In a public address on September 19, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, saying she is “deeply concerned” about those caught in the conflict, but Myanmar’s government needs time to investigate “what the real problems are” in Rakhine state.

With hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing their homes in Myanmar, more than 200 Buddhist teachers and community leaders have signed a letter calling on Myanmar’s Buddhist leaders take action to end the crisis.

To: Chairman Bamaw Sayadaw Dr. Ashwin Kumara Bhivamsa

State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Ma Ha Na)

Thiri Mingalar Kabar Aye Hill,

Yangon, Myanmar

15 September 2017

Dear Chairman, venerable monks, elders, and respected leaders,

We write to you with metta as Buddhist teachers and practitioners representing millions of Buddhists in our communities in the West and across the world — monastics, ordainerod, and lay people from Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions.

We view the systematic violence and abuse directed against hundreds of thousands of our Muslim sisters and brothers in Myanmar’s Rakhine state with the deepest concern. Reports by reputable human rights and news organizations document that more than 350,000 Rohingya people have been driven over borders and into the seas at the height of the monsoon season, seeking refuge in Bangladesh, India, and elsewhere.

We are greatly disturbed by what many in the world see as slander and distortion of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Dhamma there is no justification for hatred and violence.

Reliable sources report that in the towns and villages of Rakhine state, they have endured murder, beatings, starvation, disease, rape, and now exile, with their homes being systematically torched behind them. Unlike past repressions of Rohingyas, now the world is watching in shame and compassion. That shame belongs to the nation of Myanmar, to nationalist monks fomenting violence and hate speech, to the Myanmar military and its brutal policies of ethnic cleansing, and to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose silence and equivocation betray the hopes she earlier offered for a unified Myanmar in which all communities might live together in harmony.

We are greatly disturbed by what many in the world see as slander and distortion of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Dhamma there is no justification for hatred and violence. Mean-spirited words and direct provocation led by Ma Ba Tha monks (the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation, formerly known as the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion) stand in stark contradiction to monastic precepts and Buddha’s teachings on universal morality, peace, and tolerance.

SIGN UP FOR LION’S ROAR NEWSLETTERS Get even more Buddhist wisdom delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for Lion’s Roar free email newsletters. Leave this field empty if you're human:

Therefore, we call on the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee to uphold Buddhism by further enforcing its recent rulings against Ma Ba Tha, taking a strong stand against hate speech and ethnic cleansing.

We call on the government and military of Myanmar, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to apply their full resources in support of peace and for the protection of vulnerable communities of all religions and ethnicities.

We call on member nations of the U.N. and the U.S. State Department to use all peaceful means at their disposal to promote a peaceful resolution of ethnic tensions in the country; to see that the survival and safety of the Rohingyas is ensured; and to ensure that steps are taken to provide them with full rights as citizens of Myanmar.

We call on Buddhist friends around the world to make our concerns known to all parties in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and to give generously to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other international humanitarian organizations providing aid to Rohingya communities. As Buddhists, we are channeling funds through the UNHCR. Our dana can say to Rohingya peoples and to the world that the rain of Buddha’s compassion falls on all beings equally.

Sincerely, in hope of peace and love of Dhamma,

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhist Global Relief

Jack Kornfield, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Tergar Meditation Community

Pema Chödrön, Gampo Abbey, Nova Scotia, Canada

Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation Society, MA

Dhammachari Lokamitra, Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha, India

Phra Paisal Visalo, Abbot, Wat Pasukato, Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Rev. Hozan Alan Senauke, Clear View Project

Rev. Ronald Kobata, Buddhist Church of San Francisco, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha

Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Guiding Teacher, new Dharma Community

David R. Loy, Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center

Ajahn Sucitto, Cittaviveka Monastery, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Santikaro Upasaka, Liberation Park, Norwalk, WI

Jill Jameson, Advisory Committee, International Network of Engaged Buddhists

Mushim Patricia Ikeda, Core teacher, East Bay Meditation Center, CA

Katie Loncke, Co-Director, Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Dawn Haney, Co-Director, Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Rev. Acharya Fleet Maull, Prison Dharma Network

Pascal Auclair, True North Insight Meditation Centre, Canada

Revs. Chozen Bays & Hogen Bays, Abbots, Great Vow Zen Monastery, Clatskanie, OR

Rev. Enkyo Pat O’Hara, Village Zendo, New York, NY

Rev. Linda Ruth Cutts, Central Abbess, San Francisco Zen Center

Rev. Furyu Schroeder, Abbess, Green Dragon Zen Temple, CA

Rev James Myoun Ford, Blue Cliff Zen Sangha, Long Beach, CA

Rev. Josh Jiun Bartok, Abbot, Greater Boston Zen Center

Rev. Edward Keido Sanshin Oberholtzer, Boundless Way Zen, Lewisburg, PA

Rev. Melissa Myozen Blacker, Abbot, Boundless Way Zen, MA

Michael Fieleke, Dharma Holder, Boundless Way Zen

Rev. David Dae An Rynick, Guiding Teacher, Boundless Way Zen, MA

Kenneth Kraft, emeritus professor, Lehigh University.

