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State and Sangha in Burma
Asian Human Rights Commission
AHRC - Human Rights SOLIDARITY -
July 2000 Volume 10 No. 7 - State and Sangha in Burma
State and Sangha in Burma
Antevasika
Gautama Buddha envisaged a role for the Buddhist clergy, the Sangha, as
moral guardian of political life: "In the Aggana Sutta the sociogenesis of
political power is traced to a social contract. In his discourses to kings,
the Buddha indicated his preference for consensual government based on just
laws... Unleashing state terror against the people, the Buddha warned
rulers, would drive resentment underground. Violence would erupt again and
society would be caught in an unending spiral of violence and
counter-violence." (Nalin Swaris, Magga: The Buddha's Way to Human
Liberation, 1997, p. 403.) Other discourses, such as the Satta Aparihaniya
Dhamma, offer rulers advice on ensuring their people's prosperity.
In Burma, the Buddhist clergy historically served as a counter-weight to
oppressive governance. For centuries, kings both sought the Sangha's
approval and attempted to limit its power, as monks held a range of unique
social, political and economic sanctions with which to undermine
incompetent rulers. Later, under the colonial regime, their legitimising
influence was no longer sought and government agents merely viewed monks
with suspicion: "Nearly every, if not every, serious uprising against the
British Government was concocted in some form of monastery... It seems
strange that monasteries, rather than courts of justice or private
dwellings, were the favourite haunts of these scheming scoundrels." (WW
Cochrane, The Shans, Vol. 1, 1915, p. 212.) Given that the Europeans had
comprehensively dismantled the social structures through which monks and
nuns derived authority and consistently desecrated Buddhist places of
worship, monastic opposition to their presence should perhaps have been
less surprising.
The Sangha's traditional relationship to the government underwent renewal
in more recent times. Both the post-independence
government and successive military regimes have desired the clergy's
sanction, yet have attempted to diminish its influence to a
passive non-threatening level. The current regime has taken both to new
lengths. In the absence of another governing ideology it
has developed a role for itself, in mimicry of ancient monarchs, as
religious patron. Almost daily generals queue to offer donations and
oversee openings of new religious institutions (see official media at
www.myanmar.com/nlm). Simultaneously, the government exercises control
through a central committee of senior monks and a programme for
"purification" of the Sangha, amounting to the systematic eradication of
anti-military elements within its ranks. Years of infiltration and
intimidation have seemingly weakened resistance, yet monks and nuns both
prominent and obscure continue to defy government edicts.
Recent reports indicate a new public rift between State and Sangha. It said
to have begun when two popular abbots, Pegu
Kyahkhatwine Sayadaw and Maha Gandhayon Sayadaw, admonished both the armed
forces and democratic opposition for the ongoing political stalemate in the
country, ten years since results of the last election were rejected by the
military. In response, the army began imposing restrictions on the abbots
and lay-followers. The conflict grew and soon, according to exiled monks in
Thailand, plans were afoot for a march on Rangoon. Official media sources
reported that police met with select senior monks and told them "to be on
guard against the insidious danger of some members of the Sangha". About
one hundred monks arrived individually in Rangoon from Mandalay, in spite
of restrictions imposed on travel, but authorities were aware of their
presence. In the capital, the deadline for protests passed apparently
without incident. Independent radio stations reported on disturbances in
Mandalay, and Mergui in the south, however these appear to have been
stifled by an intimidating military and police presence.
That nothing much seems to have happened is not surprising. Almost without
exception, mass uprisings in Burma have occurred
spontaneously. Proclamations for change have met with vigilance from
authorities and corresponding muteness from the populace. But nor should
the absence of open confrontation be taken as a lack of activism on the
part of either clergy or lay-people. Numerous examples testify to the stand
by monks and nuns in Burma against militarization, such as when Aung San
Suu Kyi was welcomed by the famous Thamanyar Sayadaw after her release from
house arrest in 1995. Photographs of the meeting were widely circulated and
this simple act by the old abbot was enough to send military minds reeling.
And while the actions of
important persons attract widespread attention, courageous acts of
less-prominent religious figures have also become the stuff of
legend. In the east of the country, a local militia commander in a civil
war area informed an abbot that his soldiers were going to
burn down a nearby church. The Sayadaw replied, "When you have finished,
come back and burn down my monastery too" and spoke to the officer on the
virtue of all religions, averting the arson. The devotees of an abbot in
the north were forced to labour on a road rather than attend a religious
festival, so the monk came to the construction site. The villagers laid
down their tools while the abbot preached that suffering occurs in
countries with rulers who have breached the moral laws laid out by Buddha
in the Cakkavatta Sihanda Sutta. In Burma to make such criticism of the
military, however obtuse, is nothing less than a life-threatening act.
No doubt the last decade has left Burma's Sangha worse for wear. The
intimidation, arrests and subjugation of "destructive
elements" within its ranks have been thorough and relentless. However,
reports suggesting it has been weakened to the point of
ineffectuality are ultimately unconvincing, as recent events serve to
demonstrate. They tell us more of the media's weaknesses
than those of the clergy. Currents of resistance often run deep, not easily
recognised by the casual observer. Regardless of
headlines, the Sangha will doubtless continue the struggle to fulfill
Gautama's mandate in quiet day-to-day defence of human rights and dignity
in Burma.
[This article first appeared in the Religious Groups for Human Rights
e-newsletter of June 7, 2000. To subscribe, contact
rghr@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Asian Human Rights Commission
Email: ahrchk@xxxxxxxxxx
http://www.ahrchk.net/solidarity/200007/v107_10.htm