Burmese Watch

ajani_mgo · September 2007

The Myanmar government recently has stepped-up their control over free speech and expression, after protests were triggered by doubling fuel prices. Myanmar, a country which is hardly new to hardline tactics with their military junta in power, has security forces attacking the monks, too, who are protesting against the government, with their calls for democracy.

Famed Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and HHDL, among many notables, have lent their support to the monks' activities. The US has imposed sanctions on Yangon, and as I type, the UN has sent a special envoy to Yangon, with the mission goal supposedly to improve democracy in the country. I don't know, I'm slightly excited to know how things are going to turn out, living in the same geographical region as Myanmar. The best thing to happen now is a revolution, and the military junta be ousted, though I'm not too hopeful about it.

But the Buddhist clergy are well-respected in the country. The government's tough actions against the monks are not without criticism and angry responses, both internally and externally, though in the state-controlled media, no news of the suppression is reported. Yet I wonder if I do in fact support the monks' actions, or rather, I think it adds up to a general question. The monks do clearly know it - what they support, the lay people too will. They become a force in politics.

Should politics and religion ever be merged? Or does Buddhism really support the monks' actions?

KnightofBuddha · September 2007

Freedom of speech and basic human rights should be championed by both religious and secular alike. If a person has an opportunity to work against and oppose Totaltarianism, it should not matter whether they are a fire and brimstone fanatic or an atheist.

If the monks have the political muscle to unshackle people from government controlled media, then I believe they have a moral obligation to do so.

Nirvana · September 2007

ajani_mgo wrote: »

Should politics and religion ever be merged? Or does Buddhism really support the monks' actions?

Interesting question, although I'd say it's all in the manner that it's done. As long as the monks are right reverend and respectful, what's the harm?

Aristotle called our species "the political animal," and perhaps in the end that's mostly what we're all about: alliances and the like.

But on a different note, Ajani, it sure is nice to see a lot of film footage of the monks on the news, and it is likely that such exposure will inform a lot more people about some aspects of this great wisdom tradition called Buddhism.

(Of course, Buddhists just do things better.):rockon:

ajani_mgo · September 2007

Ah, it seems that no one is even trying diplomacy with Yangon now... No moderate, no compromise - democracy or die!

By that it all seems that you all believe in democracy as the ideal? I don't know, I'd like to think so - but unfortunately democracies don't always make smart decisions, though definitely much better than any military junta or dynasty.

But if one can accept democracy to be the nature, the initial and original belief and system of Man in general, then I guess there is little to complain about the actions of the monks. My only regret is that already lives are being lost in this campaign against dictatorship.

Are there any Burmese monks still staying in their monasteries instead of going out for some sunshine?

Palzang · September 2007

I for one am very happy to see my brother monks taking to the streets in Myanmar. Enough is enough. The government there is beyond corrupt and abusive to its citizens. How can a bodhisattva sit in a monastery while these abuses are being carried out?

Palzang

Brigid · September 2007

At least five monks have been murdered so far and hundreds more are being beaten and arrested.

According to the Associated Press, "security forces [in Yangon] raided several monasteries overnight, beating monks and arresting more than 100."

One monk described the raid at the monastery: “Soldiers slammed the monastery gate with the car, breaking the lock and forcing it into the monastery,” said the monk, who did not give his name for fear of reprisal. “They smashed the doors down, broke windows and furniture. When monks resisted, they shot at the monks and used tear gas and beat up the monks and dragged them into trucks."

Hundreds of other monks have been arrested at other monasteries.

As of 2pm today 9 protesters are reportedly dead, including 5 or 6 monks.

I support, unreservedly, the protesters and their right to march.

Below is a widely supported petition by an excellent organization if anyone is interested in signing.

Dear friends,

Clicking below will add your name to this petition to Chinese Premier Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council:

"We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed."

Click Here to Sign Now

The Burmese protests are widening, the international response is building--and the Burmese generals are panicking. Today the Burmese junta banned gatherings of more than 5, and sent thousands of troops to take control of the street -- but still the monks and protesters march. Desperate officers have beaten, tear-gassed and fired on their own people, reportedly shooting five monks in Rangoon.

The next 36 hours are crucial. Leaders have called an emergency session of the UN Security Council--but only a decisive initiative will prevent a massacre like the one from 1988. Already 85,000 people from 192 countries have signed our emergency global petition. Please click the link above to sign, then send this email to others so they can too--we'll send the updated petition to the Chinese government and the UN Security Council members every day:

We're calling for UN powers--above all China, which holds the economic strings of the Burmese regime--to apply decisive pressure now to stop the violence, and to broker a peaceful transition. If they fail to do this, the massacres will be sudden.

The protesters have declared they will not back down. The Burmese have showed their courage. The scenes fill our television screens--now the world must act.

In hope,

Paul, Ricken, Graziela, Ben, Galit and the whole Avaaz team

KnightofBuddha · September 2007

ajani_mgo wrote: »

Ah, it seems that no one is even trying diplomacy with Yangon now... No moderate, no compromise - democracy or die!

By that it all seems that you all believe in democracy as the ideal? I don't know, I'd like to think so - but unfortunately democracies don't always make smart decisions, though definitely much better than any military junta or dynasty. But if one can accept democracy to be the nature, the initial and original belief and system of Man in general, then I guess there is little to complain about the actions of the monks. My only regret is that already lives are being lost in this campaign against dictatorship.

Are there any Burmese monks still staying in their monasteries instead of going out for some sunshine?

Revolutions are never moderate, and I can't say that they should be when faced with such extreme oppression.

Don't get too down. There can be fascist democracies (Farenheit 451) just as there can be fascist dictatorships. The amount of BS precipitated by any government (as in media control) can only go so far as long as the populace remains intelligible and cynical of the regime (good or bad regimes).

ajani_mgo · September 2007

Ah - latest news! They shot a certain countryman of mine now! (http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost5712.aspx)

My issue of TIME reads,

"We must not retreat," vows a 23-year-old monk in Rangoon. "If we retreat, we fail."

I guess we should too urge the world's governments not to give up their support towards Burmese democracy - if they retreat, we fail, too.

Jason · October 2007

Everyone,

Perhaps you will be interested in reading A Buddhist Monk’s Reflection on the Events in Burma. It is written by the Ven. Gavesako, a Theravadin bhikkhu ordained in the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah.

A Buddhist Monk’s Reflection on the Events in Burma

In the last several days, we have seen reports from Burma showing brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks and nuns chanting the Metta Sutta, asking for social justice and a fair political system. Many people are wondering now: How can such a thing happen in a country which is supposed to be devoutly Buddhist and a staunch guardian of the scriptural teachings of the Theravada tradition? Aren’t monks supposed to be detached from worldly matters and not involved in politics?

As a matter of fact, monks have played a significant role in Burmese history for centuries. The kings have patronised the Sangha and received religious legitimation of their secular power in return. But this royal patronage has been a mixed blessing for the Sangha: although monks have obtained material support from the rulers, they were also subject to their willful orders all the time. Sometimes the kings used their authority to purge the monastic order and restore its purity (according to their understanding of the concept), and they appointed selected monks as the Sangharajas or “Sangha rulers” to control and administer all the monks in the country, supervised by royal officials at the local level. Anyone who disobeyed was disrobed by force. Senior monks acted as advisors for the king, but in some cases they became the object of his anger and were killed. Different factions also tried to win the king’s favour and his support.

