Thousands donate hair to fix pagoda road in remote Burma

Telegraph.co.uk

Published: 12:05AM BST 22 Jun 2009

About 30,000 women and more than 100 men from the central city of Mandalay and nearby towns have donated the hair, Kumudra magazine quoted a Buddhist monk as saying.

Some of the locks measured 4 feet in length, said Shin Wayama Nanda, the chief abbot of Mandalay's Naga monastery.

Monks overseeing the upkeep of the remote Alaungdaw Kathapha pagoda will use proceeds from the sale of hair to repair sections of a road and build bridges leading to the popular pilgrimage site, which is said to contain the remains of one of Buddha's disciples.

The hair will be used in wigs or dolls, or it can be sold to traders from China for similar purposes.

The campaign has spread to Yangon, the largest city in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, Popular magazine reported.

Access to the pagoda in the country's northwest is difficult. Some sections of the route can be reached only by foot or on elephant.

"With the money acquired from the sale of hair, sections of the 25-kilometer (15-mile) road (will be repaired) and 15 small and medium-length bridges will be built," Shin Wayama Nanda said.

One span will be called the "Shwe Hsan Nwe bridge," or "Bridge of Golden Tresses".

Instant karma in Myanmar

Asia Times
By Sudha Ramachandran and Swe Win

BANGALORE - The sudden collapse of an ancient temple last month - like most significant events in Myanmar - has been opened to a wide range of arcane interpretation. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper blamed the demise of the 2,300-year-old Danok pagoda on inferior reconstruction. But others saw something much darker in its destruction.

The crumbling of the sacred site came as the ongoing trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was still prominent in international media - earning the famously xenophobic government criticism from around the globe. More important to the superstitious-minded, it came just week's after Daw Kyaing Kyaing - wife of Myanmar's junta supremo, Senior-General Than Shwe - had presided over a reconsecration ceremony at the temple.

Gold-domed Danok pagoda sits just outside Yangon, the former capital. It was damaged during Cyclone Nargis last year and had been recently renovated. The pagoda has collapsed at least three times before, but its recent fall has generated much talk; fingers are pointing to the highest ranks of the ruling government and its first family.

Many in Myanmar interpret that the accident portends the fall of the repressive military regime that has ruled for nearly half a century.

On May 30, the pagoda's bell-shaped stupa collapsed onto its northern prayer hall. Three weeks earlier, Kyaing Kyaing, accompanied by a family entourage and the families of senior military officials, visited the pagoda reopening and placed a jewel-encrusted hti (sacred umbrella), a seinbudaw (diamond orb) and a hngetmyatnadaw (pennant-shaped vane) atop the pagoda during the ceremony.

Highly revered by Myanmar's Buddhists, Danok pagoda is "believed by the local populace to reject donations offered by bad people and to shake in repudiation", Ingrid Jordt, an expert on Myanmar and anthropology professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Asia Times Online in an e-mail interview.

The pagoda didn't just shake this time, it totally caved in. The sacred umbrella fell and the diamond orb donated by Than Shwe's family was lost in the rubble. "The Danok pagoda rejected Than Shwe's offering," a Myanmar exile based in Delhi said.

Jordt says the event is significant. "It says that more inauspicious events are to come. It says that even the devas [good spirits] despise this regime and have removed their protective oversight of sacred places like Danok because of the regime's heavy sins. More importantly, it is a sign that Than Shwe's spiritual potency [based on previous meritorious acts] has been exhausted," wrote Jordt. "It is a sign that he has done so many evil things that he no longer has the ability to make merit any longer." It is seen, Jordt claims, as "a very bad sign for the regime".

A rattled junta responded swiftly. It ordered the media in Yangon not to report the Danok incident. A week later, it blamed the collapse on shoddy renovation work. But discussion, in Myanmar's streets or expatriate blogs, of what the pagoda collapse means is unlikely to be silenced easily.

Within a week of the devastation of Danok, an accident occurred at the Bawdi Ta Htaung monastery in Monywa, 136 kilometers north of Mandalay. Two senior monks who were inspecting a Buddha statue in the monastery - the 130-meter statue is Myanmar's tallest - were injured when the elevator they were in hurtled downwards, crashing into a stairway.

"Two bad incidents within a week of each other and that two in places of religious significance is a bad omen. It could mean trouble for the regime or even a natural catastrophe that will bring suffering to people," the exile said.

Astrological advice
Belief in superstition, numerology, astrology and the occult is deep and widespread in Myanmar. It is well known that the generals are influenced in their decisions by astrology and portents.

General Ne Win, who seized power in 1962, was guided in his decisions by a belief that the number nine was his lucky number. In September 1987, he introduced the 45 kyat and 90 kyat bank notes because they are divisible by nine and their digits add up to nine. An astrologer reportedly told him that he would live for 90 years if he did - he died aged 92. It is said that Ne Win used to walk backwards on bridges to ward off evil.

Than Shwe is also said to believe deeply in astrology and occult. His sudden decision in 2005 to shift Myanmar's capital from Yangon to the jungle redoubt Naypyidaw, meaning "royal palace", was apparently influenced by soothsayers.

Exiles claim he uses occult rituals to ward off bad luck before talks with pro-democracy leaders and foreign envoys. U Gawsita, one of the leading monks in the 2007 Saffron Revolution now living in the US, told Asia Times Online by phone that the regime has long been engaged in what he calls "astrology politics".

Reportedly on the advice of his astrologers, Than Shwe has resorted to a bewildering array of yadaya (rituals performed to avert impending misfortune) to counter any karmic misstep and to sustain his hold on power. He has installed a jade Buddha allegedly resembling his own appearance at the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon. Buddha images donated by Than Shwe and his family have been installed across Myanmar in recent years.

Than Shwe's superstitions seem to have originated in his childhood. According to a relative of Kyaing Kyaing, Than Shwe has a birthmark which the astrologers in his native town interpreted it as the sign of a "future king".

According to the wife of a high-ranking Myanmar diplomat's wife, who declined to be identified, a 70-year-old nun named Dhammasi living in the northern part of Yangon is the principal adviser of Daw Kyaing Kyaing and Than Shwe on arcane matters.

"There was a scurry of visits to that nunnery by Than Shwe's family and former general Khin Nyunt's. The two families were vying with each other to get the most powerful occult advice from the nun," she told Asia Times Online. Khin Nyunt was the former intelligence chief and a highly influential figure in the regime’s top brass before he was deposed and put under house arrest in 2004.

The diplomat's wife said the aging nun is still visited by Than Shwe's wife: "Once we followed [Dhammasi] to upper Burma [Myanmar] in her search for lost Buddha images which she said she saw in her dreams and on the way our car was stuck in the mud. The nun took out her mobile phone which very few Burmese people could use at that time and she made a phone call to someone. Very soon, battalions of soldiers came out in trucks and pulled out our car."

She said soothsayers are often approached by the regime's top brass seeking promotions and to strengthen their positions. Astrologers and practitioners of the arcane often tend to be nuns, astrologers and even some corrupt Buddhist monks, according to a range of Myanmar citizens.

Still, many families in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar consult their favorite astrologers and spiritual advisers for an array of purposes: to successfully go abroad, to get promoted, to control an adulterous spouse, to pass an exam, or to have a successful interview.

Many perform yadayar to offset predictions of negative events. For example, throwing away a slipper means preventing the possibility of jail because the jail and the slipper represent the same planetary significance.

Also, every given name has a planet and some astrological significance. Sometimes, however, this becomes a simple play on words. To defuse tension in the aftermath of the 2007 protests, the government appointed a liaison officer to speak to Suu Kyi named Aung Kyi. "Aung" means success, and the thinking was he would win over "Kyi".

Numerology also plays a significant role in Myanmar. Using astrological calculations based on one's date of birth, numbers and calculations are inscribed on a sheet of metal. That metal is sometimes placed on an altar or a sacred part of a home to bring luck.

Aung San Suu Kyi seems to be a rare exception. According to a Myanmar woman who frequently met Suu Kyi before she was put under house arrest, the Noble Peace Laureate never showed an interest in astrology. Still, whenever people, including her party leaders, handed her papers of astrological advice, she never rejected them out of respect.

Others in Myanmar's opposition movement are hardly so skeptical. The famous jailed student leader Min Ko Naing changed to his current name - meaning "the one who triumphs the king" - from his original name Paw U Tun. U Gambira, a leader of the Saffron Revolution whose new name means "magic", was once called U Samdawbarsa. (The so-called "8888" student uprising of 1988, is also an allegedly auspicious digit.)

Dates in time
Myanmar's military rulers are not the only political leaders influenced by astrology or superstitions. In neighboring India, astrology rules the lives of ordinary people as well as powerful politicos. Tamil Nadu chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi, a self-professed "rationalist" and avowed follower of the iconoclastic Tamil leader "Periyar" E V Ramaswamy Naicker, has never been seen without a yellow shawl on his shoulder for the past 15 years. Many Indian politicians contest elections and file their nominations only after consulting their astrologers.

Former United States president Franklin D Roosevelt had an obsessions with unlucky numbers, specifically avoiding the number 13. Astrologers also reportedly influenced the scheduling of ex-president Ronald Reagan's appointments, including the time when important arms treaties with the Soviets were signed.

Myanmar's junta leaders, closed and paranoid at the best of times, are unlikely to have missed the fact that the pagoda collapsed on May 30, a date of great significance to the country's pro-democracy movement.

It was on that day in 2003 that the Depayin massacre took place. Thugs allegedly in the pay of the junta attacked the Suu Kyi's convoy and killed around 100 of her supporters. "For many in Myanmar, there is a link between Suu Kyi and Than Shwe's fall. The generals are unlikely to have missed the date of the pagoda collapse," said the Myanmar exile in India.

The significance of the pagoda collapse against the backdrop of recent events, specifically the high-profile trial and detention of Suu Kyi, may have made the junta extremely nervous.

According to Jordt, "The generals have in recent weeks enhanced surveillance of tea shops and restaurants in the major cities to ferret out any anti-regime talk. They have created stricter curfews for students in the various university towns. They have locked down the soldier's barracks so that their families cannot leave even to do business in the marketplace. The monks are not allowed to travel easily.

"In short, the regime is bracing for the worst."

Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

Swe Win is a former political prisoner from Myanmar now working as a freelance reporter.

An Ancient Pagoda’s Collapse Turns Myanmar’s Gaze to the Stars

NY Times
June 18, 2009

By SETH MYDANS

BANGKOK — It cannot have pleased Myanmar’s ruling family: the collapse of a 2,300-year-old gold-domed pagoda into a pile of timbers just three weeks after the wife of the junta’s top general helped rededicate it.

There is no country in Asia more superstitious than Myanmar, and the crumbling of the temple was seen widely as something more portentous than shoddy construction work.

The debacle coincides with the junta’s trial of the country’s pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after an American intruder swam across a lake and spent a night at the villa where Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past 19 years.

After two weeks of testimony that began May 18, the trial has been suspended as the court considers procedural motions — and as the junta apparently tries to decide how to manage what seems to have been a major blunder, drawing condemnation from around the world.

The superstitious generals may be consulting astrologers as well as political tacticians for guidance. That would not be unusual for many people in Myanmar, formerly Burma.

Previously, currency denominations and traffic rules have been changed, the nation’s capital has been moved and the timing of events has been selected — even the dates of popular uprisings — with astrological dictates in mind.

“Astrology has as significant a role in policies, leadership and decision making in the feudal Naypyidaw as rational calculations, geopolitics and resource economics,” said Zarni, a Burmese exile analyst and researcher who goes by one name. He was referring to the country’s fortified capital, which opened in 2005.

And so it seemed only natural to read a darker meaning into the temple’s collapse.

The Danok pagoda, on the outskirts of Myanmar’s main city, Yangon, was newly blessed May 7 in the presence of Daw Kyaing Kyaing, the wife of the country’s supreme leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, along with an A-list of junta society. The rite received major coverage in government-controlled media.

In a solemn ceremony, the worshipers fixed a diamond orb to the top of the pagoda along with a pennant-shaped vane and sprinkled scented water onto the tiers of a holy, golden umbrella, according to the government mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar.

Like the rest of the heavily censored press, the newspaper was silent when it all came crashing down.

But word of mouth — and foreign radio broadcasts — spreads fast in Myanmar.

“People were laughing at her,” said a longtime astrologer, reached by telephone in Myanmar, speaking of Mrs. Kyaing Kyaing.

“O.K., she thinks she is so great, but even the gods don’t like her — people believe like that,” the astrologer said on the condition of anonymity because of the danger of speaking to reporters.

“Even the spiritual world will not allow her to do this thing or that thing,” the astrologer said. “People laugh like that.”

The ceremony was part of a decades-old campaign by the senior general to legitimize his military rule on a foundation of Buddhist fealty — dedicating and redecorating temples, attending religious ceremonies and, with his influential wife, making donations to monks and monasteries.

That campaign was undermined, and perhaps fatally discredited, in September 2007 when soldiers beat and shot monks protesting the military rule in the streets, invaded monasteries without removing their boots and imprisoned or disrobed hundreds of monks.

“No matter how many pagodas they build, no matter how much charity they give to monks, it is still they who murdered the monks,” said Josef Silverstein, a Myanmar specialist and professor emeritus at Rutgers University, at the time of the protests.

So when the Danok pagoda suddenly collapsed May 30 as workmen were completing its renovation — killing at least 20 people, according to émigré reports — many people saw it as the latest in a series of bad omens for the junta that included a devastating cyclone early last year.

The pagoda’s sacred umbrella tumbled to the ground, and its diamond orb was lost in the rubble, according to those reports.

“The fact that the umbrella did not stay was a sign that more bad things are to come, according to astrologers,” said Ingrid Jordt, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a specialist in Burmese Buddhism.

“It is also a sign that Than Shwe does not have the spiritual power any longer to be able to undertake or reap the benefit from good acts such as this,” Professor Jordt said in an e-mail message.

“In a sense, the pagoda repudiated Than Shwe’s right to remain ruler.”

As laborers began trying to rebuild the pagoda, local residents gave émigré publications vivid accounts of supernatural happenings.

“The temple collapsed about 3:10 p.m. while I was loading bricks on a platform around the pagoda,” a 24-year-old construction worker told The Irrawaddy, an exile magazine based in Thailand.

“The weather suddenly turned very dark,” he was quoted as saying. “Then we saw a bright red light rising from the northern end of the pagoda. Then, suddenly, the temple collapsed. I also heard a strange haunting voice coming from the direction of the light.”

Indeed, the Danok pagoda may have been a poor choice for the junta’s ruling family to seek religious affirmation.

According to The Irrawaddy, “Several elderly locals from Danok Model Village said that they believed that the pagoda never welcomed cruel or unkind donors, and always shook when such persons made offerings.”

Leading saffron monk's memoir

Leading saffron monk's memoir

Commentary

by U Pyinya Zawta Mizzima

Friday, 02 January 2009 19:30

Burmese monks are known to have played an important role in their nation's politics throughout its history. While they did not partake in mundane political processes, they traditionally held positions of moral authority, and dispensed wisdom and guidance to past kings, rulers and governments in Burma. On some occasions, emissaries from the monasteries were despatched on peace missions to avoid war with foreign powers. Buddhist monks gave council to past monarchs, ranging from the first King Anawrahta of unified Burma in Bagan, to the last King Mindon and his son King Thibaw, guiding them on how to properly conduct themselves as responsible rulers. Burmese monks fulfilled their obligations toward their religion and the people in the past as royal advisers, and most importantly, as the guardians of sacred rights and responsibilities of all citizens. Burmese monks continued to play an important role in national affairs even after Burma fell under British colonialism, in 1886. During the Colonial era, a monk leader U Ottama brought political enlightenment back to Burma and eventually helped lead the nation to independence from Britain. His lectures inspired generations of followers including Ko Aung San who later became the father of Burma's Independence. Another brave and defiant monk, U Wisara, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike in 1929, but still helped reawaken political consciousness in Burma, and with his final words, to "never forget," urged the people to persevere until independence was obtained from Britain. After the 1948 independence, numerous political and social organizations proliferated in Burma. During this period Burmese monks formed the All Burma Young Monks' Union (ABYMU) to continue championing the causes of their people. But after the 1962 military coup, General Ne Win abolished all civil and political organizations in Burma, and the ABYMU was banned in 1964. Even though barred by the military, young Buddhist monks remained at the forefront of political movements from the 1974 U Thant crisis, to the 1975-1976 one hundred years' anniversary of labor unrests in Burma. During the nationwide uprising in 1988 when one government faction after another failed to control the county, monks used their authority to prevent anarchy and chaos and provided sanctuary to the public. After the military took back power through another coup on September 18th, 1988, the All Burma Young Monks' Union was again established, as an Upper Burma branch in Mandalay and as a Lower Burma branch in Rangoon, and monks joined the people's protest against the return of the military dictatorship. In 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) members, student activists, and ordinary citizens made alms donation to the monks marching peacefully on Zay-Cho and 26-B roads in Mandalay, marking the two year anniversary of the '88 uprising. When the army forcibly tried to stop the procession, unrest broke out and many monks were brutally beaten. Since the authorities prevented the monks from alms collection by egregiously violating Buddha's Dharma, two monk leaders, U Raza Dama Bewitha and U Kovida Bewitha of the Upper Burma Young Monks' Union called for a religious boycott dubbed 'Overturning of the Alms Bowl,' against the SLORC government, for the first time. Led by monks from major monastic academic institutions, the Young Monks Union in Rangoon joined the boycott movement, as prescribed under Buddha's Dharma laws, and they affirmed their pledge with obeisance toward the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, on 3 October 1990, the Tha-din-kyut full moon day of Burmese year 1352, at the Ngar Htait Kyi Pagoda pavilion. With prompting from U Ahnt Maung, a high ranking member of the government's religious affairs department, the military junta in panic arrested and sentenced to long prison terms senior monks from renowned monastic academies, members of the Rangoon Young Monks' Union, and monks from other Sangha academies. Tragically Ashin U Arsara from the Thayettaw monastery died in Thayet prison and Ashin U Zaw Tika from the Shwebon Pyint monastery died in Insein prison, both from torture and inhumane conditions. The fates of many other monks taken away by the government during the 1990 boycott protest remain unknown. Finally, after almost two decades since many monks were arrested and imprisoned, the monks' resistance against military oppression in Burma seemed to have all but evaporated. But the Saffron Uprising in 2007 proved that the monks' resolve to defend the future of Burmese Buddhism and their people was growing only stronger, not weaker. Before the leading monks' organization the 'All Burma Monks Alliance' was founded during the Saffron Revolution, many smaller monks' coalitions had already been established. As the first step, the All Burma Young Monks Union organized a central working committee with five leading monks from Rangoon and one from Mandalay, selected from many monks' organizations. At the same time various smaller local monks' organizations were being created, in Pegu, Pye, Magwe, Moulmein, and Arkan areas. The famous leading monk, Ashin U Gambira, who was arrested last year, and six other monks led the formation of the Rangoon Young Monks' Union to represent monks from the Rangoon area. Monks from upper Burma in Mandalay formed the Federation of All Burma Monks' Union and helped organize monks' reading groups, libraries, and literary discussion groups, among other activities. Young Monks' Unions, like Students' Unions, were being formed all over Burma with the sole intention of ending the military dictatorship in Burma. During the mean time, Young Monks' Union members helped other monks' organizations to coordinate, consult and exchange ideas by helping them communicate with each other. When the regime became suspicious at times, new monks and civilians were used as dispatchers. And on occasion, meetings were cancelled in order to evade the junta's relentless assaults. Since 2005, there was a growing realization that a mass movement to overthrow the Burmese dictatorship was becoming inevitable, and many activist groups began expanding their underground movements in anticipation. When the military junta suddenly increased the price of fuel on August 15, 2007, impoverished people in Burma faced an unprecedented level of hardship. When small demonstrations broke out against the severe economic conditions, government thugs' organizations named, Swan Ahh-shin, Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), and riot police were sent in to violently suppress the peaceful protests, and swiftly ended the public outcry. In order to come to the rescue of frightened and battered citizens suffering under severe economic hardships, the monks took it upon themselves to unite all of the monks' unions and to create a larger monks' alliance at a meeting scheduled for September 9, 2007 at a monastery in Mandalay. By September 4 many monks had left their monasteries and were on the way to the meeting. But on September 5 when the Pakokku monks came out to chant the peaceful prayers of the 'Metta Sutta,' - the sutra of loving kindness to radiate the spirit of love to all beings - in sympathy with the suffering public, the local government militia brutally attacked the monks and tied them to electric poles, beat them with rifle butts, and arrested them. News of these actions spread quickly, and the next day unrest broke out and cars were burnt in Pakokku. Burmese monks from all over the country felt compelled to respond to such shocking violence against revered Buddhist monks who were marching peacefully. When the monks gathered on September 9 as previously agreed, the meeting was forced to move to a new location for fear of detection by the authorities. Finally, monks at the meeting unanimously decided to boycott the military if the government failed to comply with the following demands by a given deadline. The monks demanded that the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) 1. Apologize to the Pakokku monks, by midnight of September 17 2. Reduce the prices of fuel oil and basic commodities 3. Unconditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners 4. Hold dialogue with the democratic political opposition representatives in order to begin a national reconciliation process The ensuing united monks' organization was named the 'All Burma Monks' Alliance' (ABMA) and the monks decided to proceed with boycotting the military on September 18, 2007 after the regime failed to meet the demands before the deadline. Members of All Burma Monks' Alliance 1. All Burma Young Monks' Union 2. Federation of All Burma Monks' Union 3. Rangoon Young Monks' Union 4. Sangha Duta Council of Burma The executive founding members of ABMA 1. U Pakada (Pannasara ) 2. U Medhavi 3. U Kheminda 4. U Aww Ba Tha 5. U Tay Za 6. U Gambira The announcement of the above formation of the ABMA was handwritten, photographed, and published via email media sent from a handheld camera, since computer communications were disrupted or unavailable. During the Saffron uprising, generous provisions of food and essential services were donated to the monks by a caring public. There were exemplary unforgettable individuals like one outstanding patron who took diligent care of the monks. On September 18, 2007 the ABMA effectively began the boycott against the SPDC regime, and the event became known as "the Saffron Revolution." The United Nations and the rest of the world were forced to acknowledge the Burmese people's struggle for freedom from brutal military dictatorship. Much of the credit for the Saffron Revolution was since given to famous organizations or people, but the real contribution to the Saffron Revolution was made by the monks and people who genuinely shared the grievances of ordinary citizens, and who took unified and daring actions inside Burma. Many Burmese people were aware of the 2007 Saffron Revolution and people from all over the world had also taken notice and became more interested in Burma, since 'The Golden Uprising' - as it was known in Burmese - eventually brought the UN Secretary General's special envoy, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, to Burma. But the Saffron Revolution did not simply emerge without effort. The Saffron Revolution was born of the leadership of the All Burma Monks' Alliance - ABMA - the joint organization of four original monks' unions and the extraordinary courage of the member monks, and their ability to unite for the sake their people. The uprising took place precisely because of the determined leadership of the All Burma Monks' Alliance (ABMA). The All Burma Monks' Alliance (ABMA) was founded on 9 September 2007. Numerically it lines up as 9-9-9, when 2 and 7 from the year 2007 are added and also when all numbers 9+9+2+7=27 are added, including the sum of 27; 2+7=9. After the thugs hired by the junta government attacked a group of monks marching peacefully in Pakokku, on 5 September 2007, the ABMA made four demands to the Burmese military government, with 17 September 2007 as a deadline to respond. The ABMA announced via local media that if the military failed to accede to its demands, the monks would carry out a boycott against the government officials beginning on 18 September 2007. Numerically digits of the date 09 18 2007 also add up to numeral 9. September 18, 2007 was the 19th anniversary of the military coup and therefore an important date for Burma's generals. It also became a symbolically significant day for the Burmese monks, as the severe moral rebuke by the monks against the army junta, called 'overturning of the alms bowls,' was to begin on that same day. As early as 5:00 AM on 18 September, reporters began calling the ABMA leaders about the monks' boycott against the military. The reporters continued calling every hour on that day, asking whether the monks' boycott -- of refusing alms from military families, effectively denying them important religious merit -- would still be taking place. Early on, while events were still unfolding, it was very difficult to predict the day ahead. But, at that moment it became evident that the honor and esteem of Burmese monks and their religion was terribly at stake. As the gravity of the risk we had taken became clearer, we anxiously continued reassuring the public that conditions were good and that monks were proceeding with a boycott against the Burmese military. Still, we were not able to give a real encouraging answer, yet. Till noon of that day we were not quite sure of the outcome of the decision we had made while we responded to the inquiries about the monks' boycott. The dramatic event of the 18 September 2007 Saffron Revolution was similar to the '8-8-88' uprising in Burma. Even as news media were reporting the rising momentum for countrywide mass protests in 1988, no one dared predict the inevitability of 8-8-88 uprising with confidence. Even at 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. there was still no certainty that the uprising was to take place. Only at 9: a.m. on 8 August 1988, when marchers from labour and student movements joined and advanced together along the promenade could we let out a sigh of relief. In spite of heavy army roadblocks, the Burmese monks had also successfully staged a protest against the SLORC military government for the first time on 3 October 1990, the full moon day of the lunar month Thadingyut, (the end of Buddhist Lent), Burmese year 1352, at Rangoon's Ngar Htait Kyi Pagoda. The most anxious moment on 18 September 2007 was at noon after our daily meal, as we watched the day's events with anticipation and saw nothing unusual. But after that moment many monks began gathering at Thingan-Kyun, Kyaikasan, and Shwedagon pagodas. The authorities moved to close down the monks' quarters at Kyaikasan Pagoda, and monks from the Thingan-Kyun monastery began arriving at the Kyauk-sar-daw historic pagoda of the Magin monastery. The government and its violent militia organizations, the USDA (Union Solidarity and Development Association) and Swan Ah Shin (SAS-force of violence) were sent into pandemonium. Meanwhile, the monks began to arrive and seated themselves with great dignity and grace on the ground of the Kyauksardaw Pagoda. And then there was only utter silence. Until suddenly, when sounds came from the distance, we only listened, listened for the sounds. It was 1:30 PM on 18 September 2007, and the resounding murmurs of the monks' Metta Sutta prayers could now be heard from afar. The monks were praying and chanting to emphasize their rebukes against the military for violating Buddha's teaching. Soon after, the phones began to ring constantly, and the news of monks chanting the Metta Sutta and marching to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon and to other pagodas and monasteries in Taunggote, Pakokku, and Kyaukpadaung began to reach us. Then phone calls from news media started to come in. And it was recorded that the All Burma Monks' Alliance had survived this great day. Followed by more dramatic days…. May freedom come to the people of Burma soon… The writer is the founding member and Foreign Executive Director of the All Burma Monks' Alliance

Sasana Moli sets up 14 global branches

Phanida
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

January 21, 2008- Formed to highlight the brutal suppression of monks by the Burmese military junta in September, Burmese monks worldwide have set up 14 branches of the Sasana Moli International Burmese Monks Organization.

With over 300 members the 14 branches of the Sasana Moli, were formed in various countries including the European countries, Eastern and Western parts of the United States, England, Canada, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.

U Pinya Wuntha, Chairman of the Sasana Moli International Burmese Monks Organization, which was formed on October 27, 2007 in Los Angeles, said the organization would chiefly work to highlight the situation in Burma, where flow of information is under the scrutiny of the authoritarian junta.

"In Burma , people live in the dark and do not have access to information. All they have to listen to is the Junta's propaganda and the international community is also cut-off from what is happening. So, we will serve as a window and tell the world what is going on in Burma," the Chairman said.

U Pinya Wuntha added that the organization was formed on the request of the people following the brutal suppression of the monk-led protests, when hundreds of Buddhist monks in Burma are believed to have disappeared.

According to the Chairman, the organization was formed with the aim to uplift the Buddhist religion, to publish and distribute religious publications, to protect the interests of the religion and to bridge the relationship with other religions and to spread love and peace to all the people in the world.

Army of the Faithful: A Buddhist monk walks a fine line to protest crackdown in Myanmar

Winston-Salem Journal

Sun 20 Jan 2008

Sagaing, Myanmar - In one of his most talked-about lectures, Buddhist monk Ashin Nyanissara tells the legend of a king who ruled more than 2,500 years ago. The king believed that spitting on a hermit brought him good fortune.

At first, it worked like a charm, but before long his realm was annihilated under a rain of fire, spears and knives.

Today’s audiences easily find the hidden message: The assault by Myanmar’s military government on monks leading protests in the fall looks like a modern version of the ancient monarch’s abuse. And they hope that the ruling generals will suffer the same fate.

In the recent crackdown, many monks were beaten and defrocked in prison. Human-rights activists say that several monks were among the 31 people the United Nations says were killed by the government.

It was a traumatic wound to a mainly Buddhist society, one that forced a lot of soul searching among people who practice one of the oldest forms of the religion, which emphasizes critical thought and reasoning over blind faith.

The stern-faced Nyanissara, a 70-year-old monk in owlish glasses and a maroon robe, is able to stare down generals with chests full of medals by stepping carefully through the minefield that makes free speech lethal here.

Shielding himself with allegory, he crisscrosses the country giving lectures that draw on history and legend to remind people that rotten regimes have fallen before. As the generals try to crush the last remnants of resistance, he is cautiously keeping the fire alive.

But he knows it isn’t the first time in 45 years of military rule that the government has attacked monks who challenged its absolute authority. In at least four previous crackdowns, dating to 1965, the military rounded up thousands of monks, killing some, defrocking others, while closing monasteries and seizing property.

Each time, the brutal repression outraged many people, but in the end they felt powerless to do anything about it, the crises passed and the generals continued to oppress with an iron fist.

It’s the nature of any government’s leaders to “strongly test their political power. They don’t want to lose it,” he said in a recent interview at the International Buddhist Academy, which he founded in this riverside town with forested hills that the faithful believe Buddha walked on his path to enlightenment. “But in any faith, when politics and religion come into competition, religious leaders always defeat anything. Religion is the leader. Jesus Christ was killed, but which was more powerful? Religion or politics?”

The institute sits in a valley beneath the Sagaing Hills, where hundreds of golden spires, called “stupas,” rise like spiritual beacons from monasteries and pagodas that dot the hillsides, 12 miles southwest of Mandalay.

The first monks to demonstrate against the government last year took to the streets in Pakokku, 60 miles southwest of Sagaing.

Still trapped in the latest cycle of political turmoil, many of Myanmar’s people are looking to Nyanissara for more than spiritual guidance.

At midday recently, he had just returned from speaking to hundreds of the faithful in a village pagoda and was hurrying to leave for an afternoon lecture, a daily routine that keeps him on the move to meet the demand for his wisdom.

Barefoot in a corridor of the university where student monks and nuns are trained for missionary work, Nyanissara ran a disposable razor over his tonsured head and down across his face and neck, removing the faintest midday stubble as he spoke.

Then, flanked by young aides and walking as straight and sure-footed as a man half his age, Nyanissara got into his black sport utility vehicle, which sped on a 110-mile journey to his next stop.

He draws large, rapt audiences wherever he goes, whether they are poor villagers crowded into small monasteries or city residents sitting in orderly rows on a side street.

On a recent night, a few thousand people filled a street in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, sitting quietly as they waited for Nyanissara to arrive.

When he emerged from his SUV, people bowed their heads to the ground as he made his way to a stage, where he sat cross-legged on a gilded chair as big as a throne.

In large public gatherings such as these, when the generals’ spies lurk in the audience and listen for any hint of trouble, his lectures often are built around the same lesson: Cruel rulers create bad karma. And they will suffer for what they have done.

That’s a moral not easily shrugged off by a government whose leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, is intensely superstitious: He consults astrologers to make important decisions.

The ruling generals also churn out propaganda images portraying themselves as devoted Buddhists, receiving the blessing of sympathetic monks. If their faith is true, they know their actions will determine their next life in reincarnation’s endless cycle of death and rebirth.

“They have to be afraid they’ll be coming back as cockroaches,” wisecracked one Western envoy.

Several of Nyanissara’s lectures have been burned onto DVDs, with titles including “Last Days of Empire.” The generals have arrested people caught selling them, but they are still widely available across Myanmar, also known as Burma.

To most people here, the pain of seeing monks beaten up in the streets is more than just an insult to religious faith. To many, it’s as if the military had harmed their own family, and the anger does not ease quickly.

Almost any Buddhist with a son has watched with pride as his head is shaved to make him a novice monk in an initiation ceremony called shin-pyu, a moment as life-defining as a baptism, christening or bar mitzvah.

It is a religious duty for Buddhist boys to become novice monks from 7, and most in Myanmar answer the calling, Nyanissara said.

Nyanissara said that the region surrounding Sagaing is now home to one out of every 10 of Myanmar’s 400,000 monks, robed legions that listen carefully to his lectures to see the right path ahead.

“It’s a very big army,” Nyanissara said, and he laughed a little. But he wasn’t smiling.

Monks want Suu Kyi and junta to meet

Bangkok Post
Jan 16, 2008
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT

Burmese monks living abroad yesterday called on international leaders to back their demand for an immediate meeting between Burma's military junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They said the United Nations-led reconciliation effort was too slow in its efforts to bring about such a desired meeting.

''We cannot just keep hoping for a dialogue between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi to bear fruit and just wait for the slow process led by the UN to shed some results,'' Uttara, a member of the International Burmese Monks Organisation, said in Bangkok.

Change in Burma could not wait for the UN process, which was hampered by bureaucracy and diplomatic manoeuvring.

''Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy for Burma, has to wait for visa approval before entering Burma,'' Uttara said. ''To get any desirable and quick result out of the Security Council, member countries have to agree with one another, which is not easy.

''The chance has come to us and we have to accept our role to bring peace to Burma.''

Uttara, who is based in London, and Pannya Vamsa, from Penang, are on a global tour, which includes Indonesia, Japan, India, Europe and the United States to garner support for their mission.

They helped set up the International Burmese Monks Organisation in Los Angeles in October after monks in Burma were killed in street protests last year.

The two monks are setting up a chapter in Thailand this week after meeting several monks who fled Burma during the bloody crackdown and are now living in exile in Thailand.

Pannya Vamsa, 80, said support from neighbouring countries was vital if democracy was to be restored in his country.

Uttara, 58, expressed concern for the safety of monks and nuns, saying he had learned over 2,000 of them went missing during the junta's suppression drive. The figures could not be confirmed because of the difficulty in accessing the monasteries. He said there were only a few dozen monks still in temples there.

ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္းသံဃာေတာ္မ်ား ကုလသမဂၢႏွင့္ ႏိုင္ငံေခါင္းေဆာင္မ်ားကို ပန္ၾကား

Irrawaddy
ကိုသက္ | ဇန္နဝါရီ ၁၅၊ ၂၀၀၈

ကမာၻ႔ကုလသမဂၢႏွင့္ ႏိုင္ငံတကာေခါင္းေဆာင္မ်ားအား ျမန္မာ့အေရးကို ဝိုင္းဝန္းကူညီၾကရန္ မေကြးတိုင္း ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္းၿမိဳ႕ရွိ သံဃာ့သမဂၢီတပ္ေပါင္းစုက ပန္ၾကားလႊာတေစာင္ ထုတ္ျပန္လိုက္သည္။

အဆိုပါပန္ၾကားလႊာကို ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္း သံဃာ့သမဂၢီတပ္ေပါင္းစုက ယခုလ ၁၂ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ ထုတ္ျပန္ထားၿပီး သာသနာေတာ္ကို ေစာင့္ေရွာက္ေနၾကသည့္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ ဘုန္းေတာ္ႀကီးမ်ားအား ဖမ္းဆီး ႏွိပ္စက္ျခင္း၊ ရဲဘက္စခန္းမ်ားသို႔ပို႔ျခင္း အတင္းအဓမၼလူဝတ္လဲျခင္း၊ စာသင္တိုက္မ်ားကို ခ်ိတ္ပိတ္ျခင္း၊ တရားပြဲမ်ားကို ပိတ္ပင္ျခင္းႏွင့္ တရားေခြမ်ား ျဖန္႔ေ၀ခြင့္ပိတ္ပင္ျခင္း အစရွိသည့္ စစ္အစိုးရ၏လုပ္ရပ္မ်ားသည္ ဗုဒၶသာသနာကို ဖ်က္ဆီးေနျခင္းျဖစ္သည္ဟု ၎တို႔ကယံုၾကည္ေၾကာင္း ေရးသားထားသည္။

အဆိုပါပန္ၾကားလႊာကို ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္းၿမိဳ႕ေပၚစာသင္တိုက္မ်ားႏွင့္ ဘုန္းေတာ္ႀကီးေက်ာင္းမ်ားရွိ သံဃာမ်ား ညွိႏိႈင္းကာ ထုတ္ျပန္ျခင္းျဖစ္သည္ဟု ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္း သံဃာ့သမဂၢီတပ္ေပါင္းစု၏ သံဃာတပါးက ဧရာ၀တီကို ေျပာသည္။

“အေျခအေနက ဘာမွလုပ္လို႔မရေသးေပမယ့္ တခုခုလုပ္ခ်င္တဲ့ သံဃာေတြရွိေနတယ္။ စိတ္ဆႏၵေတြ ရွိေနေသးတယ္ဆိုတာ ျပခ်င္လို႔ ကုလသမဂၢနဲ႔ ႏိုင္ငံေခါင္းေဆာင္ေတြကို စာထုတ္ေတာင္းဆိုထားတာ။ ေလာေလာဆယ္ေတာ့ သံဃာေတြအားလံုးက အေျခအေနကိုေစာင့္ၾကည့္ေနၾကတယ္” ဟု ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္း သံဃာ့သမဂၢီတပ္ေပါင္းစု၏ သံဃာက ေျပာသည္။

ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္းရွိ သံဃာမ်ားသည္ နအဖ စက္တင္ဘာလ ၁၈ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ စစ္အစိုးရအား ပတၱနိကၠဳဇၨနကံ ေဆာင္ခဲ့ၾကၿပီး ယခုအခ်ိန္အထိ ကံေဆာင္ထားဆဲျဖစ္သည္ဟုလည္း ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္း သံဃာ့သမဂၢီ တပ္ေပါင္းစု သံဃာက ေျပာသည္။

စက္တင္ဘာလ ၅ ရက္ေန႔က မေကြးတိုင္း ပခုကၠဴၿမိဳ႕ရွိ သံဃာအပါး ၅၀၀ ခန္႔ ေမတၱာပို႔လမ္းေလွ်ာက္ရာ အာဏာပိုင္တို႔က အၾကမ္းဖက္ၿဖိဳခြဲေသာေၾကာင့္ ယင္းလ ၁၈ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ ႏိုင္ငံအဝန္းရွိ သံဃာေတာ္မ်ားက စစ္အစိုးရအား ပတၱနိကၠဳဇၨနကံေဆာင္ သပိတ္ေမွာက္ခဲ့ၾကသည္။

ေက်ာက္ပန္းေတာင္းၿမိဳ႕တြင္ စစ္အစိုးရကျပဳလုပ္ေပးသည့္ သံဃာစာေမးပြဲကို ယခုႏွစ္၀င္ေရာက္ေျဖဆိုမည့္ သံဃာဦးေရလည္း ထက္၀က္ေက်ာ္ ေလ်ာ့က်သြားေၾကာင္း စံုစမ္းသိရွိရသည္။

Monk’s words stir the spirit of Myanmar’s resistance

Los Angeles Times
Paul Watson
Mon 14 Jan 2008

Cloaked in allegory and drawing on history, his lectures give Buddhists hope after a bloody crackdown by generals.

Sagaing, Myanmar — In one of his most talked-about lectures, Buddhist monk Ashin Nyanissara tells the legend of a king who ruled more than 2,500 years ago. The king believed that spitting on a hermit brought him good fortune.

