Aung San Suu Kyi has made big sacrifices for the
people of Burma. In the recently released film, “The Lady”, Michelle
Yeoh the actress makes great efforts with passion to portray Suu Kyi, to
the extent that Yeoh even becomes terribly thin in order to play the
hunger strike scene appropriately. In the film, Suu Kyi’s deep sorrow
from the separation from her husband is delicately depicted, and the
scenes of the brutal treatments to the arrested students are
astonishing. All these scenes will surely make you shed your tears, and
especially to me, when I think of the Burmese people who have treated me
so well.
I personally have visited the meditation centers in
Yangon: Chanmyay in Pyin Oo Lwin, Panditarama, and Shwe Oo Min where the
masters have given me guidance on Vipassana, and Loving Kindness
(Metta) meditation. The enthusiastic volunteers there run around every
day just to help us get our visas, buy things, cook and wash the dishes.
These volunteers truly understand how the mind works. They work very
hard to overcome their own personal greed, and they do their best to
help those beginners like us in our mindfulness practices despite
numerous demands, dissatisfaction and even rudeness at times from the
visiting newcomers.
When asked how they could remain so patient, a
volunteer replied kindly, “you left your countries to come all the way
here to learn, and mindfulness practices are not easy at all. Therefore,
we should take good care of you”. I was truly touched. Every time I
leave Burma, I feel great gratitude and tears just come down. The film
“The Lady” is showing now, and I enjoy watching it. Just by seeing the
Myanmar landscapes again, its sky and the Shwedagon Pagoda will ease
some of the melancholy in my thoughts of my Burmese friends.
Once, a Burmese volunteer drove me and several
other friends from around the world to a place, passing by Suu Kyi’s
residence. It was surrounded by a dense foliage on which laid some red
banners and flags of the Democratic Alliance. The volunteer explained,
Panditarama Sayadaw has taught Suu Kyi in meditation, and thus the
government did not like the Zen master, and has made things difficult
for him”. I am sure that Suu Kyi must have had very good meditation
practices under such good guidance. A few months ago, when Daw Than
Myint came and visited us, she mentioned that once when Suu Kyi was
under house arrest, Chanmyay Sayadaw went to her home to visit and gave
her guidance on her meditation practices. And after that the government
had forbidden Sayadaw to visit her further.
Unfortunately, the movie does not contain any scenes of Suu Kyi’s sitting or walking meditations.
A journalist once asked Suu Kyi, When you speak to the people you talk a lot about religion, why is that? Suu Kyi replied, Because politics is about people, and you can’t separate people from their spiritual values”.
On the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, Suu
Kyi’s son Alexander Ari gave an acceptance speech on behalf of his
mother and he said: “Although my mother is often described as a
political dissident who strives by peaceful means for democratic change,
we should remember that her quest is basically spiritual”.
The book “Freedom from Fear and Other Writings”
is a collection of Suu Kyi’s speeches, letters, and interviews, and in
the ‘My Country and My People’ article, Suu Kyi recounts the Burmese
style, the history and the festivals derived from Buddhism. She
delineates the rise and fall of the ancient dynasties of Myanmar,
briefly talks about the evolutions of different Buddhist schools, the
history and the teachings of the Buddha including the Noble Eightfold
Path, the Precepts, and the pursuit of liberation. These all show fully
her familiarity with, and her passion for the Buddhist teachings. In one
article in “Freedom from Fear, she gives a detailed analysis on our
mind:
“It
is no power that corrupts but fear itself. Fear of losing power,
corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts
those who are subject to it. Most Burmese are familiar with the four
kinds of corruption from the Agati Sutta. Chanda-agati, corruption induced by desire, is deviation from the right path in pursuit of bribes or for the sake of those one loves. Dosa-agati is taking the wrong path to spite those against whom one bears ill will, and moga-agati is aberration due to ignorance. But perhaps the worst of the four is bhaya-agati, for not only does bhaya (fear) stifle and slowly
destroy all sense of right and wrong, it so often lies at the root of
the other three kinds of corruption”.
That Suu Kyi was able to make these remarks showed
that she certainly has close observation of the operation of the mind.
She has experienced and demonstrated selflessness, particularly when she
was released from house arrest and showed no hatred or personal grudge
against those who had imprisoned her. She humbly remarked after she
left her lakeside home-cum-prison that she believed that there are no
evil people, but only people who do evil things. And when she saw her
own image in taxis, people’s homes and in public places, she was shocked
and showed no pleasure in such worship towards her. It reflects that
Suu Kyi has very little ego involved. Her modesty and humbleness are the
result of many years of meditation practices. After she was released,
she attended the official commemoration of her father, and even used her
international influence to prevent the Myanmar government from foreign
economic sanctions.
Suu Kyi’s virtuous “fruit” is something that can be
easily expected. As she has learned from meditation practice, she can
see through the fears in the mind. She is never alone because she is
supported by the strength of the entire Buddhist tradition and her
spiritual Sangha. People of different religions, race, skin color - all
sympathize with her and bless her. Spiritually, she is inspired by two
great people: one is her father, General Aung San who led the people of
Myanmar to freedom from the rule of Britain and Japan, and the other is
Gandhi. In the film, there are many appearances of the portraits of
General Aung San, and Suu Kyi and the female students all adore the
books by Gandhi. The spiritual connotation between the two is the same:
both General Aung San and Ghandi had the freedom to combat their fears.
In fact, when General Aung San died, Suu Kyi was only
two years old. Her knowledge of her father came mostly from her mother
who was a diplomat, and from the articles about her father that her
mother collected. She found that she and her father shared the same
beliefs which establish a strong spiritual connection with the heritage.
General Aung San asked the people of Myanmar to not just rely on other
people, but that they should have the courage to be great people
themselves. Gandhi encouraged the Indians to bravely face battering
without resistance, and to steadfastly maintain their inner peace in
order to achieve peace in the outside world. This practice takes lots of
discipline. Suu Kyi is a very disciplined person herself and last year
she gave a speech to Hong Kong University students via a video link, and
she encouraged them to have discipline. While under house arrest, Suu
Kyi continued to practice and tried to maintain mindful thoughts, even
when she often had to repair the electrical appliances by herself.
Unfortunately, the film has not reached this depth, and the actress who
portrayed her might in fact have over-expressed some grief, stubbornness
and anger. Of course in real life, Suu Kyi does feel pain, and she
surely would cry, and yet she is more likely to use mindfulness
practices to watch the mind and overcome suppression and prolonged pain.
Suu Kyi has learned that no emotions are permanent when she stated:
“Fearlessness
may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through
endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to
let fear dictate one's actions; courage that could be described as
'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face
of harsh, unremitting pressure.”
If you can sit quietly for 45 minutes to try and keep
still and concentrated, you can surely experience the fears that
stiffen the body, and the fears that trouble the mind. You can also
experience your inertia to escape from, resist and hate fears. However,
skilled meditation practitioners just sit steadfastly and are calmly
aware of all this. Gradually, you will find a new way to face fears:
using curiosity, gratitude, faith and compassion to calmly face fears.
On the outside nothing seems to be happening, and yet inside, you will
have an inner journey to explore the mind, reflect and learn. This is
how we learn and develop self confidence.
Sometimes Vipassana
meditation practice can seem very dull, and another method is to switch
to loving kindness meditation. According to Chanmyay Sayadaw, this is
like when a traveler has walked in the hot sun for a long time, he will
need a little rest in the shade. In the loving kindness meditation, one
needs to repeat short sentences of blessings in order to train the mind
to concentrate on virtuous thoughts and cultivate the virtue of loving
kindness. I am sure that Suu Kyi must have practiced loving kindness
meditation. In August 26, 1988, she gave her famous speech at the
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, and she concluded the speech:
“May
the entire people be united and disciplined. May our people always do
what is in complete accord with rightful principles. May the people be
free from all harm.”
Also in her speech to the Hong Kong University students in 2011, Suu Kyi said:
“The
highest form of learning would be that which makes us caring and
responsible citizens of this world, and equips us with the intellectual
means necessary to translate our concerns into specific needs.”
She has inherited these values from the Buddhist
teachings, from her father and from Mahatma Gandhi. And I can see these
values within the beautiful people of Myanmar.
Po Yi
Translated by Brenda Leung
2012-04-01
May peace be with Suu Kyi.
May the Burmese people be safe.
May all beings be well.
