DJKR letter to Aung San Suu Kyi

[Grigoris]

Why we misread Suu Kyi and her refusal to demonise the Burmese Army
By Abhijit Dutta

Of all the things that baffle people about politics in Myanmar, the most confounding seems to be Aung San Suu Kyi’s refusal to demonise the country’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, which stand accused of genocidal intent, of using rape as a weapon of war, of torture and arson. It is somewhat understood that she is not fully in charge of the country’s administration, given the outsized constitutional powers available to the military, but it seems almost...

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... _BlDTQ5d-Y

[PeterC]

So I imagine what it would be like in present-day Burma. There would always be some schmuck around that would willingly take you out for a fist-full of dollars.

I don't think it's that - Myanmar today isn't a particularly dangerous country (the Rohingya aside...), her life and liberty are not threatened - just her somewhat tenuous hold on power. I think she's made a pragmatic choice in how she deals with this issue. The way the international media views this issue is very different from how domestic media/opinion views it.

If she read DJKr's letter, her reaction to it would probably be "WTF?".

[Grigoris]

I don't think it's that - Myanmar today isn't a particularly dangerous country (the Rohingya aside...), her life and liberty are not threatened...

She spent a third of her life under house arrest and the people that did it to her still hold power and yet you do not think her liberty may be under threat???

[PeterC]

I don't think it's that - Myanmar today isn't a particularly dangerous country (the Rohingya aside...), her life and liberty are not threatened...

She spent a third of her life under house arrest and the people that did it to her still hold power and yet you do not think her liberty may be under threat???

No, not now. A lot has changed. I think the real reason for her silence on this is a lot more mundane. She's not viewed as particularly effective politically (or rather, a lot of the people around her are viewed as somewhat ineffective). There isn't a lot of love for the Rohingya amongst the other ethnic groups - many people have never really viewed them as Burmese so don't really have an issue with what's going on. So she can choose to get into a fight over them, a fight which she would probably lose, or she can expend her limited political capital on advancing the reform agenda. Even if she won that fight, and improved the situation of the Rohingya somewhat, what would it really mean? She'd be rehabilitated in the eyes of the international media - but the problem would resurface again not far down the road. However restoring her international reputation doesn't really help her right now. The international consensus is that a return to isolation for Myanmar would be both impractical and ineffective. The world will watch and complain about the treatment of the Rohingya, but it isn't really going to take action that will hurt the country, beyond the sanctioning of a few individuals. So the pragmatic conclusion for her, after weighing the costs and the benefits, is not to address it.

[Grigoris]

No, not now. A lot has changed. I think the real reason for her silence on this is a lot more mundane. She's not viewed as particularly effective politically (or rather, a lot of the people around her are viewed as somewhat ineffective). There isn't a lot of love for the Rohingya amongst the other ethnic groups - many people have never really viewed them as Burmese so don't really have an issue with what's going on. So she can choose to get into a fight over them, a fight which she would probably lose, or she can expend her limited political capital on advancing the reform agenda. Even if she won that fight, and improved the situation of the Rohingya somewhat, what would it really mean? She'd be rehabilitated in the eyes of the international media - but the problem would resurface again not far down the road. However restoring her international reputation doesn't really help her right now. The international consensus is that a return to isolation for Myanmar would be both impractical and ineffective. The world will watch and complain about the treatment of the Rohingya, but it isn't really going to take action that will hurt the country, beyond the sanctioning of a few individuals. So the pragmatic conclusion for her, after weighing the costs and the benefits, is not to address it.

Some things have changed, but the military grip on power is not one of them.

BTW where are you getting the information that you are basing your opinion on?

[PeterC]

BTW where are you getting the information that you are basing your opinion on?

Sent you a PM

[Wayfarer]

https://nyti.ms/2F7XG3A

[treehuggingoctopus]

https://nyti.ms/2F7XG3A

It is charming how the author managed to erase both climate changes in particular and all ecological concerns in general from the picture. Impressive.

[weitsicht]

The way DJKR repeatedly rambles about the West shows clearly the schism he has in mind, a pattern positioning "his kind" as good or victimized, "the other" as bad and perpetrating.
It doesn't matter how much of this is right or not.
He is a lineage holder and protector of the Dharma. These actions violate his sacred teaching role of nonduality.

With writing and publishing such letter he apparently wants to see a role of himself on the world political stage. I assume that this motivation comes from the same personal pattern with which he sought/seeks for fame on the filming stage. It's his karma and I pray for him that he sees it and feeds the demon with whatever it needs.

[where is the demon icon when you need it?]