Although we may sometimes read about the “great Buddhist kings of the past” in idealized nationalistic accounts of Burmese history, in reality most of them were cruel and despotic rulers always intent on military campaigns, decimating their neighbours and enslaving the population, forcefully drafting their own people into the army. They would wage war on other kingdoms in order to get for themselves Buddhist sacred objects (such as relics, scriptures or statues) thought to possess special power. Then they built magnificent religious monuments using slave labour to demonstrate the strength of their empire. In all this, they did not follow the actual Buddhist teachings, but rather used Buddhist icons and symbols to legitimize their absolute right to rule. A righteous king should be possessed of moral qualities such as gentleness (maddava), non-anger (akkodha), non-violence (avihimsa), tolerance (khanti) and uprightness (avirodhana).

“At such time, monks, as rulers are unrighteous (adhammika), their ministers are unrighteous, priests and householders are also unrighteous.” (AN ii,74)

So the current situation is nothing new to Burma. Lacking the qualities of charity (dana), honesty (ajjava) and willingness to sacrifice (pariccaga), the current military junta mismanaged the country and then used Buddhist symbols -- imitating the model of previous kings -- to manifest to everybody that it has an absolute power and therefore the right to rule. The Buddha describes the mental process which gives rise to such corrupt behaviour and its inevitable results:

“Craving is dependent on feeling,
seeking is dependent on craving,
acquisition is dependent on seeking,
ascertainment is dependent on acquisition,
desire and passion is dependent on ascertainment,
attachment is dependent on desire and passion,
possessiveness is dependent on attachment,
stinginess is dependent on possessiveness,
defensiveness is dependent on stinginess,
and because of defensiveness, dependent on defensiveness, various evil, unskillful things arise: the taking up of sticks and knives; conflicts, quarrels, and disputes; accusations, divisive speech, and lies.” (DN 15)

“A bad man, monks, is possessed of bad states of mind, he associates with bad men, he thinks as do bad men, he advises as do bad men, he speaks as do bad men, he acts as do bad men, he has the views of bad men, he gives gifts as do bad men... And how, monks, does a bad man act as do bad men? In this case, a bad man is one who kills creatures, who takes what has not been given, who enjoys himself wrongly.” (MN 110)

“He is malevolent in mind, corrupt in thought and purpose, and thinks: ‘Let these beings be killed or slaughtered or annihilated or destroyed or may they not exist.’" (MN 41)

“There is the case where a woman or man is a killer of living beings, brutal, bloody-handed, given to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. Through having adopted & carried out such actions, on the break-up of the body, after death, he/she reappears in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, hell. If, on the break-up of the body, after death — instead of reappearing in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, hell — he/she comes to the human state, then he/she is short-lived wherever reborn. There is the case where a woman or man is one who harms beings with his/her fists, with clods, with sticks, or with knives. Through having adopted & carried out such actions, on the break-up of the body, after death, he/she reappears in the plane of deprivation... If instead he/she comes to the human state, then he/she is sickly wherever reborn.” (MN 135)

“Comparing oneself with others in such terms as ‘Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I’ one should neither kill nor cause others to kill.” (Snp v.705)

“When embraced,
the rod of violence
breeds danger and fear:
Look at people quarreling.
I will tell of how
I experienced
dismay.
Seeing people floundering
like fish in small puddles,
competing with one another --
as I saw this,
fear came into me.
The world was entirely
without substance.
All the directions
were knocked out of line.
Wanting a haven for myself,
I saw nothing that wasn't laid claim to.
Seeing nothing in the end
but competition,
I felt discontent.
And then I saw
an arrow here,
so very hard to see,
embedded in the heart.
Overcome by this arrow
you run in all directions.
But simply on pulling it out
you don't run,
you don't sink...
Whatever things are tied down in the world,
you shouldn't be set on them.
Having totally penetrated
sensual pleasures,
sensual passions,
you should train for your own
Unbinding.” (Snp IV.15)

“I see in the world
people with wealth
who, from delusion,
don't make a gift
of the treasure they've gained.
Greedy, they stash it away,
hoping for even more
sensual pleasures.

A king who, by force,
has conquered the world
and rules over the earth
to the edge of the sea,
dissatisfied with the ocean's near shore,
longs for the ocean's
far shore as well.

Kings & others
-- plenty of people --
go to death with craving
unabated. Unsated,
they leave the body behind,
having not had enough
of the world's sensual pleasures. ...

His heirs take over his wealth,
while the being goes on,
in line with his kamma.
No wealth at all
follows the dead one --
not children, wives,
dominion, or riches. ...

Just as an evil thief
caught at the break-in
is destroyed
by his own act,
so evil people
-- after dying, in the next world --
are destroyed
by their own acts.” (Thag 16.4)

The military rulers have committed many acts of violence against the general population, especially ethnic minorities, and now they turned their weapons also against the monks. At the same time they appeal to the “religious duties” of the Sangha: they should focus exclusively on the study and practice of the scriptural teachings (divorced from real life) and perform the required rituals (to legitimize the regime), not get involved in any activities that challenge the status quo. Many of the young monks who were marching in the streets are sons of poor families who are getting an education through the monastic system, so they are acutely aware of the hard economic situation of ordinary people and their families. “Overturning the bowl” (patta-nikkujjana-kamma) is a symbolic phrase signifying the refusal to accept offerings from a particular person, and thus having nothing to do with them, which seems pefectly justified in this case.

“The bowl may be overturned for a lay follower endowed with (any of) eight qualities: He/she strives for the monks' material loss, strives for the monks' detriment, strives for the monks' non-residence, insults and reviles monks, causes monks to split from monks, speaks in dispraise of the Buddha, speaks in dispraise of the Dhamma, speaks in dispraise of the Sangha. I allow that the bowl be overturned for a lay follower endowed with (any of) these eight qualities.” (Cv. V.20.3)

This will of course make the generals angry with the monks, because it exposes the fallacy of their claim to be practising Buddhism and deprives them of the source of political legitimization. A Buddhist is someone who has faith in the principle of kamma -- “there are fruits and results of good and bad actions” -- which the military leaders and their hired thugs obviously don’t pay any attention to. They try to use the monastic hierarchy (senior monks appointed by them and provided with appropriate status symbols) to suppress the dissenting movement, but formal acts of the Sangha such as this cannot be controlled from the top. The procedure is that the monks’ community meets and agrees to the statement, which -- in a motion and proclamation -- explains the person’s wrong doing and announces that the community is overturning its bowl to him/her. The local community should then inform other communities that they, too, are not to accept alms or offerings from the household of that person, who should also be informed about it. It is an attempt to make them mend their ways, and if they do so, the Sangha can decide to turn its bowl upright again.

But it can happen that the worldly powers, having been humiliated, feel no scruples or shame and instead continue in their abusive behaviour towards the monks. There is a story from the time of the Buddha, when someone from the royal court in Kosambi bore grudge against him and hired rogues to revile him publicly in the street, using coarse language. When the monks were collecting alms food in the morning, words of abuse were hurled at them by these people. So Ananda approached the Buddha and suggested that it might be better to leave the town and go somewhere else. The Buddha replied:
“But suppose, Ananda, that we are ill-treated and abused in the next place we go, what shall we do then?”
“Then we shall go to some other place,” said Ananda.
“And if we are reviled in that new place too, what shall we do then?”
“Then we shall go to some other place,” replied Ananda.
“No, Ananda, that is not the proper way. Wherever a difficulty arises, right there it should be resolved. Only then should one move. I am like a battle elephant who patiently endures the arrows that are shot from all directions. In the same way, I will endure these abusive words. This will only continue for seven days and then the people will know.” (Dhammapada Commentary)

A similar case happened when the Brahman Akkosaka (“Insulter”) Bharadvaja, angered and displeased, went to the Buddha and, on arrival, insulted and cursed him with rude, harsh words.

When this was said, the Blessed One said to him: "What do you think, Brahman: Do friends and colleagues, relatives and kinsmen come to you as guests?"
"Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends and colleagues, relatives and kinsmen come to me as guests."
"And what do you think: Do you serve them with staple and non-staple foods and delicacies?"
"Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple and non-staple foods and delicacies."
"And if they don't accept them, to whom do those foods belong?"
"If they don't accept them, Master Gotama, those foods are all mine."
"In the same way, Brahman, that with which you have insulted me, who is not insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not berating: that I don't accept from you. It's all yours, Brahman. It's all yours.
"Whoever returns insult to one who is insulting, returns taunts to one who is taunting, returns a berating to one who is berating, is said to be eating together, sharing company, with that person. But I am neither eating together nor sharing your company, Brahman. It's all yours. It's all yours." (SN VII.2)

So in a way, the Buddha turned his bowl upside down to the brahman and did not receive his “offerings”. As we can see from the following passages, these are the occasions for cultivating spiritual strength and even gaining insight into the nature of the body, because one’s awareness is firmly in the present moment due to having been threatened.

“It doesn't matter
whether he thinks,
‘He's forbearing
out of fear of me.’
One's own true good
is the foremost good.
Nothing better
than patience
is found.
Whoever, when strong,
is forbearing
to one who is weak:
that's the foremost patience.
The weak must constantly endure.
They call that strength
no strength at all:
whoever's strength
is the strength of a fool.
There's no reproach
for one who is strong,
guarding -- guarded by -- Dhamma.
You make things worse
when you flare up
at someone who's angry.
Whoever doesn't flare up
at someone who's angry
wins a battle hard to win.
You live for the good of both
-- your own, the other's --
when, knowing the other's provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When you work the cure of both
-- your own, the other's --
those who think you a fool
know nothing of Dhamma.” (SN XI.5)

“Monks, when liberation of the mind by friendliness (metta) is ardently practiced, developed, unrelentingly resorted to, used as one's vehicle, made the foundation of one's life, fully established, well consolidated and perfected, then these eleven blessings may be expected. What eleven?

One sleeps happily; one wakes happily; one does not suffer bad dreams; one is dear to human beings; one is dear to non-human beings; the gods protect one; no fire or poison or weapon harms one; one's mind gets quickly concentrated; the expression of one's face is serene; one dies unperturbed; and even if one fails to attain higher states, one will at least reach the state of the Brahma world.” (AN 11.16)

“Having killed what
do you sleep in ease?
Having killed what
do you not grieve?
Of the slaying
of what one thing
does Gotama approve?”

“Having killed anger
you sleep in ease.
Having killed anger
you do not grieve.
The noble ones praise
the slaying of anger
-- with its honeyed crest
& poison root --
for having killed it
you do not grieve.” (SN 1.71)

“Monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you: timely or untimely, true or false, affectionate or harsh, beneficial or unbeneficial, with a mind of good-will or with inner hate. Others may address you in a timely way or an untimely way. They may address you with what is true or what is false. They may address you in an affectionate way or a harsh way. They may address you in a beneficial way or an unbeneficial way. They may address you with a mind of good-will or with inner hate. In any event, you should train yourselves: ‘Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person's welfare, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with him, we will keep pervading the entire world with an awareness imbued with good will -- abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.’ That's how you should train yourselves.” (MN 21)

“Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk, he discerns that 'A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.' And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind, with the [earth] element as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.
And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable -- through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives -- the monk discerns that 'This body is of such a nature contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw, ‘Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.’ So my persistence will be aroused &
untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddha’s bidding is done.” (MN 28)

"Well then, Punna. Now that I have instructed you with a brief instruction, in which country are you going to live?"
"Lord, there is a country called Sunaparanta. I am going to live there."
"Punna, the Sunaparanta people are fierce. They are rough. If they insult and ridicule you, what will you think?"
"If they insult and ridicule me, I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with their hands.' That is what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I will think, O One Well-gone."
"But if they hit you with their hands, what will you think?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with a clod'..."
"But if they hit you with a clod...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with a stick'..."
"But if they hit you with a stick...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't hit me with a knife'..."
"But if they hit you with a knife...?"
"...I will think, 'These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don't take my life with a sharp knife'..."
"But if they take your life with a sharp knife...?"
"If they take my life with a sharp knife, I will think, 'there are disciples of the Blessed One who -- horrified, humiliated, and disgusted by the body and by life -- have sought for an assassin, but here I have met my assassin without searching for him.' That is what I will think, Blessed One."
"Good, Punna, very good. Possessing such calm and self-control you are fit to dwell among the Sunaparantans. Now it is time to do as you see fit." (SN XXXV.88)

In the story of the arahant Adhimutta, he was surrounded by bandits who were threatening to kill him. The bandit chief was surprised to see no trembling and fear in him. Adhimutta explains why he has no fear:

“There are no painful mental states, chieftain,
in one without longing.
In one whose fetters are ended,
all fears are overcome.
With the ending of [craving]
the guide to becoming,
when phenomena are seen
for what they are,
then just as in the laying down of a burden,
there's no fear in death.

I've lived well the holy life,
well-developed the path.
Death holds no fear for me.
It's like the end of a disease.

I've lived well the holy life,
well-developed the path,
seen states of becoming
as devoid of allure,
like poison spit out
after it's drunk.

One gone to the far shore
without clinging
without effluent
his task completed,
welcomes the ending of life,
as if freed from a place of execution.
Having attained the supreme Rightness,
unconcerned with all the world,
as if released from a burning house,
he doesn't sorrow at death.

