Fake monks: Abettors of murder

Fake monks are among those who are publicly abetting the Myanmar army that is committing murder almost every day. 

On 27 March near the Mandalay Palace moat, a group of fake monks performed welcoming actions to the evil army by sprinkling water on the soldiers with thabyay leaves. Ven. Issariya, a famous writer whose pen name is Min Thone Nya, said that such an action by monks who are supposed to be sons of the Buddha is a clear aberration from the holy teachings in that it gives encouragement to soldiers who are killing their own countrymen.

“It is obviously Adhamma (opposite to the Buddha’s teachings) to welcome the evil army while knowing they have committed acts of violence against the people who are their benefactors. The Buddha does not allow this type of action,” he wrote. 

One of the 227 precepts that all monks must follow forbids monks from going to parade grounds, battlefields, or anywhere where the military operations are conducted. Because the soldiers are violating one of the most basic of the monastic rules and one of the five ethical precepts--’not to kill any living being’--he wrote that, “These inhumane ones are neither monk nor human. In fact, they are demons.” The Buddha taught monks and lay followers not even to mentally wish another being to be harmed or killed. This is one of the factors that defines ‘killing,’ whether it is carried out in bodily action by oneself or encouraged by another, which includes praise for or encouragement of the act in thought or speech.

“Encouraging something that is Adhamma has the same meaning of willing or agreeing with the killing of others. It means encouraging them to kill their own benefactors,” the Sayadaw wrote. In the Buddha’s teachings, monks must send Metta (loving kindness) to their lay supporters before eating alms-food received from lay supporters, and hence the latter are the benefactors of the former in terms of worldly affairs while the former are the benefactors of the latter for religious purposes. 

After last year’s coup, over 1,719 citizens were killed by the soldiers of the Myanmar army according to the data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners as of March 29. And according to Data for Myanmar, as of the second week of March, 8,000 homes had been burned or otherwise destroyed.

Worse, there is no sign that the Tatmadaw will stop these brutal murders and burning of homes. In a speech on March 27 (Tatmadaw Day), the junta chief said that “crack-down operations will be continued and conducted” against the People’s Defense Forces. Min Thone Nya called the junta chief a “war demon” for these brutal actions. 

The Buddhist “Tenfold Code for Ruler,” also known as the “Ten Ethics of Kingship,” states that “no harm should be visited on the people mentally or bodily” and that rulers should “not go against the people of the nation.” The Sayadaw said that the junta leader is also going against this code. 

Nevertheless, the junta is continuing to oppress the opposition, mainly local people’s defense forces from different areas around the country, and particularly those in Sagaing, Magway, Chin, Kachin, Karen and Kayah. There are now more than 340 PDF groups fighting the military across the nation. There were 3,000 encounters between these groups and the military, and between EAOs and the military in the year since the coup.

As the military is attacked by different forces from different directions, the junta is trying to hold onto power, such as by organizing armed groups called Pyu-saw-htee made up of pro-military people and the members of Mabatha association of nationalistic monks to attack the PDFs. Min Thone Nya said these monks who are supporting the military “are truly brutal demons for taking military training to kill their own benefactors.” A junta spokesperson confirmed that the military will accelerate its use of these groups, which it calls Pyithusit, or ‘people’s force’. [Please note, this name is different from ‘people’s defense force’.]

In addition, due to its military losses, the junta is planning to pass a law that will allow the police to attack PDFs as well.