Following this massacre, the Monks’ Union (Sangha Samaggi) of Mandalay, led by Ven. Yewata, declared pattam nikkujjana kamma, “overturning the bowl,” against the military. A monk who was involved in the boycott and evaded arrest recalled the following:
“In Mandalay, the boycott was started in the compound of Phayargyi. My close friends, who lived in the Old Masoeyein Monastery, participated in this very early boycott ceremony. Around Phayargyi, there were many monasteries and nearly 5000 monks lived there. These monks unanimously mandated the boycott. Ten highly respected Ven. Monks recited selections from sacred Pali texts according to the ritual performed surrounded by 5000 monks. Then, they declared the boycott, pattam nikkujjana kamma.
“A boycott like this might not even occur once in a hundred years. After the declaration of the boycott, no monks accepted alms from the regime. The regime tested if the boycott was a real one or not. The army units cooked and placed meals at all junctions in Mandalay for monks. In Mandalay, there were about 40,000 monks then. Traditionally, there was a common donation for monks in Mandalay. Nevertheless, when the time passed, the offerings of the army units were left untouched. No monks accepted their alms, not even young novices. This showed the unity of monks. Some policemen pretended to be civil servants and tried to donate alms to monks; but when the monks found them out and returned their alms to them.
This powerful religious boycott began in Mandalay and spread like wildfire across Burma, causing alarm and trauma to the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). By October, the religious sanctions against the military families had reached Rangoon.
Throughout the country, monks were refusing alms from military personnel and their families and refusing to attend religious services organized by the SLORC. Although the purpose of the boycott was a compassionate attempt to help the evildoers repent their deeds, to forsake their wrong ways, and to return to the true path, the military leaders did not accept the reproach. Saw Maung, the then Chairman of SLORC, and Tun Kyi, the then Commander of Mandalay Division Command, declared that their actions were completely justified and that they were not afraid of going to hell.
Recent Arrests of Monks in 2003 for “Overturning the Bowl”
In October 2003, a small religious riot occurred in Kyaukse, a small township in upper Burma, that transformed into a public protest due to dissatisfaction with the authorities’ handling of the riot. The local authorities invited five monks from Mandalay to discuss the situation and were told to put an end to the riot. Later, however, these five monks were also arrested, accused of not stopping the Kyaukse riot as they were instructed by the authorities. All the five monks were sentenced to 25 years imprisonment: 7 years under Section 5(J) of the Emergency Provisions Act, 2 years under Article 295 of the Penal Code, and 14 years under Article 17 (20) of the Printers and Publishers’ Registration Law.
The next day, the regime held an alms-giving ceremony at Masoeyein Monastery which all the military authorities attended. The military authorities then published news and photos of the ceremony in the state-run newspaper, attempting to hide the incident that had transpired in Kyaukse. The regime’s lack of response provoked small-scale riots in Myingyan, Meiktilar, Taungdwingyi and Pakokku townships.
The regime has often accused the NLD for recent religious riots but NLD party leaders deny that its members have had any involvement. According to some eyewitnesses, some of the monks who took part in the riots at Meikhtila in November wore trousers beneath their robes, implying that they were fake monks. Most of the people believe that the military authorities deliberately created the religious riots to divert people’s attention from the dire political and economic situation of the country.
As news of the cruel actions of the authorities spread throughout the country, the sentiment of dissatisfaction with the regime grew among both the monks and the people. The regime did not make an official announcement about the incident nor did they make any legal examination into the incident. Instead, the military authorities continued visiting famous monasteries, where they made donations to the venerable monks, taking photographs and video footage that was published in newspapers and broadcasted on television as daily headline news.
On November 2, 2003, at Insein Ywarma Monastery, the MI forced the monastery gates to be kept closed. The MI claimed that monks from Mandalay and Kyaukse monasteries were being moved to Insein Ywarma Monastery and thus this measure was to prevent unnecessary affairs such as demonstrations or rallies. Some monks who were dissatisfied with the order complained to their teachers and the situation grew close to riot conditions. The monastery was immediately closed down and monks were sent back to their hometowns.
On November 4, 2003, the military intelligence service led offerings of robes and food for monks of Kabaraye Tipitaka Mahar Ghandaryone Teaching Monastery, in Rangoon. They invited 10 senior monks to the Armed Forces Dharma Hall for offerings. The other monks were to receive offerings at the monastery itself. However, the entire group of samanera, the third-level student monks, refused to accept the alms.
At the time of the young monks’ protest, the abbot of the monastery, Ven. Thumingala, was at the Armed Forces Dharma Hall. When informed about the situation by phone, he left, but did not come directly back to his own monastery. He went to a nearby monastery to obtain details of what had taken place. It was reported that he ordered a list of the offending samanera to be drawn up and gave instructions to the authorities to arrest the samanera on the list.
After the young novices engage in “overturning the bowl”, the military regime issued a curfew order via the state-founded Sangha Coordination Committees. The order, which remains in effect today, indicates that monks are not allowed to go outside their respective monasteries starting from 7 pm until 4 am the next morning. At the same time, the regime gave instructions to all Division, District, and Township Peace and Development Councils in phases, to inspect for strangers residing in monasteries. The instructions include prohibiting relatives of the monks to stay at the monastery compounds as visitors; allowing only parents of monks to stay who come for medical treatment and have no companion to look after them; and prohibiting any lay attendants to stay overnight at the monastery. At the same time, military troops, police forces, MI personnel and local Peace and Development Council members were placed near various monasteries.
Monks who were found outside the monasteries after 7 pm were immediately arrested by military personnel without any examination. It was reported that over 100 monks were arrested in Rangoon alone for ‘violating the curfew’. Most monks were sojourners and students from far away areas and were temporarily staying at the monasteries. Yet, the authorities considered all monks they found after 7 pm to be ‘fake monks’. Most of the monks were arrested while they were coming back to their monasteries by foot as there was no special transportation for them. Some were arrested while they were outside to procure items such as medicine, stationery etc. Some monks were even beaten when they were arrested.
Those who were arrested were brought to the military headquarters for initial questioning and then transferred to an interrogation center where they were disrobed and sent to Insein Prison. It has been reported that only those who could obtain a recommendation letter form the Division Sangha Coordination Committee were released on bail.
At the moment, it is difficult to confirm the exact number of monks who have been disrobed and who remain in prison today. Some human rights organizations estimate that approximately 300 monks remained in prison at the beginning of 2004. One reason for the difficulty in verifying this figure is that disrobed monks are often kept together with convicts. In addition, they are often transferred to remote prisons and prison labor camps. The fate of disrobed and imprisoned monks still remains critical. Moreover, as longs as Burma remains under a military dictatorship and without democracy, Buddhist monks in Burma also remain facing a dilemma of whether to live abiding by the rules, regulations, orders and decrees of the military government or to live according to the Vinaya, Buddhist’s rule.
