PHOTOS SANS FRONTIERES - PARTIR A LA DECOUVERTE DU MONDE ET SORTIR DES VALEURS CONNUES POUR RENCONTRER DES GENS ET DES PAYSAGES MERVEILLEUX...
Myanmar (spring 2008) - The former Burma has roughly as many monks as soldiers. Although the country is ruled by force, the monks retain ultimate moral authority. The lowest ranked soldier depends on them for spiritual approval, and even the highest generals have felt a need to honor the clerical establishment. Begging is a ritual that expresses a profound bond between the ordinary Buddhist and the monk. The people are feeding the monks and the monks are helping the people make merit. When you refuse, you have broken the bond that has tied them for centuries together.”
Last year, the country’s two largest institutions were confronting each other, the monkhood and the military, both about 400,000 strong, both made up of young men, mostly from the poorer classes, who could well be brothers. Rejected by both its spiritual and popular bases, the junta that has ruled for 19 years had little to fall back on but force. In Myanmar and other Buddhist nations, many join the monkhood as a lifelong vocation, but many other young men become monks for shorter periods, ranging from a few months to a few years. These young monks remain closer to the lives and concerns of the people whose alms they receive. That attack came as a shock to people who said the military would not turn violently against the monks, and it had the predictable effect of arousing the fury of a devout population.
The junta’s 2007 action shows that the generals are willing to go far to protect their power. However, it may be impossible for the regime to go back to normal daily legitimacy.
Myanmar (spring 2008) - The former Burma has roughly as many monks as soldiers. Although the country is ruled by force, the monks retain ultimate moral authority. The lowest ranked soldier depends on them for spiritual approval, and even the highest generals have felt a need to honor the clerical establishment. Begging is a ritual that expresses a profound bond between the ordinary Buddhist and the monk. The people are feeding the monks and the monks are helping the people make merit. When you refuse, you have broken the bond that has tied them for centuries together.”
Last year, the country’s two largest institutions were confronting each other, the monkhood and the military, both about 400,000 strong, both made up of young men, mostly from the poorer classes, who could well be brothers. Rejected by both its spiritual and popular bases, the junta that has ruled for 19 years had little to fall back on but force. In Myanmar and other Buddhist nations, many join the monkhood as a lifelong vocation, but many other young men become monks for shorter periods, ranging from a few months to a few years. These young monks remain closer to the lives and concerns of the people whose alms they receive. That attack came as a shock to people who said the military would not turn violently against the monks, and it had the predictable effect of arousing the fury of a devout population.
The junta’s 2007 action shows that the generals are willing to go far to protect their power. However, it may be impossible for the regime to go back to normal daily legitimacy.
Myanmar (close to Taung Lah village), Business flowers in a remote railway station
Myanmar (close to Taung Lah village), Business flowers in a remote railway station
Keywords: myanmar
