August 27-- Some people are abusing the Buddhist flag which is one of the most respected flags in the world. Therefore, the use of Buddhist flags for Dansals were prohibited during the last Vesak season and replaced with a yellow flag, Buddhist Affairs Commissioner General Chandraprema Gamage said.
This prohibition was put in place to reduce the misuse of the Buddhist flag, the Commissioner General said. It is no secret that some people used their company names and included the Buddhist flag for advertising with phrases and logos.
Distorting the real nature of the flag by adding various unscrupulous elements is intolerable. Organizations using the Buddhist flag should do so without doing any modifications to the flag. The is a direct abuse to the Buddhist flag and would be a bad example for the future generations Commissioner Gamage added.
The Buddhist Flag, is a symbol of faith and peace used throughout the world to represent the Buddhist faith. According to international standards and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the original design's colours include blue (nila), yellow (pita), red (lohita), white (odata), scarlet (manjestha), and a mixture of these six colours (prabaswara) of the flag representing the colours of the aura that emanated from the body of The Buddha when he attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, he said.
Any alteration of the flag will directly affect the main rational behind the flag. The Commissioner General pointed out that it is a responsibility of the whole nation to uphold the true meaning of the Buddhist flag and protect it for another 2,500 years, Gamage said.