Whatever's compounded,
wherever a state of becoming's obtained,
all that has no one in charge:
so says the Great Seer.
Whoever discerns this,
as taught by the Awakened One,
would no more grasp hold of any state of becoming
than he would a hot iron ball.
I have no 'I was,'
no 'I will be.'
Fabrications will simply go out of existence.
What's to lament there in that?
For one who sees, as it actually is,
the pure arising of phenomena,
the pure series of fabrications,
there's no fear.
When seeing the world with discernment
as on a par with grass & twigs,
finding no 'mine-ness,'
thinking, 'There's nothing of mine,'
he feels no sorrow.
Dissatisfied with this carcass,
I'm unconcerned with becoming.
This body will break up
and there will not be another.
Do as you like with this carcass.
From that I will feel
neither hatred nor love.” (Thag 16.8)

The nun Upacala also describes the dangers inherent in existence and her motivation for transcending the round of rebirth:

“For one who is born there is death;
the cutting-off of hands and feet,
slaughter, bonds and calamity.
One who is born goes to pain.” (Thig 191)

“May I never lie
with my head cracked open
again.” (Thag 2.16)

“Furthermore, the monk living in the wilderness reminds himself of this: I am now living alone in the wilderness. While I am living alone in the wilderness, I might meet up with youths on their way to committing a crime or on their way back. They might take my life. That would be how my death would come about. That would be an obstruction for me. So let me make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized.
This is the fourth future danger that is just enough, when considered, for a monk living in the wilderness -- heedful, ardent, and resolute -- to live for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized.” (AN 5.77)

“Furthermore, the monk reminds himself of this: At present people are in harmony, on friendly terms, without quarreling, like milk mixed with water, viewing one another with eyes of affection. The time will come, though, when there is danger and an invasion of savage tribes. Taking power, they will surround the countryside. When there is danger, people will congregate where it is safe. There they will live packed and crowded together. When one is living packed and crowded together, it is not easy to pay attention to the Buddha's teachings. It is not easy to reside in isolated forest or wilderness dwellings. Before this unwelcome, disagreeable, displeasing thing happens, let me first make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized, so that -- endowed with that Dhamma -- I will live in peace even when there is danger.
This is the fourth future danger that is just enough, when considered, for a monk -- heedful, ardent, and resolute -- to live for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized.” (AN 5.78)

Or as Sariputta puts it, we are in a situation with little choice:

“On both sides there is death, not non-death, either afterwards or before; enter
on the way; do not perish. Let not the opportunity pass you by.” (Thag. 1004)

There is an urgent task to be done for those walking the path to liberation. These reflections can help us keep our goal in mind and “not let the moment (for practice) slip by”. To be living in a “suitable country” (patirupa desa) is considered to be one of the highest blessings. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be living in freedom from fear and oppression should not forget that other people -- our friends in birth, aging, sickness and death -- are suffering at the same time, and we should do what we can to promote their freedom, too.

Bhikkhu Gavesako - 30/9/2007
Bodhinyanarama, New Zealand
(all translations from www.accesstoinsight.org)

Sincerely,

Jason

Nirvana · October 2007

Elohim wrote: »

"As a matter of fact, monks have played a significant role in Burmese history for centuries. The kings have patronised the Sangha and received religious legitimation of their secular power in return. But this royal patronage has been a mixed blessing for the Sangha: although monks have obtained material support from the rulers, they were also subject to their willful orders all the time. Sometimes the kings used their authority to purge the monastic order and restore its purity (according to their understanding of the concept), and they appointed selected monks as the Sangharajas or 'Sangha rulers' to control and administer all the monks in the country, supervised by royal officials at the local level...

"Although we may sometimes read about the 'great Buddhist kings of the past' in idealized nationalistic accounts of Burmese history, in reality most of them were cruel and despotic rulers always intent on military campaigns, decimating their neighbours and enslaving the population, forcefully drafting their own people into the army. They would wage war on other kingdoms in order to get for themselves Buddhist sacred objects (such as relics, scriptures or statues) thought to possess special power. Then they built magnificent religious monuments using slave labour to demonstrate the strength of their empire. In all this, they did not follow the actual Buddhist teachings, but rather used Buddhist icons and symbols to legitimize their absolute right to rule. A righteous king should be possessed of moral qualities such as gentleness (maddava), non-anger (akkodha), non-violence (avihimsa), tolerance (khanti) and uprightness (avirodhana).

“At such time, monks, as rulers are unrighteous (adhammika), their ministers are unrighteous, priests and householders are also unrighteous. (AN ii,74)

So the current situation is nothing new to Burma. Lacking the qualities of charity (dana), honesty (ajjava) and willingness to sacrifice (pariccaga), the current military junta mismanaged the country and then used Buddhist symbols -- imitating the model of previous kings -- to manifest to everybody that it has an absolute power and therefore the right to rule.

Thanks, Emperor-God-King for that. I believe it is right to the point in answering Ajani Mgo's question about the appropriateness of the monks' political actions.

I take it that you are of the opinion that as long as the monks exhibit charity, honesty, the willingness to give of themselves unselfishly, and reverence for life with the foremost thought to do no harm to anyone, they are on the Right Path, regardless of their involvement in political discourse.

Or am I just reading my own thoughts between the lines that you have so rightly brought to our attention? ????

Brigid · October 2007

Thanks, Jason. That's a powerful reminder for me to keep my anger checked and to work on patience, as well as so many other things. I'm printing it out so I can read it after checking the news stories on Burma. As usual, you've brought things right back on track for me, with a little help from Bhikkhu Gavesako, of course.

ajani_mgo · October 2007

I like it whenever the Buddha tell stories, or rather someone tell stories of the Buddha...

Always wisdom!

Anyway now the latest news update - the Burmese foreign ministry seems to be suggesting, initially there were just a few protesters against the high oil prices, but the foreign powers and all of us non-Burmese kinda turned in into some kind of pawn in our chess game for democracy, now that the whole nation isn't pleased with them.

Language reminiscent of the Cold War - nevertheless, it is true to a certain extent. It did start as a non-democratic-linked protest, but it is said that after monks met Aung San Suu Kyi at her home, the protest became the saffron revolution for democracy.

Sadly, all those who have the will to protest are all in jails. It seems that now with some silence, the junta has got an equal footing with the democratic powers of the world - with this, it means that there will be a higher chance that there remains the status quo, with no direct backlash against the junta any moment.

The monks and protesters are all without tough weapons to resist the junta - their voice carry little tangible weight in a country without democracy, though it is highly symbolic. Burma requires external voices for the junta to really feel pressured at all.

Onward! The world must not give up on Burma and let the junta go easy!

KnightofBuddha · October 2007

The truly great thing about non-violent resistance is that it so clearly separates the good from the evil. When there is a violent revolution with shootouts between opposing sides, you cannot always tell which side is the noble one (if any). But in Burma, when we see monks and peaceful protesters being arrested and shot, the good and evil people are clearly identifiable.

federica · October 2007

"Who knows what is good? Who knows what is bad?"

It's all a matter of perception, KoB... Whilst I do not argue that what is happening currently is cause for great suffering - both within and outside of Burma - those "in power" may well believe themselves to be acting in the best possible interests of everyone. Now, we may well be able to shoot holes in their perception, and I can understand why this would be so....

But 'Wrong'? 'Right'?

What is to say that this will not eventually lead to improvements?
If it's a wrong action, and it wakes people up, isn't it a Right Action, in a way?

ajani_mgo · October 2007

Soe Win, PM of Burma, is officially dead - how coincidental.

http://www.nowpublic.com/emergencies/burma-prime-minister-lt-gen-soe-win-died

News of this is surprisingly scarce - I think it's official, I saw it across several places over the Internet, or have I just been conned that Soe Win is really dead? The sources to confirm this news seem shady at best - none of the major, reputable news press have reported it yet.

Simonthepilgrim · October 2007

I think we need to remember the role of multinational corporations in funding the junta. Total Oil produces hundreds of millions of dollars each year in revenue for the regime from the Yadama gas project. The project is guarded by government troops and uses slave labour and the profits come back to a Western-based multinational. Globalisation at work, eh?

And our politicos target the generals, who are far away, and ignore the Total gas station where they fill up. Sanctions against a few leaders and their families seem pretty patronising when there is a genuine target within our own borders.

Has anyone seen the film Amazing Grace? It is about William Wilberforce and the campaign to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. As part of the campaign, people refused to buy West Indian sugar: "It has blood in every lump." Perhaps we should realise that slave blood is on every gallon of Total petrol!

Only if we act will our admiration for the courage of the Burmese sangha be anything more than ego-massage and rather sinister voyeurism.

On a personal note, I understand that any anger that I am expressing here is the result of my own feelings of impotence, yet again, in the face of repression and totalitarian aggression. I am reminded of the faint cries that we heard from Hungary and to which Western governments replied with a strong "Tut! Tut!"

KnightofBuddha · October 2007

federica wrote: »

"Who knows what is good? Who knows what is bad?"

It's all a matter of perception, KoB... Whilst I do not argue that what is happening currently is cause for great suffering - both within and outside of Burma - those "in power" may well believe themselves to be acting in the best possible interests of everyone. Now, we may well be able to shoot holes in their perception, and I can understand why this would be so....

But 'Wrong'? 'Right'?

What is to say that this will not eventually lead to improvements?
If it's a wrong action, and it wakes people up, isn't it a Right Action, in a way?

The Holocaust woke people up, but I would never in a thousand years suggest that it was Right Action by any standard. Oppressive military rule, as far as I am aware, has never lead to any improvement in any society.

Well, I'm not afraid to use the terms good and evil in this situation. I'm not being myopic. It's just that I believe regimes can be evil just as individuals can be. Governments can be moderately good at times as well as individuals.

People who protest peacefully without the use of weapons against others are acting compassionately. (Let's call that good) But people who assassinate and murder other people for the sake of retaining political and military power is acting out of greed and hatred. (I call that bad or evil in this case).

ajani_mgo · October 2007

Amazingly, while the foreign presses are all accusing Singapore of being the Swiss bank of Burmese generals, there is nothing about it reported, or even clarified in our local papers - no Singaporean knows about what the foreign world is saying about us unless he/she is an Internet news reader.

Tut-tut, my country has investments and close financial ties with the Burmese government. I should hope that still, they are ready to stand by their promise as the ASEAN chair-country to push for reforms in that forsaken land.

Simonthepilgrim · October 2007

I am delighted to see that the authorities in Belgium have decided that it can re-open the case against Total in Burma.

Palzang · October 2007

Huh, and I always thought Total was just a cereal...

Palzang

carbonunit · October 2007

The Burmese situation is very sad but not unique in the world today. The media presents us with a rather fixed menu and tries to offer some variety to keep us interested. Many children go missing every day, why does Madeline attract our attention. Buddhist monks are a novelty to most westerners, a symbol of pacifism. If one is bold enough to examine this closely you will see that most people are appalled for the same reasons that people eat cows and not furry bunny rabbits. In few weeks nothing will have changed (please let me be wrong) and we will be outraged at the bombing of Iran by coalition forces.

Lets not forget that the western press presents us with with an outrage against freedom. This is hippocracy at its finest as we see that protest is treated in pretty much the same manner all over world. The "Battle of the bean field" may be an easy to find example among thousands. Governments cracking down on unrest is common. Rounding up enemies of the people and treating them badly is also common practice as many Muslims will attest. America prefers to torture citizens of the world in Cuba where it can do things that would not be permitted within its own borders. If you want to protest in a western country you can do it, so as as you do with a permit and remain between the orange markers. Break the rules and you will be beaten and dragged off to jail.

Sadly protest in the face of force seldom yields short term results, and governments tend to be replaced only when they have run their course or a dictator loses grip or dies. We will see evidence of this in Cuba shortly. These protests I fear will only cause more misery for the poor in Myanmar as sanctions are imposed and aid withdrawn.

The elite will always remain teflon coated. By withdrawing aid does Japan want to drive the population in desperation against the government or do they really think that the government will be shaken by this.

However there is good to be found in the face of adversity (if you want to see it that is). Myranmar is a country where dhamma can be found. This must surely benefit those in poverty and help them to find meaning in life and understand the situation that they are in. They have freedom of religion. They might not have the perceived freedoms that we enjoy in the west and the country is being mismanaged but they are able to live if they tow the line, not ideal but better than some countries. They have Aung San Suu Kyi who remains fit and well under house arrest. The regime in Nigeria executed their opposition leader. This is heartening considering that a situation similar to the freeing of Nelson Mandela may occur in the future. They have a leader waiting in the wings for when things do eventually change. Apartheid in South Africa lasted for 90 years and only through continued struggle and effort was it overthrown. There is also a large support base around the world with many awareness campaigns on the go.

I do not think that things will change overnight but these unfortunate protests and the price that is paid is necessarily part of the mass action that will only bear fruit over time

Palzang · October 2007

Whether or not signing a petition or attending a rally actually change anything is immaterial, CU. It's the doing of it that is essential. We're not going to change the world, but we can change ourselves.

Palzang

Simonthepilgrim · October 2007

Palzang wrote: »

Huh, and I always thought Total was just a cereal...

Palzang

FYI:

Total Lubricants USA

Simonthepilgrim · October 2007

carbonunit wrote: »

The Burmese situation is very sad but not unique in the world today. The media presents us with a rather fixed menu and tries to offer some variety to keep us interested. Many children go missing every day, why does Madeline attract our attention. Buddhist monks are a novelty to most westerners, a symbol of pacifism. If one is bold enough to examine this closely you will see that most people are appalled for the same reasons that people eat cows and not furry bunny rabbits. In few weeks nothing will have changed (please let me be wrong) and we will be outraged at the bombing of Iran by coalition forces.

Lets not forget that the western press presents us with with an outrage against freedom. This is hippocracy at its finest as we see that protest is treated in pretty much the same manner all over world. The "Battle of the bean field" may be an easy to find example among thousands. Governments cracking down on unrest is common. Rounding up enemies of the people and treating them badly is also common practice as many Muslims will attest. America prefers to torture citizens of the world in Cuba where it can do things that would not be permitted within its own borders. If you want to protest in a western country you can do it, so as as you do with a permit and remain between the orange markers. Break the rules and you will be beaten and dragged off to jail.

Sadly protest in the face of force seldom yields short term results, and governments tend to be replaced only when they have run their course or a dictator loses grip or dies. We will see evidence of this in Cuba shortly. These protests I fear will only cause more misery for the poor in Myanmar as sanctions are imposed and aid withdrawn.

The elite will always remain teflon coated. By withdrawing aid does Japan want to drive the population in desperation against the government or do they really think that the government will be shaken by this.

However there is good to be found in the face of adversity (if you want to see it that is). Myranmar is a country where dhamma can be found. This must surely benefit those in poverty and help them to find meaning in life and understand the situation that they are in. They have freedom of religion. They might not have the perceived freedoms that we enjoy in the west and the country is being mismanaged but they are able to live if they tow the line, not ideal but better than some countries. They have Aung San Suu Kyi who remains fit and well under house arrest. The regime in Nigeria executed their opposition leader. This is heartening considering that a situation similar to the freeing of Nelson Mandela may occur in the future. They have a leader waiting in the wings for when things do eventually change. Apartheid in South Africa lasted for 90 years and only through continued struggle and effort was it overthrown. There is also a large support base around the world with many awareness campaigns on the go.

I do not think that things will change overnight but these unfortunate protests and the price that is paid is necessarily part of the mass action that will only bear fruit over time

Although many died and the outcome was less-than-perfect, the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi's campaigns was crucial in the ending of the British Raj in India. There must be a place for those of us who want to demonstrate our political commitment which is also congruent with our ethics.

It is a fundamental tenet of the liberal democracies that ethics are more important than political expediency. It is a doctrine that has been greatly damaged by the recent, on-going Iraq struggle but it would be disastrous were we to abandon it completely. Those of us who choose peaceful activism need to make our point and use the opportunity to raise people's awareness. I am completely in agreement that simply signing an online petition is a very small action but action it is. If I have learned anything from my years of Buddhist and Christian study and meditation, it is that the smallest actions can have the most enormous effects - but there have to be actions! Good intentions are vital .... if they are followed by some action.

Palzang · October 2007

Today (Oct. 6th) four ordained from Sedona (two monks, two nuns) attended a rally organized by Burmese peace activists in the Phoenix area and held at Arizona State University. After several hours of speeches and videos of the atrocities being committed in Burma, we assembled and marched around campus and downtown Tempe to show our support for the Saffron Revolution. While our numbers were small - perhaps 30 people - a lot of passing cars showed their support by honking, waving, yelling, and many passersby also voiced their support. Many others just stared in wonder. No negative reactions were noted.

After the march returned to campus, we disbanded. We spent some time talking to the organizers of the march and three Theravadan monks who were also there, one Burmese monk from Apache Junction (a Phoenix suburb), and two from Tucson. They were very happy that we had come, as was the organizer of the event, a nice girl named Sophie. I expect we'll be seeing more of these people.

Before we left, we were asked to pose for pictures with the Theravadan monks. The Burmese monk from Apache Junction stood next to me, and at one point he leaned close and whispered in a voice just loud enough for the two of us to hear, "My brother..." I had difficulty holding back the tears.

Yes, he is my brother, and the Burmese military thugs are murdering my brothers and tossing their bodies into sewage water to rot. I for one will not rest until it stops!

Palzang

ajani_mgo · October 2007

I'm seriously glad - while the Burmese have no voice, liberal democracies around the world are lending their voices to Burma!

Now at least the world knows we are not giving up easily!

Palzang · October 2007

I'd just like to put out a heads up about October 21st. We are planning candlelight vigils in as many places as possible that day, which marks the one month anniversary of the beginning of the demonstrations in Burma. Please help organize a vigil in your city/town/burg/whatever. Show the world that killing monks is unacceptable by anyone at any time!

Palzang

Jason · October 2007

Thank you for your efforts, Palzang.

federica · October 2007

Killing ANYONE, is unacceptable, at any time.....

But yes, you're right. This is particularly despicable, seeing as the victims are people absolutely, publicly, manifestedly and openly opposed to any form of violence whatsoever. Their very practise denotes their pacifism, and that some can brutally over-ride this philosophy is both heinous and devalues their own humanity.

I shall be lighting everything possible in complete support, dear Palzang.

starstuff · October 2007

Anyone who happens to be in the Louisville area...
There is an organization called Kentucky Refugee Ministries on Highland Blvd that is collecting coats/shoes/warm clothes for refugees from Mayamar/Burma. Possibly this is going on in other cities as well.

I hear it is a bit colder here than it is there--and it's barely Fall.

ajani_mgo · November 2007

BREAKING NEWS!!

Yadda yadda... And it's outdated... I haven't been updating about Burma for some time now, but a few days ago I think something interesting happened worth discussing! I don't know if it got reported around your area, though.

Alright, so about a week or two ago the ASEAN summit started and got hosted in Singapore, my beautiful nation, as Burma too got invited to participate as an ASEAN member.

Mr Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN, said this: "If you have a troubled child, do you say, 'Go out of the house, I don't want to talk to you?'", as he was replying to an US proposal on suspending Burmese membership from ASEAN because of its human-rights violation.

ASEAN seems to very much be the moderator of international sentiments towards Burma. The EU too, is working with ASEAN, and have come to some agreement on the topic of economic sanctions, which the EU supports against Burma but ASEAN rejects.

I find Mr Ong's reply very intriguing - should ASEAN at least discipline our 'troubled child'?

Also, UN Ambassdor Gambari was not allowed to talk to Burma during the ASEAN Summit, as per the Burmese government's wishes.

starstuff · November 2007

Thanks for the update. It seems that we don't hear much about Burma anymore in the USA any more--or maybe that's just me, since I don't watch cable news...

ajani_mgo · November 2007

The whole world doesn't exactly report much on Burma nowadays - like what I earlier was afraid of, if the world gives up, nothing changes.

Dang! Whatever happened to the stereotype of the naggy and paparazzi democracies?

Simonthepilgrim · November 2007

ajani_mgo wrote: »

The whole world doesn't exactly report much on Burma nowadays - like what I earlier was afraid of, if the world gives up, nothing changes.

Dang! Whatever happened to the stereotype of the naggy and paparazzi democracies?[/quote]

I regret to say that they have returned to their obsession with local scandals and celebrity. Hard subjects, like democracy and freedom, bore them and they judge that they bore the readers too.

ajani_mgo · November 2007

LOL Simon!

From my cable subscription locally, I regularly get to watch the news of countries like Taiwan, and the rare America (if my cable operator is giving a free preview) - it must be fun to have news about celebrities all the time - political celebs included!

Sometimes within the trashiest news lie the most honest truths.

starstuff · November 2007

ajani_mgo wrote: »

LOL Simon!

From my cable subscription locally, I regularly get to watch the news of countries like Taiwan, and the rare America (if my cable operator is giving a free preview) - it must be fun to have news about celebrities all the time - political celebs included!

Sometimes within the trashiest news lie the most honest truths.

Now there is another way of looking at it

Simonthepilgrim · December 2007

ajani_mgo wrote: »

LOL Simon!

From my cable subscription locally, I regularly get to watch the news of countries like Taiwan, and the rare America (if my cable operator is giving a free preview) - it must be fun to have news about celebrities all the time - political celebs included!

Sometimes within the trashiest news lie the most honest truths.

