Monks’ Protest – Right or Wrong?

Anti-junta demonstration led by Buddhist monks in Burma recently has caught the attention of the world. From Asia to Europe, people wore red shirt to show their support. In my country, Malaysia, it turns out that some of the people least concerned with the plight of Burmese are Buddhists.

I don’t know how this could happen. Perhaps they thought monks should not be involved in politics. Perhaps they thought that was the karma of the Burmese. A respected teacher told us that democracy might not be good for the Burmese. But the unrest in Burma was not about democracy. It’s about human rights!

Hong Kong did not have democracy before 1997, but Hong Kongers generally were happy with the British-installed governors. In Bhutan, the ex-king called for election in the Himalayan Kingdom, but his subjects loved him so much that they actually preferred absolute monarchy! Unfortunately, I don’t think many Burmese would tell you that they love General Than Shwe.

Thai monks also took to the street a few months ago when they demanded an official religion status for Buddhism. I do NOT agree with them. The protest in Burma, on the other hand, was not for Buddhism or Buddhist monks. It was for the general public. It was also, in principle, a peaceful one, even thought it ended up in violence after the police crack-down. The Burmese monks also did not set themselves in fire, like what a Vietnamese monk did in Saigon back in 1960s.

In Thailand, King Bhumibol keeps a watchful eye on the junta that ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Burma does not have a monarchy. If the monks don’t defy the junta, who else can???

Moral Support for Myanmar's Anti-Junta March

Picture taken from Ko Htike's Prosaic Collection.

Temples in Thailand

Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai...


Wat Santikiri, Mae Salong...


Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai...

Anti-meditation in Buddhism

The above picture shows the statue of Bodhisattva Maitreya, the future Buddha. Have you ever wondered why Bodhisattva Maitreya is usually depicted as sitting on chair rather than sitting cross-legged?

In a Mahayanist Sutra – which I don’t trust – we are told that the future Buddha “doesn’t practice meditation; doesn’t want to end suffering.” (不修禅定，不断烦恼。) I guess that explains the posture of Bodhisattva Maitreya.

In the West, Buddhism is synonymous to meditation. In Asia, however, a small number of Buddhists actually think meditation is a selfish act! These misguided people, rather than striving for awakening, vow to “suffer together with all beings in the universe”.

I have seen many Chinese monks and nuns, while compassionate, lack the wisdom I had expected. They want to help the people, but often it is like blind leading the blinds.

Standing Meditation

According to Buddhist scripture, meditation can be practiced in 4 postures: sitting, walking, standing and lying.

Sitting posture is most common. Traditionally yogis sat cross-legged. Today many sit on chairs. Walking meditation is popular among some traditions. Standing posture is less common because it is tough. Lying posture is also seldom used because one can fall asleep easily. The Japanese, of course, added the kneeling posture.

One year ago, I started to practice standing meditation regularly. I had not been very healthy. I hope that, by meditating in standing posture, I would be fitter.

Today, I don’t fall sick as often as I did a year ago. But I am still not sure if it is a result of standing meditation, or the healthy supplements I take.

Anyway, I will continue to do standing meditation.

Shaolin Monks

To the Buddhists, Shaolin Monastery in China is known as the birth place of Chan (Zen) Buddhism. To non-Buddhists, it is famous for its Kungfu monks.

A Shaolin monk can break pieces of bricks with a single chop of his palm. He can withstand the attack of a spear without getting injured. The question is: monks are supposed to be peace-loving people. Should they practice martial art?

To be sure, martial art of Shaolin Monastery isn’t of the ‘soft’ type, like Taiji or Aikido. Rather, it belongs to the ‘hard’ type. A kick by a Shaolin monk can be fatal.

And I am never so sure if they are genuine monks in the first place. China has been ruled by the Communists since 1949 and majority of Chinese are atheists. Perhaps these ‘monks’ are just Kungfu-loving youths who, in order to learn the art, don the robes reluctantly. Outside the monastery or affiliated martial art academies, they may live a life that bring disgrace to the Buddhist community.

Dharma, not italicized

I came across an article on BusinessWeek with the title ‘In China, Dharma Confronts the Dollar’.

While this article describes commercialization of Buddhism in China, I found the title interesting. It seems to suggest that ‘Dharma’ is no longer an alien word in English.

Heck, I still remember a sitcom called ‘Dharma and Greg’. And, as I am typing, Microsoft Word hasn’t drawn a red curvy line below the word which means ‘teaching of the Buddha’ or ‘the Law’.