In Sri Lanka, a new kind of landmark is captivating the people- statues of Buddhas standing untouched amidst debris and rubble left behind by the recent tsunami. Some see the phenomena as a warning.

“The people are not living according to religious virtues,” said Sumana, a Buddhist monk in an interview with the Associated Press (AP). “Nature has given them some punishment because they are not following the path of the Lord Buddha. The people have to learn their lesson.”

Sri Lanka is about 70 percent Buddhist with large concentrations of Christians, Hindus and Muslims as well.
An eye-witness to the tsunami, Sumana says unseen powers protected a nearby statue of Buddha, which sat near a bridge at the edge of this southern Sri Lankan town’s bus terminal, where massive tidal waves swallowed up bystanders and shoppers, and swept cars and buses into buildings. The windowpanes of the glass case surrounding the statue shattered, but the foundation held firm in the torrent of water.

The destructive path of the tsunami in Sri Lanka killed over 30,000 people and left hotels, homes, and buildings in complete shambles. No Buddha statues were reported as being broken, cracked or destroyed during the onslaught of the massive tidal wave.

A Sri Lanka identified only as Harsha commented, “People don’t think of it as just a catastrophe, but rather that the Gods are telling them that they need to improve their behavior.” He added, “People in Sri Lanka are becoming better people since the tsunamis.”

One school was completely destroyed by the tidal waves, but the Buddha statue at the school remained untouched and in its exact location after the storm.

A televised broadcast in Sri Lanka of a locally famous monk said that the tsunamis were arranged, and a person will save them and teach them how to be good people which will be required in the new future world.

In other regions, the Associated Press reported that religious icons weren’t spared when the earthquake-spawned tsunamis hit the coasts of more than a dozen countries on Dec. 26.

In southern India, a 100-year old Hindu temple in Kerala state vanished into the sea and a temple in another part of the state collapsed, killing dozens of devotees who had come to perform prayers.

Content from the Associated Press was used in this story