Letter to Myanmar State Sangha Condemning Violence Against Rohingya

The following letter is addressed to the governing body of all monastics in Myanmar, the State Sangha Committee. We implore them to uphold Buddhism by taking a strong stand against hate speech and ethnic cleansing. We also call on the government of Myanmar to protect vulnerable communities of all religions and ethnicities, and on the UN to ensure the safety and survival of the Rohingyas.

The letter was first signed by 200 Buddhist leaders, including Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, Jack Kornfield, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein, Dhammachari Lokamitra, Phra Paisal Visalo, and Bernie Glassman. We now invite the Buddhist community at-large to sign the letter. Learn more about the crisis here.

To: The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee
Thiri Mingalar Kabar Aye Hill,
Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Dear Venerable Monks, Elders, and Respected Leaders,

We write to you with metta as Buddhist practitioners and teachers from among millions of Buddhists in our communities in the West and across the world—monastics, ordained, and lay people from Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions.

We view the continuing systematic violence and abuse directed against hundreds of thousands of our Muslim sisters and brothers in Myanmar’s Rakhine state with the deepest concern. Reports by reputable human rights and news organizations document that more than 600,000 Rohingya people have been driven over borders, seeking refuge in Bangladesh, India, and elsewhere.

Reliable sources report that in the many burned-out towns and villages of Rakhine state, they have endured murder, beatings, starvation, disease, rape, and now exile—with their homes being systematically torched behind them. Unlike past repressions of Rohingyas, now the world is watching with compassion, holding the government and military of Myanmar and Myanmar’s Buddhist institutions responsible for this policy of violence.

We are greatly disturbed by what many see as slander and distortion of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Dhamma there is no justification for hatred and violence. Mean-spirited words and direct provocation led by Ma Ba Tha monks (the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation, formerly known as the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion) stand in stark contradiction to monastic precepts and Buddha’s teachings on universal morality, peace, and tolerance.

Therefore, we call on the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee to uphold Buddhism by further enforcing its recent rulings against Ma Ba Tha, taking a strong stand against hate speech and ethnic cleansing.
We call on the government and military of Myanmar, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to apply their full resources in support of peace and for the protection of vulnerable communities of all religions and ethnicities.
We call on member nations of the UN to use all peaceful means at their disposal to promote a peaceful resolution of ethnic tensions in the country; to see that the survival and safety of the Rohingya is ensured; and to take steps to provide them with full rights as citizens of Myanmar.

Sincerely, in hope of peace and love of Dhamma,
Rev. Hozan Alan Senauke, Buddhist Humanitarian Project
Written on behalf of the international Buddhist community, including hundreds of signatories.

Cc:
Thura U Aung Ko
Ministry for Religious Affairs and Culture,
Building no.10,
Naypyidaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Building 9,
Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

President U Win Myint
Presidential Palace, Yaza Htarni Road
Zeyatheiddhi Ward, Zabuthiri,
Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing
Ministry of Defense
Building 24,
Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar