What Makes a Monk Mad?

[PeteC]

From the New York Times. This editorial says to me that we are just seeing the beginning of all this. Pete
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By SETH MYDANS
Published: September 30, 2007
BANGKOK

Myanmar, a devout society, paid attention when monks led protests.
As they marched through the streets of Myanmar’s cities last week leading the biggest anti government protests in two decades, some barefoot monks held their begging bowls before them. But instead of asking for their daily donations of food, they held the bowls upside down, the black lacquer surfaces reflecting the light.

It was a shocking image in the devoutly Buddhist nation. The monks were refusing to receive alms from the military rulers and their families — effectively excommunicating them from the religion that is at the core of Burmese culture.

That gesture is a key to understanding the power of the rebellion that shook Myanmar last week.

The country — the former Burma — has roughly as many monks as soldiers. The military rules by force, but the monks retain ultimate moral authority. The lowliest soldier depends on them for spiritual approval, and even the highest generals have felt a need to honor the clerical establishment. They claim to rule in its name.

Begging is a ritual that expresses a profound bond between the ordinary Buddhist and the monk. “The people are feeding the monks and the monks are helping the people make merit,â€

[STEVE G]

I think it sums up the regime in Myanmar when you see in this sad photo following the shooting of the Japanese journalist, that the soldier who has been sent to do the junta’s dirty work hasn’t even been supplied with a pair of boots.http://mizzima.com/Foto-2007/Sep/27foto/japanbig.html