The Art of Peacemaking and Protest

Last week my friend Greg posted some thoughts on Buddhist monks in protest. Here's a report from Salon.com earlier this week. Read it with an eye and ear for simplicity and spiritual power:

The barefoot art of war By Jürgen Kremb (from Der Spiegel)

Thousands of Buddhist monks are leading massive protests through the streets of Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city. They carry no weapons and wear only their saffron- and maroon-colored robes, but their most powerful weapon is the reverence in which they are held throughout the country.

Their heads are shaven and they march barefoot and silent. The city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) seems to be dominated by the Buddhist monks these days. They have been marching repeatedly through the streets of Myanmar's biggest city for a week -- and their marches are getting bigger by the day.

The population has begun openly showing its support too. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly joined the march of the monks. Other spectators form human chains or simply applaud. Brave-hearted monks are holding passionate speeches by Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon. They speak of the suffering and the desperate poverty of Myanmar's 50 million inhabitants -- and call for the overthrow of the junta that seized power in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in 1962. The regime's policies have effectively laid waste to what was once Southeast Asia's richest country.

Well, as this week has gone on things have gotten more and more tense. At first it appeared as if the military leaders were trying to find ways to stop this short of violence. Well, when all you know is violence....

YANGON, Myanmar - Security forces in Myanmar opened fire Wednesday on demonstrators, and witnesses said police beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks. The government said at least one person was killed, while dissident groups and media reported up to eight dead.

The military junta's announcement on state radio and television was the first acknowledgment that force has been used to suppress the protests and its first admission that blood had been shed after a month of mostly peaceful demonstrations.

Now today's headline just continues the downward spiral of violence:

9 killed in 2nd day of Myanmar crackdown

No, I can't say that this is not expected. Violence will rule when you have violence at your disposal. I understand that there were more average citizens participating today and fewer monks (at least in relation to the size of the demonstrations.)

Some say no doubt that the monks should have just stuck to religion and not got involved in such things. But they obviously have a long history of social involvement. Who of us from the 60s can forget the image of a monk immolating himself to protest the government in Vietnam (and our involvement, obviously.) They no doubt feel that when they see injustice they have an obligation to do something. Since they are not armed insurgents they protest. Peacefully.

The question it all raises for me is an odd one, I realize. Would Gandhi have been able to succeed today as he did 60 years ago? Has the world become more violent- more powerfully violent- than it was then? I am becoming more and more concerned about the way the world is going. The monks of Myanmar were trying to right a wrong. They were certainly doing the right thing.

It isn't over yet, I pray. Perhaps peacefulness can still have its day.