The ‘practice of giving’ or ‘dāna’ is a primary Buddhist principle that advocates giving without any expectation of reward (S.N. 5.24) (anupādāya). Since this is an eminent factor that lays the seed for spiritual development according to Buddhist teachings, Buddhist Social Work (BSW) is primarily based on this principle. The present study focuses on a dilemma that BSW in Sri Lanka has faced due to this philosophical basis which a cult of anti-Buddhists has continually misinterpreted. Severe criticisms against BSW for not being in operation during the Covid-19 pandemic, even though they thrived from public donations before the pandemic, have been leveled at Sri Lankan BSW institutions, primarily Buddhist temples. Conversely, a preliminary study showed that many people across the country had greatly benefitted from BSW during the pandemic. A primary observation of these opposing conditions showed that the above criticisms against BSW are resultant of the lack of publicity given for their social work projects, unlike the Western-rooted Professional Social Work intuitions whose projects are blatant attempts to attract publicity as their survival is entirely based on public attention and donations. Thus, the present research addresses this clash of ideas between the underlying Buddhist principles of not promoting BSW projects versus the general opinion. While investigating BSW carried out from March 2019 to July 2021, focusing on the public affected due to the pandemic threat, this study expects to analyze the public opinion of beneficiaries and antagonistic observers of BSW projects. The research intends to suggest alternatives that BSW should consider in its mission to extend an authentic service to a more significant number of people.
Wanarathana et al. (Mon,) studied this question.