Burmese monks' protests escalate

Thousands of Buddhist monks have protested in several Burmese cities in escalating protests against the military government. In the western port city of Sittwe, nearly 2,000 monks demanded the release of four monks arrested on Tuesday.

About 1,000 monks marched through Mandalay, and several hundred more in Rangoon, the former capital.

The Buddha once said: “When the ruler of a country is just and good, the ministers become just and good; when the ministers are just and good, the higher officials become just and good; when the higher officials are just and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file become just and good, the people become just and good.”

A generation gap?

Monks, considered “sons of Buddha,” are the strongest institution in Burma after the armed forces. But there is continuing debate on whether they should involve themselves in politics. History has shown that monks have long played a pivotal role in Burmese politics.

Monks were involved in early outbreaks of resistance against the British colonization. Two well-known monks U Wisara and U Ottama spent many years in prison for their non-violent resistance, and U Wisara died in jail after 166 days of a hunger strike.

In olden times, Burmese kings appointed Thathana-baing (Sangha ruler or chief of religious affairs or Supreme Patriarch) to govern the Sangha community. In 1787, King Bodaw Phaya appointed a distinguished monk, U Nyana, to serve as Thathana-baing, and made him responsible for doctrinal instruction and discipline of all monks.

The role of Thathana-baing is complicated, as he acted as a link between the monarchy and the Sangha community. The Thathana-baing was highly influential and could even intervene in political and diplomatic affairs.

After the British invaded Burma, the position of Thathana-baing was abolished, although local authorities and foreign experts called for its maintenance in Mandalay in order to head off conflicts with the colonial power in its government of predominately Buddhist Burma. The opposition led by U Wisara and U Ottama was a rude shock for the British.

Even after independence, however, Buddhism and the influential Sangha community were in decline. Under the current military rulers, the traditionally powerful Sangha community is in discord and decay. The generals have been trying to control the Sangha community, regarding it as a real threat to the stability of the regime.

While rebellious monks are prepared to go to prison, condemned as “agitators in yellow robes,” many senior monks and abbots are becoming government tools by accepting gifts and large donations from the generals. These elderly abbots who cuddle up to the ruling generals can no longer speak for the Sangha community at large, let alone comment on the suffering of the Burmese people.

Elderly senior monks are grouped within the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, a legal organization founded in 1980 that wields little influence, either with the Sangha community or with the generals.

Any intervention by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee in the aftermath of the recent Pakokku confrontation could even provoke more dissent from young monks.

Good governance and a good ruler are now important for the sons of Buddha who dare to challenge the ruling elite.

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