Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Opposition Leader: The Terra Firma of Burma
Sep 26th, 2007 | 7 responses
There is amongst Buddhists in Asia the story of Kwan Yin, sometimes called Kwannon and other spellings of the name… it is said, Kwan Yin had become a Bodhi-sattva… an Enlightened Being, who thereby was allowed to step off the Wheel of Life and Death, to bypass all future suffering in earthly incarnation, and instead to ascend to Nirvana; to the place of perfected All.
As Kwan Yin began to ascend the golden staircase into the heavenly realm of Nirvana, she heard a sound, and saw a motion below and looked down over the banister. Down below on earth was all of suffering humanity, and their voices were a single cry that reached to the sky, and their prayers were a single prayer for help that reached to the heavenly realms.
And Kwan Yin hearing and seeing them, was hurt in her heart. She suddenly reversed her ascent, and began to descend the staircase toward earth again, vowing she would never return to Nirvana again until all human beings suffering on earth could come with her too. All manner of demons and voices reached out to her trying to tell her to turn back, speaking slyly that she had earned her peace, and that it was each man and woman for themselves. But Kwan Yin, resolute, and carrying the love of humanity in her heart, continued her descent to earth… and it is said that she still lives amongst us today.
Kwan Yin is known as the Mother of Compassion, also as the Goddess of Compassion… and Burma has its own Kwan Yin in the person of Aung San Suu Kyi, 62 years old, who was given a Nobel Peace Prize for her decades long activism and putting herself in harm’s way to raise up the Burmese people. She has been in prison and under house arrest in Burma for the last twelve years. Yesterday, a small group of the 20,000 monks who marched in Burma to protest the government further burdening the poor by doubling fuel prices last week, were marching directly to the house in which Aung San Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest. They strove past the military units stationed around her house. She was able to come to the gate to bless the monks before the military closed off access.
She has been offered sanctuary and refugee status by many countries worldwide, but refuses to leave Burma. Read more here about her life and her dedication to the Burmese people, and why she and the people and country she loves are currently in such danger…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1950505.stm
and if you would, pass this story on to others who may not yet know about Burma; Many brave people in Burma, for the first time in its history, are leaning out into the world through a huge rip in the hardshell the militarized government has squashed the country’s outside communication with for decades. The current breach has been made ‘by the people, for the people,’ via internet, cell phone, and satelite communications which, though the government is trying to jam those outlets as we speak… surely there are many, many male and female Kwan Yins of electronic compassion, also.
7 Responses to “Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Opposition Leader: The Terra Firma of Burma”
I know this is not really your main point, but the story of Kuan Yin is a fascinating cultural, as well as a spiritual, story. Kuan Yin, as you likely know, is the Chinese version of the Indian boddhisatva of compassion Avalokitesvara. Their essential feature is the vow of compassion to save humanity, but the way that old Ava changes through time is a great study in the cultures of each area into which Buddhism spread.
The great transformation for Avalokitesvara is that Ava was male in India and became a woman in China and Japan (where it’s Kannon). It’s hard to say exactly why she changed sex when she moved to China, but in general her story merged with several other Chinese folk goddesses, as well as the Tibetan Tara, who is closely linked to Ava.
Incidentally, I did a quick search to see what form Avalokitesvara takes in Burma. His name there seems to be either Lokantha or Lokanantha.
Anyone who is interested in the storyof Kuan Yin can start here
Dr. E -
You do a worthy deed by writing about Burna in these two posts. I think we’re developing tunnel vision in the US. We see only our politics and Iraq.
Pacatrue –
That’s faxcinating. Thanks.
thank you pacatrue for all your information. I only know the stories from the old omahs who used to pick and pack with us when I was a child. I am glad to know more.
And domajot, your idea about tunnel vision, is actually a trait of truama. it makes you wonder, doesnt it? It could be the pack mentality, but it could also at the same time be the kind of obcessive thought that often comes from feeling such pain and not being able to alleviate it.
Also to all souls here, I am trying to find more online newspapers that originate in foreign countries but are written in
English. If you know of a soild source, please let me know; I have a few so far that seem credible, and am looking for more. It’s intesting to see that perameters for reportage vary from
country to country.
thank you always for your thoughts.
dr.e
Saint? or Not?…
A non-Christian saint highlighted at the Moderate Voice…….
[...] A non-Christian saint highlighted at the Moderate Voice. [...]
Other than the very occasional hairball, my beloved kitty Rumblepuss never throws up. Because she already has domain over nearly every horizontal surface in the place, I can’t remember the last time she roosted on the sill of my west-facing window.
Not until Tuesday evening did I notice she had been sitting–not lying, sitting–on that sill gazing out the window for hours. She also showed a most uncharacteristic disinterest in her evening munchies. By this morning her dish was empty, but on the floor smack in the middle of the bathroom doorway sat a tidy puddle of recycled liver and chicken feast. “Hopefully she’s got rid of what’s ailing her,” mutters I to myself. Not until I was engrossed in your much-appreciated article did I experience one of those forehead-thumper moments.
Rumblepuss is a Birman cat. In the region of Burma where the Birman comes from, they are called “the sacred temple cats”. In North America they are known as “the sacred cats of Burma”.
A rogue hairball? Perhaps…
[...] Tripped over a nice opinion piece from TheModerateVoice.com: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Opposition Leader: The Terra Firma of Burma [...]