NEWSFLASH Australian church and cultural leaders have met at a closed-door conference aimed at protecting Australian religion and culture from the influx of foreigners. Boycotts and other means of resistance were under discussion. In the meantime bands of vigilantes were formed. One such band was a...

On the other hand, if the "radical Buddhists" give up, and Burma becomes a Muslim country in a few decades, then who will be to blame? Do you believe there is a concerted campaign to Islamise the country (personally I don't see evidence of this, and would agree with reasonable and non-vio...

Myanmar monks say most oppose anti-Muslim campaign All well and good, but ask a different set of monks and they'll say most support the anti-Muslim campaign, even if tacitly. Anecdotally, one monk I used to regularly communicate and met with here, when prompted for his views on Meikthila back in Ma...

I Know in communist Tibet they have a sort of state sponsored "buddhism" in the monasteries, communist infiltrators enlist as monks and report other monks for anti communist views, Its hard to know if any real Buddhist teachings survive in this setting other than appearances, so if Buddhi...

Can't get R4 here unless I use a VPN, which slows it all down :( Agreed, you can't just dismiss the monks as 'not Buddhist' (which I think I did when all this first started). This issue appears to be polarising the various Sangha groups. One also needs to look at the much larger political forces and...

Haven't read yet, but do any of the allegations top evidence of certain Myanmar monks (ostenibly, at least, they're monks) running around with swords or preaching anti-Muslim hate speech?

Just to give you a snapshot of the prevailing view amongst 'leading' 'intellectuals' here. The situation is really quite despairing and is set to get worse.

http://elevenmyanmar.com/national/2544- ... -terrorist

All this bullshit got Wirathu propelled onto the front page of TIME this month. Meanwhile, beyond the 969-plastered teashops, taxis and businesses emanating out from Shwedagon (which, by the way, now has free WIFI that is faster than my home connection and a couple of ATMs scattered around its groun...

Was fortunate enough to attend a dhamma talk he gave as part of a delegation visiting Malaysia. A shame there won't be the opportunity for another (not going to Japan any time soon). Wishing him well on his new path.

I believe much of our impression of the riots in Myanmar is moulded by the Press especially the western press. In every article they rioters are called Buddhist mobs. Why are these thugs identified by the religion of their birth? They are self-identifying; proudly so. On several occasions in taxis ...

Retreat centres all over the place here in Myanmar. Just booked a month at Panditarama in Hse Main Gone in July! A friend was at Pa Auk's monastery in Moulemin and does recommend it. Just need to get out here, find a centre on a tourist visa then get a meditation visa (which involves leaving the cou...

Security's tight in my Muslim majority neighbourhood again. Well, the local Muslims' own security is anyway. I don't see much in the way of police presence at night. Some articles circulating online from journalists who have spoken to some of the local Muslims report that, if there is a conflict, th...

Kicked off yet again yesterday and tonight. Plenty of reports of local monks trying to calm things. The release of the government's previously secret 'commission' reports (here, when there's an issue, the government forms a commission) doesn't inspire much hope that anything will change anytime soon...

Hi all, Moving towards ordination again. The mind is resisting for stupid reasons, but curiosity got the better of me on one particular matter, which I'm not sure has been touched on here before: What happens to Western monks who disrobe, whether in Asia or in the West? Do they pick up their old lif...

Wirathu, 969 and associated sentiments are real, visible downtown and have quite a bit of local support. The next few days/weeks will be interesting. Twitter/local rumour is that the township I live in will get attacked tonight... in reality it's highly unlikely but vigilance still required.