ICSS 2013
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/10231
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Guidance provided by Buddhism to properly utilize human labour: a study based on the Sutta Pitaka(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Piyananda, W.The ultimate ambition of every human being is to spend a happy and meaningful life. In order to achieve this goal, people often use their labour or 'working-capacity' in both good and bad ways. The topic of 'human labour is something which has attracted a major attention throughout the globe. Further, an international labour day has been devoted to the working people all around the world. Human labour is one of the major reasons behind the contemporary development. It is also clear that various misuses of this labour have resulted in a number of issues. Some of them are environmental pollution, endless production of weapons, terrorist organizations, and drug production and distribution. The present study seeks to inquire into the factors such as (a) the recommendations depicted in the Buddhist teaching with regard to the use of human labour; and (b) the major guidelines found in the Buddhist teaching with respect to that phenomenon. Buddhism considers human life as the most valuable life on the earth. It further emphasizes the importance of making human life an important one not only to the individual but also to entire society. According to the Dhammapada, the single moment which is spent in a meaningful way is more important than spending even hundred years without a proper meaning. The Buddhist Suttas include two fields with regard to the ways in which human labour has to be used. According to them, there are certain ways in which those who wish to attain nirvana should use their physical and metal labour. Such suttas as vyaggajja, and singalovada urges the laic people to use their labour (both mental and physical) in such a way that they could live a happy life and then make their afterlives successful. Thus, a peaceful and calm environment could be established only by providing the people who spend their manual labour equal opportunities. The present study focuses on studying the guidance provided by the suttas in order to achieve such a goal.Item Religious associations and development in India: a study of the Ramakrishna Mission(University of Kelaniya, 2013) Dutta, S.India has had a relatively long tradition of religious associations providing autonomous spaces of power, social and civic activism, which dates back to the birth of Buddhism and Jainism, followed by the medieval Bhakti and Sufi movements, through the plethora of socio-religious associations that had cropped up during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, until the ones that have emerged in the post-colonial era. Notwithstanding the fact that the fundamentalist and divisive politics of certain religious associations has led to several gory riots and the very partition of the country, many of them have played a pivotal role in ensuring that development remains inclusive, although, their role continues to be undermined in academic writings. Again, with the onset of the „LPG era‟ in India by the 1990s, that saw a roll back of the state mechanism, and the phenomenon of development taking a „participatory‟ turn following the 74th Amendment Act of the Indian Constitution, the gaps which evolved in service delivery are increasingly being filled up by civil society associations. In this context the proposed paper seeks to analyze the contribution of one of the most prominent religious philanthropic associations in India, the Ramakrishna Mission, in the field of development. Using the purposive and snow ball sampling techniques, the study interrogates the members of the Ramakrishna Mission, apart from the beneficiaries of some of its projects and a few state officials, to elucidate as to how a „traditional‟ association negotiates its existence within the paradigm of a „modern‟, bureaucratic and „secular‟ state. The study observes that through its emphasis on Practical Vedanta, the Ramakrishna Mission has made colossal contributions in the field of education, health, and relief work, rural and tribal development. In the ultimate analysis, the proposed paper compels one to rethink the relationship which religious associations share with the nebulous concepts of „development‟ on the one hand, and „civil society‟ on the other.