An Operation

The patient: "I must resist the dictator. I must resist!"

General: "He's conscious now... give him some opium."

Monk: "The medicine of the Lord Buddha, the medicine of Dhamma, the medicine of Sangha: Every occurrence has its own cause. Stay quiet."

Calling on Karl Marx's famous comment that religion is the opium of the masses, here JMP demonstrates how nationalist monks have been utilized by those in the military to manipulate Buddhist philosophy in an attempt to talk activists out of working towards human rights and democracy.

This has been a consistent concern of those Burmese now resisting the military regime, that various prominent monks have referenced the strict adherence to non-violence, the dangers of incurring bad karma, and the importance of respecting authority, among other Buddhist concepts, as a way to slow or even stop the democratic movement. While ironically, many of these same monks benefit from receiving frequent support and prominent positions from the military itself! And although they enjoy privileged access to these top generals, it seems that they rarely give any such helpful guidance to those who are primarily responsible for a brutal crackdown which has now gone on over a year and a half.

Sadly, as this very cartoon depicts, such a pact with the devil on the part of a few well-known monks has become toxic to Burmese Buddhism as a whole. In other words, by perverting the teachings of the Buddha so that they can align with a terrorist regime preaching hate and corruption, many in Myanmar are now becoming disillusioned by the overall practice, while those outside are increasingly seeing its nationalistic and hateful overtones, and missing the part that lit the worldwide mindfulness movement.

As Kyun Pyin Sayadaw U Jatila proclaimed in a recent podcast interview with us, it is high time that Burmese monks rightfully reclaim the faith while advocating for human rights and decency for all who live in Myanmar.