Christians in Sri Lanka should take part in ‘Vesak’ celebrations to boost ethnic reconciliation

(May 12, 2011) In order to boost ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Christians in the country should take part next week in the Buddhist festival of Vesak, said Christian Human Rights activist Jehan Perera, the Executive Director of the National Peace Council. Sri Lanka’s Government authorities and Buddhist monks are busy preparing numerous activities to mark the 2,600^th anniversary of Buddha’s enlightenment. Living in a multi-faith nation, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders from the country’s three other major religions, have called on their fellow believers to do everything they can to help their Buddhist brothers on the occasion of this day. For Christians, Vesak provides an important opportunity for the Church to show how Buddhist values are close to those of Christianity and help Christians learn to appreciate the human values of Buddhism, Jehan Perera said in an interview to Asia News. He said “For those of us who were born and who live in Sri Lanka, Buddhism is part of our culture. The values that Buddhism teaches are universal. Vesak is a great opportunity for the Church to explain how the underlying values of Buddhism and Christianity are the same, even if the language may be different. “As Christians, we must support our Buddhist compatriots in living by their religious values, which are also our own”, said Jehan Perera.