Myanmar Journal: Meditating in Chaos
“I may have touched upon this previously but this time I do so in more detail. It was about 3 weeks ago (difficult to keep track of time) that police and soldiers began to be billeted in our quarter, only 70 or so yards from our home. A day or two after that, the Township General convened a meeting of the Elders of our Quarter… most of which did not show up for. We did learn later that, during the meeting, the General informed those few that did show up, that there was nothing to worry about, as the soldiers and police were our friends! That they were there only to ‘protect’ us, and that we should not be at all afraid to speak with them. You can just imagine our great relief at hearing these words of encouragement!!! (sarcasm)
Not 2 or 3 days later hell broke loose, and it has been continuing every day until now. Night and day, 10 to 15 soldiers force their way into homes to search and arrest NLD supporters, as well as anyone taking part in CDM. Until a couple of days ago, they were largely unsuccessful in arresting anyone, but in some cases they just placed a relative or family member under arrest, who they held as a hostage until the target turned him or herself in. At night they just go through our neighborhood breaking glass with rocks, steel clubs, or slingshots, damaging cars, house fronts and their favorite target, glass… all while taking part in other acts of depravity, along with screaming and shouting as they walk down the road. These are insults which are sometimes hurled back at them which makes them all the more crazy.
But two nights ago was by far worse. Our road was filled with soldiers and police and they just busted up anything they could. At one point they were directly below us while we took cover behind our two feet high balcony wall, and while we were unable to see them, we could certainly hear them. For at least 30 minutes, they remained right there, and the banging and crashes were so loud it sounded as if they were taking apart several cars below us piece by piece! The next day, they tried to remove the steel gates at the apartment next to ours where one of our important contacts was in hiding. Fortunately they never got in and despite orders for residents to open up, no one did so! They finally continued down the road, breaking into another apartment and questioning all of the people in that building. With that finished, they continued down the road terrorizing and busting windows, in one building almost all of the windows where some young infants lived. At another apartment around the corner from us, soldiers hurled a brick through the window of the meditation room with the Buddha image, the shrine area, nearly hitting the owner who was sitting there in meditation practice at the time, during all this chaos.
During the madness, we did uncover an informer who was pointing out with a flashlight where students were in hiding for the soldiers to capture, but they were held off from entering the apartment long enough to get the students out and into the relative safety of a field in back of us.
During the days, the same kinds of things go on all the time, but they do not always curse and swear or throw bricks through the windows. This has one drawback for me personally, because it makes writing all the riskier, not knowing if or when they will show up and if they do, not allowing me the time to sanitize what needs to be. Quite unnerving, and we are now using a second steel gate in front of our wooden door, which should provide me with a few extra minutes should they break in.
A few other last minute notes:
After more than nearly 3 months, electric meter bills are being delivered, and we know of a number of instances where they are just be thrown in the garbage! In another case, someone removed all of the bills from an entire apartment house and destroyed them all! There is additional confusion given that in early February, we changed all the apartment street addresses and apartment numbers up and down the street, making it impossible to know where the bill is actually suppose to go. This has been done in many quarters, and it certainly has made the job of the police and soldiers all the more difficult. If they have the known address of someone they want to arrest, they first need to figure out where the correct address is…. This has worked very well because it often gives enough time for the targets to escape while soldiers are searching the wrong apartment.
On a final note just 5 minutes ago we received word that the doctor we have used for years just a few blocks from us was arrested just a few minutes ago for the crime of assisting CDM people.”
This ongoing thread is being written by a vipassana meditator from the tradition of S.N. Goenka who is currently in Myanmar, who has played a pivotal role in the organization’s mission. For his safety, personal details have been obscured, but he has made it his desire that his observations be read by meditators everywhere. Please note that we are able to ensure donations reach this person as well as the community he is supporting.