Myanmar which is presenting Hindu massacre as being done by the Rohingyas was left embarrassed when its top Buddhist Monk used an ancient Buddhist tale which speaks of Hindu massacre.
On October 30th, 2017, Monk Sitagu Sayadaw, founder of the Sitagu Buddhist Academies, was at the military base in Kayin State and his sermon was broadcast live in Myanmar through Facebook to lacs of his dutiful followers.
During his speech, he went after the Rohingyas first, by telling the Buddhist Myanmarese soldiers to not fear the sins they are accumulating when they take a human life.
Worse, he went on to speak about an ancient Sinhalese tale of Buddhist King Dutugamunu who was exonerated by the holy Buddhist Monks after he murdered countless Hindus. The powerful Monks had told the Kind that he need not fear as the countless Hindus he had murdered added up to only one and a half lives. In Myanmar, this story is known as the “King and Kyay Kalar.”
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These pictures were shared by him on his Facebook page and show the veneration that he commands from soldiers:
Pic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook pagePic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook pagePic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook pagePic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook pagePic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook pagePic credit: Venerable Ashin Nyanissara (Sitagu/Thegon Sayadaw)/Facebook page
Coconuts.co/Yangon reported him as saying that:
“Don’t worry King, it’s a little bit of sin. Don’t worry. Even though you killed millions of people, they were only one and a half real human beings.”
The Frontier Myanmar reported that the massacre of Hindu Tamil community added up only to one and a half lives because they did not obey the five precepts of Buddhism. Monk Sitagu Sayadaw later tried to distance himself from the tale merely adding that this is what the soldiers (in rapt attendance) should keep in mind.
Noble Prize winner and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had recently given Sitagu Sayadaw title “Honourable, Excellent and Great Teacher of Country and the State” in recognition of his ‘scholarly’ work.
Khin Zaw Win, Director at Tampadipa Institute, on his Facebook account spoke out at the Buddhist Monk and said:
“Yes, it is from the Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka. These words were to Sinhala King Dutugemunu, who re-conquered the northern part of Lanka from Tamil kingdoms. The Theravada had always been close to the state, but then and now the words are in very bad taste.”
However, it is worrisome that a top Buddhist Monk is using a Hindu massacre tale to rationalize violence and is even preaching to the military openly.
It is to be noted here, that Buddhism is the majority religion of Myanmar and blasphemy done against it is punishable by law.
Such problems in Myanmar are not new but rarely have been acknowledged by the world as it has largely been a closed country.
Sri Lankan Hindu groups have long spoken at length about the discrimination they face but have been overlooked by the Hindu nationalist groups in India, who are now with the Myanmarese Buddhist Monks.
By Namta Gupta
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