Freedom Behind Bars
Insight Myanmar25 Marras 2022

Freedom Behind Bars

Episode #134: Liv Gaborit, a Danish social scientist with a background in psychology, conducted a groundbreaking study about intensive vipassana meditation retreats offered in the tradition of S. N. Goenka in notorious, overcrowded, Insein prison.

Gaborit was told a story about a high-level military figure who regretted his bloody actions in suppressing the 1988 democratic uprising. Seeking spiritual salvation, he traveled to India, where he took a course in the Goenka tradition and was determined to bring it back to the prison system in Myanmar.


Gaborit’s study centered on the experience of hearing voices in solitary confinement versus during a meditation retreat. Solitary confinement can lead to a range of hallucinations and mental disorders; while during intensive meditation, seeing and hearing from invisible beings can be understood as a deepening practice. Another important factor that Gaborit points to is the presence of metta, or loving-kindness. When political prisoners hear voices on meditation courses, metta is in the environment and cushions the experience, while in solitary, it is quite a different story. For the political prisoners on the prison course, Gaborit says that the result of that positive energy was remarkable, while for the monk, the lack of being able to receive or practice metta no doubt contributed to his mental imbalance.


What began as a research project has transformed into something far larger for Gaborit: her own life trajectory has been radically altered. After the coup, Gaborit left her position in academia to become a full-time activist, and co-founded Myanmar Action Group Denmark.

Jaksot(511)

Apocalypse Now Redux

Apocalypse Now Redux

Episode #402: “In stable times, sustainability may be seen as a long term aspiration,” says Tin Shine Aung, a Burmese scholar and sustainability expert whose work bridges research, policy, and on-the-...

25 Syys 20252h

From Ashes to Sunshine

From Ashes to Sunshine

Episode #401: “Look at my eye. Trust me! You can do this!” With steady assurance, Nay Chi Linn describes her work at the Sunshine Care Center (SCC), a border-based facility she founded to care for Mya...

23 Syys 20252h 6min

Between Guns and Ghosts

Between Guns and Ghosts

Episode #400: James Rodehaver, head of the UN Human Rights Office on Myanmar, offers a sobering account of the country’s accelerating crisis and the limits of the international community’s response. D...

22 Syys 20251h 13min

Protected by the Dhamma

Protected by the Dhamma

Episode #399: Insight Myanmar was very fortunate to conduct a series of interviews with Friedgard Lottermoser between 2023 and 2024, amounting to more than forty hours before she sadly passed away las...

19 Syys 20251h 51min

Blood on the Wires

Blood on the Wires

Episode #398: The Telenor scandal has emerged as one of the most serious blows to Norway’s reputation as a champion of peace and human rights. Nicolai Prydz, author and long-time observer of Myanmar, ...

18 Syys 20251h 19min

Songs of Fire and Silence

Songs of Fire and Silence

Episode #397: In this episode of the Insight Myanmar Podcast, two compelling voices—Thinzar Shunlei Yi and Wongpun Amarinthewa—illuminate the stakes of Myanmar’s political crisis from the frontlines o...

16 Syys 202558min

This Land Is My Land

This Land Is My Land

Episode #396: “There is no other issue in Thailand that has this long of a history of civil society engagement like Myanmar.” With these words, Thai humanitarian worker and activist, Mic Chawaratt, di...

15 Syys 20251h 51min

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others

Episode #395: Laetitia van den Assum, a Dutch diplomat and former ambassador to Thailand, was one of nine members of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, a group set up in 2016 at Aung San Suu Ky...

12 Syys 20252h 12min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
politiikan-puskaradio
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
tervo-halme
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
rss-sanna-ukkola-show-verkkouutiset
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-kovin-paikka
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-terveisia-seelannista
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset