The problem with Buddhism. When you think of “controversial”…
Tags: Politics, Religion, Corruption, Buddhism, Myanmar

When you think of “controversial” religions, Buddhism may not be at the top of your mind. But through my experiences growing up in a Buddhist family, and travelling through my birth country, Myanmar, I found many issues with it that have made me hesitate to call myself a Buddhist (at least the “Buddhist” that my family expects). In any place that is extremely religious, there are bound to be problems, and Buddhism is not free from its problems. In Myanmar, where about 90% of its population follows Theravada Buddhism, extreme religiosity has been used to justify and permit corruption among government and religious leaders. Corruption, in my experience, often shows in the form of spreading religiously-motivated hate speech, and hypocritical behaviours displayed by religious authorities.

A Buddhist pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar.

Religiously-Motivated Hate Speech and Othering

In Myanmar, there is a history of religious conflict with other religions, such as conflicts with Christians in the north, and Muslims in Rakhine state. Extremist Buddhism has fuelled many terrible atrocities in the name of keeping Myanmar “Buddhist.” While the Rohingya crisis and persecution of Christians in Myanmar is not solely due to religious differences, there is a sense of religious superiority and xenophobia towards non-Buddhists in Myanmar.

Years ago, Aung San Suu Kyi was seen as a saviour of Myanmar around the world because of her fight for democracy. Since then, Suu Kyi has been criticized worldwide for her government’s cruel handling of the Rohingya crisis, and for denying that this is a genocide. But if you ask almost anyone in Myanmar, I bet you they will say they are still a supporter of Suu Kyi, and probably support her even more since the Rohingya crisis. I have family members on my Facebook whose profile pictures are of Aung San Suu Kyi, and share news articles about the “dangers” of Islam in Myanmar. For most Burmese people, Suu Kyi is viewed as a saviour for the (Buddhist) Burmese people because the strong anti-Islam sentiment across Myanmar is normalized.

Supporters of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party. Photo retrieved here.

Buddhist monks were vital to Suu Kyi’s success, and were applauded for their work in fighting for freedom and democracy in the Saffron Revolution. Now, Buddhist monks are also responsible for spreading hate speech against religious minorities, especially the Rohingya Muslims. Wirathu, a Buddhist monk, has been called the “Buddhist Bin Laden” because of his hate speech towards Muslims. His words have power, shown through his large following. Anecdotally, I have also had experiences with everyday monks in Myanmar who openly discuss their dislike of Muslims, and believe that Buddhism is the “best” religion. Monks, and other religious figures, have had a massive influence on spreading religiously-motivated hate speech, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and deaths.

Hypocrisy

The other form of religious-based corruption includes the hypocritical behaviours shown by Buddhist religious figures and institutions. In Myanmar, there is a stark contrast between the poverty of the country and the exquisiteness of their pagodas (temples). In even the poorest of towns, there would be a pagoda as nice as the people could afford. As an “outsider” that was raised in the West, I was shocked because I think there are many other things one can spend money on to support their families. But for many Burmese Buddhists, donating money, regardless of your wealth, is meant to bring good karma and prosperity. Buddhist institutions are well-respected, and even the poorest will donate the time and money they can into helping the temples and monks. Sometimes, religious figures can take advantage of their positions in Burmese society.

The condition that temples are in, and the condition monks live in is a big contrast to the poverty of the many benefactors. Buddhists in Myanmar will donate necessities, such as money, food, soap, etc. to monks and temples so they can survive. But I have been to temples where monks have asked for cigarettes as a donation, and have seen monks with iPhones (in a country where owning a phone, let alone an iPhone, is not common unless you’re at least middle class). Monks are expected to live humbly, but I found that there are several who take advantage of their positions. Monks have to live off of donations, and these donations go beyond what is necessary. This hypocritical behaviour is also a problem in Thailand, another majority-Buddhist country.

In Myanmar, monks and nuns make their daily rounds to collect food for the day. Home owners and restaurant owners often donate some food to monks. Photo retrieved here.

Unfortunately, monks are able to take advantage of devout Buddhists because they get a pass by being religious figures, and questioning their desires is often considered disrespectful. Sometimes, these desires extend beyond materialistic things. During my sister’s trip to Myanmar in 2018, she told me that my aunt went to a monk to get her fortune read, and he was acting inappropriately towards her. She was obviously uncomfortable, but hesitated to do anything because of his position. Thankfully, another relative noticed this, and told the monk to f*** off. But imagine if the other relative was not there. Who else has the monk acted inappropriately towards, but no one said anything because he should be respected at all times?

