Dear Buddhist monks,

I don't think temples are really asking us to send them our ideas and suggestions, but as a Buddhist, these are some of the things I would like monks to focus on.

1. Majority-minority
I don't understand why numbers matter, especially since we use them to claim ownership of land which contradicts what the Buddha said about ownership. Anyway, if Buddhists are worried about the now-minorities soon becoming the majority, then you need to focus on why that's happening, instead of trying to kill each other.
It could be that there are less Buddhists. This is understandable since the protectors of the Dhamma are no longer doing a good job. So less reasons to believe, less in number and less reasons to claim ownership of land.
It could also be that forced conversion is taking place. If this is happening, do something about it because while you are shouting like lunatics about Halal and shawls, there are people being forced to convert to other religions.
Give us a reason to believe. I wouldn't give into conversion simply because I don't believe in other faiths. I was born a Buddhist, but I also choose to be a Buddhist. This is because I know what Buddhism is all about and I want to live by the Dhamma. Give people a reasons to believe and then you wouldn't have to worry about becoming the minority.

2. Them gods
So I don't believe gods have super powers. If they do exist, it's just as a different life form. I don't understand why there are dewalas in temples. I know so many Buddhists who first pray to the gods and offer fruit and money to those gods before offering flowers to the Buddha. When and why did this confusion of beliefs happen? If you are a true Buddhist, I don't see how you can think some god can change the way things are.

So Buddhist monks, can we please let Buddhists know that the god they are depending so much on could be a completely different life form now?

3. Behavior and attire
I went to a temple/dewalaya recently. There were people in leopard print dresses, hot pink tight pants, short tops, beach shorts. It looked like a carnival. And let's say we don't let their clothes bother us, well, their behavior. It was a place of worship and yet they were shouting, screaming, pushing, stepping on toes, leaving lit joss sticks everywhere, dropping flowers, leaving bags and wrappers on counters and so much more.
I was once at the Kaluthara Bodhiya. A young couple was listening to something, sharing a headset. A monk saw them and asked them what they were listening to. They sheepishly answered that they were listening to music. Like, why are you listening to music in a temple?

4. Meat eating and alcohol consumption
So the orange robed monks and the dressed in full white Buddhists make meat eating and consumption of alcohol seem like a crime. Oh save that poor cow, they say, comparing the four legged creature to our mothers. But then they say nothing about rape, abuse, cheating, theft and all the other things that keep happening in this world. Oh the poor man shouldn't drink toddy but it's okay for the rich guys who travel in those SUVs to rape thirteen year old girls and boys?

5. Sangha bedaya
Can we agree on one type of Buddhism? Can we agree on one set of rules and regulations and traditions and rituals? Before we talk about a larger Buddhist population, we should get the sangha to act as one and not create their own religions and followers.


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