Myanmar's prominent Buddhist monk talks peace and unity

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Yangon, Myanmar -- Bhante Ashin Nyanissara, commonly known as Sitagu Sayadaw, one of the most prominent Buddhist monks in Myanmar, has urged the government and the people to work together to safeguard the religion and the nationality in the country.

<< Sitagu Sayadaw giving speech at the ceremony (Photo - EMG)

Speaking at a special ceremony held at Aung Sann Tet Monastery in Insein Ywama, Yangon on June 27, Sitagu said, “The objective is good enough. We need to choose a word wise enough to capture the whole process of protecting the country as well as safeguarding the religion and the nationality. In front of the respected monks here, I would like to announce to you [the monastery's head] that a leading committee will be formed, and its organizational rules, structure, and title will be decided soon. The unity is very important," said Sitagu Sayadaw.

He also urged the monks attending the ceremony to be patient, forgiving, and united in accord with the Buddha teachings regarding the current situations.

"I'd like to request from here to all people from different religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity not to turn small incident into a bigger one. The ones who take refuge under a tree should not destroy it. What should not be retaliated must not be exaggerated. The wild exaggeration is the main cause behind the destruction of peace and unity. Nowadays the incidents like those have happened often in our country. We all should not take part in those incidents. If we do, we will be the same as the Time Magazine's cover story accused [of the Buddhism]," he added.

He also said the Buddhist monks should be aware of those who are behind the recent incidents and to act wisely.

Support from those persons having international outlook and the law experts is essential for the Buddhist monks to be able to protect the nationality and the religion. The government and the people must also cooperate in it, Sitagu Sayadaw said.

He also questioned the coincidence of religious riots with the peace talks between the government and the ethnic groups. He believed this is an attempt to derail the government’s peace effort, and he urged his fellow monks not to become the tools of the riot-inciting people.

“In our noble country, while the government is trying to build national unity and reconciliation with ethnic peoples, I think incitements to religious riots have come about to disrupt the peace process. Don’t be moved by the incitements. Our monks, be cautious not to become the tools of inciting people,” Sitagu Sayadaw told an audience of over 1000 monks.

During the occasion, Sitagu Sayadaw also condemned the cover story of TIME magazine’s July issue, which referred to a senior Myanmar Buddhist monk with the title “The Face of Buddhist Terror”. He said he opposed all the contents of the story, and took a vote on his opinion. All of the monks joined him to condemn the TIME’s story.

In his conclusion, Sitagu Sayadaw repeated the importance of unity, forgiveness and patience among the Buddhist monks, the government, and the law experts to protect the nationality and the religion.

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Buddhists Get Prison Terms in Myanmar

Previously, the majority of those sentenced in the country?s Buddhist-Muslim violence have been Muslims, even though Muslims have suffered most of the casualties over a year of sporadic outbursts of anger between the two groups.

The sentences issued on Wednesday and Thursday did not erase a sense of unequal justice in Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority nation; earlier in the week, a Muslim man received life in prison for killing one of the 43 people who died during the violence in the town of Meiktila.

The attacks, mostly by Buddhist mobs, have killed about 200 Muslims, and the government?s inability or unwillingness to stop the assaults has marred the nation?s image abroad as it moves toward democracy after nearly five decades of military rule.

On Wednesday, the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, issued what appeared to be his strongest criticism yet of the country?s handling of the growing religious tensions, saying the government?s promises to protect lives and punish wrongdoers had to be ?translated into concrete action.?

While Myanmar?s leaders have moved troops into Muslim areas after the attacks to stem the bloodletting, some leaders have expressed support for a growing radical Buddhist movement, known as 969, whose hate-filled sermons have been blamed for helping to inspire the violence.

The toughest of the latest sentences stemmed from the deadliest episode of the Meiktila riots: a brutal mob attack on an Islamic school that killed 36 people.

The state-run daily newspaper Keymon said eight people - seven Buddhists and one Muslim - were convicted in Meiktila district court for crimes connected to the school massacre.

Tin Hlaing, a local reporter who attended the hearings, said that four of them were convicted of murder and causing other injuries, and were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

On Tuesday, one Muslim man received a life sentence and three other Muslims got sentences of at least seven years in prison for their roles in the murder of a 19-year-old university student during the unrest, Tin Hlaing added.

Sectarian violence in Myanmar, formerly Burma, began over a year ago in Rakhine State, in the country?s west, and spread to the central towns of Meiktila and Okkan.

Most of those charged with crimes in the rioting there are Buddhists, said Tin Maung Soe, the Meiktila district chairman.

Asked why Buddhists were given lighter sentences than some Muslims, Khin Win Phyu, the Meiktila district legal officer, said, ?The courts passed their verdict according to law, and there is no bias or privilege toward any group.?

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Wisconsin Guard names first Buddhist chaplain

The new chaplain became one of only a handful of Buddhist chaplains in the U.S. Army.

Chap. (1st Lt.) Christopher Mohr swore the Oath of Membership in the United States Corps of Chaplains in front of the red arrow of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team during the brigade?s annual training at Fort McCoy.

Mohr joins the 32nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion to serve as the unit?s adviser to the battalion commander and provide morale, morals and ethics support to the soldiers.

He explained Buddhist teachings such as mindfulness, equanimity and service to others helped him in his personal life and how he interacts with other people.

?These things have been very useful to me in making sure that I can be a person who is of benefit to others and a person who can work with others to make sure that everybody?s needs, as best I can, be met,? said Mohr.

During his first two-weeks as a Buddhist chaplain in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, Mohr will hold nightly meditation training with a full-scale Buddhist service once a week.

Chaplain (Col.) Douglas Fleischfresser, the state command chaplain, is excited to have a new religion represented in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

?I think it speaks for where we?re going in diversity and the need to have a diverse viewpoint in spirituality,? said Fleischfresser.

Army chaplains, regardless of the faith they represent, provide spiritual, ethical and moral guidance to all soldiers in need of assistance.

I think the chaplains are such a critical part of the unit,? said Maj. John Reiter, 32nd BTSB commander. ?They are responsible for the [spiritual] care of the soldiers. With the emphasis on resiliency, it?s critical to the health of the battalion.?

Mohr became a Buddhist reverend after receiving his master of divinity degree from a seminary in California and being ordained into the faith.

Mohr?s roles as battalion chaplain are performing Buddhist services and providing opportunities for worship to other religions. There are approximately 30 soldiers who have identified themselves as Buddhists with others showing interest in the faith, said Fleischfresser.

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Buddhists believe in outer space: Shaolin abbot

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Henan, China -- As China's successful launch of its fifth manned spacecraft marks another step in realizing the country's space dream, Chinese monks regularly ponder how space is related to their own life.

"Buddhism believes there are aliens. They not only exist, but there are many," said Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan Province.

Buddhists believe the existence of many different worlds and their end-results do not exclude other celestial bodies, said Shi in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

According to the 48-year-old monk, those who have a good practice of Buddhism can go to other worlds, including outer space.

With a history of more than 1,500 years, the Shaolin Temple is famous for Buddhist teaching and Chinese martial arts, particularly Shaolin kungfu. It was enlisted as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010.

Shi, the temple's 30th abbot, is known as the "CEO of Shaolin" for his pursuit of commercial development. He became abbot in 1999.

Shi's business moves have sparked controversy, but he maintains the temple's core functions are to organize religious activities.

"The core soul of the Shaolin Temple has always been the cultivation of followers," stressed the abbot. The temple has more than 300 monks, half of whom were born after 1980.

Shi said they had not been to other celestial bodies and did not know whether Buddhist doctrines can be practiced on other planets.

Life is not eternal in the real world, but some other worlds are described to have eternal life with no pains nor troubles, said Shi, adding this is what Buddhists pursue.

The religious meditation of monks is a state of deep calm, active thinking and high concentration of the sober mind, according to studies conducted by Liu Tianjun, a professor of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

Shi, who is no stranger to modern technologies such as the mobile phone said brain waves of monks with good cultivation are different from those of ordinary people. This seems to indicate modern monks possess qualities of astronauts.

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Is Time magazine's Wirathu the face of Buddhist terrorism in Burma?

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Yangon, Myanmar -- UPON seeing his photo on Time magazine's cover with the words "Face of Buddhist Terror," Burma's most-talked-about monk was said it wouldn't hurt him.

