Two years ago, not long after the Myanmar military shattered the illusion of democracy in the Golden Land, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, a learned American Buddhist monk sparked interest and controversy when he talked to Insight Myanmar to discuss the crisis.  

Bhikkhu Bodhi raised some interesting and awkward questions for the Buddhist Sangha and lay supporters as they faced questions of how they should react to the behavior of the junta armed forces.  

The Insight Myanmar podcast “Bhikkhu Bodhi on the Crisis in Myanmar” sparked controversy (Listen to the podcast here - https://insightmyanmar.org/complete-shows/2021/7/4/episode-61-bhikkhu-bodhi-on-the-crisis-in-myanmar ). This was not a normal Dhamma talk. Here was an American monk who is one of the most respected living monastics, fielding questions from Burmese Buddhists about the appropriate use of violence and mental volition in resisting the military. 

Questions to ponder were how can a dedicated meditator maintain the five precepts when encountering armed soldiers with orders to abduct, rape, torture, or even kill? How should devoted lay supporters of the Saṅgha respond when much of their own monkhood remains silent even as their country is burning around them? What is the best way that practitioners outside of Myanmar can support the protest movement at this time?  

These are just a few of the moral quandaries put to the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, in an interview which he later admitted was “one of the toughest I’ve ever had.”  

In truth, the questions were not posed to frame an intellectual, abstract debate; many were sent in by Burmese Buddhist listeners, and concern real-life—and sometimes life-and-death—challenges, in the context of the military’s on-going terror campaign.  They are from people desperately seeking spiritual answers that in many cases their own monkhood has unfortunately not been providing. 

So this interview is not your typical Dhamma talk or theoretical discourse on Buddhist doctrine. With this in mind, Bhikkhu Bodhi emphasizes that his words “should be viewed as my personal opinions, and not authoritative dicta coming down from the high seat of authority, but my opinions, the way to resolve these very difficult ethical dilemmas.”  His sensitive and flexible approach enables the Buddha’s teachings to be applied to a many-shades-of-grey reality, and acknowledges that in real life messiness, there may be no good, clean ethical options. Not only are black-and-white, theoretical absolutes not appropriate for people facing such difficult circumstances, they can even have the effect of turning people away from the teachings, bring unrealistic and rarified standards beyond most people’s reach in challenging life situations.  So Bhikkhu Bodhi advocates adapting the spirit rather than the letter of the teachings to help us navigate our way through these serious challenges now facing Myanmar.  

The discussion is wide-ranging. Other topics posed to Bhikkhu Bodhi range from the way Buddhist monks can engage with this crisis skillfully and in accordance with the Vinaya, to how Buddhist communities can best protect themselves against the terror state while understanding the immutable laws of karma, to the Rohingya crisis and issues surrounding the integration of Burmese Muslims into society.   

None of these have easy answers, and this is the morass that the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi has willingly waded into, knowing there are simply no good solutions. This makes his moral courage all the more remarkable, at a time when many Buddhist leaders, especially those whose lineages trace back to Burma, carry on their teaching schedules while carefully avoiding these difficult questions. We thank him for his courageous willingness to engage on these difficult matters, and for the sensitivity and value of his words of wisdom. 

Listen to the full podcast here: https://insightmyanmar.org/complete-shows/2021/7/4/episode-61-bhikkhu-bodhi-on-the-crisis-in-myanmar