Insight Myanmar

While our recent episodes have focused on the reality in Myanmar, this show explores the condition of allies outside the country who support the democracy movement. Although free from physical harm and living in basic safety, many find that they shoulder a heavy emotional burden by immersing themselves so deeply in the struggles and trauma experienced every day by the people of Myanmar, even if from afar.Rick Hanson is a mindfulness practitioner “interested in bringing a kind of Mahayana spirit of foregrounding and appreciation of notions of emptiness and sort of the unconditioned ground of all, combined with the rigor and the clarity, and the precision and the moral foundations that we find in Theravada Buddhism and in early Buddhism altogether.” He is a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and founding the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, as well as a best-selling author, penning Buddha’s Brain among other important works.Rick suggests several good practices to become more grounded even in the most difficult of situations. First, there is mindfulness, which he describes as the “capacity to witness your experiences, rather than being completely consumed by them, completely swept along and hijacked by them.” He notes that the Buddha taught about the importance of balancing compassion with equanimity, and how strengthening the latter is able to build up the former. The second is a “feeling of heart,” which Rick characterizes as a sense of connection with other people, or perhaps any living being, or even nature. Third is in developing a more expansive physical perspective, such as gazing at the horizon or sky, which helps bring us into the present neurologically, and dissolves self-preoccupation. And, Rick advises us to be on guard against negative concepts that can easily become embedded in heart and mind.  For example, we can avoid becoming engulfed in the agony of the moment by recognizing the good that still exists in the world.Rick recommends as well that activists seek camaraderie among themselves, creating a community of mutual support, as well as to consciously imbue a sense of meaning and purpose into one’s efforts. He strongly urges activists to engage self-care, such as finding time to rest. “You can't do this stuff 24 hours a day. You need a break!”

The past ten years of Myanmar’s history have certainly not been boring, and journalist Mratt Kyaw Thu has been there to chronicle a lot of it.Hailing from Rakhine state, Mratt made his way to Yangon in 2005, graduating from Dagon University and going into journalism soon after. He worked for Mizzima, where he ended up on the crime beat, and also began covering stories about the military’s snatching up bits of prime real estate throughout the country.Mratt then began filing a series of reports about the drug trade, tracing the routes that traffickers used to smuggle in methamphetamines from the Golden Triangle region.  He was based in Maungdaw where, on October 9, 2016, Muslim residents of the city staged an attack on the police. Mratt instantly realized the significance of the moment, and the events he personally witnessed would resonate around the world.Later, Mratt was informed by several sources that a second attack would be coming. He urgently warned authorities at every level, but his words went unheeded. Not long after, about thirty police stations were attacked. This violence in turn became the impetus for the displacement of over 90,000 Rohingyas.Mratt returned to Maungdaw with some journalist colleagues, but they were identified as outsiders by someone who gathered a mob to harass them. The situation got dangerously tense, but eventually they managed to escape in a hired car. On the way out, Mratt saw entire Muslim villages burned to the ground.Mratt also discussed how his home region of Rakhine has been faring since the military coup. “Everyone's talking about Rakhine and the Arakan Army [AA], and why they don’t fight against the military.” Mratt notes. He explains that before the coup, many Bamar openly supported the Tatmadaw in their offensives against the AA. There are many complex negotiations taking place now.At present, Mratt is focused on telling the story of the ongoing conflict as best as he can—doing so from Spain, as being a journalist has become too personally dangerous in Myanmar since the coup. These days, Mratt has difficulty even seeing those Facebook memories that pop up automatically from previous years—they now seem filled with false optimism and fake news. “People learned a lot,” he says. “So I think those kinds of lessons learned will be something different in the future for my country and for my own people.”