I speak out the words above not being his student and I hope not to cause a schism in any student-teacher relationship.
I read this and I wonder "how can you see your guru in a pure form" like this?!?

[Grigoris]

How about we discuss the content of the letter and not the writer, for a change.

[ford_truckin]

He is a legit teacher of Dharma and I don't find anything wrong with what he wrote. May he be blessed with good health and longevity.

[Tiago Simões]

The way DJKR repeatedly rambles about the West shows clearly the schism he has in mind, a pattern positioning "his kind" as good or victimized, "the other" as bad and perpetrating.
It doesn't matter how much of this is right or not.
He is a lineage holder and protector of the Dharma. These actions violate his sacred teaching role of nonduality.

With writing and publishing such letter he apparently wants to see a role of himself on the world political stage. I assume that this motivation comes from the same personal pattern with which he sought/seeks for fame on the filming stage. It's his karma and I pray for him that he sees it and feeds the demon with whatever it needs.

[where is the demon icon when you need it?]

I speak out the words above not being his student and I hope not to cause a schism in any student-teacher relationship.
I read this and I wonder "how can you see your guru in a pure form" like this?!?

That would be all true and dandy if it were not for all the times he has criticized people from his own country... Like calling Bhutanese and tibetan racist and misogynistic.

[treehuggingoctopus]

The way DJKR repeatedly rambles about the West shows clearly the schism he has in mind, a pattern positioning "his kind" as good or victimized, "the other" as bad and perpetrating.
It doesn't matter how much of this is right or not.
He is a lineage holder and protector of the Dharma. These actions violate his sacred teaching role of nonduality.

With writing and publishing such letter he apparently wants to see a role of himself on the world political stage. I assume that this motivation comes from the same personal pattern with which he sought/seeks for fame on the filming stage. It's his karma and I pray for him that he sees it and feeds the demon with whatever it needs.

[where is the demon icon when you need it?]

I speak out the words above not being his student and I hope not to cause a schism in any student-teacher relationship.
I read this and I wonder "how can you see your guru in a pure form" like this?!?

That would be all true and dandy if it were not for all the times he has criticized people from his own country... Like calling Bhutanese and tibetan racist and misogynistic.

He would, at a time. In his more recent statements his criticism has been quite consistently focused on a different target.

[PeterC]

He is a legit teacher of Dharma and I don't find anything wrong with what he wrote. May he be blessed with good health and longevity.

I don't in any way question his knowledge of the Dharma or qualifications as a teacher. But perhaps you could point me to the part of the letter in which he's teaching the Dharma - or the part of his resume that made him knowledgeable about Southeast Asian politics. That was why I felt he should stay in his lane

[Malcolm]

I don't find anything wrong with what he wrote.

There are some errors of fact in his letter, beginning with, but not confined to, his statement about the origin of the Rohingya people in the Rakhine State in modern day Myanmar. They were not laborers imported by British colonialists during the nineteenth century, since they were among the people encountered and described by the British in what is now the Rakhine state during the 18th century. Francis Buchanan, writing in 1799, states, "The Mahommedans settled at Arakan, call the country Rovingaw; the Persians call it Rekan" and "The first is that spoken by the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan."


I could point out other errors of fact in his letter as well, but there is little point.

[Malcolm]

With writing and publishing such letter he apparently wants to see a role of himself on the world political stage.

I suspect it was a response to this article in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ce-myanmar.

I infer that because she is pictured being embraced by Obama, it led to his statement concerning Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

[Grigoris]

I suspect it was a response to this article in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ce-myanmar.

I infer that because she is pictured being embraced by Obama, it led to his statement concerning Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

Very informative article.

[Malcolm]

I suspect it was a response to this article in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ce-myanmar.

I infer that because she is pictured being embraced by Obama, it led to his statement concerning Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.

Very informative article.

The opinion piece you posted above was a response to it. And, apparently, DKR has posted it as well a on his facebook page in support of his own letter.

[Grigoris]

The opinion piece you posted above was a response to it. And, apparently, DKR has posted it as well a on his facebook page in support of his own letter.

The opinion piece was interesting too (which is why I reproduced it), though it looks like nobody bothered to read it...

[amanitamusc]

The opinion piece you posted above was a response to it. And, apparently, DKR has posted it as well a on his facebook page in support of his own letter.

The opinion piece was interesting too (which is why I reproduced it), though it looks like nobody bothered to read it...

I read it and it clearly brings out her love of the army and the conviction of her Hinayana beliefs.
She appears to be limited by the current constitution that gives to much power to the military and
her own belief system.The current system supports Buddhist privilege and Muslim genocide.