Most people tend to think of Buddhism as an especially peaceful and serene religion. Buddhist monks are commonly thought of as being especially peaceful and serene religious practitioners. It will come as a surprise, then, to read about Buddhist monks brawling in the Sri Lankan parliament.

CBS 11 News reports:

[M]embers of the president's governing party tried to block Akmeemana Dayaratana a member of a Buddhist monk-led opposition party from taking his oath to become a member of Parliament... Government lawmakers reluctant to lose crucial support in the closely divided legislature is trying to prevent Dayaratana from stepping in. ... President Chandrika Kumaratunga's coalition has 108 seats in the 225-member legislature, leaving it five seats short of a majority and unable to push its agenda.

The monks' National Heritage Party has nine seats enough to tilt the balance of power during votes. ... The monks in the National Heritage Party say their religion is threatened by the influence of the Tamil Tiger rebels, who back Sri Lanka's mostly Hindu ethnic Tamil minority. Kumaratunga has been known for a hardline stand against the rebels but has been making efforts to resume peace talks. Without a parliament majority, she has made little progress.

Sri Lanka is experiencing a “Buddhist Nationalism” that is similar to the “Christian Nationalism” seen in America. Buddhists who are afraid of having their culture and social influence diluted by a Hindu minority are acting as though Sri Lankan citizenship should be equivalent to being Buddhist. The possibility for violence from Buddhists is rather strong.

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