Burmese monks and Democracy

“It would be a rather sad situation if a number of Burmese monks who have highly respected and prominent leadership positions don't come to the defense of the people, and to the legitimately elected government, which was deposed by the junta.”

These powerful, if not somewhat provocative words by Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American monk, were from the first of two, wide-ranging talks he had with the Insight Myanmar podcast. One of the world’s leading Buddhist scholars, Bhikkhu Bodhi touched on a number of themes, such as the karmic implications for self-defense, the rise of anti-Islamic sentiments in the Saṅgha, and how he would like to see Burmese Buddhist monks responding to the current crisis.

In the first discussion, which he described as “one of the toughest [interviews] I’ve ever had,” he grappled with questions from Burmese Buddhists listeners who expressed their sorrow and pain that some of the senior monks who they had supported over the course of their lifetime, were now silent in the face of egregious military oppression.

As the above quote indicates, Bhikkhu Bodhi does not equivocate in his conviction that the country’s monastics needed to stand firmly with the people in their quest for democracy and human rights. Hearing these strong words from such a prominent authority, so revered in the field of Buddhist scholarship, became a powerful statement in itself; following its release, these episodes have sparked earnest discussion in a variety of forums.