Recently, some young monks took to the streets and walked in procession. Political opportunists participated in the procession, and recitation of Metta Sutta was later dominated by political slogans. The flags of fighting peacock, the flags of political party and placards along with religious flags were seen together. I felt unhappy to see that the young monks were exploited. So, I write this article.

Regarding the acts of the monks, I remembered the Ovada of the Lord Buddha delivered to Samane Shin Rahula. The Buddha said that one used a mirror to see oneself. The Buddha told him to think before he did something. One should think if his deed would produce good or bad results.

The main point I want to express is that if the members of the Sangha should get involved in politics or not. Daw Suu Kyi wrote in an article entitled Aung San in her book “Freedom From Fear”.

....When Aung San was at university as a first year student, a debate organized by the Students Union was held. After the debate, Aung San stood up among the audience and seconded the motion that monks should not get involved in politics tabled by Aung Than, his elder brother. Aung San seconded the motion with belief and it was not an act of fraternal unity.

We should notice that the motion he seconded expressed his belief. It was his belief that members of the Sangha should not be given permission to get involved in politics.

About one year before he died, he made a speech at the Shwedagon Pagoda. He said religion and politics could not intermingle and it is against the theory of the religion. He urged the members of the Sangha to make efforts for flourishing of the Sasana in order that the people of the world may live in unity. From the point of view of the religion, the efforts were not only noble but also the noblest politics carried out for the nation and the people.

According to the statement of Daw Suu Kyi, members of the Students Union promoted the prestige of race, religion and the Sasana, thinking that politics and religion were different.

Pro-west so-called “88” generation students misuse the name of the students union.

They incited members of the Sangha through the media. They pretended to pay respects to the monks saying that they took refuge in Sangha. But in their political discussions, they said the monks should be exploited as Yellow Army. They should be put on the front, they said. The young monks did not know what the so-called “88” generation students said. We have witnessed the procession of the monks in the streets as a political movement.

Here, I will explain the Pali terms in brief. Dhammandral means danger to the Dhamma. It is a great danger to the Sasana. Kalawipatti means bad time.

There were true evidences that political opportunists in successive periods exploited the monks for political gains. For example, during the independence struggle, Sangha Thamaggi, a Sangha organization, came into existence with the support of the political activists. It emerged in parallel to GCBA.

GCBA broke up and so did Sangha Thamaggi. There were cliques in U Soe Thein’s GCBA, so also in U Chit Hlaing’s GCBA, 21-member Myat Hlaing Paw party, Dama party, Fabian party, Ngapwintsaing party and Do- Bama Asiayon with their respective monks.

Do-Bama Asiayon dominated the political forces that split and Sangha Thamaggi or Young Monks Association influenced the disunited monks. Therefore, there were sad events between old members of the Sangha and young monks with political beliefs.

Later, far-sighted Sayadaws formed All Ganas Maha Sangha Organization for purification, perpetuation and propagation of the Sasana and carried out religious tasks only. The organization demanded the government to constitute the Ministry of Religious Affairs and to prescribe Sangha Vinicchaya Law. Moreover, directives were issued for Dhammakathika Sayadaws to give sermons on religious affairs only and not to get involved in party politics.

When sectarianism, personality cult and various isms among the monks’ community were beginning to diminish thanks to the far-sighted Sayadws and senior members of the Sangha, there came another act of instigation. The British government held elections to call a legislative hluttaw when the time came to grant independence to Myanmar. At the time, some clever politicians organized the monks to help them get a share of power. In addition, at the instigation of the lackeys of the colonialists, the British government (British Parliament) passed a law for monks and nuns enabling them to vote.

In reality, this act could wreck the unity of monks and various ganas that had been forged on a tough basis, and there might be clashes among those in the political field.

Some young monks still practicing sectarianism, personality cult and various isms supported the law but the far-sighted Sayadaws strongly opposed and the attempt to enact the law failed. There is material evidence that the 126th central special executive committee of All-Ganas Maha Sangha Organization passed a resolution as follows (a rough translation):

…Casting votes in elections by Buddhist monks as well as their involvement in political affairs is not concerned with the Sasana. Casting votes has nothing to do with monks so they are not entitled to do so. Thanks to the Sayadaws and members of the Sangha, monks and nuns avoided involvement in political affairs. But when it came to the period of parliamentary democracy, the politicians approached the monks and made instigation again. While AFPFL split into two factions, the mass of monks split into many ganas — Burma Sangha Party, Maha Sangha Raja Organization, Sangha Front, Sangha Unity Organization, Sangha Unity Young Monks Association, Union Sangha Association, Sangha Purification Association, Rakhine Sotujana Association, and Maha Sotujana Association.