At first, it worked like a charm, but before long his realm was annihilated under a rain of fire, spears and knives.

Today’s audiences easily find the hidden message: The assault by Myanmar’s military government on monks leading protests last fall looks like a modern version of the ancient monarch’s abuse. And they hope the ruling generals will suffer the same fate.

In the recent crackdown, many monks were beaten and defrocked in prison. Human rights activists say several monks were among the 31 people the United Nations says were killed by the government.

It was a traumatic wound to a mainly Buddhist society, one that forced a lot of soul searching among people who practice one of the oldest forms of the religion, which emphasizes critical thought and reasoning over blind faith.

The stern-faced Nyanissara, a 70-year-old monk in owlish glasses and a maroon robe, is able to stare down generals with chests full of medals by stepping carefully through the minefield that makes free speech lethal here.

Shielding himself with allegory, he crisscrosses the country giving lectures that draw on history and legend to remind people that rotten regimes have fallen before. As the generals try to crush the last remnants of resistance, he is cautiously keeping the fire alive.

But he knows it isn’t the first time in 45 years of military rule that the government has attacked monks who challenged its absolute authority. In at least four previous crackdowns, dating back to 1965, the military rounded up thousands of monks, killing some, defrocking others, while closing monasteries and seizing property.

Each time, the brutal repression outraged many people, but in the end they felt powerless to do anything about it, the crises passed, and the generals continued to oppress with an iron fist.

It’s the nature of any government’s leaders to “strongly test their political power. They don’t want to lose it,” he said in a recent interview at the International Buddhist Academy, which he founded in this riverside town whose forested hills the faithful believe Buddha walked on his path to enlightenment.

“But in any faith, when politics and religion come into competition, religious leaders always defeat anything. Religion is the leader. Jesus Christ was killed, but which was more powerful? Religion or politics?”

The institute sits in a valley beneath the Sagaing Hills, where hundreds of golden spires, called stupas, rise like spiritual beacons from monasteries and pagodas that dot the hillsides, 12 miles southwest of Mandalay.

The first monks to demonstrate against the government last year took to the streets in Pakokku, 60 miles southwest of Sagaing.

Still trapped in the latest cycle of political turmoil, many of Myanmar’s people are looking to Nyanissara for more than spiritual guidance.

At midday recently, he had just returned from addressing hundreds of the faithful in a village pagoda and was hurrying to leave for an afternoon lecture, a daily routine that keeps him constantly on the move to meet the demand for his wisdom.

Barefoot in a corridor of the university where student monks and nuns are trained for missionary work, the monk ran a disposable razor over his tonsured head and down across his face and neck, removing the faintest midday stubble as he spoke.

Then, flanked by young aides and walking as straight and sure-footed as a man half his age, the monk got into his black sport utility vehicle, which sped on a 110-mile journey to his next stop.

Nyanissara draws large, rapt audiences wherever he goes, whether they are poor villagers crowded into small monasteries or city residents sitting in orderly rows on a side street.

On a recent night, a few thousand people filled a street in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, sitting quietly as they waited for the monk to arrive.

When he emerged from his SUV, people bowed their heads to the ground as he made his way to a stage, where he sat cross-legged on a gilded chair as big as a throne.

In large public gatherings such as these, when the generals’ spies lurk in the audience and listen for any hint of trouble, his lectures are often built around the same lesson: Cruel rulers create bad karma. And they will suffer for what they have done.

That’s a moral not easily shrugged off by a government whose leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, is intensely superstitious: He consults astrologers to make important decisions.

The ruling generals also churn out propaganda images portraying themselves as devoted Buddhists, receiving the blessing of sympathetic monks. If their faith is true, they know their actions will determine their next life in reincarnation’s endless cycle of death and rebirth.

“They have to be afraid they’ll be coming back as cockroaches,” wisecracked one Western envoy.

Several of Nyanissara’s lectures have been burned onto DVDs, with titles such as “Last Days of Empire.” The generals have arrested people caught selling them, but they are still widely available across Myanmar, also known as Burma.

“The DVDs are very popular,” the Western diplomat said. “A lot of people have mentioned watching them, or knowing of them.”

To most people here, the pain of seeing monks beaten up in the streets is more than just an insult to religious faith. To many, it’s as if the military had harmed their own family, and the anger does not ease quickly.

Almost any Buddhist with a son has watched with pride as his head is shaved to make him a novice monk in an initiation ceremony called shin-pyu, a moment as life-defining as a baptism, christening or bar mitzvah.

It is a religious duty for Buddhist boys to become novice monks from age 7, and most in Myanmar answer the calling, Nyanissara said.

Just as Buddha left his own family to seek enlightenment, they live in a monastery for a few weeks, during which they are allowed to have only eight possessions: a robe, a belt, footwear, a razor, an umbrella, a glass for water, a begging bowl and a filter to make sure no living thing slips into their food to be eaten.

“They learn morality and how to pay respect to their elders, and Buddhist monks too,” said U Kondala, abbot of a monastery with a library of 16th century copies of Buddha’s laws and philosophy, handwritten on palm fronds folded like Chinese fans. “After understanding the ways of the Buddha, they are more polite and clever, and consider the welfare of other people.”

Novices return to normal life with a profound respect for monks who were their teachers. When thousands joined protest marches last fall, their chants gave comfort to people who had known them since childhood.

“All of the monks who came out of the monasteries into the streets only recited verses from the teachings of the Buddha,” Kondala said. “The people are suffering, they are getting poorer and poorer, so the monks wanted to protect them against any danger.”

Nyanissara said the region surrounding Sagaing is now home to one out of every 10 of Myanmar’s 400,000 monks, robed legions that listen carefully to his lectures to see the right path ahead.

“It’s a very big army,” the monk said, and he laughed a little. But he wasn’t smiling