Buddhist Monks as Hate Preachers & Sexual Abuse

There are some negative developments in the Buddhist world for which Buddhists should be ashamed, and if possible take up responsibility to counter them.

One of them is that the Rohingya – a Muslim minority in Burma – whom the BBC calls “one of the world’s most persecuted minority groups” face racist and violent abuse by Burmese Buddhists. There are also Buddhist monks who fuel this hate and ethnic conflicts by speeches that invoke hate and fear:

• Buddhist monk uses racism and rumours to spread hatred in Burma – BBC
• The Burmese monks who preach intolerance against Muslim Rohingyas – BBC
• Sri Lanka Buddhist monks, supporters demand halal boycott

In case you have Facebook or YouTube accounts and you stumble over racism, religious intolerance and hate speeches by Buddhists I think it’s good to let those people – including Buddhist monks or nuns – know that this is unacceptable and wrong and to give good reasons why. (Without getting angry, just as a peaceful protest against such harmful acts which are contrary to a good heart and Buddha’s teachings.)

My contribution for peace, mutual understanding and to counter these negative development is this speech by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:

There are also good news from Burma like these:

See also

• Regarding the Ethnic Violence in Burma – Alan Peto

Although this doesn’t justify any violence by Buddhists against Muslims it should be noted that there is also violence by Muslims against Buddhists like in South Thailand or Bangladesh that is rarely reported in the news:

• Indian Chakmas protest attacks on Buddhists in Bangladesh
• No Peace: Why Conflict Persists in Thailand’s Deep South – TIME Magazine

The Buddhist Community in Salzburg (BGS) in Austria published a resolution condemning the violence in Burma against Muslims but they make also clear that the conflicts in Burma and Sri Lanka are not religious in nature – as most of the media claim – but that these conflicts are of ethnic, social or racist origin. The BGS states, that 969 movement in Burma is not a Buddhist Buddhist movement but a racist Burmese movement and that the Burmese Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu – who was sentenced to nine years in prison – abuses his robes by making himself the leader of racist Burmese while the current military government does not much intervene – quite likely to find an argument to not pass over their power to a civil government.

• Resolution der Buddhistischen Gemeinschaft Salzburg (BGS) zu den ethnischen Konflikten in Burma „Gewalt im Namen Buddhas“?

There are also recently reported or discussed cases of child and sexual abuse:

• Bhutan seeks to curb sexual diseases among Buddhist monks – Tricycle
• Sri Lanka’s hidden scourge of religious child abuse – BBC
• Child ordinations and the rights of children by Gananath Obeyesekere
• Four Young Tulkus In The West – Details About What Happened To Kalu Rinpoche 2012/07/27
• Sex in the Monastery – Bangkok Post

Something inspiring:

• Buddhist text’s true author identified as Thai woman By Samanthi Dissanayake

PDF exploits:

• Latest Adobe PDF exploit used to target Uyghur and Tibetan activists

Update 02 May 2013

• Why are Buddhist monks attacking Muslims?  By Alan Strathern (Oxford University), BBC News

Update 19 May 2013

• Bhutan Makes Condoms Available To Buddhist Monks To Stop Spread Of STDs – Huffington Post
• Buddhicizing or Ethnicizing the State: Do the Sinhala Sangha Fear Muslims in Sri Lanka? – Suren Rāghavan

Update 25 May 2013

• Der Zorn der Mönche – Zeit Online
• Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State – Human Rights Watch Report (April 22, 2013)
• Bodu Bala Sena supporters attack protesting monks

Update 30 May 2013

• Myanmar Mosque, Muslim Orphanage Burned After Alleged Immolation Of Buddhist Woman – Huffington Post

Update 09 June 2013

• Nuns and Rape – Bhikkhu Sujato
• What Lies Beneath the Robes: Are Buddhist Monasteries Suitable Places for Children? ~ Adele Wilde-Blavatsky

Update 22 June 2013

• Straying From the Middle Way: Extremist Buddhist Monks Target Religious Minorities – Time Magazine
• Dalai Lama Decries Buddhist Attacks On Muslims In Myanmar – Reuters

Update 11 August 2013

• Sri Lanka Buddhist mob attacks Colombo mosque – BBC

Update 21 September 2013

• Buddhist-Muslim Commitment to Action and the Dusit Declaration – Compassionate Action Network

  Last edited by tenpel on September 21, 2013 at 12:35 am