French tourists get Sri Lanka jail term over Buddha kiss

[Tammy]

After reading all discussions on this topic, and seeing the actual 'incriminating' picture, it does not matter whether the tourist disrespect the Sri Lankan culture and whether the Sri Lankan local authority had been overly harsh on the tourist, must importantly, I rejoice for the French lady because she had planted seeds of dharma in her mind stream by kissing the statute.

May she has the merits to enjoy the glory of dharma in this life and beyond.

[Galen]

Definitely indecent and not respectful of Buddha. And to do this in a Buddhist country is not respectful of the culture and the people in Sri Lanka. If there is a law in Sri Lanka which forbids people from kissing a statue of Buddha, then the tourist is indeed breaking the law. And have to face the consequences.

With this incidence, maybe the Sri Lankan government can put up notices on the Dos and Don'ts at temples and holy places. This will avoid any further unnecessary fury in the people of Sri Lanka.

[Q]

Well... it depends, if the pictures they posted was not in any way with the intention to perv the Buddha image, then logically and also based on my sole opinion, it should be fine.

However, when one visits a foreign place, it is after all wise to be more attentive and sensitive towards the local culture and respect that. In this case, being in Sri Lanka and surrounded with conservative people, it should be correct not to do something out of the ordinary such as kissing the Buddha statue.

I do not think the French tourists here are in the wrong, but I do think that they were not careful or sensitive enough towards the local culture that is conservative, therefore the outcome of such ignorance is this.

[Positive Change]

Well well well... at first read, I find the Sri Lankan authorities over reacting... however, there is a point to be made with regards to reverence for a Buddha statue. I do not think there is anything wrong at all with kissing a Buddha statue and I believe this reaction is purely stemming from Sri Lanka being a patriarchy society and that any form of reverence is often misconstrued when coming from a female perspective. I dare say, it probably would not have been a problem would it have been a male kissing the Buddha statue. Discrimination perhaps? I think it is more trying to make a point really... however the Sri Lankan authorities should be careful as Sri Lanka relies heavily on tourism... and this sort of negative press does not help!

[WisdomBeing]

Everyone seems to agree that it is not respectful of the tourists. However liberal I usually am, in this case, I do agree with the majority. It was tactless and simply stupid to have done so. British tourists (and Europeans too of course) are notorious for taking completely inane photos with national monuments and historical statues. See the one I attached.. yes she’s English. So sorry about that, Italy. Actually, luckily for dear Hannah, I don't think the Italians would be upset in the slightest and probably a bit chuffed.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, while I do think that the Sri Lankan government reacting so severely is not going to endear them to foreign tourists, I can safely say that I doubt that there will be any more instances like this of ignorant tourists kissing statues! I hope that this incident has served to tell the world that everyone should respect Buddha statues because of what the statue represents.