I regularly get into trouble for maintaining that the way in which the media treat, for example, Britney Spears and her troubles as a parent gives us insight into the deep-seated sexism that underlies so much of the reporting.

As an aspiring Buddhist, reflecting daily on anatta, I am very troubled by the 'cult of personality' that seems to be a daily celebration of overwhelming ego. Democracy has become a beauty pageant and might as well be run as a premium 'phone-in game!

harlan · December 2007

Oh no. We spank them...and keep it very much 'in-house'. (bad humor/metaphor...sorry)

ajani_mgo wrote: »

"If you have a troubled child, do you say, 'Go out of the house, I don't want to talk to you?'

As for the intellectual and reporting abilities of 'the media'...I think the 'truth' of the matter is a fallout between ratings and corporate manipulation, a preponderance of undereducated and self-serving journalists working in the TV industry, and an undereducated and overworked population that turns to tv for entertainment/diversion.

ajani_mgo · January 2008

Alright! I've had it!

It's been almost a month now, and I hear no word of Burma in any news anywhere! I am angry, I am pissed off, I am ready to blow off anytime now! I need to let off some steam!!!!

So

... Does anyone have news?

Simonthepilgrim · January 2008

ajani_mgo wrote: »

Alright! I've had it!

It's been almost a month now, and I hear no word of Burma in any news anywhere! I am angry, I am pissed off, I am ready to blow off anytime now! I need to let off some steam!!!!

So ... Does anyone have news?

Hi Ajani_mgo. How good to see you again. Happy 2008!

You are quite right: the news from and about Burma seems to have vanished like the morning dew. The conspiracy-theorist who lives somewhere in my brain whispers that the West are prepared to abandon Burma to China as part of their "sphere of influence". Probably in exchange for valuable consideration.

Would you agree with my assessment that the balance of world power is about to shift east, to Beijing? As an historian, albeit amateur, I am becoming fascinated by the extraordinary resilience of the Chinese across the millennia, from warring kingdoms to vast empire, from Marxist stereotype to a new, yet-to-be-labelled, socio-economic state - and a creditor rather than a debtor nation.

If only there were an English-language history of the rise, fall, rise, fall and rise of the Chinese empire like Gibbon's work on Rome.

If China is being encouraged to extend its influence even more thoroughly, the silence on the news front makes geopolitical, if somewhat Machiavellian, sense.

ajani_mgo · January 2008

Ancient Chinese history is fascinating, to a certain extent it is a cousin of its Eastern counterpart India, where the ethics of honour and the art of war has always been perpetual themes within. How is it possible to contain the entire continuum of China within a few books and accounts? A selected study of Romanticized Chinese classic historical tales like The Chu-Han Contention and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms should reveal enough of Chinese ingenuity and their "noble ethics" which would have made a welcome replacement to Western commercialism and influence, everywhere today.

Unfortunately, China has lost much of its ancient grandeur which once made Orientalists like Marco Polo fascinate about it so infamously. The only remainders of the past come in books and operas; and magnificent constructions like the Great Wall.

When did it all start to deteriorate? China today to me is best known from mundane fake drugs and dangerous foodstuffs, to massive bureaucratic inefficiency and unthinking. The roots of this Marxist government lie all the way back to when foreign intervention in China started, when China was a huge pie to be carved up and divided among stronger Western nations.

Karma? Haha - history is not a science, above all. A great deal of the random, unpredictable had occurred before China was what it was today. This is almost the same as how the Al-Qaeda had grown, quite literally, from the pockets of American taxpayers in the past, when they were groomed for resistance against the Soviets.

I shall not deny that in recent months I have began to find the complete form of communism tempting, where transitional socialism has passed into anarchy. Yet looking back at Soviet-Chinese relations back when the SU still existed, the Chinese were real-atrocious when they declared that with their Great Leap Forward, they would jump into Communism, while the SU was still trying to 'transit' from capitalism to communism. Much have changed since Mao, economically and ideologically. However for history, the perpetual question shall remain - Does man create history, or does history create man?

I find that while I may stand for one side or another; one interpretation or another, seriously, anything goes in history, for it must be remembered that it is not a science. There is no 'objective ideal', we will always need to wait and see. In the entire continuum and change of human existence, well, I don't know. You don't know what you will know if you don't let it happen. I think it was the Existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who said that "Life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backwards." But Simon, I am your junior, there might be things beyond my experience henceforth to understand. (Darn! Too bad I'm a Empiricist! If I'm a Rationalist, I might have a shot at outsmarting this Pilgrim!

)

As for Burma, well... If everyone is to just do nothing and let the 'entire continuum and change of human existence' work itself out, then there wouldn't be any of that, would there? Heh, so I say, Burma should change - but yes, you may be right, things may be out of our control now, while the conspiracy theorists start working shifts. Tut-tut.

ajani_mgo · January 2008

Finally something! Here's what I got from my subscription to Diplomacy Monitor.. It's not like alot... But at least it's news.

http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/dn/dn6340800D6CA0CA97852573CE003DA4EE

NAY PYI TAW, 11 Jan - Minister for Labour U Aung Kyi who was assigned as Minister for Relations to liaise with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met with her at Seinlè Kantha Guest House in Yangon from 1 pm to 2.10 pm today.

starstuff · January 2008

This is a story that was in the front page of my hometown newspaper (I get the electronic version). It has to do with immigrants in Louisville in general but also has a bit about a Burmese refugee who has come here. Just thought you might be interested.

