Questions for Bhikkhu Bodhi
The interview that we aired with Bhikkhu Bodhi earlier this year has been the most listened to, and one of the most controversial episodes we’ve ever released. From gratitude and appreciation to pushback and criticism to critical reflection and engagement, the reaction to this episode ran the gamut.
Interestingly, the interview was not only listened to individually, but we also heard that entire monasteries in various countries played the podcast and then discussed in small groups afterwards, and one team even translated the entire transcript into Burmese language.
Towards the end of the interview, Bhikkhu Bodhi himself commented that it was one of the most difficult interviews he had ever given in his life as a monk. Even later on, his own inner contemplation of the answers he provided, and the delicate matters we were discussing, continued to reverberate within his own mind.
As we spoke further about the response to the interview as well as the answers he provided, Bhikkhu Bodhi expressed the desire to clarify some of the statements he made. In his own words, he writes: “I would say that I have reviewed my position more carefully, and think that in opposing a tyrannical government, even one that openly murders its own citizens, only non-violent resistance has a chance to work, but it has to be carefully planned and executed."
He will be explaining the reasoning for this belief, and is also happy to take up other questions about related matters. This can include anything related to the appropriate monastic or meditator response to the military coup in Myanmar, as well as the intersection of Buddhist practice and the current protest movement. He is also open to discussing the wider topic of Engaged Buddhism in the world today, as well as the tension between modern progressive Buddhism and the more traditional, conservative beliefs such as found in Myanmar.
Please feel free to ask your questions or give your thoughts in the form below, and we will do our best to incorporate as many as possible in our upcoming interview.
To listen (or re-listen) to the first interview with Bhikkhu Bodhi, subscribe to Insight Myanmar wherever you get your podcasts, and look for Episode #61. You also may listen right off our website by navigating to the episode link.