Afghanistan and Burma in Laurie's Colonial England

William Laurie wrote Ashé Pyee, the Superior Country in 1882, just years before colonial England occupied the whole of Burma. In much of this book, Laurie makes a case as to why it is in their best interest to occupy the Golden Land. Following are some of his arguments:

The mercantile gentleman—a gentleman to the backbone—remarks: " The country is full of wealth which only requires the commonest form of just government to tap and draw off. Now that all the mischief that can be done to trade has been done, and troops are on the spot, it is to be hoped that Government will make such arrangements—be they in the form of annexation or of a definite treaty with suitable guarantee for fulfilment—as will put trade on a secure basis, and prevent the recurrence of a similar commercial crisis." 

Again, the shrewd merchant makes the following very pithy remark, which, beyond all question, has considerable truth in it:—"Upper Burma occupies pretty much the relation to British Burma that a lunatic asylum does to a contiguous private residence. It is a constant object of dread to the merchant, and from a political point of view, it is a standing menace to British power and prestige in the East." 

The comparison of Upper with Lower Burma is very striking in every respect, and should be studied by all who are anxious to understand the Burmese question. In the former we have poverty, starvation, and barbarous oppression by the rulers, where the people are taught "that gambling is a virtue, and life and property of no particular value;" in the latter, there is safety for all under a beneficent Government—"peace, contentment, and happiness, and such a steady and ever-increasing development of the resources of the country as might make any wise ruler anxious to imitate a system which has produced such marvellous results." 

The difference, of course, in the two cases is simply that we require either possession of, or strict control over, the one country, to make an harmonious whole; but we do not at all, at present, require the other. We can wait for Afghanistan, if it is ever to be ours, meanwhile fortifying ourselves against all chance of attack; but we cannot wait for something to be done with Upper Burma without damaging Lower or British Burma.

Epic Dhamma Battle: Myanmar vs. the USA

Paññobhāsa Bhikkhu is an American monk who has spent 25 years in Burma, thereby making him uniquely qualified to contrast the differences between Dhamma practice of these two cultures. This is exactly what he does in his highly engaging recent essay Epic Dhamma Battle: Myanmar vs. the USA. 

Here is one passage in which he sets the scene: "Also before proceeding I will mention an event that occurred not long ago, within the past few years, as it has a moral which may be useful to bear in mind. One of the most famous and influential Vipassana teachers in America went to Burma and was introduced to a Burmese lady, the likes of whom are very rare in America but not so uncommon in Burma—she keeps eight precepts, always wears the brown clothing of a yogi, studies the Pali texts in depth, and takes Theravada Buddhism very, very seriously. Anyway, the famous Western teacher gifted her with a number of copies of the famous books he had written and then proceeded to explain to her what was wrong with Burmese Buddhism and how it ought to be changed. The Burmese lady was so indignant at his superior American attitude that as soon as he left she had all of his books thrown out of her house. I’ve never met the famous Vipassana teacher but I have met the Burmese lady, and I know that a granite-like faith such as hers is a force to be reckoned with. Anyway, the moral of this little tale is this: A firm conviction that you are right counts for nothing, since everyone is the same way, including those who believe the exact opposite as you. Everyone considers their own way to be right, or at least more right than other people’s way; and these two “rights” don’t make a wrong, but simply cancel each other out. They add up to zero and can be left out of account. The Burmese can see the faults of Western Buddhism no less clearly than Americans can see the faults of the Burmese version, and both sides are largely blind to the most important shortcomings of their own systems. So again, if you are a Westerner and can see plainly enough that Western Buddhism is an improvement on the Asian traditions, it counts for pretty much zero, because those Asians can see that Western Buddhism is not an improvement, and they can see it just as clearly. So it’s good to have an objective perspective of the Big Picture, as I will try to have in what follows."

Such astute observations in what follows is rare today among those who write about the Dhamma today, and his ability to discern subtle distinctions, and advantages and disadvantages among the cultural forms of practice and belief, are highly valuable to anyone on the Path, and particularly those with an interest in Burma-Dharma. 

Harmony in Diversity: Bhikkhu Aggacitta

Bhikkhu Aggacitta, at SBS (Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary) in Malaysia, delivers a Dhamma talk. 

The Malaysian monk (who himself hails from a Burmese tradition) is famous for trying to find commonalities amongst the great Burmese and Thai teachers in their orientation towards meditation, particularly Pa Auk Sayadaw, Mahasi Sayadaw, S.N. Goenka, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Gana, Ayya Khema, Bhante Gunaratana, and Ajahn Brahm. 

Here, Bhikkhu Aggacitta discusses the importance of following the Buddha's original teachings and in seeing how these different teachers transmit the Dhamma each in their own special way.

The Timeless Rhythms of Burmese Village Life

“The head of the village monastery virtually becomes the head of the village.” Maha Gandayone Sayadaw U Janaka

In many ways, the timeless rhythms of Burmese village life have changed little over the centuries. In Through the Looking Glass, the American monk Bhikkhu Cintita observed this timeless quality in village homes in 2013, writing: “Almost all houses in Burma are basically wicker baskets, thin but rigid structures of bamboo and straw with thatched roofs, simple holes for doors and windows, sometimes with a wooden flap but no glass, and an outhouse in the back.” In many villages, life still flows according to the seasons and revolves around farming. Today, about three-quarters of Myanmar’s population is rural, much of which is concentrated along the country’s many rivers, where agriculture the obvious main livelihood due to the very fertile soil. Similar to rural cultures the world over, it tends to be more “conservative” and religious in rural Myanmar than in its more urban counterparts.

A Photographic Pilgrimage in Burma, Part 1

Shwe Lan Ga Lay author Joah McGee connected with local photographer Andrew Davis in Tasmania, Australia. Andrew had organized a showing of his photographs from his trip to Burma in 2013 in conjunction with several presentations Joah was giving in the area. Following one presentation, Joah and Andrew did a walk-through of the photos. As Andrew described his subjective, personal, and immediate impressions behind the photos, Joah provided a greater context and detailed information. This is the first of ten walls that the pair described.

A Great Dhammic Buffet

“The Method of Vipassanā Meditation [by Mahasi Sayadaw] is very much like a grand dinner table prepared and richly laid with sumptuous and delicious dishes. Just as every dish of food and curry is good, palatable and wholesome, every part of the section of this book is full of flavor, highly remarkable and excellent.” 

Sayadaw U Silanada, Biography of Mahasi Sayadaw

Burmese Flowers

U Sarana, the Mingaladon-based monk, has contributed the following stories. To join his weekly newsletter, contact us as here.

"Perhaps in every country children like to play with flowers. In Myanmar it is especially so, and many flowers thus get their 'children's name.' One of such flowers is paw-paw pan (ေပၚေပၚပန္း), of which official name is not known to me. This flower has a stalk that can be cleaned, removing the flower and the root, and used as a low-tone whistle. When blowing in the stalk, the sound you may hear is paw paw, said jokingly Ma Zin Mar. Ma Myint Way knows this plant in her village in the Mandalay region as Thingyan flower - and my dictionary in turn explains that there are seven different flowers with this name, called so because they are particularly selected for flower-vases in Thingyan days, i.e. during the holidays of Myanmar's new year.

An interesting plant described to me by Ko Thet Win Maung is magnolia (Michelia champaca), called in Burmese Saka-War-Pin (စံကား၀ါပန္းပင္). It's flowers are cut off and kept in a well-washed 'glucose glass-bottles.' These glass-bottles are then kept in front of a Buddha statue or on tables as decoration-- and can last up to one whole year. So far I don't remember having seen this, but if you see that, you may like to ask how long the bottle has been kept there. Ma Zin Mar says, that upon opening the bottle the flowers immediately wither."