<< Wirathu, a Buddhist monk from Mandalay, whose anti-Muslim remarks have come under recent scrutiny

The 46-year-old is accustomed to - even flattered by - the foreign reporters who steadily parade through his monastery in the city of Mandalay to ask about religious violence that has swept his predominantly Buddhist nation in the last year - fuelled in no small part by his anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Nearly 250 people have died and tens of thousands have fled their homes, threatening to destabilise the quasi-civilian government that came to power just two years ago after five decades of military rule.

"A genuine ruby will shine," said Wirathu, "even if you try to sink it in mud."

New freedoms of speech have made it easier to disseminate radical views, while exposing deep-seeded racism felt by much of the population toward Muslims and other minorities.

There has been almost no public outcry when Buddhist mobs have marched into villages brandishing machetes and clubs, but the appearance of a Burmese monk on the cover of the glossy international magazine with an inflammatory title was apparently too much.

The social networking site Facebook was alight with criticism.

Dozens changed their profiles to mock-covers of Time with the word "Boycott." One person lamented that the image of his country - and faith - was being tarnished.

"Some people misunderstood the title ... seeing it as an insult to religion,'' said Dr Yan Myo Thein, a political analyst. "They believe it's equating Buddhism with terrorism."

Few took the opportunity to criticise Wirathu, however, saying it was further evidence of media bias. The monk has repeatedly called on Buddhists to unite against the "threat" Muslims pose to the country and its culture, accusing them of breeding too fast and hijacking the business community.

The Time article quoted him as saying this was not the time to stay calm.

"Now is the time to rise up, to make your blood boil," he said.

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Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/is-this-the-face-of-buddhist-terrorism/story-fndir2ev-1226667862347#ixzz2WuH8KH9i

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Monks, Journalists decry Time Magazine’s cover portrayal of U Wirathu as Buddhist terrorist

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Yangon, Myanmar -- July issue of Time Magazine has portrayed Myanmar Buddhist monk U Wirathu as a cover and labeled as “the face of the Buddhist terror” . It has been criticized by all level of facebook users with their point of views. Most of the people have felt that it was an insult to Buddhism. Based on public opinions, the comments have been made as follow:

<< Buddhist monk U Wirathu. Is he the face of "Buddhist terror"?

Kyaw Min Swe, Chief Editor of the Voice Daily 
I am not happy with Time’s cover story. It is inappropriate to label a person for religion. How much evidence do they have to prove that U Wirathu has been involved in violence? I do not agree with this matter. It doesn’t matter wherther I like him or not. It could impact on Myanmar and its religion how the Time’s represent that news. I think there is something behind the story. Neither does it meet journalistic ethic because it is using religion and violence together to damage a person’ dignity. It is absolutely not required to do that so. I don’t think I need to mention that Time is the world famous magazine.
Dr. Ashin Dhamma Piyaka, Information in charge of Buddha Sasana Ovada Cariya Acceptance and Preliminary Religious Talks

Myanmar has more than 500,000 Buddhist monks. Blame should not be put on the entire Buddhism. It is one sided story. History has it that Buddhism is a peaceful religion. Monks are committed to doing public well being as well as for the Sasana. The religion has been and will be peaceful.
Ashin Dayventa Bhivamsa, Sitagu
The scientist Einstein once said about Buddhism, if there was a religion that can bring the peace to world, it must be the Buddhism. So I do think I have to mention Buddhism as a peaceful religion. As monks are following the peaceful religion, they are peacefully minded.  There has been no violence made by monks. But they were killed and they were terrorized. The weapon of the monks is tolerance.  The Time magazine has accused U Wirathu as terrorist. Sitagu Sayadaw (Venerable monk Sitagu) said that U Wirathu is a person who desires to have peace. However the foreign media criticizes him.
Social activist Myint Myint Khin Pe
I was asked in an interview by French journalist that Most Myanmar people are accepting the violence or I accept the violence. I had answered I never accept any violence. The image of Buddhism will be protected by its own religion. To protect the Buddhism, every Buddhist should behave well in time. If not, Myanmar could be recognized as terrorist Buddhist country.
Hanthawaddy U Win Tin, the Veteran Journalist
It is terrible to use the word “Buddhist terror”.  I think international community may have sided with Muslims. “969” has appeared in Buddhist community as well. No one can deny that Muslims are usually extremists. They kill other people as well as their own. Now there could have been Buddhist extremists like 969 or U Wirathu. It is not a good sign. There can be conflicts among people and it should be solved in accord with rules and regulations. The violence was not solved with the rules and regulations and the problem was titled as religion issue which is getting bigger later on. Those who want to back track from the current political situation are taking advantage of the situation. Now it is even harder to solve the problems. It is terrible that the influential Time magazine wrote about the events in Myanmar by portraying Buddhist monk U Wirathu. The extent of the danger is bigger now. The response of U Wirathu and his followers and those who are against them will accelerate. So I think aggressiveness of both sides will get higher.
Dr. Myat Thu, Managing Directo of Asia Taw Win
U Wirathu’s love for his religion is too much. He is not insulting other religions so the statement of TIME Magazine is totally wrong. My opinion is the same as Sitagu Sayadaw.
When the Daily Eleven interviewed U Wirathu, he said that he is really surprised by the fact that he is dubbed a Buddhist terrorist.

