Insight Myanmar

You are listening to the second episode in our ongoing series, titled “Love Letters to Myanmar.”This series features guests who share their warmest memories and anecdotes, discuss what life lessons they have learned from their time in Myanmar, and talk about the role that the country and culture has played in their lives. We hope these shows can aid us in keeping our hearts firmly rooted in the Golden Land, while also providing a sense of renewed energy and purpose as we face the on-going, very challenging developments in the Golden Land.This second episode in the series is a mirror image of the inaugural program, which showcased the stories of three non-Burmese who were deeply impacted by their time in the country. In this one, we hear from three Burmese who left their homes at a young age in order to settle in foreign countries with their families.Our guests include Yi Mon, whose family went to Japan; Paing, whose family went to Norway; and Lily, whose family went to the United States. They describe the challenges of adjusting to new countries and cultures while holding onto the values of their homeland, and how the Buddha’s teachings have guided their lives even after settling into new lands where few around them follow Buddhist principles or have a daily meditation practice. They close by sharing their thoughts and feelings in following along with the protest movement from afar.

For his contribution to the resistance, Ven Detta is seeking inspiration from Vladmir Lenin, spending the last several months studying the history of how soldiers are coaxed to defect during insurrections. He notes that during the 1917 Russian Revolution, “The military just stopped following orders.”Being intimately familiar with Burmese military culture, Ven is far from naïve concerning the challenges of this work. He understands the Tatmadaw’s insular culture, and how brutality and cruelty are celebrated as virtues. He also acknowledges that military families live in military compounds, effectively making them hostages should any soldiers desert.The work is dangerous, as anyone caught with anti-military literature or is found to even be in the possession of a printer faces extreme consequences. The military can shoot first, and doesn’t even need to ask questions later. And yet for Ven, this threat of excessive response on the military’s part only points out just how vulnerable they believe they are.Ven feels that a key part of this campaign is to get defections happening in large numbers. The more soldiers defect or desert, the less the military can respond to individuals. This is of course easier said than done.  Ven also believes that having some organization soldiers could defect to would be a critical component to a successful strategy, and towards this end he is eagerly awaiting the formation of the planned Federal Army.Finally, Ven minces no words in explaining the role the monkhood should play. “Many people…will no doubt listen to what a monk will have to say. And there are several dozen monks who have immense sway over public opinion. And I think they need to stand up [and] speak from a religious perspective.”Will the popular movement’s humanistic ethics that value each individual life and guarantees inherent freedoms overcome the Tatmadaw’s emphasis on discipline, along with distrust of critical, independent thinking? Ven believes in the righteousness of his side, but also knows this is a story still being written.To support Ven’s defection mission, please consider making a donation for his cause.

Thiri is no stranger to the trauma brought on by the military coup. She spent five years with Human Rights Watch listening to people with cruel and brutal stories of their families killed or harmed by the military. Yet now she’s in the middle of it herself. She knows that there is no real safety anywhere anymore, as even residents staying indoors are getting beaten, arrested, and even killed for no reason. She grimly accepts this reality as best she can. She can’t even pause to enjoy a sunset anymore, because should she pull out a phone to get a picture of it, security forces could arrest her on the spot and confiscate her phone, thus exposing her many contacts.Despite the nightmarish situation, Thiri has chosen to remain in Myanmar, even though she holds active visas for both Thailand and the US. She once seriously considered getting to safety, but in the end, she decided she couldn’t face the guilt of escaping when so many others couldn’t, and felt a strong sense of unity that she must carry on until the end. And Thiri plays no small role in the resistance. She is being called upon daily now to provide safe houses, transfer money, acquire materials, and a million other tasks that few others know how to do as well.Thiri is doing all she can to communicate a true understanding of what is happening in her country to the world, and notes the continued presence of outside media give the Burmese people hope. But she confesses that she has not been completely pleased with some of the foreign journalism work so far.Ultimately, Thiri is confident that they will win, if not for the simple fact that, in her words, “We deserve better.” She adds, “They cannot kill us all. So if any one of us survives, whether inside the country or outside, this is our victory.”After listening, please consider making a donation to support Thiri’s work at this time.

