The Jewel of the Sagaing Hills

Millions are protesting non-violently across Myanmar every day... and the Sagaing Hills are no exception.

The Sagaing Hills are a very special place, a network of hidden monasteries and remote caves where spiritual seekers have sought refuge and worked towards full spiritual liberation for centuries. When monks tired of the city monasteries and burned out of endless years of study, they escaped here to practice intensively, and some have suggested that the current vipassana movement may have its roots somewhere here.

The area has been transformed in the past couple decades by the arrival of Sitagu Sayadaw, who has built a series of monasteries and meditation centers, and more importantly, supplied drinking water to hundreds of villages and monastics, as well as education, health care, and more. In other words, he has eased the lives of countless communities while also supporting the proliferation of the Sasana.

Now, the moral authority of Sitagu Sayadaw is needed more than ever, and we hope his voice can rise up to protect the lives of so many good-hearted people who are walking past this campus now every day. May they be safe, may they be protected, may their lives not be taken from them.

While monks are not meant to lead protest movements or influence policy— after all, they have effected a profound decision to renounce from the world— it does not mean that they are unable to be a force for good outside their monastery walls. In the first week after the coup, both Masoeyin Monastery as well as Maha Gandayone, two revered monastic education sites with a special history— issued statements calling on a return to the leaders elected by the people, while Sayadaw U Kovida gave a special Dhamma talk from a monastic perspective. There are many more such examples beyond these highlighted ones.

By showing this way forward, we greatly hope that those monks with the highest standing may consider using their moral authority to protect the people who have supported them for so many years. Sadly, this is not always the case, as seen with Kovida Vasipake.

Similarly, it was dismaying to hear about a recent statement made by Ashin Devinda, who has an Abhivamsa degree, from Saddhamma Vedagu Monastery, also in the Sagaing Hills. A student of Sitagu Sayadaw, U Devinda issued a signed statement that the largest incense stick maker Kan Pwint became rich not because of collaboration with the Tatmadaw but due to millions of dollars donated to Buddhism. Kan Pwint is currently suffering as being a target of a boycott and so seems hoping to reverse its image by having a monastic speak to their benefit.

We beseech you, oh reverend monastics on the spiritual path, never before have your words, your wisdom, and your metta been so vital as now.