Insight Myanmar

Our team has decided to present a new series that focuses on our love and appreciation for the Golden Land. We hope that upcoming episodes in this series can help to provide some kind of counterbalance to the emotionally draining content about the fraught situation we hear about daily. Titled “Love Letters to Myanmar,” it will feature a wide range of speakers who reflect back on what the country and people have meant to them. We hope this series can help remind us as to why we care so much about this country, and keep our hearts firmly rooted in the Golden Land in spite of the present situation.Today’s inaugural show has three guests. Lee, an American vipassana meditator in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, talks about visits to pilgrimage sites in her tradition as well as sitting and serving on courses at centers there. Brey Sloan served as the Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy In Myanmar. She describes how the country transformed during the years of her service, and her personal encounters with figures ranging from Aung San Suu Kyi to General Min Aung Hlaing. Evie, an Austrian yogi, has been practicing meditation in the country since 1994 under such teachers as Sayadaw U Pandita, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She discusses how these spiritual teachings, along with the generosity she experienced in Burmese society, have transformed and enriched her life.At the end of today’s program, there will also be a roundtable discussion with several members of the youth organization, Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy. Our podcast has been collaborating with this group to organize an exciting virtual activity on April 24th, in which artists from around the world will be donating their pieces, with all proceeds going to those in need in Myanmar. More information about the event can be found here.

20 Apr 20212h 15min

Coco’s career path in medicine wasn’t supposed to end up this way. But on February 1st, for Coco and so many others, “all of the dreams just got wasted away.”He was initially hesitant to join the street protest, out of fear. Finally, he was coaxed outside, but when the first shots rang out, Coco found himself literally frozen in terror. However, he was inspired by some teenagers showing courage in the face of such mortal risk. After it was over, he spent time with them processing the experience, acknowledging the fear as being natural. But they noted that in their mission to win back democracy, they have to overcome it.Coco uses his medical skills to support the protests. Initially, while doctors were ready to administer service to protester and soldier alike in line with their medical vows, the military decided to specifically target medical volunteers, as they have been at the forefront of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). As a consequence, medical teams now have to work surreptitiously and furtively. Although Coco and his fellow doctors had seen their share of gruesome injuries before the protests, nothing could prepare them for what they now encounter: missing limbs, headshots that had literally blown the face entirely off, triage battle conditions, and administering aid while taking live fire. Coco is unsure how long the movement’s adherence to nonviolence can be sustained, as the Tatmadaw continues to show greater depths of cruelty, while the international community has shown no further willingness to engage.Please consider making a donation to support the nonviolent protest movement in Myanmar.

14 Apr 20212h 27min

What is the deeper, symbolic meaning of an overturned alms bowl? What reasoning goes into the decision as to whether a protest sign is written in English or Burmese, or as pictograms, or emojis? And how and why has General Min Aung Hlaing’s height become a focus of the protest messaging?These are just some of the concepts that “Brad” and “May” (not their real names) have begun to explore on their new Facebook page, “Burmese Protest Memes and Signs Translated and Explained: Translating and explaining Burmese memes and protest signs for an English audience.”Unlike in other countries, where internet connectivity has been available for a much longer time, in Myanmar, “online culture” is relatively new. As May succinctly explains, “We're the generation that has grown up with internet and social media. And memes are a way to communicate with each other, to share not just jokes, but also feelings… So yeah, memes are perhaps a symbol of what our generation is.”Brad and May felt that much of the outside world was missing the subtle messaging that protesters were trying to communicate by their signs, and hoped that their new page would help in this regard. It has developed to explaining the deeper, underlying meaning of the many Burmese memes that are now proliferating, both online and in real life today. In doing so, they reveal the many themes that protesters are connecting to their movement, including British colonialism, Burmese Buddhism, ethnic identity, numerology and astrology, and specific events both in the protests as well as recent political incidents connected to the coup.If you would like to engage beyond merely listening about this crisis, please considering contributing a donation to the nonviolent protest movement in Myanmar. Any donation made on our website goes immediately to those in need.

10 Apr 20212h 6min

Maw Htin Aung, a Kachin Christian by birth, appeared to be a leader right for his time, the kind of progressive champion needed in Myanmar who could help move the country towards a promising future. Instead of this dream, however, a nightmare has unfolded instead.He studied public administration in the U.S., and when he returned to Myanmar in 2015, he delved into public policy reform, focusing on natural resources. He felt this was a key aspect of his country’s future. As most of Myanmar’s precious minerals and natural resources are found in ethnic territories, the military has historically endeavored to control those areas, which resulted in forced displacement and organized assaults on various ethnic communities. But he had real hopes that a more equitable system could potentially help end what is the longest running civil war in the world.In 2020, he thought he might be more influential as a legislative member and ran under the ticket of the Shan National League for Democracy. Although he felt the campaign went well, he ended up losing the election, but personally witnessed numerous accounts of voter fraud. He was in the process of taking legal steps to challenge the results when the February coup upended everything.Every day now is a nightmare. Still, Maw Htin Aung sees some optimism. He is moved by the unity and selflessness found throughout the movement, as well as by the courage demonstrated under the most dangerous and violent of circumstances. But he acknowledges the tremendous mental and emotional struggles, not to mention the PTSD, that weigh on the Burmese people now.To support the protest movement, please consider making a donation to the Better Burma non-profit. You may give by searching “Better Burma” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as by using credit card on their website.

