Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

A scholar who studies the virtues that help people sustain relationships across faiths and cultures describes what being a child during the war taught him about practicing pluralism in action.

By: Eranda Jayawickreme, Wake Forest University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 24, 2026

Words: 2,831

Last Updated: 4 months, 1 week ago

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By Eranda Jayawickreme, Wake Forest University

I grew up in Sri Lanka. Much of my adolescence was spent in Kandy, a city built around a lake, set amid the lush tea plantations of the hill country. Its northern shore houses the Temple of the Tooth, one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites. Each year, it came alive with drummers, dancers and elephants parading through the streets in a “perahera,” or procession, honoring the Buddha’s relic.

But …

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