• Home
  • About
  • We’ve moved!

Dharma Folk

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Norton Simon and the Buddha Torso
Running in the family »

Celebration in the ruins of Rangoon

May 15, 2008 by arunlikhati

Buddha at BogalayOn May 19, the moon will pass into its full phase, marking the festival on which Theravada Buddhists celebrate Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinibbana. This date marks the most important and largest Buddhist holiday.

Devotees often undertake the eight precepts, make donations to charity and also go to temple to pay respects to Lord Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. This festival is filled with celebrations of joy and also the intent to renew one’s dedication to the path.

But for the people of Burma, the full moon of the month of Kason will mark two and a half weeks since the landfall of Cyclone Nargis. I cannot begin to describe this tragedy, especially as many others have done so thoroughly already (also see here, here and here). How will this festival be marked in Burma? How will Buddhists celebrate this day around the world, while so many Burmese flounder in destitution, abandoned by their own government?

What is an appropriate Buddhist response on this occasion?

It probably goes without saying that the best thing you can do is extend a helping hand. (Read this appeal by Jack Kornfield.) No donation is too small, even when it comes to a disaster of such a large scale. Even just $2 can support one survivor for one day.

My friends have asked me if their donations will have any benefit at all, given the military government’s antipathy towards foreign aid and its recent actions to confiscate some of the aid which had arrived. Here are two organizations that I trust to get your aid to the people who need it:

  • Many Buddhist websites have promoted the Foundation for the People of Burma as an established and reliable Burmese-run organization that has the infrastructure on the ground to effectively distribute aid.
  • I also have Burmese friends involved with the US Campaign for Burma, an organization which I trust to get relief aid to the Burmese people (although I think the Foundation might have a better infrastructure in place already).

Also, if you are an American citizen, you can call your representative to encourage the United States along with its allies to consider humanitarian intervention in the Irrawaddy Delta.

These are simple steps that can take less then 20 minutes of your day. But what makes all this a “Buddhist” thing to do?

For one, by giving relief aid to the Burmese people, we are expressing an act of charity that is particularly traditional practice among Theravada Buddhists at this time of year. By our donations, we are also indirectly contributing to the Maha Sangha of Burma — a community that has had a strong influence on Theravada Buddhism in America — as I do not doubt that at least some portion of our aid to the people will in turn be donated again to the Burmese monastic community.

This tragedy is also an opportunity for us to individually practice the qualities of loving kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna). It can be easy to abstract away from this disaster and just think of Nargis as bad stuff happening to poor people on the other side of the world. But as Bhante Kassapa writes:

As a concerned people we hear the cries of those being oppressed. We must if nothing else pray for them. Develop metta in out everyday chores. Think good and loving thoughts for those who are oppressed. We may not be able to care for them directly, but we can care about them. We can wish them Peace. The fire of tyranny, oppression and hatred is never quenched with more fire. Prayer is an act of peace.

I hope that this coming celebration gives each of us an opportunity to reflect on the Buddha Dharma, to give the gift of charity to our brothers and sisters in Burma, and in this way to show our deep gratitude and respect to those who made it possible for us to have the blessed Dharma in our lives.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Holidays | Tagged buddha day, Burma, Foundation for the People of Burma, Kason, Kassapa, Myanmar, Nargis, relief aid, US Campaign for Burma, vesak |

  • The Dharma Folk

    • arunlikhati
    • John
    • kudos
    • Oz
  • Recent Posts

    • We’ve moved!
    • Aung San Suu Kyi, please speak out and help to relieve the suffering in Burma
    • Let’s Go Clubbing with the Buddha
    • Happy New Year!
    • Do You Love God?
  • Recent Comments

    Vinnie Tan (@vinniex… on Let’s Go Clubbing with t…
    david on Bugs in my rice!
    Alexander Duncan on Why Buddhists Don’t…
    Arhat Aryashakya on How will you observe Kath…
    Megan on Sex Work through the Buddhist…
    Eyes on A Vietnamese Mendicant Tr…
    Eileen on Make your own zafu
  • Twitter

    • We've moved! wp.me/pexqi-Dz 6 years ago
    • RT @djbuddha: the DharmaRealm podcast - As many of you know (or maybe you don’t), I do a little podcast with my good friend… http://t.co ... 7 years ago
    • RT @ThomasHynes: Hey @DharmaFolk - mentioned you in this post about great religion blogs: prn.to/Nuq8Qy Enjoy! 7 years ago
    • @ThomasHynes Wow, thanks! What an honor! 7 years ago
    • RT @Nina_Pine: Thoughts from #Interfaith Young Adult dialogue on #TempleShootings w/ @krithika - so blessed to be in this group! http:// ... 7 years ago
    Follow @DharmaFolk
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • September 2013 (1)
    • July 2012 (1)
    • May 2012 (1)
    • April 2012 (1)
    • March 2012 (1)
    • February 2012 (4)
    • December 2011 (1)
    • November 2011 (2)
    • August 2011 (2)
    • June 2011 (2)
    • May 2011 (3)
    • April 2011 (1)
    • March 2011 (2)
    • February 2011 (5)
    • January 2011 (3)
    • December 2010 (1)
    • October 2010 (2)
    • August 2010 (4)
    • July 2010 (1)
    • June 2010 (1)
    • May 2010 (2)
    • April 2010 (2)
    • March 2010 (2)
    • February 2010 (3)
    • January 2010 (1)
    • December 2009 (2)
    • November 2009 (2)
    • October 2009 (3)
    • September 2009 (7)
    • August 2009 (3)
    • July 2009 (7)
    • June 2009 (14)
    • May 2009 (10)
    • April 2009 (8)
    • March 2009 (13)
    • February 2009 (8)
    • January 2009 (10)
    • December 2008 (23)
    • November 2008 (5)
    • October 2008 (6)
    • September 2008 (4)
    • August 2008 (6)
    • July 2008 (9)
    • June 2008 (10)
    • May 2008 (18)
    • April 2008 (11)
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • Tags

    American Buddhism Asian Asian American Asian Meter BCA Bhikkhu Bodhi breathing meditation Buddha Buddhadharma buddha statue Buddhism Buddhist Buddhist Youth Burma Cambodia change children China Chinese college Community culture Dharma family freedom generosity giving GĐPT History inspiration karma Khmer Language loving kindness Media Meditation metta mindfulness minority monk Myanmar New York Times pali canon personal Pew Forum Politics practice race racism religion San Francisco Sangha Shambhala Shambhala Sun Southern California statistics statue Sutra sutta temple Thai temple Theravada Tibet translation Tricycle Tricycle Blog vesak Vietnamese vipassana Wat Metta western buddhism White Buddhist Wikipedia zafu zen

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: