Guardians of Buddhism
“The military is always claimed that they are the guardians of the religion, they are the guardians of democracy. And that they're the guardians of the country now, after the military coup. When they raided my monastery, they said they are the guardians of all [of Buddhism] in the country! I couldn't say anything because they came with guns.”
Ashin Kovida, a prominent Burmese monk and pro-democracy advocate, stands as a courageous voice against the military regime's oppression. Born in a remote village, he defied traditional norms, secretly learning English and eventually embracing democratic ideals. Facing persecution, he sought refuge in Switzerland in 2006, until he returned to Myanmar in 2016. In a recent podcast conversation, Ashin Kovida challenges monks aligned with the regime, criticizes media sensationalism at home and abroad, and advocates for a more progressive Buddhist education. Unafraid of change, he urges fellow Burmese monks to adapt to modern times, emphasizing ethical conduct over mere adherence to tradition.
The above quote highlights the degree to which the 2021 military takeover has threatened not only the welfare of the people of Myanmar, but also puts the integrity of the Buddha’s teachings at risk in the country. The regime is arresting, killing, and driving into exile progressive monks like Ashin Kovida, and promoting monks who advance their nationalistic ideology or value superstition and numerology over core Buddhist tenants. The regime’s justification for its violence as being a means to “protect” Buddhism is thus more than ironic, as it now represents the greatest single threat to the faith today! From launching assaults on meditation centers, to bombing monastic schools, to requisitioning monasteries as operating bases, they are destroying the very religion that they insist they are the “guardians” of.
Still, Ashin Kovida is not worried. “Monks have to change the way to approach the Buddha's teaching,” he says later in the discussion. “Worrying about losing the Buddha's teaching is not the way to safeguard the Buddha's teaching! If you want to follow the Buddha's teaching, just practice, that's it,” but also don’t be afraid to call out the military’s perversion of the religion. One can hope that in a post-coup Myanmar that has found its way to a federal democracy, monks like Ashin Kovida can present a different version of Burmese Buddhism than has been promoted by the junta, one that returns to the great wisdom of earlier Burmese meditation masters.