The Balancing Act of Sitagu Sayadaw
There were few episodes more controversial than the interview with Bhikkhu Cintita, the biographer of Sitagu Sayadaw. Even as Bhikkhu Cintita discusses the careful balancing act of Sitagu, the monk who is also his preceptor, he also had to navigate his own careful balanced approach during the interview. This consisted of honestly expressing his frustration with Sitagu’s actions (or perhaps the lack thereof), while also calling attention to what he feels have been some inaccurate characterizations. The following excerpt, in which the host pushes back against some of Bhikkhu Cintita’s prior explanations, reveals the deeper issues that he has had to wrestle with.
Host: I really appreciate the context and the background that you're giving about Sitagu Sayadaw. I want to speak to the skepticism that some listeners might have in hearing this and play a bit of Devil's Advocate. I can hear some people now thinking, ‘Oh, come on, this great, powerful monk can’t say three simple words: killing is wrong. This trip to Moscow where the general was buying arms, come on, how could Sitagu not know what he was doing? Why can’t Sitagu speak up and say something and use his powerful influence and connection to these generals, and speak a word here or there to show the support of the people? Yet instead of doing that, he is seen going to a consecration and blessing ceremony of this great Buddha image and in Naypyidaw!’ On one hand, I want to say I really appreciate this context and background you're giving. I’m learning tremendously myself. I'm reflecting on this. Still, I also want to acknowledge that we've gotten to a point where among the Burmese Buddhist population, the degree of skepticism, of distrust, of frustration, of hopelessness is profound. Many feel that they have been left behind and discarded by someone powerful that could do something for them and could speak for them and does not, and it's just one excuse after the other. Which is because of this reason or because of that reason. Or possibly is due to someone who's not really correctly reading the situation. So I want to present this to you because I think there will be a response from many listeners that they are having in real time now. So to that response, how would you counter? What would you say?
Bhikkhu Cintita: I understand everything you're saying. I’m quite frustrated by it myself. One thing that's important is to keep a clear head. There's so much division and people want to create black and white— who are the friends and who are the enemy. We see so much division in American politics where there's no middle ground, there's no points. People don't look at complexities— either you're with us or you're against us. People are demonized. And I think given the situation in Myanmar, people are going to think that way. People who empathize with the Burmese people tend to think that way. They don't look for subtleties. ‘Why is somebody doing it like this?’
So I think that Sitagu Sayadaw's position is very complicated. This is a balancing act that he's been involved in now for 40 years with the generals, not to get out of favor with them. And yet to provide some benefit to the Burmese people, a lot of the monks are not able to make a similar balancing act. Other monks that are directed towards public service end up being shut down by the generals. The generals sometimes take over a monastic college— they want to run it. And so this is another instance of him trying to keep a very delicate balance.
I kind of question his judgment. He's 84 years old now. He's always been unusually sharp. You can tell by his sense of humor— he understands my jokes even. But I think he's wearing out. U Osadha thinks that he's also getting very bad information. There is the wider question of how much of the Sangha is supporting the military. U Osadha actually estimates it's probably about 30% of the Sangha. So this is a further issue. But he doesn't include Sitagu Sayadaw. Another monk here, I asked him what per Sangha, he thinks, supports the military. He says about 10%, which is a figure I like better. U Osadha says that some of the monks close to Sitagu Sayadaw are pro-military. He named a couple of monks that I know personally. And they take pro-military positions. And he thinks that these monks are actually giving him distorted views of what's going on in Myanmar. So there is probably an information deficit from his side— perhaps, very poor judgment. And perhaps factors that we just don't understand. What I don't see is him ever advocating violence. He does have some anti-Muslim tendencies, which we can talk about, that I'm aware of, but they're not violent. And his behavior has indicated that.