As a result of the break-up of Sangha unity, there emerged bogus monks who made their living at the expense of the Sasana and the Sangha world.

I would like to point out some facts that some persons who are using young monks for political gains and the monks who show disregard for the Ovada and Vinaya of the Buddha at the instigation of those harmful to the Sasana should be aware of. Lord Buddha wants no monks who live closely in the community of lay people. At present day, those monks who are dealing with lay persons in political affairs and gambling such as football and two or three digits numbers games are indeed bogus ones. One can study it in the Kulupaka Sutta if one wants to know. The following are the five kinds of monks Lord Buddha dislikes:

(a) the monk living and dealing closely with people as if they were his family members or lay persons

(b) the monk who gets involved himself in management affairs although it is not his business

(c) the monk who tries to mediate two separated groups

(d) the monk who indulges in private discussion with people, and

(e) the monk begging excessively (Kulupaka Suta-120)

Chairman U Khemacara of Young Monks Association and U Gambhira of Sangha Front, who are living abroad, instigating the young monks to commit acts that are not concerned with the Sasana, are not true monks serving the interest of the Theravada Sasana. They are the bogus ones making their living disguised as monks.

Lord Buddha expounded the Ovada Katha concerning the fact that most Buddhists usually pay homage when they meet a monk wearing robes.

According to Visuddhi Treatise, Lord Buddha expounded a sermon that the sufferings wicked monks will face due to receiving respects of lay persons, wearing robes, having alms food and taking shelter in monasteries donated by lay persons are much worse than the sufferings of those who were tortured till all the flesh in their calves is removed off, those who are stabbed straight through with spear in their chests, those whose bodies are touched flat with glowing iron plate, those who swallow glowing iron solid, and those who are baked in glowing huge iron pot.

If we review the recent protest marches, bogus monks and politician opportunists systematically used the process of agitation instead of the process of propaganda to persuade young monks in the nation to take to the streets.

Using the kind relative method, U Khemacara, U Gambhira and U Obha aired a distorted news story repeatedly in order that target audience came to consider and automatically recognize the organizers to be those with great loving-kindness and compassion or saviors, and express outrage. They pushed monks onto the streets but the monk organizers like U Gambhira did not take to the streets.

It is also found that they used barrage, one of the subversion methods, in collusion with foreign radio stations. The expression “barrage” is a military term, which means protection of the weak part of own force by providing the support of fire in order that the vanguard of the enemy cannot infiltrate the part.

In the subversive acts, the expression “barrage” means to divert the attention of the people, deceive the people and release distorted news stories in order that the audience do not hold the idea to give priority to their motherland and mother organization, fulfil the wishes of masterminds behind the scene, and concentrate on the created situations.

The plots of these destructive elements worked so beautifully that young monks were totally trapped. Therefore they no longer paid attention to their primary duties of three kinds of Sasana—Pariyatti (learning of Buddhist scriptures), Patipatti (meditation) and Pativedha (attainment of insight) and were under the influence of sectarianism and chose the path paved by the destructive elements. So, the people came to be worried about the future of the Sasana. The monks failed to follow the directives of the members of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee and held defiance against the government through mass movements, thereby posing danger to the Sasana and peace and stability of the State.

Initially, the young monks had no wish to create violence and unrest. Therefore, the authorities, at first, did nothing to prevent the protest marches.

Misunderstanding the authorities’ tackling the issue in a soft way with great care, the masterminds behind the protests fueled the protest at peak, saying public victory was within reach. The western masterminds and some members of expatriate gangs, watching the incidents, jumped the track.

In their scheme to instigate mass protests to be staged under the leadership of monks, NLD and CRPP members took positions among the monk protesters holding placards and flags. In the meantime, those pretending themselves as students came to rear their heads holding flags featuring the picture of fighting peacock. Many casual opportunists with the intention of robbing property if opportune joined the protest marches of the monks.

Authorities noticed the situations, so they took necessary measures to avert possible evil consequences. The people did not want to face any situations like the 1988 unrest in which administrative machinery was no longer effective, decisions were made under mob rules to bully the public, innocent people were burnt and beheaded along with inhumane killings of people under various accusations.

So, I would like to urge the people to view the prevailing situations as they really are, placing no trust in alien instigation, and to prevent the movements of subversive elements and politician opportunists resorting to various means to destroy the nation and the Sasana, so as all the situations of the nation will return to normalcy.