Adopt a Monk from the Saffron Revolution
Adopt a Monk from the Saffron Revolution
Currently there are approximately 220 monks and 8 nuns in prison in Burma, almost all arrested after the 2007 Saffron Revolution. Living under one of the most repressive regimes in the world, these monks and nuns braved death to call attention to the suffering of their people. Chanting the sutra of loving kindness, they walked, one hundred thousand strong, through the streets of cities across the country. The brutal crackdown that followed left untold numbers dead and thousands imprisoned.
Many of the monks have received lengthy prison sentences some totaling up to 68 years. In prison, monks and nuns are forcibly disrobed and are unable to follow the Vinaya, the monastic code of conduct. Most are tortured. Their sentences mean deprivation, humiliation, torture, meager meals, and almost no medical care. To survive in prison, monks and nuns depend on their families to bring them food, medicine, money, and love. However, many are sent to remote prisons or labor camps far from their families. Clear View Project’s new program invites you to “Adopt a Monk” to help bring attention to the false imprisonment of the monks and nuns in Burma. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma (AAPPB), reports that when the international community shines a light of attention on particular prisoners, their lot improves. When one prisoner’s life improves, hope is restored.
Adopt a Monk – How it Works
• Contact Clear View Project to choose a monk or nun.
• Send regular letters on his/her behalf to the United Nations, Burmese Generals, & US government.
• Send funds to buy more food & medicine for that monk. (details follow)
• Hold monthly meditations at your center or public vigils in honor of the monk or all imprisoned monastics.
• Send loving kindness to the monks & nuns, their families and the Burmese generals.
Monks inside & outside of Burma continue to risk their lives by educating & organizing in order to help their people.
Contact Margaret Howe at Clear View Project:
margaret@clearviewproject.org / 707-360-8452
Adopt a Monk Program
Why focus on the monks and nuns in prison?
• The international community is united in their call for Burma’s regime to release all political prisoners. We join this call with our focus on monks & nuns in prison.
• Burma’s sangha is a shadow of what it was. Today, monks continue to be harassed and arrested. They are under surveillance, unable to freely practice their monastic vows to alleviate suffering. Monasteries are closely watched, often infiltrated by “bogus” monks sent by the junta. Monks on alms rounds no longer line the streets of Rangoon. We are deeply concerned that Buddhism itself is at stake in Burma. There are hundreds of monks in exile or hiding who cannot return until it is safe for them. The moral fabric of Burmese society is slowly being eroded by these arrests and treatment of the highest religious leaders in the country.
• Burma’s democracy movement is quiet but determined, though many of its leaders are in prison, hiding, or in exile. We can support the call of the monks to change Burma from the inside out by supporting their freedom. We hope that the “Adopt a Monk” Program will help lead to the release of not only the monastics, but all political prisoners in Burma.
How to begin? http://clearviewproject.org/adoptamonk.html
