Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to watch a free screening of Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country. I saw the trailer last year. I’ve read reviews and heard other people talk and blog about it. It’s one of those films that you go in watching with high expectations because of all the hype generated from those that have already seen it. Yet, I still left the theater with mixed feelings of sadness and shock. The movie is intense and emotional. I encourage everyone to see it. Here are some of the screening locations and dates.

Image from Oscilloscope Laboratories.

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Aung San Suu Kyi Turns 64

In the Buddhist community, I’m sure (or hope) quite a bit of online fanfare will be devoted to Aung San Suu Kyi, who turns 64 today. Most readers are probably well aware that Aung San Suu Kyi has been a key leader in the Burmese democracy movement, and has championed this role with an emphasis on nonviolent approaches. She has spent most of the past 19 years under house arrest, and now faces an almost certain prison sentence as a result of ridiculous charges. There is much more you can learn about related current events at the Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma.

I encourage you to celebrate Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday (if you are so inclined) by learning more about the current situation in Burma and in the Burmese exile community.

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Choosing favorites

A friend recently sent me an article on the current situation of China’s Uighurs. If you don’t know about the Uighurs, they’re an ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang province. As the Financial Times states, who really cares?

Xinjiang is in a similar situation to Tibet. But it lacks the religious radiation provided by the Dalai Lama … It has no high-profile Hollywood star such as Richard Gere to emote for it; more people probably worry whether giant pandas mate than whether the Uighurs can survive as a culture and a people. If only they were Buddhists.

I took a little offense. Was my friend telling me that the media loves Tibet only because they’re Buddhist? I shot back an email: “Show me the Uighur Nobel Peace Laureates!”

This only got me thinking more about how I approach politics and religion. While I may see the status of Tibet as a chiefly political issue, I am always keeping an eye out to see if Tibetans are taking a “Buddhist approach” (whatever that means). The same goes for Burma. Tibet and Burma aren’t inherently Buddhist issues, so when a Buddhist blog such as the Tricycle Blog talks about them (and boy are they mentioned often), do these issues suddenly become religious? Are we distorting the Tibet and Burma issues by mixing religion and politics?

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CNN: Buddha’s Warriors

Thanks to The Worst Horse, I decided to stay in last night and watch CNN Special Investigations Unit: Buddha’s Warriors. The show looks like a test run for God’s Warriors, a potentially more touchy subject about religious extremists from Christian, Jewish and Muslim perspectives.

Buddha’s Warriors focused on contemporary stories of political oppression and resistance in Tibet and Burma (Myanmar). These are two societies which are predominantly Buddhist, and so Christiane Amanpour asks: “How do people who are committed to love, kindness and nonviolence confront severe political oppression?”

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Celebration in the ruins of Rangoon

On 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?

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