Young Sri Lankan, not afraid of Buddhist radicals, will become Christian
Colombo (AsiaNews) - "I will not change my Christian faith, for any reason. My Buddhist friends are not happy for me to convert, but everyone has the right and the freedom to live as he wants," said Buddhika Nuwan Kumara, 24, a former Buddhist, who spoke to AsiaNews about his decision to convert and embrace Christianity.
The young man is the eldest of two children born into a mixed family: his father is Buddhist and his mother is Catholic. All family members live this diversity in a peaceful way. Both children were raised as Buddhist. Everything changed a little over a year ago, when Buddhika met Manaasha Anjali, a 21-year-old Christian woman, at a wedding.
"We dated for four months," the young man recalls, "and when we realised we were in love and wanted to marry, we introduced ourselves to our respective families. Our parents had no objections and with their blessings, our love affair has blossomed. "
As the relationship developed, Buddhika begun to take a closer look at Christianity.
"I had my mother's example," he explained. "She always took care of me and my brother in a different way from my father. I have found those same values in Manaasha's family. She is very pious. Whenever we have to eat, I see her bless the food on our plate. When we go out, she'd say a prayer for both of us. And when we have to take our leave, she always says, 'God bless you.' She lives a beautiful and deep faith, and this struck me from the beginning. "
Buddhika decided to embrace Christianity. Three months ago, he began catechesis for adults with Sister Ruth Vas, from the Congregation of the Good Shepherd.
"I have not been taking lessons for long and I feel I need more time. Christianity is not any subject matter. It is faith and needs to be developed. There is time for our wedding. First, I want to nurture my faith in God and Christ." The couple plans to wed in January 2014.
Although he has not encountered any opposition to his conversion in his family, he cannot say the same about his Buddhist friends, partly because of a climate of intolerance fuelled by radical groups like the Buddhist Bodu Bala Sena.
"Some have tried to make me give up," Buddhika said. "Others have directly asked me not to convert. But I told them that I have the right to make my own decisions in my life, also because my conversion does not cause them any harm. It will never change my decision to become a Christian."
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