Triumph of Spirit: Burma’s Saffron Revolution

by Ashin Nayaka

The religious order of monks has been the face of Burma since Buddhism was introduced to the nation over a thousand years ago, and its influence can be seen everywhere, from the hillsides dotted with pagodas, the monks in their saffron yellow robes, and the monasteries in almost every village that shape the character of the villagers and their institutions.

In recent weeks Burma has gained unfortunate prominence in the headlines, due to the savage and on-going retaliation of its armed soldiers and police against a non-violent populace. In the silent, non-violent public protests, initiated by Burma's revered monastic sanghas and joined by increasing numbers of chanting lay Buddhists, a spiritual philosophy rooted in compassion and non-violence assumed the unexpected dimensions of defiance and recalcitrance that posed a challenge to the hegemony of the armed adversary.

The junta, which seized power in 1988, has ruled with an iron fist, controlling communication and censoring the flow of information with the outside world. In glowing testament to the immediacy of today's information technology, the regime-sanctioned attacks on crowds of saffron-robed monks circled the globe via the Internet and pictures from cell phones, provoking a horrified outcry from the international community and Buddhism organizations around the world.

The Burmese regime responded with a massive crackdown: Electricity, water and telephone lines were cut off, and monasteries were surrounded by armed troops, so that monks, whose symbol of dissent was the over-turning of their alms bowls, were now trapped and prevented from going on their daily alms rounds.

The terror continues to escalate throughout Burma, with midnight raids by security forces and the desecration of monasteries. Monks have been taken to undisclosed locations, and further reports indicate that about one hundred sixty- to eighty-year old monks have been arrested and beated by security forces.

Foreign journalists working undercover around the country have estimated the number of detainees to be between 6000 and 10,000, with fatalities in the hundreds and wounded demonstrators being buried alive in mass graves. There are confirmed reports of bodies washing ashore in the Nga Moe Yeit waterway near Rangoon. An eyewitness report on 5
October counted three corpses found under Kamakyi Bridge between Thakeyta and Thuwanna in Rangoon. Thanks to these journalists and the brave Burmese who risk their own lives to meet with them, dozens of videos and cell phone photos continue to reach the outside world.

In the meantime, the United Nations Security Council and member nations grapple to resolve yet another brutal crime against humanity. What sets Burma's civil war apart - and, no doubt, confuses conventional political thinking - is that the saffron revolution is not a power struggle, but a conflict between peace and moral freedom on one side and the forces of political repression on the other.

For a monk to be involved in politics or to hold a political post is contrary to the ethical code of Theravada Buddhism. Theravada philosophy embodies the concept of non-violent revolution and moral code, which is called Pattanikujjana, literally meaning "holding onto truth, self-reliance and self-motivation". While politically sanctioned atrocities reverberate from every part of the world, for Burma the inevitable conflict is between spiritual authority and military tyranny. Ultimately, Burma's future must be determined by faith and courage: the triumph of the spirit that is the golden saffron revolution.

Ashin Nayaka is a Burmese monk currently a visiting scholar in Columbia University