Last Sunday we ran a thought provoking article by Bhikkhu Bodhi who expressed what many will acknowledge as the ultimate truth on "discipline of sobriety.'' He wrote of his personal observation of drunkenness of dayakas who had come to offer alms to the monks at a low country hermitage highly respected for the austere, meditative lifestyle of its occupants. The venerable was most upset by the willingness of those who call themselves Buddhists to violate a basic precept even in the sacred precincts of a monastery.

In his customarily clear and lucid style, Bhikkhu Bodhi remarked on the spreading wave of alcohol consumption has affected not only Sri Lanka but has swept over what he called "much of the shrinking Buddhist world, with Thailand and Japan ranking especially high on the fatality list.'' The reason for that is not hard to figure out. It is a demonstrable fact that alcohol consumption together with other wasteful consumption rise as nations become more prosperous.

The venerable offered varied reasons for what he called "this ominous trend.'' One was rising affluence which for the rich made the flaunting of expensive imported liquor like whisky and brandy a visible symbol of newly acquired wealth and power. Then, of course, there is a growing middle class enchanted with everything westerners do which they try to blindly imitate. There is also poverty which makes the bottle an easy escaper route from the grim face of everyday reality. "But whatever the reason, it is more than our woes and worries that alcohol is dissolving. It is gnawing away at the delicate fabric of Buddhist values on every level - personal, family and social,'' Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote.

He made very clear that many of us who think that a social drink is alright, that as long as we do not drink excessively to the extent that our reasoning becomes foggy and our behaviour objectionable, are not in anyway violating a basic tenet of our religion are wrong as wrong can be. We can do no better than quote the very words of the venerable bhikkhu. "The fifth precept, it should be stressed, is not a pledge merely to abstain from intoxication or from excessive consumption of liquor. It calls for nothing short of total abstinence.'' This, the bhikkhu explained, showed that the Buddha had well understood the pernicious nature of addiction. That, as we said at the beginning of this comment, will be regarded as the ultimate truth by thinking Buddhists.

We say all this in the context of the government's proposed policy on alcohol and tobacco reform that is now taking shape. Predictably, the alcohol industry has already fired the first volleys saying that this policy which is expected to include a price deterrent which is already applicable to tobacco, as well as regulation of the advertising and availability of harmful substances, is well intentioned but impractical. The beer industry which has long blown the trumpet of soft liquor against hard has been particularly vocal. Many of the arguments that have been adduced are both logical and cogent although they do not or cannot in any way assail the bedrock of the first principle that Bhikkhu Bodhi has so simply and convincingly expressed.

Nevertheless, we cannot escape from the realities of the imperfect world in which we live. The worst of the alcohol scourge which has so tightly embraced too many of our people is the illicit liquor industry which according to experts provide as much as 64% of the alcohol that our people drink . Kasippu is everywhere in our towns and villages. It is illegal and not advertised but anybody who wants to drink it knows exactly where he can get it. It has spun an unbelievable web of corruption with politicians and law enforcers enmeshed in its coils. There does not seem to be any possibility, leave alone likelihood, of this menace being wiped out in the medium or even in the long term. Sadly, succeeding administrations have not shown the political will to tackle a problem that keeps on growing.

In November 1995, the government slashed excise duty on beer by 70%, probably with the intention of making soft alcohol more affordable and available and hopefully making a dent on the illicit liquor industry which is not only making consumers ill but also costing the state billions of rupees on uncollected revenue. With the demand for beer rising after it became cheaper and supplies not able to keep pace, investments of around Rs. 2.5 billion were made in two new breweries that have now come on stream. One of these, sadly, produced a high alcohol beer and launched an advertising campaign targeting macho males to drink their beer. Better sense appears to have prevailed and we do not see those ads any more although we do not know whether the high alcohol beer is still available.

The authorities will now have to tread a careful path between the desirable and the attainable. Prohibition has not worked anywhere and will not work in this country. The new policy must be carefully shaped to ensure that the interests of the people are best ensured without further strengthening the hands of bootleggers against that of the legitimate tax paying industry. At the same time our people must be educated about the evils of liquor and the first principle that Bhikkhu Bodhi has very clearly enunciated.