A conversation with Ashin Kovida and Ashin Issariya (aka King Zero) about the recent article published in the state-run “New Light of Myanmar” reporting that the Maha Nayaka Sangha Committee has asked for legal action to be taken against Ashin Gambira.

The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee or Council was formed in 1981. The Committee consists of forty-seven members, one secretary general, six vice chairmen, six joint general secretaries, and thirty-four other members.

At the time of its founding, many monks were reluctant to cooperate with the idea. They were suspicious about the government and did not want this Sangha Committee to be misused by the government, because the government suggests the monks who are appointed for the committee.

Traditionally Buddhist monks live in accordance with the Buddhist rules, the Vinaya. Buddhist monks do not follow the dictates of any other authority, such as a civilian government. The mission of the forty-seven members of the Sangha Committee should be to ensure that the monks are living in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings, the Vinaya. The committee’s mission should be to protect, preserve, and promote Buddhist teachings. Nothing more.

Before this Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee was formed there were very few conflicts or problems among the monks. Monks controlled and watched each other. After this committee was formed by the government, problems and conflicts appeared among the monks because the Sangha Committee is being misused by the government.

Most of the monks in the Maha Nayaka Sangha Committee are quite old, over 60 years, and they are not really in touch with the ordinary people and the younger monks. In addition, the majority of the committee members live in Rangoon. They have to depend on information they get from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The government’s Ministry of Religious Affairs effectively controls the Sangha Committee. Even the chairman of the Sangha Committee is treated with disrespect by the ministry. For example, last week the chairman of the Sangha Committee, Dr. Bhaddanta Kumara Bhivamsa, permitted Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw to give a Dharma talk for the first time after being banned from speaking for one year. The government authorities refused to recognize the chairman’s permission, and revoked it instead.

Thus the Sangha Committee is used by the government only for the benefit of the government, and to control the monks, not for the benefit of the monks. Before the military regime came to power monks did not need to ask permission before delivering Dharma talks.

Ashin Gambira
On February 10, around 15 plainclothes police and secret service officers entered Ledi Monastery in the middle of the night, took Ashin Gambira to the headquarters of the Army Office and interrogated him for almost two hours. In the evening of the same day, a black bag was placed over his head and he was taken by car to Kaba-Aye Pagoda. In front of this pagoda, the black bag was taken off and U Gambira was called inside to meet with members of the Maha Nayaka Sangha Council.

This shocking incident is totally un-Buddhist, totally removed from the Buddha’s teaching. But the Sangha Committee did not comment on or denounce this action in any way. Instead the “New Light of Myanmar” reported today that the Sangha Committee has asked for legal action to be taken against Ashin Gambira.

Assuming that there are some members in the Sangha Committee who would want to take action against U Gambira, the majority of the Sangha members might not feel the need for such a step. But we know that the Sangha Committee members have to rely on the information they get from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Traditionally, the Buddhist Sangha has its own monastic laws and regulations, composed by the Buddha, to deal with any kind of problems inside the Sangha. These have nothing to do with worldly laws. For the Sangha Council to ask for legal action to be taken against Ashin Gambira is very unusual, to say the least.

So far, no official document has been published with signatures or names of the members of the Sangha Committee, which means we do not know if it is true. Right now we only know that the state media is reporting this.
The article adds that senior monks “wished for legal actions” against Ashin Gambira after he “admonished” them for not helping jailed monks.

This is also very un-Buddhist. The Buddha encouraged his disciples to discuss and speak freely. According to the Buddha’s teachings, it is very unexpected to be admonished for giving criticism. Punishing criticism is not in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings. If the Sangha Council were this sensitive to criticism they would be very far removed from the Buddha’s teachings.

Ashin Gambira was also accused of unlawfully entering and opening three monasteries in the past weeks. All three monasteries had been closed by the military authorities in 2007. Actually, the military entered these monasteries unlawfully with force during the crackdown on the 2007 Saffron Revolution, destroying religious and personal items and brutalizing, arresting, and disrobing the resident monks.

Many of these monks, including U Gambira, had been in prison since the crackdown and were only released recently in an amnesty. After their release, these monks had no other place to go because monasteries seldom allow monks who have been detained as political prisoners to reside because of strong pressure from the authorities. Therefore, these monks do not have any other option than going back to their old monastery, even if the monastery has been locked ever since the crackdown.

Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw
Another questionable decision is the eviction of Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw. He was evicted from his monastery for speaking at an NLD office while being banned from giving Dharma speeches for one year. He apologized very officially and collected more than 10,000 signatures, but his apology was rejected by the Sangha Committee. He left his monastery today, and after not receiving any invitations to live at another monastery, he is now living on land that was donated to him by a layman in MawBi. This layman has been threatened by the authorities.

In Theravada tradition when the younger monk apologizes to an elder monk, the elder monk has the responsibility to react with loving kindness and forgiveness. But even though Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw apologized very sincerely, the only response he received was being kicked out of his monastery. This is also not in accordance with the Buddhist way.

The close connection between the government and the Sangha Committee is a big problem for the monks. Many monks do not want to depend on this Sangha Committee anymore – a Sangha Committee elected, directed and controlled by the government. They want to elect their own Sangha Committee democratically.

There is a signature campaign going on right now in the monasteries asking the Sangha committee to:
- protect the Sangha
- to work for the release of the remaining monks in prison
- to take responsibility for the monks who are living in exile

At the moment the Sangha Council seems to only be working for the interests of the government.

Related posts:

• Ashin Gambira: Human rights violations continue
• U Gambira released again after detention
• Ashin Virathu “If the Sangha Council will work for the monks, I will wear my robe again.”
• Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw ordered to leave his monastery
• Ashin Gambira Rebuilding Meggin Monastery – “We want to see real change”
• Banned by the Maha Nayaka Sangha Council
• Mandalay Peace Protest – Sangha under pressure
• Candle Vigil for Ashin Gambira in Mae Sot
• Press release: Switzerland
• What is the All Burma Monks Alliance, and Who are its Founders?