- Published on Monday, 24 June 2013 02:15
Myanmar's President Office
issued a press release on Sunday's night, lashing out at the TIME
magazine for featuring a Buddhist monk as "Buddhist Terror" on the cover
of its July issue.
The press release says the government of
Myanmar opposes the TIME magazine's cover story titled "THE FACE OF
BUDDHIST TERROR", as it can be detrimental to the trust building between
religions in Myanmar, and as it can damage the image of Buddhism which
has been the main religion of Myanmar for thousands of years.
It says the Buddhist monk U Wirathu,
portrayed as "Buddhist Terror" on the cover of TIME magazine's Vol 182,
No. 1, is "a Sangha or a Buddha's son". Buddhist monks, also known as
Sanghas, are the noble persons who keep 277 precepts or moral rules, and
strive peacefully for the prosperity of Buddhism, said the release.
Myanmar government says it does not
discriminate the religions and grants freedom of religions. Although the
majority of Myanmar people are Buddhists, the government has recognized
in the Constitutional Section 362 that Christianity, Islam, Hinduism
and Animism as are the existing religions in the country, it is said in
the release.
Buddhism is also explained as a peaceful
religion that is based on knowledge and that preaches Kamma or 'cause
and effect', and self-reliance to attain enlightenment.
Regarding the use of 969 labels, it
explains the symbol 969 stands for the 9 virtues of Buddha, 6 of Dhamma
(Buddha's teachings), and 9 of Sangha (Buddhist monks). It is a peaceful
symbol and Buddhist monks' associations have been requested not to
misuse it in places that can tarnish Buddhism, the release said.
It also calls for mutual trust building
among the religions to avoid undesirable conflicts in the fledgling
democratic society of Myanmar. It says the government, religious
leaders, political parties, media and the people must co-operate each
others to achieve the purpose.
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