Religious orders of monks have been the face of Myanmar ever since Buddhism was introduced there more than 1,000 years ago. For a monk to involve himself in politics or to hold a political post is contrary to the ethical code of Theravada Buddhism. But in Myanmar, this spiritual philosophy, rooted in compassion and non-violence, has assumed unexpected dimensions of defiance and recalcitrance, as monks challenge the hegemony of the military junta that rules the country.

Many monks and nuns have been abused and beaten, and thousands who have been arrested endure continued brutality. More than 1,000 are missing, and many are presumed dead.

A few weeks ago, Myanmar’s monks began to march and pray and spread loving kindness in an effort to solve the nation’s problems peacefully. Myanmar is a country rich in natural resources, but its people are poor. When the government suddenly and capriciously increased the price of fuel by as much as 500 per cent overnight, everyone was affected — and made even more desperate.

And it is not only the monks who are united. When they started their peaceful marches for change, students, youth, intellectuals, and ordinary people joined them.

The monks thought that they could appeal to some, if not all, of the generals — Buddhists themselves — who control the country to join them in trying to right the many ills befalling Myanmar. At first, they tried to show their displeasure with military rule by refusing to receive alms from them.

They turned their begging bowls upside down as a gesture of their feelings. They have not lost their loving kindness towards ordinary soldiers, nor even towards the leaders who ordered them to brutalise their own people, but they wanted to urge them to change while there was still time.

The monks hoped to create a way out for the military leaders, a way to start a real dialogue with the people’s leaders and the leaders of ethnic groups, for the unity of the nation. But that hope was short-lived. The regime is now hunting down those who participated in the demonstrations and committing unspeakable acts of violence.

They have attacked monasteries and arrested monks and nuns by force. Guards are everywhere, on all the streets, around the pagodas and residential areas. Wounded demonstrators are reported to have been buried alive in mass graves, and there are confirmed reports of bodies washing ashore in the waterways near Yangon. The regime is brutalising the Burmese people, and lying to the world about its actions.

Some have said that the uprising in Myanmar is over. That is what the junta wants the world to think. But the monks believe that the protests represent the beginning of the end of military rule in the country.

The monks know that the international community is trying to help them, but they need that help to be more effective. The monks thank the many people and organisations abroad who are helping them regain the rights denied to them for more than 40 years. But they also appeal to the international community to make its actions practical and effective.

Guardian