The Myanmar Monk Revolution Continues Despite Government Threats

Rangoon, Burma -- Burma’s junta threatened unspecified action against protesting Buddhist monks yesterday as up to 100,000 people marched in the biggest protest seen in a week of ever-expanding demonstrations in the city of Rangoon.

The protests have gone on for 8 days now despite the government threats of violence. Democracy advocate, Aung San Su Kyi has now been moved from her house arrest to a notorious prison in the country. It seems, unlike the protests of 1988, this movement is mostly led by unarmed, non-voilent monks and if the junta opens fire on them the world will come down very hard on them. It could very easily backfire on the government.

The Myanmarese have suffered for a brutal 45 years under the military dictatorship and it appears that they have finally had enough. They are following the courageous, fearless monks who know all about the inevitability of change. The monks are not afraid to put their lives on the line for the good of all Myanmarese. They are not attached to their bodies and that gives one great courage to suffer brutality for a higher cause, liberation. These monks meditate and practice the Dharma to help others and themselves achieve liberation from suffering, and political suffering is a big one.

They can break your arms and legs, they can break up houses but they can never break up the spirit of liberation. They can not break our spirit unless we let them. I wish that I could walk hand in hand with my brothers and sisters in Myanmar. I urge them to stay peaceful and not to engage in violence as that would only give the government an excuse to shoot into the crowds to stop the movement.

The monks know that they have a gentle strength in their devoutly Buddhist country and that they serve as a fearless, united core of peaceful civil disobedience for the average citizens to rally behind. It is like water molecules banding together to form a massive, unstoppable tidal wave that over-whelms anything that gets in it's way. The government might be able to arrest a few of them but not hundreds of thousands of them. They can control the media and some of the protesters but even the most powerful, brutal dictatorship can not stop the inevitability of impermanence. And the impermanence of the military junta in Myanmar has become very clear during this past week. Never underestimate the power of the people when they are united and resolute.

The message is getting out to the world of these brave and inspirational protests, despite the tightly controlled media. We here at the Buddhist blog want to lend our support to all Myanmarese in resisting the massive suffering that has been imposed upon them for generations. We thank-you for your bravery in getting this information out to the rest of the world. Be strong, your hour of liberation is at hand. I urge all people of all religious affiliations and ethnic groups within Myanmar to join the cause. We stand with you and you are in my thoughts ever day. I meditate in unity with you. I hope to one day visit Myanmar and rejoice in your freedom. Let us not forget that we are all interconnected in this world and the suffering in Myanmar is our suffering.

I was heartened to hear on CNN International this morning, that President George W. Bush called for more sanctions on the junta government today at the United Nations. Including sanctions upon the financial backers of the military state. He is also calling for an expanded travel ban on those behind human rights violations. In addition, the American president is calling for increased support for humanitarian groups and pressure on the U.N. to help the Myanmarese reclaim their freedom.

I am going to send off an email to many leaders in the American government to support the growing opposition in Myanmar and I urge you to do the same where ever you are living in this country (America) or elsewhere in the world.

We will over-come suffering in all it's forms.

The Dalai Lama speaks out and offers his support for the Burmese protests:

I extent my support and solidarity with the recent peaceful movement for
democracy in Burma.

I fully support their call for freedom and democracy and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements.

Moreover, I wish to convey my sincere appreciation and admiration to the large number of fellow Buddhists monks for advocating democracy and freedom in Burma.

As a Buddhist monk, I am appealing to the members of the military regime who believe in Buddhism to act in accordance with the sacred dharma in the spirit of compassion and non-violence.

I pray for the success of this peaceful movement and the early release of fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

UPDATE: The junta government has proclaimed a curfew in two cities effective immediately. People of Burma, do not lose hope. The world is with you.

~Peace to all beings~

Myanmar Monks Moblize for Peace

There is a velvet revolution quietly picking up steam in the military dictatorship of Myanmar in Southeast Asia. Some 1,500 Buddhist monks marched 10 miles in the rain through knee deep water in some places to passively protest the actions of the military junta there. They're destination was the famous golden hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda. It has long been a symbol for social and political justice, as well as independence.
(Above: Shwedagon golden pagoda. Source: www.asiatours.net, make sure to credit that website if you use this image).

Their mindful walk gained nearly the same amount of followers along the route and so, just as Gandhi before them these monks are showing the power of peace in creating change. Much like rain the they marched in, water can wear down and eventually break apart the hardest rock, so too will they wear and break down the unjust totalitarian regime.

The military dare not repress and clamp down violently on the monks for they are greatly revered in Myanmar and such a crack down would case a massive revolt from the people. To put it simply, the repressive government is in a tight spot.

The good people of Myanmar are so grateful for the engaged Buddhism of the venerable monks:

"I feel so sorry to see the monks walking in heavy rain and taking such trouble on behalf of the people. I feel so grateful as well," a 50-year-old woman said, tears rolling down her face. Like most onlookers, she asked not to be named for fear of drawing the unwelcome attention of the authorities.

At one point, a young man in white T-shirt and shorts flung himself to the ground, touching his forehead to the feet of a monk in a traditional Buddhist gesture of reverence.

The protests express long pent-up opposition to the repressive regime and have become the most sustained challenge to the junta since a wave of student demonstrations that were forcibly suppressed in December 1996.

The junta's crackdown on the protesters has drawn increasing criticism from world leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Bush. They have called for the government to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for more than 11 of the past 18 years.

James: The day before saw another protest march that swelled with 5,000 people. So far, Fridays march was the 4th in as many days.

The Myanmar monks are an inspiration not only to their downtrodden people but to all people everywhere. They remind us what is possible through peaceful action. They remind us here in America to not be complaisant with our government and our freedoms. If we do not accept that we are interconnected with our government then we risk detaching from the process of maintaining a healthy society. Things can change in a heartbeat and a Democracy is, in a way, a living, breathing organism that needs constant supervision to make sure the leaders don't become too corrupt and backslide on the individual freedoms that help prevent suffering.

This all reminds me of one of my favorite gathas from Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace in Oneself, Peace in the World.

UPDATE: Saturday saw another protest march in Myanmar (Burma). The military junta government has up till now has mostly remained on the side lines of these protests/marches. However, there are reports that the government is looking to infiltrate the monks and stir up unrest so that the military will have "cause" to crackdown on the demonstrators:

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the official name of the military regime of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been accused of formenting violence to break up the countrywide protests led by the country's Sangha.

It has been reported that an Emergency Committee, chaired a senior general has been established to "forment trouble" in protest marches led by monks in various parts of the country.

The plan includes ordering soldiers and policemen to take off their uniforms, shave their heads and dress like monks, infiltrate the peace marches and forment trouble to break them up. The move is to pre-empt condemnation by the international community, which would be the case if the army moves in to forcibly attack the monks.

~Peace to all beings~