Dalai Lama Offers Support to Myanmar Monks
Posted by sky | Tags: Buddhism, Chinese-%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87, Myanmar, Photos, World, compassion, democracy, monk, peace, violence
From Forbes.com.'I extend my support and solidarity with the recent peaceful movement for democracy in Burma,' the Dalai Lama said in a message released by the Tibet office and datelined in Dharamsala in northern India. 'I fully support their call for freedom and democracy and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements,' he said. 'As a Buddhist monk, I am appealing to the members of the military regime who believe in Buddhism to act in accordance with the sacred dharma in the spirit of compassion and non-violence. 'I pray for the success of this peaceful movement and the early release of fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,' he said. The generals have normally been tough on dissent, and a crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 left hundreds if not thousands dead. But today's rally was the latest in more than a month of growing demonstrations against the junta since a massive fuel price hike triggered public anger.Buddha vs the barrel of a gun by Pepe Escobar. (Asia Times Online) Democratic Voice of Burma Myanmar protests photos. Photographs from Rangoon. (Times Online blog) TIMELINE-45 years of resistance and repression in Myanmar. (Reuters) 国家最高道德权威 缅甸僧侣挑战军人政权 (联合早报)
在这个近90%人口是佛教徒的国家，僧侣在人们心灵扮演重要的角色；青少年一生至少要出家一小段时期，这是他们的宗教义务，也是他们答谢父母为他们做出牺牲的方式。 在泰国的缅甸分析家温明说，许多青少年会在16岁以前进入寺庙见习，20岁左右再度出家。也就是说，几乎每个家庭都有成员当过和尚，这造就了一大群有组织的青年，在反政府示威中打先锋。 缅甸全国在任何时候都有至少40万个僧侣，其中约八成住在缅甸第二大城市曼德勒。 僧侣和民众在许多方面唇齿相依：僧侣依靠人们的布施，布施者则相信这么做能为来世积福积德。僧侣拒绝领受军人的布施，这一来，如英国《经济学家》指出，就可能导致后者来世不能有更好的出身。 另一缅甸分析家昂奈乌指出，由于军人政府的忽略，缅甸国内的学校、医院和社会福利制度都崩溃了，僧侣在填补这方面的空缺扮演越来越重要的角色。 他说：“寺庙开放园地，充当孤儿院和学校。他们也开始参与爱之病服务，以及许多社会及基层工作。”Previous Post Next Post