Abstract:
There is a paucity of research (both conceptual and applied) that explores Buddhist
engagements with the neologism ‘disability’, aside from rather simplistic and moribund
reiterations of the doctrine of karma and merit. More significantly, the complex and rich
tapestry of interpretations of dukkha and the ways that the Buddha’s teachings can
prompt a revisioning of disablement remain under explored. In the Sri Lankan context,
approaches to meeting the needs of disabled people through service delivery and more
recently in policy development and law reform, have been shaped and influenced by the
nation’s Judaeo-Christian colonial heritage (including models of welfare and charity) and
global, liberal (western) conceptual frameworks instigated through the United Nations.
Although there have been debates within Sri Lankan studies about the conceptual
efficacy of the notion of Protestant Buddhism and the extent to which this notion drives
critical responses to welfare provision in society, this debate has not been extended to
the realm of critical disability studies (CDS).
This paper explores the legacies of colonial understandings of welfare, in particular the
seemingly uncritical adoption of crypto-medical and functionalist formulations of
disability. Dr. Campbell considers this inheritance in the light of increased pressure on
the Sri Lankan government by both the United Nations and international financial
sources, to conform to the universal project of disability standards, definitions of
disablement and externally imposed models of service delivery, legal and policy
frameworks. The author concludes that the emphasis on bio-medical functionalist
models of disablement obscures the possibility of exploring alternative
conceptualisations of disablement, which maybe more suited to the Sri Lankan context.
The final aspect of the paper contains a discussion of the challenges of education for
CDS in an environment where a critical mass of home growth scholar is largely absent.
