A Meal for a Monk

Another image from the Burmese artist JMP, depicting the current hard times that the country is facing. While many poor families are barely able to find enough food for a meal, the monk is enjoying a full course offering of a dozen different dishes.

The simplicty of the cartoon may belie the depth of meaning and interpretation behind the image. First, one should recognize the extraordinary statement of a Burmese Buddhist author publicly criticizing monks in this fashion, something which would have unimaginable prior to the coup, when it was seen as unseemingly-- and even dangerous-- to call out a monastic in this way. The fact that such commentary is not only being freely made and distributed, but also has a large degree of support on social media, is another illustration of the current fault lines we are seeing within the faith.

Then, to provide some context, it should also be known that today, many Burmese Buddhists are simply unable to offer food and other necessities to the Sangha as they have done before, due to their own difficult circumstances. To not be able to give generously and make merit by supporting monastics is seen as a great spiritual loss, and it should be known that many monks and nuns are suffering equally as their lay supporters now, and many are doing what they can to ease the burden as well as they can. So one should not take this cartoon as seeing that the monk-lay relationship is breaking down, or that monks as a whole are insensitive to the people's struggles, or that lays no longer wish to support their monks and nuns or believe in the value of their spiritual path.

I believe that this particular cartoon is not heaping criticism on the Burmese monkhood as a whole, and is far from calling it out as an antiquated or corrupt institution. Rather, it is likely singling out those more prominent monks with standing, who still benefit from the military regime's largesse while ignoring the plight of the people, who continue to be oppressed by those military supporters feeding them these lavish meals.

I would be curious to hear the comments of others who see this image.