The Courier-Journal 01/18/2008, Page A01
Immigrants find lack of English isn’t a barrier to care
By Deborah Yetter | dyetter@courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
“Como te llama?” the receptionist asked.
The simple question—“What is your name?”— was enough to light up Eliza Mejia’s face as she approached the counter at a Louisville medical clinic to register as a new patient.
Recently arrived from Mexico, Mejia knows little English, so she decided to visit the new Family Health Center Americana in the Southside neighborhood, where services are available in multiple languages.
“Word is rapidly spreading that our staff speaks Spanish,” said Laura Welch, a nurse practitioner.
Opened Sept.10, the clinic— one of seven community health centers in Louisville— is designed to help the area’s burgeoning population of immigrants and refugees, many of them settled in south Louisville. Already the small clinic has 400 patients and hopes eventually to expand to 1,500.
Spanish is just one of many languages and dialects that medical staff have encountered as they see patients from places such as Myanmar (formerly Burma), Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, Bosnia, Russia and various African countries.
Some of the clinic’s staff speaks Spanish. For other languages, clinic staffers find an interpreter. If not, they use a telephone link with an interpreting service.
That’s how a nurse communicated recently with Ah Mu, a Burmese man who arrived in Louisville in August as a refugee with his wife and four children, ages 9, 11, 13 and 15. She found an interpreter who speaks Karen, the language of many Burmese refugees.
Ah Mu, 38, takes English classes required for refugees but hadn’t yet mastered the language enough to communicate with clinic staff about his follow-up visit for bronchitis.
The phone interpreter also helped him to speak with a reporter about his impression of the services at the clinic.
“I like it,” Ah Mu said through the interpreter. “The services are good.”
Karen Hill, a volunteer from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church who ac companied Ah Mu to the clinic, said access to health care and interpreters has been an enormous help to the family, who came to the United States from a refugee camp in Thailand.
“It’s been wonderful for them,” Hill said.
The clinic, located next to the Americana Community Center — a hub of services and programs for refugees and immigrants — represents an ambitious undertaking by the Family Health Centers Inc. of Louisville, a nonprofit organization that provides health care to people regardless of ability to pay.
Resources already are stretched to cover the people the clinics serve — many with no insurance and little ability to pay, said Bill Wagner, executive director of the centers. And providing interpreters adds to the cost.
Family Health Centers spends about $400,000 a year on interpreters at its clinics, including the service by telephone, he said.
But he said the organiza tion is committed to serving a population that will continue to grow as more refugees and immigrants arrive.
“We’re committed to making Louisville a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees,” he said. “One of the first steps is providing affordable health care.”
Grants from Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and University Hospital helped open the clinic. Jewish and University each pledged $150,000 a year for three years to help launch the project, Wagner said.
That provides about half the $600,000 annual cost of running the clinic. Payments from Medicaid, which covers some of the patients, private insurance or whatever patients can pay provides additional money, and the Family Health Centers covers the rest, Wagner said.
Medicaid, the government health plan for low-income and disabled people, and other government assistance cover refugees — people who have been forced fro m their country for political or religious persecution — for up to a year.
In addition to treating patients and providing preventive care, such as well-baby check-ups and immunizations, the clinic has been designated by the state to provide health screenings and physicals for all refugees arriving in Louisville in an effort to identify and treat problems immediately.
Wagner said his organization is determined to find money to keep the Americana clinic going and even hopes to move from the temporary, modular unit that now houses it to a permanent building.
“We’ll continue to look under any rock for funding sources,” he said.
About 1,600 refugees arrived in Kentucky in the past year, most of them settling in Jefferson County, said Sherry Stanley of Catholic Charities. That agency and Kentucky Refugee Ministries help resettle refugees in Kentucky.
Edgardo Mansilla, executive director of the nearby community center, said the new clinic is an asset for the neighborhood, where many residents are still struggling to master English and lack transportation for health care.
The clinic is in walking distance of several large apartment complexes where many immigrants live.
“I think it’s going to make a huge difference in our neighborhood,” Mansilla said.
The community center serves people who speak more than 40 languages, and clients are especially happy they can get health service in their own language, Mansilla said.
Before the Americana clinic opened, community center staff would refer people to the closest Family Health Clinic, near Iroquois Park. But it’s further away and already has a heavy patient load, he said.
“It was very hard to find an appointment,” he said.
Mejia, 43, said she hopes to learn English and find a job. But for now, she said — through her son, Freddy Vasquez, 19, who served as an interpreter — she’s happy just to find medical care where peopl e speak Spanish.
“Si, si!” she said emphatically.
“She likes it a lot,” her son added.
Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228.

ajani_mgo · January 2008

From the Chinese 'Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu's Regular Press Conference on January 22, 2008'...

Q: State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with Myanmar Vice Foreign Minister U Maung Myint yesterday. What did they discuss? Did they talk about the domestic situation in Myanmar and the construction of gas pipelines between China and Myanmar?

A: On the 21st this month, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with Myanmar Vice Foreign Minister U Maung Myint, who is also the special envoy of Myanmar Prime Minister. Mr. U Maung Myint briefed China on current situation in Myanmar, saying that Myanmar is dedicated to domestic reconciliation and faster democratization.

China supports Myanmar's efforts in maintaining stability and realizing democracy and development. We believe that the international community should have an objective view over the current situation in Myanmar and the efforts of its government, and provide constructive assistances. Unbridled sanctions and pressure will not help. China supports the mediatory efforts of the UN Secretary General and his special envoy Ganbari. We hope that Mr. Ganbari will have full communication with Myanmar to set a proper timeframe to visit Myanmar at an early date.

As to the specific cooperation project between China and Myanmar you mentioned, I can check it for you.

http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/dn/dn644C5EAC09B12D4D852573D90048E3D6

ajani_mgo · February 2008

Alright now, Myanmar has got some new tricks now! And this is gonna be important, so all of ye take out your lecture pads and start copying!

On Saturday, the ruling generals announced that they would hold a referendum on a new Constitution in May, to be followed by elections in 2010.

-http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/10/asia/myanmar.php

"This is a positive development. We hope that the Myanmar government will ensure that the political process is an inclusive one that would lead to peaceful national reconciliation in the country."

-http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/dn/dnDE2D8ED3FF0E2453852573EB003824FF

How cute, any thoughts on this?

Simonthepilgrim · February 2008

ajani_mgo wrote: »

Alright now, Myanmar has got some new tricks now! And this is gonna be important, so all of ye take out your lecture pads and start copying!

-http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/10/asia/myanmar.php

-http://diplomacymonitor.com/stu/dm.nsf/dn/dnDE2D8ED3FF0E2453852573EB003824FF

How cute, any thoughts on this?

The turkey farmers are asking the turkeys to vote on Christmas.

Thank you, Ajani, for keeping us abreast of developments in Burma (I refuse to use the generals' new name) - our own press has forgotten it - Kylie and Britney are just so much more important, aren't they.

Nirvana · May 2008

This is something, Our First Lady, Laura Bush, is criticizing the military Junta of Myanmar for not giving advance notice of the huge Cylone?

Impressive (I'm surprised.). Let's hope that the count does not rise towards 10,000!

Anxioux to hear anything, really!

Palzang · May 2008

The name change from Burma to Myanmar was the brilliant brainchild of the junta. That's why Washington still refers to it as Burma, because we don't recognize the junta as being the legitimate government of Burma.

And Laura Bush has the gall to criticize the junta about the cyclone? After the performance of W's administration during Katrina? OY!

The latest news I heard is that at least 10,000 people perished in just one town! The actual total may never be known.

Palzang

Knitwitch · May 2008

So they have agreed to accept help from the UN eh? (Big of them)

Would almost make one believe in Divine Justice, wouldn't it?

How do you keep someone under house-arrest when they no longer HAVE a house?

Simonthepilgrim · May 2008

It is fortunate for all of us that "Divine Justice" is not meeted out like that!

May the Burmese people and their leaders, however deluded, receive all the help that can be brought to them and may the 'international community' get its act together and meet its obligations to our suffering sisters and brothers. Any merit from my practice this week is offered for both intentions.

Knitwitch · May 2008

Simonthepilgrim wrote: »

It is fortunate for all of us that "Divine Justice" is not meeted out like that!

May the Burmese people and their leaders, however deluded, receive all the help that can be brought to them and may the 'international community' get its act together and meet its obligations to our suffering sisters and brothers. Any merit from my practice this week is offered for both intentions.

Yes, Simon, my remark was an acid aside - perhaps the force of Nature can succeed where everything else has failed and the Burmese government will have to entre into dialogue, having accepted aid.

Obviously my prayers are with the people suffering, and for those maimed and killed, but perhaps something good can come out of this disaster.

Metta

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