Kamburawala Rewatha Thero
I first heard about the pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine at the Scottish Religious Leaders meeting and I thought how wonderful it would be.

My  first thought about these troubled countries was that they must be uncomfortable for any spiritual person to visit and that I would have difficulties. We have some knowledge of the war raging there from the news reports, but trying to piece together a few basic facts proved disconcerting to say the least.  I had been told that Buddhists were denied access to both Israel and Palestine. Was it possibly true? You hear of so much discord in the region that I just didn’t know for sure.

I held my tongue during the meeting and waited until I had returned to the Vihara before addressing my fears on the internet. On that day I thought constantly about the political situation and the warring  background of  these two countries. The rumour that Buddhists are not allowed to enter Israel and Palestine was checked on the internet and  found  not to be true. Then several devotees told me that if I go to Israel, I can’t travel to an Arab country with an Israeli stamp on my passport. It concerned me, because whenever I  travel to my home country of Sri Lanka, I  travel via Dubai. I wrote to Dr Finlay MacDonald and exchanged a few emails with Pramila Kaur who reassured me, and enabled me to confirm my availability.

Finally, I was the only Buddhist representative among the 7 religious leaders and young representatives. My fellow pilgrims were from the Bahai, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh faiths.

This pilgrimage was a unique experience for me! Nothing in my 26 years as a Buddhist monk could have prepared me for such a varied and enthralling journey. My personal reflections of this tour were that it was very exciting and inspiring, and provided me with memories which I shall always treasure.

I was very happy to visit the world-famous holy sites but the ongoing conflict was always on my mind.

On Tuesday 8th July our group met with a panel of senior faith leaders. We were told by Eliyahu Maclean that this was the first time that such a meeting had taken place. I was amazed that the  meeting had taken so long to arrange, but hope that the discussions may continue with profitable results. It is never too late to develop dialogue amongst a group of people whose ultimate aim is peace.

Everyone we met during the visit said the same thing, “We need peace, we need an end to violence, we need to understand each othe,r and we need to live peacefully together.”

To achieve this I strongly believe both sides need to develop more understanding, and need to develop more interfaith relationships built on  love. It was great to see that after more than 5 decades  they are realising it, and have started to build from grassroots level. I apply the same thinking to the conflict in  my motherland as well.

The war in my country is not about religion. It is a much more complex situation and has many similarities to the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. We need peace dialogue. We need non-violence. Perhaps the initiatives taken by the faith leaders, politicians, and civilians of Israel and Palestine who now realise the importance of interfaith dialogue, discussions and non-violence can be applied to settling the war in Sri Lanka.

When I was listening to Mustapha Barghouti, the former Palestinian Information Minister, I heard him say  that Palestine can’t compete with the military power of Israel and they need non-violence. I think in my country also, both parties need peace and they are very tired of violence. In their inner heart they know that war is not the solution. This realisation is a beginning, and some day they may achieve that peace.

If I use my experiences and what I understood of the points of view expressed by the many people met on my visit, I think I must write several articles to national Sunday papers in Sri Lanka and a personal letter to our president.

When I was in a number of the holy places I could feel the high spirituality. In others, especially those in places of recent conflict, that feeling was absent!  In some of the major holy places, I practised my metta (loving kindness) meditation. I was very happy doing my chanting and prayers at the tomb of Abraham which is a very holy place for three religions, namely Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I felt honoured when I was given an opportunity to do loving-kindness meditation and chanting the discourses on loving-kindness at the Church of Scotland’s Sunday service in the heart of  Jerusalem.

This illuminating and fascinating journey was enhanced by my travel companions. My fellow ‘pilgrims’ were a delightful group of people who looked after each other. We never thought of our differences. We felt that we were all very close friends. I think most of us made friendships which will last a lifetime. Every one respected the others, their culture and religious beliefs.

I conclude my reflection with a very appropriate teaching of the Buddha.