News agencies recently circulated reports of an incident involving French tourists on the island of Sri Lanka. This fabulously beautiful place, which many travelers call paradise on Earth, attracts a lot of tourists from different countries. Amazing, lush tropical nature, warm climate, many interesting sights. But, as it turned out, even such a fabulous place has its own tricks.
Three French tourists - two women and a man - enjoyed the beautiful views of the island, taking pictures in front of them. It would seem the most common and natural behavior! And since the dominant religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism, then there are statues of Buddha literally at every step. Having visited the city of Kandy in the central part of the island, the French saw a beautiful statue of a deity and decided to take a photo next to it. First, the man sat down near the statue, repeating the pose of the stone god, and then one of the women kissed the Buddha on the lips.
From the point of view of Europeans, tourists did nothing reprehensible and criminal. In the worst case, their act could be regarded as frivolous, nothing more. However, the residents of Sri Lanka had a different opinion on this matter. The owner of a photo studio located in another city of Galle, where tourists wanted to print their pictures, saw this as an insult to the deity and immediately complained to the police. The fact is that such actions in relation to the image of Buddha, according to local laws, are considered as sacrilege! And this is a criminal offense. The perplexed tourists were detained by the police.
Of course, the French did not want to offend the religious feelings of the locals. Most likely, they simply did not hear about such a law. But, as they say, ignorance of the law does not absolve one from responsibility for its violation. The French still got off easy, although sacrilege is considered a serious crime in Sri Lanka, the court treated them very leniently, sentencing them to six months of probation. In addition, unlucky tourists must pay a small, purely symbolic fine. The French escaped deportation from Sri Lanka and were allowed to continue their journey around the island. However, in the event of any further offense on their part, the suspended sentence will become real.
Of course, this story may seem absurd. Well, what damage did the Buddha statue suffer from the kiss on the lips? Nevertheless, for a long time there has been a saying: "They do not go to a strange monastery with their own charter." To avoid falling into such an absurd and unpleasant situation, before traveling to a foreign country, you need to inquire about it, find out its laws, customs and traditions, what actions are considered unacceptable there.
