Buddhism and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka

Patrick Grant

Jan 2009 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

Patrick Grant explores the relationship between Buddhism and violent ethnic conflict in modern Sri Lanka using the concept of "regressive inversion." Regressive inversion occurs when universal teaching, such as that of the Buddha, is redeployed to supercharge passions associated with the kinds of group loyalty that the universal teaching itself intends to transcend. The book begins with an account of the main teachings of Theravada Buddhism and looks at how these inform, or fail to inform, modern interpreters. Grant considers the writings of three key figures—Anagarika Dharmapala, Walpola Rahula, and J. R. Jayewardene—who addressed Buddhism and politics in the years leading up to Sri Lanka's political independence from Britain, and subsequently, in postcolonial Sri Lanka. This book makes the Sri Lankan conflict accessible to readers interested in the modern global phenomenon of ethnic violence involving religion and also illuminates similar conflicts around the world.

About the author

Patrick Grant is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He is the author of several books, including Literature, Rhetoric, and Violence in Northern Ireland, 1968–1998: Hardened to Death and Personalism and the Politics of Culture.