The Role of the Burmese Monk

"Without a doubt, monks can play a huge, tremendous role. Many people in Myanmar are religious, and will no doubt listen to what a monk will have to say. And there are several dozen monks who have immense sway over public opinion. I think they need to stand up, they need to be on the right side of the history. They need to speak from a religious perspective."

--Ven Detta.

One of the real tragedies since the military coup was initiated has been the failure on the part of all but a few monastics and monasteries to stand by the people, in even the smallest of ways. This has sadly resulted in a withholding of food and other donations to many monasteries throughout the country, as people are beginning to wonder why they should continue to support monastics who, at this critical time, are largely not supporting them. That underscores the real power of Ven's hope, that one day the ethical backbone of Myanmar's monastic community will use their spiritual standing to advise the security forces to reign in the suffering they are piling on their own people.