Mettā: The New Mantra
We were really fortunate to hear from Sayalay Chandadhika, a Burmese Buddhist nun living in Germany, soon after the coup broke. Since talking to her back in February, the situation in her country has become far worse, but her words are as true as they ever were.
Mettā only makes sense when it can be practiced in the worst of times… and the days of terror we are now seeing certainly qualify for this. As hard as it is to contemplate as practitioners, there is a value in working to send mettā to the perpetrators of these crimes, and Sayalay reminds us why this is so.
“Maybe this time, we need another method. And I cannot see another method rather than metta.”
“When I look back, my country is a land that has many beautiful things, and also many ugly things, together.
I don't know why in this day the picture is coming into my mind, but every time I reflect or contemplate… well, let's say that Myanmar is like your family, and we have two sons, metaphorically. And one son, the eldest son is a good son. And we also have got a younger son who is not behaving so well. But people love them both so much. Maybe it's time we pay attention to the younger son who is not so well-behaved if we really want to make this family, this country really peaceful. And to come together as a family.
I also think what is missing in this process, we already have such a wonderful teaching, the beautiful Dhamma. But now, what kind of energy is processing?
There is saying in Myanmar, back when in the village many years ago, there was no medicine. And the village medicine man, a doctor or healer, when somebody is brought in who is shouting and screaming, they say he or she is being possessed! And then they bring him or her to the medicine man. And he has this book about mantras and you have to recite, to make the spirit go away, according into the belief system. And the medicine man chants the mantra. And then the saying goes, ‘the more he chants that worse the patient gets.’
So I could see this in the situation of Myanmar.
Why? Why is this happening again? And again. This second son situation is getting worse and worse. And so now is it the time to chant the same mantra, again and again? Maybe this time, we need another method. And I cannot see another method rather than metta.”