A Reading and a Call to Action
I was devastated to read today in The Irrawaddy of the ruling military junta’s efforts to ban recitation of the Metta Sutta in Burma. This past Wednesday was “Metta Sutta Day” in the country, and monks at the Myat Saw Nyi Naung Pagoda (and perhaps elsewhere) were explicitly warned by local authorities not to hold ceremonies to chant the text.
- Similar ceremonies are normally held throughout the country on this day. However, since a brutal crackdown on the monk-led protests of 2007, which featured marching monks reciting the Metta Sutta, most monasteries have been wary of publicly chanting the sutra.
As a show of support for the monastics and others in Burma, I have recorded myself reciting the Metta Sutta. You can watch that below.
Though I try not to give myself over to flights of messianic fancy, something occurred to me as I prepared to record this video: this is a simple act that Buddhists and other Burma supporters anywhere and everywhere can do to show solidarity with the oppressed there. It could be an effective awareness-raising viral campaign. So, if you have a digital camera or audio recording device and access to YouTube, go for it! You can find copies of the Metta Sutta (in English) here. (And please let us know about it in the comments if you make your own video or audio recording.)