 “Thurain” (not his real name) had planned to spend the start of 2021 building on his already impressive worldly achievements. Though a “country boy” from birth, he had made his mark in Yangon, establishing not one, but three successful businesses. But on February 1st, this all came to a crashing halt.He began attending the nonviolent protests, but eventually decided to lend his skills to the resistance in a different way, in planning. He worked with a small group of people in the interest of safety, so that knowledge of the wider movement wouldn’t rest in any one individual. Unfortunately, one group member was captured, and after being tortured, shared details about the others. The group quickly dispersed, and Thurain remains hiding to this day.Thurain remains active in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), cold-calling civil servants still going to the office and encouraging them to take leave, a high-stakes decision-making process that could literally mean life and death for either party. He also tries to encourage police and soldiers to join the CDM, and works to prevent the military from installing ward officers at the local level, which he feels is the most critical part of the entire struggle.He admits that he is often terrified, but that he works to calm himself whenever possible. He practices vipassana meditation, which he does even when in the middle of important discussions. If he has the time, he also composes poetry and paints, as those supplies are some of the few luxuries he allows himself while on the run.

Our team has decided to present a new series that focuses on our love and appreciation for the Golden Land. We hope that upcoming episodes in this series can help to provide some kind of counterbalance to the emotionally draining content about the fraught situation we hear about daily. Titled “Love Letters to Myanmar,” it will feature a wide range of speakers who reflect back on what the country and people have meant to them. We hope this series can help remind us as to why we care so much about this country, and keep our hearts firmly rooted in the Golden Land in spite of the present situation.Today’s inaugural show has three guests. Lee, an American vipassana meditator in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, talks about visits to pilgrimage sites in her tradition as well as sitting and serving on courses at centers there. Brey Sloan served as the Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy In Myanmar. She describes how the country transformed during the years of her service, and her personal encounters with figures ranging from Aung San Suu Kyi to General Min Aung Hlaing. Evie, an Austrian yogi, has been practicing meditation in the country since 1994 under such teachers as Sayadaw U Pandita, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She discusses how these spiritual teachings, along with the generosity she experienced in Burmese society, have transformed and enriched her life.At the end of today’s program, there will also be a roundtable discussion with several members of the youth organization, Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy. Our podcast has been collaborating with this group to organize an exciting virtual activity on April 24th, in which artists from around the world will be donating their pieces, with all proceeds going to those in need in Myanmar. More information about the event can be found here.

Coco’s career path in medicine wasn’t supposed to end up this way. But on February 1st, for Coco and so many others, “all of the dreams just got wasted away.”He was initially hesitant to join the street protest, out of fear. Finally, he was coaxed outside, but when the first shots rang out, Coco found himself literally frozen in terror. However, he was inspired by some teenagers showing courage in the face of such mortal risk. After it was over, he spent time with them processing the experience, acknowledging the fear as being natural. But they noted that in their mission to win back democracy, they have to overcome it.Coco uses his medical skills to support the protests. Initially, while doctors were ready to administer service to protester and soldier alike in line with their medical vows, the military decided to specifically target medical volunteers, as they have been at the forefront of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). As a consequence, medical teams now have to work surreptitiously and furtively. Although Coco and his fellow doctors had seen their share of gruesome injuries before the protests, nothing could prepare them for what they now encounter: missing limbs, headshots that had literally blown the face entirely off, triage battle conditions, and administering aid while taking live fire.  Coco is unsure how long the movement’s adherence to nonviolence can be sustained, as the Tatmadaw continues to show greater depths of cruelty, while the international community has shown no further willingness to engage.Please consider making a donation to support the nonviolent protest movement in Myanmar.

What is the deeper, symbolic meaning of an overturned alms bowl? What reasoning goes into the decision as to whether a protest sign is written in English or Burmese, or as pictograms, or emojis? And how and why has General Min Aung Hlaing’s height become a focus of the protest messaging?These are just some of the concepts that “Brad” and “May” (not their real names) have begun to explore on their new Facebook page, “Burmese Protest Memes and Signs Translated and Explained: Translating and explaining Burmese memes and protest signs for an English audience.”Unlike in other countries, where internet connectivity has been available for a much longer time, in Myanmar, “online culture” is relatively new. As May succinctly explains, “We're the generation that has grown up with internet and social media. And memes are a way to communicate with each other, to share not just jokes, but also feelings… So yeah, memes are perhaps a symbol of what our generation is.”Brad and May felt that much of the outside world was missing the subtle messaging that protesters were trying to communicate by their signs, and hoped that their new page would help in this regard.  It has developed to explaining the deeper, underlying meaning of the many Burmese memes that are now proliferating, both online and in real life today. In doing so, they reveal the many themes that protesters are connecting to their movement, including British colonialism, Burmese Buddhism, ethnic identity, numerology and astrology, and specific events both in the protests as well as recent political incidents connected to the coup.If you would like to engage beyond merely listening about this crisis, please considering contributing a donation to the nonviolent protest movement in Myanmar. Any donation made on our website goes immediately to those in need.

Maw Htin Aung, a Kachin Christian by birth, appeared to be a leader right for his time, the kind of progressive champion needed in Myanmar who could help move the country towards a promising future. Instead of this dream, however, a nightmare has unfolded instead.He studied public administration in the U.S., and when he returned to Myanmar in 2015, he delved into public policy reform, focusing on natural resources. He felt this was a key aspect of his country’s future. As most of Myanmar’s precious minerals and natural resources are found in ethnic territories, the military has historically endeavored to control those areas, which resulted in forced displacement and organized assaults on various ethnic communities. But he had real hopes that a more equitable system could potentially help end what is the longest running civil war in the world.In 2020, he thought he might be more influential as a legislative member and ran under the ticket of the Shan National League for Democracy. Although he felt the campaign went well, he ended up losing the election, but personally witnessed numerous accounts of voter fraud. He was in the process of taking legal steps to challenge the results when the February coup upended everything.Every day now is a nightmare. Still, Maw Htin Aung sees some optimism. He is moved by the unity and selflessness found throughout the movement, as well as by the courage demonstrated under the most dangerous and violent of circumstances. But he acknowledges the tremendous mental and emotional struggles, not to mention the PTSD, that weigh on the Burmese people now.To support the protest movement, please consider making a donation to the Better Burma non-profit. You may give by searching “Better Burma” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as by using credit card on their website.

While those outside of Myanmar following news of the protests have often heard updates about the importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), some may still not be clear about its inception and role in the wider protest movement. This episode’s guest, a trainer in public sector reform, educates us accordingly.Initially optimistic about the direction of the democratically elected government, her hopes came to a crashing halt on February 1st when the military illegally seized power. Right away, hundreds of civil servants stopped going to work, which ultimately led to the wider protest movement known as “CDM.” Our guest soon found herself thrust into an advisory role, with many of her former trainees asking for advice on what to do.She sought the help of several international lawyers, and passed that information on so those workers could make a more informed decision. At the same time, she also began getting a fund together from friends and supporters that could be used to support any civil servants who decided to join the movement.The movement’s success has put our guest in danger because of her involvement. After her home was broken into and searched, she went into hiding. To deal with the enormous her level of stress has been overwhelming, and her refuge in part has been a daily meditation practice according to the teachings of Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw. Although she didn’t have a meditation practice before the pandemic, she now finds that this provides much-needed stability to the mind.For those who are inspired to hear about the work our guest is leading, please make a donation on our site, and indicate you would like these funds to go towards her CDM effort.

Ashin Sarana is speaking out, and he’s prepared for the consequences. “I'm basically ready for everything,” the Czech monk tells us. “I'm ready that they will come and they will destroy property, I'm ready that they will arrest me, I'm ready that they will expel me. My donors are ready… By your very existence, you happen to be involved, whether you like it or not.”It was certainly not a light decision for a monk whose primary concern is teaching the Dhamma to followers and pursuing his own intensive meditation practice. In fact, he so rarely keeps up with worldly events that he references several years ago seeing pictures of Donald Trump and not knowing he was the U.S. president, and did not himself even know that a coup had occurred until a week into the event. But he realized he needed to better understand the daily news to make more informed decisions to protect those closest to him. For someone who was sometimes years behind current events, U Sarana now found himself reading the news for 7-8 hours a day, and the dark reality he was confronting left him feeling “suffocated.”U Sarana is also horrified to learn that some foreign practitioners buy into the argument that Buddhism can thrive no matter which rulers happen to be in power. He does not hold back his disgust on hearing that such a view is actually not that uncommon within the international meditator community. To him, that opinion “is a very clear display of lack of knowledge about history in Myanmar.”This is why he also has taken it upon himself to stay so informed at this moment, so that he doesn’t offer Dhamma advice that is so disconnected to the actual circumstances that he is no longer helping his followers.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.