“I won’t be shattered by attacking me like this. What I want to say is about comparing me with a Binladen of Myanmar. Binladen’s hands were bloodied. Mine are really free from impurity. Their example is like referring a lion to a fox. It was a very rude comparison. What we are doing now is for preventive measures. There is no means of attacking. America’s intrusion into Iraq was to its national security. We are enacting laws for the safeguard of our nation and our race. Does it mean that we are extremists? We gave sermons to love ad cherish our own religion and people. Do they mean we are terrorists? I have a video file about an interview with me in order to check if something fishy is going on. I am now planning to post on the internet the interview with TIME Magazine. They didn’t ask what they did and nor my answers. The photo they used made me look terrible,” he said.
Wanna Shwe of Islamic Religious Council (Headquarters)
We don’t like a person’s doing comparing to one religion. Similarly, in Islam, I don’t accept a person’s doing comparing a religion.

Dr. Than Htut Aung, the CEO of the Eleven Media
“Let me be clear, I don’t agree with the opinions of U Wirathu. We have different views. But neither do I accept Time Magazine's unfair portrayal.  For a Buddhist monk, he will always be regarded as a monk until he breaks the rules of the Sangha. I know it is not easy to become a patron monk at the Masoeyein Monastery.” I do not agree with religious involvement in the affairs of the judiciary, administration or legislation. Neither do I agree with Buddhist extremism or the anti-Muslim sentiments being spread by a minority intent on jeopardizing their social and economic affairs,” he said.

But as a journalist, I think Time Magazine's criticism is unfair and harmful to our religion and Sasana. Such acts can cause unnecessary conflict and will only serve to disrupt our fragile democratic transition. So I categorically oppose Time's story, Dr Than Htut Aung said. U Wirathu is being accused of inciting continuing clashes that broke out in Myanmar. Those clashes also happened at instigation of ‘969’ Buddhist groups.

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Statement from International Buddhist College, Thailand on Bodhgaya Bombing on 7 July, 2013

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Penang, Malaysia -- The International Buddhist College is deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news on the bombing at Bodhgaya on July 7, 2013.

This is the holiest place for Buddhists from all countries. At this very site, the Buddha who was the advocate of non-violence attained his Enlightenment. At this time, we still do not know why and who targeted Bodhgaya for this violent act.

This is the time for Buddhists to uphold the Buddha's teachings on Love, Compassion and Non-violence.

Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, Chairman of the Council of the International Buddhist College, appeals to Buddhists to remain calm and refrain from violence in physical, verbal and mental actions. He also appeals to Buddhists to pray for the victims and attacker(s) and their families.

He said in his address to the staff and students of the college, ?While we condemn the senseless violence in any form, we must not retaliate with violence. The Buddha has taught us in the Dhammapada that 'Hatred is never appeased by hatred, hatred is appeased by love. This is the eternal law. The victor breeds hatred; the defeated lives in pain; the peaceful lives happily giving up victory and defeat.' This is the Buddhist solution to violence.

While we pray for the early recovery of the victims from physical injuries, we also pray for the early recovery of the attacker(s) from their mental anguish and the repentance of the senseless acts of violence.

While we appeal to the brothers and sisters of other religious faiths to practice mutual understanding and respect, let us also practice understanding and respect of other religious faiths ourselves.?

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