Monks and other religious figures are normal humans who have human desires, such as greed and lust. Holding them to a higher level because of their religious position can allow this power to get to their heads, and take advantage of their situation. Not all religious figures are corrupt, but imagine if you were in a situation with lots of authority — wouldn’t you try to take advantage once in a while, especially if it were something that can be easily overlooked? If no one monitors the actions of religious figures, corruption will run rampant unless proper measures are put in place, or if Buddhists speak up against these corrupt figures.

Causes of Religious Corruption

Lack of Knowledge

In my experience, Buddhism in Myanmar (and other SE Asian countries) emphasizes practicing customs, without necessarily knowing why. As a child, and especially during my travels to Myanmar, I would go to the Buddhist temple with my family on certain occasions, and we would need to pray in a specific manner, say specific prayers (and in Pali, which no one really understands— it’s like the Latin of Buddhism), and perform specific rituals. Once, I didn’t kneel completely down at the Burmese temple, and got scolded by my dad because I was praying the Chinese way, which is there they go on their knees. To this day, no one can answer why one’s praying position matters, it’s just done that way.

As a kid, I would ask my family why do we need to pray at all, what is the difference between the different forms of Buddhism, why do I need to remember these prayers? and my parents wouldn’t know (to be fair, it can be difficult to find these answers, since Buddhism isn’t a very text-based religion compared to other religions). When I finally visited Myanmar for the first time, I was bombarded with lots of praying and temple visits. I would ask monks and my most religious family members what this all meant, and the meaning behind these actions, but they also didn’t give me clear answers . Hearing “because I said so” or “because that’s the way things are done” is incredibly disappointing. I would (and still) pray for show, but have my doubts about following these customs because I am not completely sure if all this prayer is productive.

Buddhism for lay people focuses on how to perform customs, and reciting, rather than the teachings of Buddha and understanding the why behind everything. Even religious figures are not always sure about answers to important questions, and this becomes a case of the blind leading the blind. This is not conducive to critical reflection of a religion or its teachings. In my view, being a “good” Buddhist means not only praying and meditating, but also understanding Buddhist philosophies, and ideally following them too. Because of the focus on prayer and customs, there are many people, including those who follow other religions, who believe praying and donating money will absolve all of their sins. This ignorance can fuel misunderstanding and hypocritical behaviours because there is a more focus on physical customs, rather than understanding a philosophy.

Monks and other Buddhist religious figures are very respected in Myanmar.

Pervasiveness of Buddhism

The second cause for all of this corruption is due to the pervasiveness of Buddhism in Myanmar. In a country where around 88% of the population is Buddhist, religion has a massive influence on politics, ideologies, and daily life. Religious figures, even corrupt ones, have power, and people listen to their words. Monks and other religious figures often recite sermons on loudspeakers (you can often hear a sermon going on in Yangon, Myanmar’s capital at all hours of the day, including 3am ughhh), record for others to listen online, and during other religious activities.

Some monks are like celebrities, and have fans who buy CD recordings of their sermons and pictures of the monk for good luck. As I previously mentioned with Wirathu, many monks can have a large following of listeners who believe their words, and support the monks. When monks spread hate speech and hateful rhetoric, their supporters listen to them. When religious figures and institutions seem to be abusing their power, followers often turn a blind eye or find ways to justify their actions.

Challenging religious figures (+ anyone of authority, for that matter), or showing disrespect towards Buddhism is taboo in Myanmar, and can leave one ostracized from society (and sometimes, even jail time). I am lucky to be able to openly criticize extremist Buddhism in the safety of my home, Canada, but I hesitate to bring these issues up with my more extreme family members in Myanmar.

Finding Solutions

Changing a whole country’s actions in a short period of time is not easy, but there are potential solutions that can be implemented by yourself. Being raised as a Buddhist, it is kind of difficult to denounce the religion completely, which is why I am seeking to better understand it so I can make my own decisions.

Seek Your Own Answers

I have a lot of questions about Buddhism, and it doesn’t seem like asking any family members or even some religious figures is reliable. Buddhism is not a text-based religion, which makes seeking these answers difficult, but there are many religious texts written by reputable Buddhist figures, such as monks, nuns, and the Dalai Lama, which focus more on philosophy rather than providing a recipe book for praying correctly.

I prefer reading books than asking others because a) you go more in-depth on certain topics of Buddhism that perhaps speaking to someone casually might not get to, and b) less socializing! This may be important if you are in a foreign country and can’t speak that language well, and the religious authorities may not speak your language well.

Recently, I read Be Angry which is a collection of the current Dalai Lama’s interviews and teachings. This book mentioned how modern-day Buddhism has deviated from its core, and is rampant with misunderstanding. The Dalai Lama also emphasizes that Buddhism is about critical thinking, and remaining skeptical. No where in the book did it mention prayer, or Buddhist customs one must follow to show they’re a devout Buddhist. Reading this gave me some hope for my own religious journey, and the future of Buddhism. It made me realize that even top Buddhist figures are questioning the state of the religion today, and that the philosophy of Buddhism is something I actually agree with.

At my local temple in Toronto, I picked up An Outline of Buddhism by Kenryu T. Tsuji (unfortunately, it’s not sold anywhere, since it’s a homemade copy). This book explained the history of Buddhism, and the basic philosophies. It answered a lot of questions I had about Buddhist philosophies, and helped me understand the basics of Buddhism. Once again, it didn’t mention anything about specific rituals one must perform as a Buddhist. There are plenty of books which cover the basics of Buddhism. I’m slowly getting around to reading more about Buddhism, so I recommend taking a look at what else is available.

I am trying to expand my knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, and the teachings so I can better understand it. I’m not quite sure where I stand in terms of what I believe, but by knowing this foundational knowledge, at least I can better support my religious family members, and perhaps teach them something too. For me, I have learned that I like learning about Buddhism as a philosophy, so I will continue to learn more about it so I can try applying its philosophies to my daily life.

Structured Buddhist Practice and Teachings

In Myanmar, some children and adults take part in a process of becoming a temporary monk/nun. This means they practice the daily life of a monk/nun for a set amount of days to gain a deeper understanding of the religion. When they participate in this, they are taught things they might not get from their family or local community, and can engage in Buddhist practices, such as praying, meditating, and learning Buddhist philosophy.

The temporary monk and nun festival, where new recruits ride carriages and go through town.

Becoming a temporary monk/nun requires all participants live as a monk or nun for the next however many days. They pray, eat, and live like monks and nuns, and are fully immersed in Buddhism until they go back home. Essentially, the idea is to teach children about Buddhism from a young age so they can understand it better and practice it accurately.

However, in my family, it is more common for the males to become temporary monks than it is for the females to be temporary nuns (I only know one female family member who became a temporary nun, compared to many male family members who became temporary monks). This is because the custom requires that everyone shave their hair off. It is more normalized for males to be bald, and understandably, not many girls want to go bald, even if it is for something important (myself included).

From speaking with my family members who did this temporary monk/nun training, it seems like they have a clearer understanding of Buddhism and its philosophies.

Conclusion

Modern-day Buddhism in Myanmar is kind of akin to Catholicism before the Protestant Reformation, where there was lots of corruption, blind followers, and a lack of limits placed upon the religion and its religious figures. Like the Protestant Reformation, Buddhism needs a reformation (maybe not to the same extent as Catholicism) in order to keep its true spirit intact, and protect its followers.

Despite the overall negative picture I paint of Buddhism in Myanmar, I should acknowledge the good that Buddhism has done for the country. Buddhist temples provide a lot of charity and community services for local communities. They are a common refuge for orphans, who are able to become monks or nuns rather than live an unfortunate fate. Monks and nuns of the monastery take care of these children, and provide them with an education and a home. Buddhist temples also regularly provide free food for the poor. Business owners or richer people will donate money, or cook a large quantity of food, and the temple will organize an event for people to come get free food. And for all you travellers out there, Buddhist temples are also a place you can get free accommodation if you’re out of money, or can’t find a place to sleep. They will provide a basic, but safe place to spend the night for anyone who needs a place.

Buddhism in Myanmar is a pervasive influence on their culture, beliefs, and lifestyle. Myanmar’s relationship with Buddhism is complex. On one hand, it has created plenty of good, and is a place of solace for millions of Burmese people, but it has also created a place of hate and corruption for several others. It is important to balance religion with acceptance and peace, which extremist Buddhism still needs to work on.