Insight Myanmar20 Sep 2024

Why Did Ashin Sarana Disrobe?

Episode #269: Jansen Stovicek reflects on the emotional and practical challenges surrounding his decision to disrobe after 16 years as a monk. Initially, the idea of disrobing felt unimaginable, as his identity had been deeply intertwined with monastic life and strictly following the 90 billion-plus rules of the Vinaya. But after disrobing, Jansen encountered difficulty securing a place to stay as a monk, adding stress and uncertainty to his situation. His decision to disrobe was met with mixed acceptance by his community’ of followers.

Ultimately, Jansen’s story is one of personal transformation and reflection. His candid insights shed light on the complexities of leaving monastic life and the broader implications it has on identity, social standing, and community relationships.

He ends his reflections by expressing deep gratitude for his time in Myanmar. He emphasizes his continued support for the National Unity Government (NUG) and the democratic movement in Myanmar, wishing for the country's swift liberation from the military regime's oppression. “I am absolutely, eternally indebted to, to Myanmar, to Myanmar people, to Myanmar Buddhism, to the great masters of Myanmar. Very, very thankful to them!” Jansen exclaims. “I admit that I believe that the only country in the world where Buddhism is truly thriving, is Myanmar, believe it or not, despite, of course, the political unrest. And I definitely would like to encourage everyone to support the democratic movement, to support the NUG in Myanmar, because [they] support reason and they support freedom, and Buddhism is reason and Buddhism is freedom.”

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(606)

Ground Control

Episode #591: “The war may end, but for years and years, landmines indiscriminately will kill and maim people, quite often children, as well as farm animals, long after the act of fighting has ended.”...

18 Aug 1h 59min

The Feminine Mystique

Episode #590: Chie Ikeya’s work on colonial Burma began almost by accident. Trained as a historian and originally planning to study the Japanese occupation, she found herself in Yangon waiting for arc...

17 Aug 2h 27min

Port of No Return

Episode #589: The AAS Conference in Vancouver brought together thousands of scholars and practitioners focused on Asia, with Burma emerging as a key topic amid its ongoing crisis. Insight Myanmar Podc...

14 Aug 1h 19min

Missing, Presumed Extinct

Episode #588: Historian Douglas Ober began questioning the standard history of Indian Buddhism while traveling to Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and other sacred sites in his twenties. The dates he found on buil...

13 Aug 2h 42min

Abandoning the Barracks

Episode #587: Su Thit, the founder of Spouses of People’s Soldiers, frames military defection in Myanmar less as a single brave act than as an extended struggle against survival math. Leaving the inst...

11 Aug 1h 18min

Tales of the Tape

Episode #586: This is the sixth installment of our ongoing discussions with Friedgard Lottermoser. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience with Sayagyi U Ba Khin and other teachers, she offers a di...

10 Aug 3h 25min

An Umbrella Policy

Episode #585: “We can’t go back to the normal life, because our country is not even normal,” says Tone Tone, a former psychology student from Yangon, describing how Myanmar’s 2021 military coup shatte...

7 Aug 2h 10min

Strong Determination

Episode #584: Lora Roy, a longtime Vipassana meditator in the S.N. Goenka tradition, reflects on a lifelong effort to live truthfully from direct experience rather than fear, social expectation, or ri...

6 Aug 1h 53min