4 Apr 20211h 34min

While those outside of Myanmar following news of the protests have often heard updates about the importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), some may still not be clear about its inception and role in the wider protest movement. This episode’s guest, a trainer in public sector reform, educates us accordingly.Initially optimistic about the direction of the democratically elected government, her hopes came to a crashing halt on February 1st when the military illegally seized power. Right away, hundreds of civil servants stopped going to work, which ultimately led to the wider protest movement known as “CDM.” Our guest soon found herself thrust into an advisory role, with many of her former trainees asking for advice on what to do.She sought the help of several international lawyers, and passed that information on so those workers could make a more informed decision. At the same time, she also began getting a fund together from friends and supporters that could be used to support any civil servants who decided to join the movement.The movement’s success has put our guest in danger because of her involvement. After her home was broken into and searched, she went into hiding. To deal with the enormous her level of stress has been overwhelming, and her refuge in part has been a daily meditation practice according to the teachings of Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw. Although she didn’t have a meditation practice before the pandemic, she now finds that this provides much-needed stability to the mind.For those who are inspired to hear about the work our guest is leading, please make a donation on our site, and indicate you would like these funds to go towards her CDM effort.

30 Mar 20211h 33min

Ashin Sarana is speaking out, and he’s prepared for the consequences. “I'm basically ready for everything,” the Czech monk tells us. “I'm ready that they will come and they will destroy property, I'm ready that they will arrest me, I'm ready that they will expel me. My donors are ready… By your very existence, you happen to be involved, whether you like it or not.”It was certainly not a light decision for a monk whose primary concern is teaching the Dhamma to followers and pursuing his own intensive meditation practice. In fact, he so rarely keeps up with worldly events that he references several years ago seeing pictures of Donald Trump and not knowing he was the U.S. president, and did not himself even know that a coup had occurred until a week into the event. But he realized he needed to better understand the daily news to make more informed decisions to protect those closest to him. For someone who was sometimes years behind current events, U Sarana now found himself reading the news for 7-8 hours a day, and the dark reality he was confronting left him feeling “suffocated.”U Sarana is also horrified to learn that some foreign practitioners buy into the argument that Buddhism can thrive no matter which rulers happen to be in power. He does not hold back his disgust on hearing that such a view is actually not that uncommon within the international meditator community. To him, that opinion “is a very clear display of lack of knowledge about history in Myanmar.”This is why he also has taken it upon himself to stay so informed at this moment, so that he doesn’t offer Dhamma advice that is so disconnected to the actual circumstances that he is no longer helping his followers.If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

25 Mar 20212h 39min

Kyawt Thiri Nyunt’s journey from Myanmar to the United States at age 19 was not just a physical one, but a cultural and psychological one as well. She had traveled to enroll in a small liberal arts college in California, having won a full merit scholarship. But then came the pressure of integrating into a new environment, on top of the anxiety to achieve, and so she did something she had never done before: she began therapy to explore the stress that was building up inside her.The therapy also uncovered deep-rooted trauma that she had been holding her entire life growing up under a military dictatorship. Unprocessed memories flooded out, including the associated emotions of anger and fear. Properly understanding—even honoring—the pervasiveness of this trauma is especially important at this moment, because without doing so, the Burmese protest movement simply cannot be properly appreciated. Once one truly understands how dark the days had been under past military rule, one realizes that no matter how aggressively the military chooses to respond in the days that come, the protesters have no choice but to keep on, as they will never accept a return to the past system. Kyawt explains how the mettā meditation that defines the practice of many Burmese Buddhists has so far contributed to the protests’ nonviolent nature, but that they are getting close to the breaking point.This is a time of real social change and upheaval in Myanmar, and it is impossible to know where this will ultimately go. Beyond worldly culture, these changes could also ultimately impact the shape of Burmese Buddhism as well, as with the people’s embrace of their newfound sense of agency, the Burmese people themselves are determining which members of the Saṅgha truly speak for them, and which do not have their interests in heart.If you are finding value in these shows, please consider sharing to friends and contacts so more can learn about what is currently happening in Myanmar.

15 Mar 20212h 13min

At a time when corporations, countries, and individuals are speaking out, taking a moral stand, and considering action to support the Burmese people as state-sponsored terror grips their nation, what is the ethical responsibility of the vipassana organization of S.N. Goenka, who always reminded students of their “debt of gratitude” to the geographical region where their lineage hails from?To answer this question and many more, we turn to Daniel Mayer, the Coordinating Area Teacher (CAT) “to serve the Rest of Africa.” Daniel advises meditators to not stray towards one extreme or another. For those caught up in the heavy emotions of the current moment, he advises them to be patient with themselves and remember the wider context, saying, “I think in some cases, it can take a whole lifetime. But don't think that you are an exception. And don't think that what is happening now in a certain part of the world, is any different to what's happening, and happened in other parts of the world.”But he also warns against spiritual bypass. “I do feel that mettā should not be an excuse...[T]o say, it doesn't affect me just because I am not there, or I'm not part of it, or I don't agree… that is not really understanding what is our role as meditators.”Daniel describes how inspired he feels by how the Dhammic ideals of sīla, mettā, dāna, an appreciation of karma, and nonviolence are characteristic of the current protest movement. A note about our mission here at Insight Myanmar Podcast. While it usually takes us several weeks at minimum to produce an episode, we feel that the current moment demands a faster turn-around, and we managed to release this episode after just 36 hours. However, this can be challenging for a primarily volunteer organization, especially one with limited funds. We hope to continue bringing interviews on this topic with Buddhist practitioners, teachers, and scholars, but we need your support to do so. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give by searching “Insight Myanmar” on PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Go Fund Me, and Patreon, as well as via Credit Card at www.insightmyanmar.org/donation.

10 Mar 20211h 6min