever remembered & will live in our hearts.
will share some nice photos i have found in the net.
RIP MJ, the King of POP...


Young Michael burst on the scene at age of 11 as a member of the Jackson 5.

Michael (far left) and his brothers rocked some serious fros in the '70s as they dominated the Billboard charts with hit singles such as "ABC" and "I'll Be There."

By the time he was in his late teens, Michael was an international heartthrob and about to embark on one of the most successful solo music careers in history.


In addition to Macaulay Culkin and Corey Feldman, Jackson was pals with pint-sized "Webster" star, Emmanuel Lewis.

By the late '80s, Michael had undergone a drastic physical transformation and introduced one of his trademark accessories - the colored armband. For a decade of chart-toppers, Michael was given the Special Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards.

Michael and his fellow icon Madonna stole the spotlight at the 63rd Annual Academy Awards.


Michael's little sister, Janet, followed in her big bro's footsteps and became a superstar in her own right.


At the 1995 MTV VMAs, Michael was joined by Slash for a medley of "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough," and "Black or White."


Not only was Michael an immensely talented singer, he was also one of the greatest dancer's to hit the stage. We're sure Britney Spears picked up some of her moves by watching his classic videos.
There's no doubt about it. Michael has influenced nearly every pop act that has emerged in the past 30 years, including 'N SYNC.

Michael proved he still had "it" at his 30th Anniversary Celebration in 2001 alongside longtime fan Chris Tucker.


The King of Pop and the Godfather of Soul revolutionized not only RnB but the entire music industry.


Despite a rocky relationship, Michael and his father, Joe Jackson, remained relatively close.

In addition to his 13 Grammy wins, Jackson received 15 World Music Awards, more than any other male artist.





May him RIP.
Miss you MJ.......

Just like us

Yesterday(24/05) I was at Nawaloka Hospital to consult a physician as I was continuously battered by Berny Fever. There were many people waiting for their turn, most of them had to keep standing because there were not enough seating facilities.
Suddenly my wife told me that "Your minister is here". When I looked that way I saw Health Minister Mr. Maithreepala Sirisena was standing few yards away. Initially I thought that he was there to attend some kind of hospital function.
I was prove to be wrong , he was there with his family to consult a doctor. He along with his family had to keep standing as there were not enough places to sit.After waiting there for about 20-30 min they got the chance to see the doctor.
It was quite surprising to see the Health Minister waiting in along with general public for his turn, Without a big bandwagon of security officers. These kind of politicians naturally earn there respect from general masses. It is even more heartwarming to note that this is our new minister.

Strange Dream....I saw....

Since i have some time to earn couple of buks i used to work in one of the leading pvt Hospitals in Colombo. My usual shift is from 7pm to 7am in a general medical ward. i admit that im a bit lucky & i hardly get disturbed when im asleep. it was a Monday night doing a swapped shift of a friend of mine coz he was ill.. as usual i did a night round & sorted out some problems & the whole ward was sooo calm..there was one 72 year old female who has got admitted with a fever which was likely to be of Viral origin...she had other ailments like Ishcheamic Heart Disease, hypertension & Diabetes which were apparently well under control with pills...
so i went to sleep after usual e mail, Google group & FB stuff near midnight & was in NREM sleep in no time...this is the dream i saw..i was called upon to attend on a patient & staff sounded as it was an emergency..so i jumped out of the bed & entered a room...i woke up & saw the clock ticking 2 am..gosh too bad that i got my sleep disturbed...turned the other side & closed my eyes tight to fall asleep much faster & i could get some sleep, this time REM i guess...then i heard the room phone ringing..."doctor that patient in room ### has fallen down & not responding, can u please come ASAP.." this was what i heard from the other end...time marked 3.45am....rushed to that room & it was that 72 year old lady...GCS of 12 & left sided weakness....pupils pinpoint & slow reacting...urgent CT brain was arranged & bingo..it was a deep seated R/S Parietal lobe ICH!!!!!




everything was done as per protocols to that patient...but the prognosis will not be that good...May god bless her....
Im now left with few Questions.....was it really a dream & if so why on earth i saw such a dream? was it some illusion i got as a dream? is it something to do with that famous law of attraction or like attracts like?
its all damn strange...too strange that i kept on thinking about the whole incidence through out the day...
guys wander how many of you have this kind of an experience? if so please share with us...

Java lecture

Woooaaaa.
I really love the java lecture today. I have learnt Java, but I have never seen any one teach so impressive, easy to understand and sweet like this lecterer. You won't be able to find someone or any other oppotunity else to learn like this.. My friends.. I want to tell you that we are very lucky!!!
Wish we will study hard and well