09/26/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – In the primarily Buddhist nation of Myanmar, religious minorities, who often hail from ethnic minority groups, are subject to discrimination and attacks by radical Buddhists who justify their actions as protecting the nation.

It is, therefore, crucial for moderate monks in the country to speak out against this narrative and promote interfaith peace. ICC’s representative for Myanmar recently interviewed Myawaddy Sayadaw, a well-respected monk who has been working with leaders of Christian, Hindu, and Muslim communities to end the persecution of minority groups and the rise in nationalist extremism.

ICC: What would you like to see in terms of religious freedom in Myanmar?

MYD Sayadaw: I believe to think freely is the basic need of finding the truth and the beginning of wisdom. Only through discussions and dialogue, we can find the answer we are looking for. In religion, people do not know that they can think freely, even if they know, they still don’t think freely. Their blind faith leads to a damaging image of a very good religion (Buddhism), and portraying it as a violent and bad one. So I believe in freedom of expression and thoughts. I support that. I think it depends on how democracy is interpreted and developed in the country.

What is your view on Ma Ba Tha/969 Movement, and the arrest warrant for U Wirathu*?

*Ma Ba Tha is a now-banned group led by ultranationalist Buddhist monks which has been spreading anti-religious minorities rhetoric across Myanmar for years. Monk U Wirathu was their leader.

MYD Sayadaw: 969 Movement started in Mon State because Buddhists in that area feared that Muslims in their area were trying to convert Buddhists to become Muslims by providing rewards. Therefore, I think Muslims also have to be careful to make sure their actions won’t confuse other religions or make others question their actions. I would say they should avoid anything that could cause misunderstanding between different faiths. The worst part is that religion was used as a political tool. Former minister Aung Thaung and his group started Swan Arr Shin (civilians hired to do the dirty job for them) and they created hatred among different media outlets, and among monks. They promoted nationalism and hate speech and then they promoted fear, saying that [Buddhists] are in danger.

This kind of manipulation is low-level Buddhism. In the teachings of Buddha, we are taught to love every living thing as they are our children. Buddha walked his talk. He preached loving-kindness and he never discriminated [against] people who were different from him. Our job is to remove the prejudice, discrimination, and racism from our hearts and to do good for people in this world. That is true Buddhist teaching. Those who follow these teachings are the real Buddhists.

Nevertheless, politicians use religion as their political tool and established different groups. The State Saṅgha Mahā Nāyaka Committee (a government-appointed body of high-ranking Buddhist monks that oversees and regulates the Sangha in Myanmar) was used by the state. Some monks were like gangsters. And then the rise of Ma Ba Tha confused many about the essence of Buddhist teaching.

That’s why I worked so hard to preach that [their actions] were not [the] Buddhist way of life or the teachings of Buddha. You can call that attempt successful. We prevented hatred they were creating against Muslims to some extent. They never dared to attack the Chinese but always targeted Muslims (with foreign features).

In my opinion, individuals who have conflicts between them should face and solve the problem themselves. If those problems were left unsolved, that could destroy the organization they belong to. We should heal our own wounds instead of touching others’ wounds. We need to heal ourselves instead of finding faults in others. I think Myanmar Muslims are very nice people. Even if they are oppressed, they are not aggressive enough to bomb and destroy to express their anger. Burmese Muslims are not well accepted by Burmese Buddhists because Burmese people believe that Burmese should be Buddhists, not adherent of any other religions. I think Burmese Muslims are very good at preventing conflicts within their own communities. They are always very careful to not cause problems. So whoever tried to discriminate automatically became a bad guy. Former minister Aung Thaung used a lot of money to create religious conflicts and tried his best to use religion for political gain.

My view on Wirathu is that he is someone who is destroying a religion, a dangerous person, a thorn we need to remove from [our] religion. We need to denounce that he is bad. The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government waited for a perfect timing to get rid of him because he also had quite a lot of followers and it was not easy to get rid of him. NLD waited long enough to make sure getting rid of Wirathu would not anger so many people. They neutralized the impact of Ma Ba Tha and then got rid of Wirathu. He is a religious criminal for Buddhists, but he wouldn’t just stop there. He also tried to do political tricks. It is great that a monk’s crime is now taken seriously as a laypeople’s crime.

How can Buddhists or monks use their influence to promote interfaith dialogue and religious harmony in Myanmar?

MYD Sayadaw: I think it is important that we all sit down and talk openly. I liked an activity we did at an event in Korea. They gave us one question and we gave our own answers. That’s when I got a chance to tell my small group members that Buddhist teaching is not for Buddhists, it’s for all the people in the world. I also think it is good to have interfaith dialogue centers being established. Since the Rohingya issue is being highlighted [through] news headlines, we need to find ways to stop hate speech. We also need to do a lot of intra-faith activities to cure what’s wrong inside us. It is also important to engage in international dialogue and exchange programs.

Have you faced criticism or threats for promoting interfaith peace?

MYD Sayadaw: My social media account was hacked. Sometimes, I am prompted to have some arguments with people for my stance. That’s it.

What can Buddhists do to help the persecuted religious minorities, including Christians, Muslims, and Hindus?

MYD Sayadaw: I think meditation can be helpful for all people. We also need to create activities that would enable people from different faiths to engage more often so that they can meet and discuss openly about their faith. Then that would lead to understanding among people of different faiths. I think doing non-religious social activities together can also be helpful to understand each other more.

If you have advice for Aung San Suu Kyi with regards to religion policy, what would it be?

MYD Sayadaw: I would advise her to support religious harmony so that they can bring about true unity and, with unity, they can create a harmonious nation. However, it is important for them to be careful and not try to dominate and Burmanize everything. I believe the state should not get involved in regulating religious activities, but to support religious harmony by supporting different religions and treating them equally with Buddhism. They should remember ethnic armed organizations arose because Buddhism was announced to be the state religion. Thus, NLD government should be smart enough and not try to regulate religions which are very close to people’s hearts. And they should not favor one religion only as well. They should promote religious harmony for the sake of national unity.