Prominent monk urges peace and unity
One of the most prominent Buddhist monks in Myanmar, Bhante Ashin Nyanissara, known as Sitagu Sayadaw, has urged the government and people to work together to safeguard the religion and the nation.
Speaking at a special ceremony at Aung Sann Tet Monastery in Insein Ywama in Yangon late last week, Sitagu said: “The objective is good enough. We need to choose a word wise enough to capture the whole process of protecting the country, as well as safeguarding the religion and the nationality.
“In front of the respected monks here, I would like to announce to you [the monastery head] that a leading committee will be formed, and its organisational rules, structure, and title will be decided soon. Unity is very important,” Sitagu Sayadaw said.
He urged monks attending the ceremony to be patient, forgiving, and united in accord with the Buddha’s teachings in regard to current situations.
“I’d like to request from here to all people from different religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity not to turn small incidents into bigger ones.
“Those who take refuge under a tree should not destroy it. What should not be retaliated against must not be exaggerated. Wild exaggeration is the main cause behind the destruction of peace and unity.
“Nowadays, incidents like those have happened often in our country. We all should not take part in those incidents. If we do, we will be the same as the [one] accused by Time magazine’s cover story [of fomenting ethnic strife],” he said.
He said Buddhist monks should be aware of the people behind recent incidents and act wisely.
Support from people with an international outlook and legal experts was essential for monks to be able to protect the nation and their religion. The government and people must also cooperate on this, Sitagu Sayadaw said.
He questioned the coincidence of religious riots while there were peace talks between the government and ethnic groups. He believed these were attempts to derail the government’s peace moves, and urged fellow monks not to become tools of people inciting riots.
“In our noble country, while the government is trying to build national unity and reconciliation with ethnic people, I think incitement to religious riots has come about to disrupt the peace process. Don’t be moved by these incitements.
“Our monks, be cautious not to become tools of people inciting strife,” Sitagu Sayadaw told an audience of over 1,000 monks.
He condemned the cover story in Time magazine’s July issue, which refers to a senior monk with the title “The Face of Buddhist Terror”. He said he opposed all content in the story, and took a vote on this. All the monks joined him to condemn the report.
In concluding, Sitagu Sayadaw repeated the importance of unity, forgiveness and patience among the Buddhist monks, the government, and legal experts to protect the nation and the religion.
