The Overturned Alms Bowl
Insight Myanmar23 Joulu 2022

The Overturned Alms Bowl

Episode #139: After Bhikkhuni Vimala (they/their) learned about military coup in Myanmar, they wanted to find a way to express their feelings against it. They ultimately landed on the idea of encouraging their monastic friends abroad to take a picture with their alms bowl overturned, since Burmese monastics would likely face arrest and torture for making such a statement. “Even just a simple action like turning over the alms bowl… could get you in prisons or even killed” they explain. An overturned alms symbolizes a monk or nun’s disagreement with the actions of a group of lay supports who have done something that egregiously broke their precepts.

Their campaign received an immediate if unexpected boost from such noted monastics as Bhikkhu Analayo and Bhikkhu Bodhi, who immediately sent in images of themselves with overturned alms bowls, and many more followed.

Speaking on the subject of Engaged Buddhism, Bhikkhuni Vimala feels first and foremost, that it is essential for the practitioner to continue gaining inner wisdom through insight practice. “You have to find the truth within yourself,” they say. “But while doing so, you notice greater compassion for other people! This is what's often called ‘compassion in action.’” Bhikkhuni Vimala continues, “I think it's really important to help our fellow people in Myanmar. Because how can [people] sit quietly on a cushion and meditate, and pretend that all these things are not going on?... I think it is very important to help people to come to a place where they can practice the Buddhist teachings, and make sure that as Buddha's teachings also live on.”

Jaksot(507)

No Neutral Ground

No Neutral Ground

Episode #359: “The real motivating force is people, it is those human relations.” Duncan McArthur, a backpacker turned decades-long humanitarian leader, found his truth not in textbooks, but in the ra...

1 Heinä 20252h 2min

Rewriting History

Rewriting History

Episode #358: The 4th International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS), hosted by Chiang Mai University in August 2024, brought together scholars, activists, and experts to discuss Myanmar's ...

27 Kesä 20251h 4min

From Russia With Anxiety

From Russia With Anxiety

Episode #357: When Wai Yan Phyo Naing, a civilian scholar in Myanmar vocal against the human rights atrocities of the junta, received a scholarship from a Russian university to pursue his Masters, he ...

24 Kesä 20252h 16min

When Silence Isn’t Noble

When Silence Isn’t Noble

Episode #356: Jonathan Crowley shares his experiences as an Assistant Teacher within the Vipassana Meditation Organization of SN Goenka. He participated in a culture that heavily prioritized rules and...

20 Kesä 20251h 56min

Can’t Knock the Hustle

Can’t Knock the Hustle

Episode #355: “You need to pay attention to what the kids care about,” says Naomi Gingold. “It will inform so much about the place that you're trying to understand, be it politics, culture, all of it!...

17 Kesä 20251h 46min

Over the Borderline

Over the Borderline

Episode #353: Professor Lahra Smith, a political science professor specializing in East Africa at Georgetown University, argues that Myanmar’s current struggles must be seen within a global framework ...

10 Kesä 20252h

Bonus Episode: The Global Citizen

Bonus Episode: The Global Citizen

The Global Citizen Podcast recently featured a look at the work behind Insight Myanmar and Better Burma, which we bring you here as a bonus episode.

8 Kesä 202547min

A Nation Interrupted

A Nation Interrupted

Episode #352: Nicholas Coppel’s tenure as Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar (2015–2018) provides a unique lens on the country’s transition toward democracy, as well as the enduring challenges posed by...

6 Kesä 20251h 14min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
tervo-halme
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
viisupodi
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-kiina-ilmiot
linda-maria
rikosmyytit
radio-antro
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit