Meditating during a Revolution
In times of turmoil and chaos, it can be difficult to find inner peace through meditation. For some, the mind races faster than the seconds on the clock, and feelings of fear and uncertainty consume their thoughts. In this powerful quote by Valerie from our recent podcast conversation, she reminds us that even in the midst of a revolution, everything we do is related to politics and the political climate around us. Despite the danger and violence, she is not afraid to speak the truth and stand up against dictators, not out of hate or personal attacks, but because it is the right thing to do. Read on to discover Valerie's thoughts on the relationship between revolution and meditation.
“You think that everything is not related to this revolution? Actually it is related.”
“Believe me, I tried to meditate when Covid-19 hit Burma in 2020. And when that coup took over in 2021, I tried to meditate. Guess what? My mind is still there. If you're not reaching through to the last two stages after sotapanna, to anāgāmi or Arahanta, if you don’t understand, if you're not reaching those levels, you still have these kinds of feelings. But the problem is, your mind is going really fast, faster than seconds are going, faster than whatever it is out there. But how could you go meditate, saying that everything surrounding and happening to you is not or cannot be related? Everything's related, right?
Revolution is related to meditation, too. If in your community there are a lot of things going on out there, how are you going to eat? Are you going to be feeling safe? You are not feeling safe. Are you going to be able to peacefully eat dinner at night or peacefully enjoy family time? No, because you have to worry about where there’s going to be bombing. If the people are going to rob my home, are you going to be peacefully sleeping? No. Are you going to be peacefully praying? I even saw one of the social media posts at that time saying that a lady was praying to, making homage to, the Buddha statue. And there is a military soldier just shooting in the street! And she started cursing, but she's just taken the five precepts in front of the Buddha. So, she stopped cursing. Think about it…
You think that everything is not related to this revolution? Actually it is related. Every little 24 hours, whatever you're doing is related to the politics. Politics, the political, and revolution, right now. So, this what I see. The reason, what gives me courage is that - if you ask me do I hate dictators? I don't hate. I don't know him; why should I hate him? But I'm not afraid to speak out against them - the reason that I'm not afraid is that I'm not lying, nor am I trying to get attention. There are no personal attacks or personal hatred attached to what I have to say about them. The reason I'm speaking out about this, the reason is, I have the courage to say it, it's because it is the truth. I'm not afraid to speak the truth.”