[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

it's bingo heaven in Shwe Dagon



Dear Burmanet subscribers:

     I agree with Susu and others that Roger Bunn has a rather peculiar
slant on Burmese Buddhism. And I'm not sure there isn't a certain
ethnocentric arrogance involved, too. It's true that SPDC has been
sponsoring the renovation of the Shwe Dagon, spending a lot of money and
getting a lot of donations from devout folk. (see the recent article by
Aung Zaw in IRRAWADDY). Their motives certainly are not pure. But
politics has always been mixed up with religion. Despite the junta's
occupation of the pagoda, it still is a place where Burmese people (and
foreigners, too) can find peace and solace. A greater source of
consolation, I would say, than kicking the junta out of the Sydney
Olympics!
     Also, I think it's true that as terrible as the Ne Win and
SLORC/SPDC regimes have been, they've not been as bad as Pol Pot in
Cambodia and Mao in China, where a revolutionary regime tried to
eradicate the country's culture and religion. Buddhism does provide a
kind of normative framework for even the generals (which is NOT to say I
support them).
     So if Roger wants to support democracy i Burma, he's got to realize
that being anti-religious is not going to get him anywhere!

     Don Seekins
     Okinawa, Japan