Karma and Non-Engagement

Thank you Khin Su Hlaing for your courage to speak out to a former Westerner who was in Myanmar for years as a monk, and is now justifying his non-engagement based on his belief that this is a ripening of karma manifesting in Myanmar.

Khin Su Hlaing, I apologize on behalf of Westerners in Myanmar for what you have had to hear from him, and I assure you that there are many more of us giving everything we have to support you in this struggle for freedom. We will not stop, we will not rest, we will not care for our personal comfort or needs while you and your community, who have given us a spiritual practice, are still unsafe in your homes and being gunned down in the street. Your words need to be heard by the practitioner community at large.

She writes:

"You have been in Myanmar for months, taken care by the Myanmar society with kindness, empathy and sympathy.

Remember... in a trip to Malaysia, you were even given the latest model of Samsung by the generous Burmese donors.

Who collected money among themselves to buy you that because you were looking for a place to have your old mobile fixed? I still remember you were over the moon receiving it. I still remember your grinning face vividly. I myself, together with other girls, prepared meals for you when you were in Italy despite all the inconvenience that we had in a new centre. Wherever you went in our society, you always found a helping hand to fulfill your needs.

Thank you for this pure indifference to us when we are in troubles. Not that we hoped a concrete help from you personally. We know the hard truth that we need to count on ourselves to sort things out at the end of the day, but a show of kindness or empathy would have been enough as a friend.

It's quite funny that you're using the law of karma to justify your indifference.

I don't want to argue with you regarding the essence of Buddhism..... but just for your information , we should be grateful to those who have given us a bite of food. (One of Buddha's teachings..... very simple)

We'll sort things out by ourselves. Once our country is back again to normalcy or even in a better situation, don't come back only then. You will not be welcome because we will remember those who have shown us empathy in times of need, just the same as those who have been indifferent to us, especially those ungrateful ones."