There have been growing protests in Burma (aka Myanmar) led by Buddhist monks. Burma is a country close to my heart because a great meditation teacher, S.N. Goenka, calls that country home and credits the land and it's people with maintaining "pure" Buddhist meditation (esp Vipassana) practice for 2500 years. It has always saddened me to know that Burma, the land of beautiful therevada Buddhism, could be home to one of the most oppressive military dictatorships in the world. The quality of a teaching can be judged by the action of it's students, and for a country that's 90% Buddhist to be ruled by a corrupt military junta presents a problem for those considering the teaching as a practical guide to living.
But the Buddhist monks have finally begun to act, and we see how powerful the winds of change can be. The monks have ceased accepting alms from government workers (a hugely shameful thing for them to endure) and have actually taken to the streets in peaceful protest. Hopefully the end result of this protest will be the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her rightful installment as Burma's democratically elected leader. Suu Kyi is an amazing human being and I don't doubt that Burma's fortunes would change drastically for the better. I mean, I'm really excited! Indeed, the region is so rich in natural resources one could see a more enlightened Burma not only correcting it's current economic woes (the avg yearly income is $175) and loss of freedom (the media is universally pre-censored), but actually growing into a world player. Think Singapore, but with heart.
I for one will be meditating and praying for the success of this peaceful and righteous "insurrection". I hope dearly that the everyday men and women of the repressive, unjust government regime abandon their posts and join in with the protests, and that no blood is spilled. Burma deserves much better than she's gotten over the last 40 years, and by golly I think she's finally going to be set free!
Jim Carrey has a wonderful little video about Aung Sun Suu Kyi, and there are some links to help.
I am not familiar with these organizations, and cannot vouch for them. But they are mentioned in the video and I link them here for your convenience:
humanrightsactioncenter.org
uscampaignforburma.org
Also, send an encouraging email to the UN Secretary General. The UN Security Council needs to get involved.
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