Buddha and Sri Lanka

A Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka has been sentenced to death -

the first monk in 50 years to receive such a sentence in the country.

Gomadiye Sarana, 37, was convicted for a murder committed before

he was ordained into the clergy....

The crime appeared to be linked to a dispute over an affair the monk had

with the murder victim's sister..... ::redface:: 

The  Judge ordered the defendant to remove his robes

before he delivered the judgement -

probably because he did not want to sentence a monk to death.

But the convicted man refused...... ::eek::

Theravada Buddhist monks play a prominent public role in Sri Lanka

                               

This is the first time a monk has been given the death sentence since

the hanging in 1962 of Talduwe Somarama :

a fierce Sinhalese nationalist

who assassinated a prime minister.... 

Last year a court ordered the arrest of a Buddhist cleric in northern Sri Lanka

for allegedly sexually molesting a teenage girl.... ::eek::

And last week police said they detained a monk in possession of heroin. :lipsrsealed:

how long ago was the crime committed before he became a monk?

Sarana and an accomplice were found guilty of murdering a man :

12 years ago............