Painting, Poetry, and Meditation in Times of Terror
The heroism, courage, and selflessness of the Burmese protesters today continues to amaze me every turn. Case in point is the following interview with Thurein. In his former life just 10 weeks ago, he was a corporate advisor and entrepreneur, and managed customized software development. In this new life, he is a wanted man constantly in hiding, as two friends were already tortured and killed, and he just barely managed to escape. In this new world he must not only learn new skills to claim his country’s freedom, but also to handle the mental and emotional component as well. How does he manage this? Through vipassana meditation, painting, and poetry. We are so fortunate to have scans of three of Thurein’s paintings below.
“I paint when I feel stressful. I first try to meditate for some time, and then I paint.”
Interviewer: You’re under tremendous pressure. You have to stay away from your home in a place where very few of your friends or family know where you are for safety. And you're having to constantly be on the watch and the lookout and to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, knowing how high the stakes are in terms of your own personal safety. And you've already experienced personal loss of a friend who was tragically killed in terrible, terrible circumstances, I can't even begin to imagine just on a personal emotional level, while simultaneously also engaging in the number of plans and activities that you in so many like you were doing. So how have you been able to manage this new reality with how terrifying it is?
Thurein: I'm not saying I'm not terrified. I am terrified. But this is what makes me motivated. We cannot accept these things in our country. These terrifying things motivate me to do more, to do everything I can! Actually, I cannot sleep at times, but later, I try to calm down because I have to manage. I have to strategize and I have to give advice. So therefore I have to stay calm.
Interviewer: How do you do that? How do you calm down in those circumstances?
Thurein: I have my personal hobbies. I love poems. I compose poems. I love painting. So I paint a couple of times, even today. Yeah, even today! I love natural light, mountains, and trees. Sometimes I draw three fingers. I paint when I feel stressful. I first try to meditate for some time, and then I paint. Last week, it was very stressful, I was moving around, as you already know that I will made appointments with you and then I would just disappear. Again and again this happened, for my safety. So I was so stressful that I just tried to meditate first, and then to write a poem. And I feel everything, I write down it in a poem, then I paint. I paint.
