TAUNGGYI (Myanmar) — The world has grown accustomed to a gentle image of Buddhism defined by the self-effacing words of the Dalai Lama, the global popularity of Buddhist-inspired meditation and postcard-perfect scenes of crimson-robed, barefoot monks receiving alms from villagers at dawn.
But over the past year, images of rampaging Buddhists in Myanmar carrying swords and the vituperative sermons of monks such as Ashin Wirathu — a self-acclaimed radical with a rock-star following — have underlined the rise of extreme Buddhism in the country.
Buddhist mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people, mostly those whose religion is Islam, from their homes. Wirathu denies any role in the riots but his critics say that, at the very least, his anti-Muslim preaching is helping to inspire the violence.
His movement calls itself 969, three digits that monks say symbolise the virtues of the Buddha, Buddhist practices and its community.
What began last year on the fringes of society in Myanmar has grown into a nationwide fundamentalist movement whose agenda now includes boycotts of Muslim-made goods. Its message is spreading through regular sermons that draw thousands and widely distributed DVDs of those talks. Monasteries associated with the movement are opening community centres and a Sunday school programme for 60,000 Buddhist children nationwide.
Wirathu, who describes himself as a nationalist, says Buddhism is under siege by Muslims who are having more children than Buddhists and buying up land owned by those who share his faith. He said in a recent sermon: “If we are weak … our land will become Muslim.” Wirathu was jailed eight years in 2003 for inciting hatred.
The hate-filled speeches and violence have endangered Myanmar’s path to democracy, raising questions about the government’s ability to keep the country safe and its willingness to prosecute Buddhists in a Buddhist-majority country.
The killings have also reverberated in Muslim countries across the region. Indonesia foiled an alleged plot last month to bomb the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta in retaliation for the assaults on Muslims.
But the government has done little to rein in Wirathu. During his visit to Taunggyi, where he gave a two-hour sermon, traffic police officers cleared intersections for his motorcade.
Many in Myanmar speculate that he is allied with hard-line Buddhist elements who want to harness the nationalism of his movement to rally support ahead of elections in 2015.
Nine in 10 people in the country are Buddhists, as are nearly all the top leaders in the business world, government, military and police. Muslims account for about 4 to 8 per cent of Myanmar’s roughly 55 million people.
But as Myanmar has grown more polarised, there have been nascent signs of push-back against anti-Muslim preaching. Among the most disappointed with the outbreaks of violence and hateful rhetoric are some of the leaders of the 2007 Saffron Revolution, a peaceful uprising led by Buddhist monks against military rule.
Mr Ashin Nyana Nika, the abbot of Pauk Jadi monastery, had a meeting with the Muslims this month to discuss the issue. “We were not expecting this violence when we chanted for peace and reconciliation in 2007,” he said. The New York Times
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