Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c6.67.3

c6.67.3

They however called the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities to the matter, and the incumbent has been called upon to pay in to the credit of the vihāra upwards of £170, probably less than a third of the amount he has received. It is doubtful whether he will pay even this. Certainly he will go unpunished. The people know that their priest has committed the greatest crime a Buddhist can commit, for in their language, ‘he has robbed Buddha.’ They know also that he has committed a great offence against our laws, in having appropriated to himself the property of which he was the trustee. The Buddhist authorities will not seek to remove him, because they cannot act without the aid of our Courts. The tenants will not act, because they are afraid to take steps against a man of influence with money at command. Others will not act because the expenses would come out of their own pockets. This is only one example out of many; and nothing can be more injurious, nothing more demoralising, than for the people to see frauds of this kind, committed by trustees of temple property, go unpunished.