On February 1st, 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing orchestrated a military coup in Myanmar. On February 24th, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized missiles and airstrikes as the first blow in his invasion of Ukraine. On today’s show, two very experienced and highly credentialed international relations experts compare and contrast these two crises: Hunter Marston, who speaks to the situation in Myanmar, and Emily Channell-Justice, who addresses the Russian invasion of Ukraine.As neither Ukraine nor Russia are signatories to the International Criminal Court, Emily notes that it is up to the ICC to pursue its own charges. In Myanmar, Hunter explains that it is unlikely that the junta will own up to its genocide charge; he adds that the NUG might possibly cooperate with any investigation. Neither Russia, Ukraine, nor Myanmar have signed on to the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, which defines genocide and other crimes against humanity.In terms of international organizations, Ukraine is neither a member of the European Union nor NATO, although both were immediately supportive following the Russian invasion. As for the situation in Myanmar, Hunter references the European dependence on Russian gas, saying, “I don't think any country is dependent on Myanmar's exports or its resources. But that hasn't stopped [ASEAN] from in part protecting the Myanmar military.”Another parallel between the two conflicts is the question of negotiations. Hunter feels the military does not intend to engage in any real, constructive dialog that brings with it the possibility of losing any of their power in future elections. For her part, Emily similarly sees little reason to trust any promises made by Putin.In terms of the international response to the respective conflicts, Emily points to the outpouring of support that has come in the way of popular support, funds, weapons, medical supplies, and more. This is, perhaps, the most jarring point of difference when contrasting the situations in the two countries. Hunter explains, “The international community, for better or worse, has not taken sides to support either the Myanmar military or the PDFs or the ethnic armed groups across the country.”

Episode #98: Linn Thant never expected to see another military coup in Myanmar. In 1988, he was arrested, locked away, tortured for years and eventually sentenced to death. So Linn Thant did not expect to live much longer. Linn Thant spent a total of twenty years in prison, eight of those on Death Row. He was beaten so badly that both his leg and collarbone were broken, and every tooth was knocked out. His meditation practice saved him, though, being the one thing that they could never take away. He would awake early and meditate for hours in his cell, following the instructions he had learned in the Mahasi and Taungpulu traditions. Still, they tried; his prison guards beat him until he couldn’t stand if they saw him sitting cross-legged. And even when his body was too broken to endure more punishment, he would just pay close attention to his sense doors. There certainly was nothing good coming in, but he took everything as objects of contemplation, whether the sounds of a nearby inmate being tortured, or the taste of food so rotten and vile that even dogs wouldn’t touch it.But amazingly, through all the torture and abuse, Linn Thant says he has never harbored a single thought of ill will towards any of his tormenters. He even found gratitude for his death sentence, as it gave him a clear sense of impending death, which only sharpened his meditation.Linn Thant was released as part of a general amnesty in 2008. However, he soon realized that he still could not remain safely in his native country. He settled in the Czech Republic in 2011, and he has been there ever since. The National Unity Government has officially named him their Czech representative.As devoted as he is to his meditation practice, Linn Thant is not afraid to call out Buddhist monks who continue to emphasize the virtues of patience and pacifism to their followers, which carries an underlying message of accepting the brutal dictatorship.

From deep meditative absorption with Pa Auk Sayadaw, to sitting in caves in southern Spain in the company of drug addicts and criminals, Beth Upton has led a most amazing spiritual life!  In 2008, Beth went to Pa Auk Monastery in Myanmar to take a deeper plunge into the spiritual life, and she remained there for five years. She cultivated deep states of jhāna under his tutelage, and enhanced powers of perception. Beth describes the peace and happiness of jhānic states in compelling terms. She contrasts the fleeting happiness born of satisfying sense desire, with the deep blissfulness of jhānic states that develop with a mind of non-clinging. In the Pa Auk system, one turns the deeply concentrated mind towards seeing beyond concepts, into the moment-by-moment change of materiality and mentality, which leads to some quite unusual experiences.After leaving Myanmar, Beth—still in robes—ended up living in a series of caves in southern Spain. These caves “were inhabited by addicts and criminals. It's like the Gypsy suburb!” But no one gave her any problems, and eventually some even approached her asking to be taught meditation. After she disrobed in 2018, the transition to lay life was not completely smooth. Around this time, she became involved in a non-sexual, but abusive relationship, which Beth opens up about in a vulnerable and honest way. It was the most suffering she ever experienced, and at the time did not see how any of the skills she had learned on the cushion could help her. She had spent so long practicing to dissolve concepts of self, that her “self” did not know how to respond when the abuser crossed the line. Eventually, she worked her way out of that challenging relationship, and in retrospect learned a lot. Now, both as a meditator and as a teacher, she is trying to integrate meditative skills with life skills, balancing a “soft inner, trusting core” with a “harder, protective, outer layer.”Pa Auk Sayadaw has encouraged her inclination to teach in the West, and told her to go with the flow and teach from her heart, which provides more flexibility. In that spirit, she bases her teaching on the Pa Auk method, but tailors her instruction to individual meditators. 

Some listeners may recall Chit Tun’s first interview with Insight Myanmar, just weeks after the coup was launched. At that time, he was leading nonviolent protests throughout Yangon. He was hiding out at a monastery, his voice hoarse from the speeches he’d been giving, and the internet being cut in the middle of the talk. Shortly after that interview, Chit Tun escaped a manhunt by going on the run, ultimately finding refuge in Karen state. He spent the better part of the next year there in combat training, eventually being asked to take a leadership position.  It was a challenging year, too, both personally and for the movement.Looking back, Chit Tun realized that in the early days of the protests, his vision was narrow and local, focused mainly on the loss of freedom within his own community. But over time, he realized that he was not fighting merely for the rights of his own group, but for everyone living in the country… even those different to him. In particular, he thought about how the military manipulated Buddhism to divide the country.Chit Tun found he was resisting the coup to support democracy on one hand, yet concerned with Buddhism’s continuing ability to flourish in Myanmar on the other. Did he want to see Myanmar as a Buddhist state that provided overt support to monasteries and pagodas, or a federalist country founded on principles of equality and democracy?This concern generated a deeper scrutiny into his own faith, exposing previously unquestioned assumptions that he harbored about his religion’s superiority. His internal conflict was not over what the historical Buddha taught, but in how people in powerful positions in Burmese society were interpreting and manipulating those teachings. Where his own interest in Buddhism stemmed from being a better person in the world, he found that it was being used by a select group of generals, crony businessmen, and monks as a means of increasing their own power, wealth and prestige, while creating divisions amongst other groups. Ultimately, he came to realize that Buddhism can survive in any free society without state support, as it only needs the pure hearts of the practitioner in order to thrive.

Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Conversely, one of the best ways to prevent change within a society is to limit access, censure what is taught and stifle creative thought. And the military leadership in Myanmar have been doing just this for generations. Saw Tar fills in as guest host in this episode about the role of education in Burmese society. The educational system of a country is charged with instilling knowledge and values in its younger generation, so it is a helpful lens to use when trying to understand the present shape of a society. Saw Tar examines how the failures of the school system have contributed to many of the ongoing problems we see today in Myanmar. He first speaks to Terrence Htoo. Terence spent half his schooling in Myanmar and the other half in the United States, so is able to contrast the two systems of education. Moreover, Terence is ethnic Karen, so his perspective on the Burmanization policies of the government is especially valuable. Anne, an 18-year old, currently attends an international school in Yangon. Very few Burmese are able to attend these more privileged institutions, but she fortunately was able to get a scholarship. Anne gives some insight into the curriculum and culture at these schools, and how they differ from the country’s public schools.

Pyae Phyo Kyaw, a gay doctor, is simultaneously helping his countrymen while taking a sledgehammer to the barriers that have long defined Burmese society.Pyae Phyo Kyaw was aware of his sexual orientation from a young age, and the lack of acceptance grew heavy. He attempted suicide several times, until he finally found a way to let go of his inner shame. He was determined to come out, which he did after he had obtained his medical degree.After the military coup was launched in February 2021, Pyae Phyo Kyaw was touched to see members of the LGBT community marching alongside everyone else in the streets in the nonviolent protests. He also began to detect a kind of sea change in attitudes taking place before his eyes among the online community in Myanmar, particularly on Facebook, and was further amazed when the NUG appointed an openly gay minister.Pyae Phyo Kyaw and his partner chose to leave their employment at a Mandalay hospital to help those in the thick of the conflict zone, settling on an area in Karenni state, where they established a mobile medical tent. Since then, they have treated villagers who have lost limbs to landmines, and seen others die from treatable diseases because they simply couldn’t get the proper medicine. Combined with what that population has had to so long endure, it strengthens Pyae Phyo Kyaw’s commitment to help build a more equitable society in Myanmar.Beyond acting as a bridge between two different cultures, the couple is also making a profound impact on Burmese society as well, having become something of online celebrities. Pyae Phyo Kyaw is quite aware of how their service and sacrifice are breaking down social and cultural barriers for perhaps the first time in that country’s history.

In the aftermath of student strikes in 1968, Alan left Columbia University and moved to Berkeley, California. There, he found himself amid a whirlwind of social unrest: the counter-culture movement, anti-war protests, experimentation with mind-altering chemicals, and increasingly violent crackdowns by the police. Eventually Alan came across Philip Kapleau’s book, The Three Pillars of Zen, and was immediately intrigued. Zen was not completely unfamiliar to Alan. Coming from New York, he was personally familiar with several Beat writers and their flirtations with Zen. But in Kapleau, found something much more substantial. This led to Alan’s first engagement with Buddhist practice, and he eventually took up the meditation of Sōtō Zen, “a practice that is quite receptive and fluid.”As Alan was refining his life as a practitioner, he also started reflecting on the connection between spirituality and broader social and political issues. This led to Alan’s evolving into an “Engaged Buddhist,” through which he viewed the eradication of suffering as applying both to individuals as well as communities.Alan also became increasingly interested in Myanmar. Observing the constrictions that had been placed on the monkhood under a military dictatorship for so many years does not leave him feeling optimistic about the future of Buddhism there. Neither has the lack of involvement by the Sangha in the democratic movement gone unnoticed by Generation Z protesters, who are now sacrificing everything for their country’s freedom. One of the unintended consequences of the coup is that, however it ultimately sorts out, the future of Buddhism in Myanmar is uncertain. Alan’s perspective on the Burmese resistance is quite relevant, given his own involvement as a Buddhist practitioner in “street politics” during the turbulent 1970s in the US. While he came to the conclusion that personally supporting violence would ultimately not be effective, he acknowledges that 2022 Myanmar is not 1968 California, and doubts that a strict adherence to nonviolence alone would be effective in Myanmar’s case.Engaged Buddhist action stands in stark contrast to the widespread spiritual bypass that seems to characterize a large segment of the Western meditator community. Alan has also observed this, commenting that it occurs “often in an individual context where people allow their practice to just cover for the work that they need to be doing on themselves… The spiritual bypass is putting on blinders so that you really can't see what's in front of you.”

Most people would not regard a violent military coup as the best time to start an organization, but that's exactly what Katie Craig and her partners did! Katie has worked with minority language communities around Myanmar for years, which gives her unique insight into the historical, cultural, and political challenges that such communities face. Given the Burmanization policies of the government, this has been no easy task. One of the biggest battlegrounds has been the mandated use of Burmese in all public schools, which often goes hand-in-hand with the prohibition of ethnic language use in the classroom. Katie emphasizes that language is more than simply a way of speaking, it’s also a way of being in the world, and a major factor in identity. She views language diversity as an opportunity for learning, and stresses that her organization is not trying to challenge the supremacy of the Burmese language within the country, but to try to ensure that its instruction does not wipe out indigenous languages. Katie speaks passionately of the trauma that befalls a community when it loses its language, or when it is subject to oppression at the hands of the language majority community. Katie describes another layer of complexity regarding the language situation in Myanmar. Each of the standard, generalized ethnic language categories, such as “Kachin” or “Chin,” actually contains a variety of dialects. Identity is often rooted in temporary political or survival needs. And to make things more complicated still, some language minority communities still do not have their own formalized script, and might alternately use either Burmese or Roman characters depending on the context, and based on preferences in identity and alignment.To help address these complex issues, Katie co-founded Myanmar Indigenous Community Partners (MICP). Part of their work involves assisting peoples within Myanmar who have no written form of language to create one. The work of MICP helps language minority groups not only preserve their language, but also their culture and identity along with it.