Feeling free in a Burmese Prison
“Sometimes, if the prison officer changed and a bad one came, the good things were withdrawn. The thing is that we were hoping for good things, for betterment, but we realized that we also had to prepare for the worst. That helped me cope. On the other hand, when I read books and recited and reflected upon the motto that I'm really fond of—they can imprison your body but not your mind—when I meditated, I realized that truth. This motto, this single line, made me stronger, and when I’m enjoying meditation, I feel free.”
— Zin Mar Aung, Member of Parliament, recipient of the International Award for Most Courageous Woman presented by Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama in 2012.
The excerpt comes from Alan Clements’ excellent work Burma’s Voices of Freedom, and he adds this about his impression of the interview: “she shares what inspired her to pursue activism at such a young age, how Dhamma and meditation helped her endure her time in prison, and her views on the nature of dictatorship and how it can be addressed, paying particular attention to the role of women in the peace process.”