A NOBLE MONK DISEMBOWELLED ALIVE

A NOBLE MONK DISEMBOWELLED ALIVE 

Independence 25, November, 1994

The venerable monk Zao Oon Lao was originally from Laos but came to live in the Shan State 40 years ago. He stayed at Wat Hangsa Kham, and was known to the people of Nam Zang, Mongnai, Mawkmai, Mongpan and Kengtung as "Moonzao Kyongtam Haikwe".

People came from far and wide to pay respects to this revered monk. He had the remarkable gift of being able to tell people's past as well as their future with astonishing accuracy but without relying on palmistry or astrology. 

Unfortunately for the monk, news of his talents finally reached the ears of the SLORC army personnel of Battalion 99, of Wanzit, Langkho township. Whether out of curiosity or for whatever reason, soldiers from this regiment came to visit the monk at his temple.

They found the noble monk meditating. On enquiring from the villagers, they learned that he had been meditating for nine consecutive days. 

He was seated upright, totally motionless, like a statue. The villagers had been coming to watch him to check on his health, and they had noted that his body temperature was normal. He was thus clearly alive, but without any movement of the limbs.

The SLORC soldiers, however, seeing his lifeless figure, chose to pronounce the monk as dead Ignoring the pleas of the villagers they dragged him away and savagely disemboweled the body. Finally, they stuffed the carcass with ash and charcoal and cremated it. 

Immediately, they sky became overcast, and heavy rains poured down. A fearful crash of thunder was heard, and a lightning bolt split the heavens, striking to death seven of the Burmese soldiers instantly.

A dazzling light in all the colors of the rainbow accompanied the explosion, and it was clear to all that the monk's heart must have departed for the heavens and then dropped down like a ball of fire the size of an alms-bowl.

This miraculous incident was witnessed by a large gathering of villagers. It is not a fable. 

N.B. This article is translated from the article written by Ven. Sao Myat in the Independence Journal. Vol. 119 of Thursday July 21, 1994. The original manuscript was in Shan but this translation has been made for the sake of the relatives and friends of the monk living in Laos. 

Ven. Phra Zao Oon lao was murdered cold-bloodedly by SLORC soldiers while meditation in his own monastery. 

THE SLORC'S ABUSE OF BUDDHISM 

Since the Burmese military regime seized power in 1962, they have been ruthless in their suppression of opposition, repeatedly shooting down demonstrators in cold-blood. They have also shamelessly stirred up communal conflict to divert attention from their misrule. 

Yet, ironically, throughout its rule the regime has continued to maintain a fa?ade of Buddhist piety. The state-controlled media has been filled with images of the military leaders taking part in religious ceremonies, and people have been ordered to build pagodas in different parts of the country by the regime. 

The emptiness of this fa?ade was clearly revealed in 1990, when the SLORC opened fire on monks peacefully making the anniversary of the August 8, 1988 uprising in Mandalay. The monks then began a nationwide boycott of the military, refusing to accept alms from any military personnel. The result was a harsh crackdown by the authorities, and the defrocking and imprisonment of many monks. 

The regime's practice o Buddhism in fact has far more to do with superstition and psychological warfare than with real religion. The pagodas they have been erecting are tainted with evil spells, and are meant to subdue all worshippers. Buddha images they have presented as tokens of good will have been similarly defiled. 

When the armed groups in the former communist areas reached ceasefire agreements with the SLORC in 1990, they were presented with such Buddha images. After the Kokang group accepted an image, they split into two factions. More cautious groups wisely declined to accept the images.

The regime has also not confined itself to casting such spells within the borders of Burma. In 1987, they presented the King of Thailand with a jade Buddha image on the occasion of His Majesty's 60th birthday. The King's advisors refused to accept the gift after strange magical diagrams were found inscribed beneath the image. 

Interestingly, soon after this image was returned to the regime, the country fell into crisis, and the tumultous events of 1988 occurred. 

In its attempts to subdue the crisis, however, the regime again resorted to its bizarre tricks. A plane filled with learned monks was sent up above Rangoon, and while it circled the city, the monks were made to recite incantations to protect the military rulers.

More recently, the SLORC has arranged this year for a special Buddha image called the "Apae Peik Phaya", to be transported round the country and for people to pay obeisance to it. They have also been displaying the sacred Buddha's tooth relic from China in different areas. The aim is again clearly to subdue the people, as well as in the latter case to find favour with their elder Chinese brother. 

Monks in Shan State are at present being seized and forced to work as messengers and guides for the SLORC soldiers. Sometimes troops force the monks out of their temples so that they can sleep there. Some monks suspected of having helped the Shan resistance have been jailed. 

In Monghsu on June 6, 1994, during the funeral of a well-known monk, many monks were beaten by troops from SLORC Infantry Battalion 64, led by Lt. Khin Maung Htwe. Several were hospitalsed.

On June 8, soldiers from the same unit came to the same monastery and put out the fire in the temple kitchen, saying to the people cooking there: "Don't feed the yellow-robed dogs anymore!"

In one particularly brutal incident, SLORC soldiers came to Wansit monastery and killed the monk Ven. Phra Zao Oun Lao as he was meditating. 

As in the reign of King Narathu, when the venerable monk Ashin Panthagu fled to Sri Lanka because he refused to live under tyranny, many monks in Burma are now being forced to leave their country. 

Even the Lord Buddha prophesied that the Buddhist religion would only last for 5,000 years. Yet one of the SLORC rulers has boasted that the religion would last not only for the duration of this world, but also into the next. 

However, whatever the SLORC may claim, their religious posturing is fooling no one. They are continuing to commit untold atrocities, and for sure, one day they will pay the price. 

May all the citizens of Burma be healthy, wealthy and free from harm.