Rev. Joshin Brian Byrnes, Upaya Zen Center, NM

Rev. Koun Franz, Zen Nova Scotia

Rev Inryu Bobbi Ponce-Barger, All Beings Zen Sangha, Washington D.C.

Jack Lawlor/True Direction, Lakeside Buddhist sangha, Evanston, IL

Kristin Barker, Director and Co-Founder, One Earth Sangha

Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao, Abbot, Zen Center of Los Angeles

Rev. Dr. Douglas San-un Phillips, Empty Sky Sangha, W. Cornwall, CT

Rev. Jay Rinsen Weik, Abbot, Great Heartland Sangha, Buddhist Temple of Toledo

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, President, Buddhist Council of New York

Ajahn Punnadhammo, Abbott, Arrow River Forest Hermitage, Thunder Bay, Canada

Dosho Port, Head Priest, Nebraska Zen Center

Tara Brach, Insight Meditation Community of Washington D.C.

Wes Nisker, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

James Baraz, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Mary Grace Orr, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Diana Winston, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Mark Coleman, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Anna Douglas, PhD, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Eugene Cash, Spirit Rock Mediation Center, CA

Donald Rothberg, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Oren J. Sofer, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Carol Wilson, Insight Meditation Society, MA

Rodney Smith, Seattle Insight Meditation Society, WA

Rev. Eido Frances Carney, Abbess, Olympia Zen Center

Rev. Sumi Loundon Kim, Buddhist chaplain, Duke University

Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton, Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, Chicago, IL

Hosho Peter Coyote, Vimala Sangha, CA

Justin Whitaker, PhD, Sīla Mindfulness, Seattle, WA

Rev. Domyo Burk, Guiding Teacher, Bright Way Zen, Portland, OR

Erin Treat, Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center & Durango Dharma Center.

Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama, Long Beach Buddhist Church, CA

John Bell, YouthBuild USA

Kenshin Catherine Cascade, Bird Haven Zendo, Cheshire, OR

Dennis Bohn/True Mountain of Peace, Order of Interbeing/Plum Village

Catherine McGee, Gaia House, Insight Meditation Centre, United Kingdom

Jill Shepherd, Auckland Insight, New Zealand

Maciej Janowicz, DSc., Warsaw University of Life Sciences, SGGW

Nikki Mirghafori, Spirit Rock Meditation Center & Insight Meditation Center

Kittisaro & Thanissara, Dharmagiri Meditation Centre & Sacred Mountain Sangha

Chris Zangtsal Starbuck, Dharmaholder, Zen Peacemaker Circles

Janet Lipner, Midwest Buddhist Temple, IL

Kenley Neufeld, Dharma Teacher, Order of Interbeing

Bernie Glassman, Founder, Zen Peacemakers, Montague, MA,

Eve Myonen Marko, Head Teacher, Green River Zen Center, Montague, MA,

Rev. Tenku Ruff, NY

Rob Burbea, Gaia House, UK

Dr Adrianne Ross, British Columbia Insight Meditation Society, Vancouver, Canada

Marcia Rose, Guiding Teacher, The Mountain Hermitage, NM

David Gumpert, Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, MA

Rev. Myoan Grace Schireson, Central Valley Zen, CA

Robert A. Thurman, Professor, Columbia University, NY

Sally Armstrong, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Brian Ryojun Victoria, Ph.D.Fellow, Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies

Marty Krasney—Executive Director, Dalai Lama Fellows

Chas DiCapua, Insight Meditation Society, MA

Rev. Kosen Greg Snyder, Brooklyn Zen Center & Union Theological Seminary

Greg Scharf, Insight Meditation Society, MA

Rev. Mary Mocine, Clear Water Zen Center, CA

Joyce Kornblatt, Cloud Refuge Sangha, Blackheath, NSW, Australia

Zen Master Bon Hae Judy Roitman, Kansas Zen Center, Lawrence, KS

Zen Master Hae Kwang Stan Lombardo, Kansas Zen Center, Lawrence, KS

Andrea Fella, Insight Meditation Center of the Mid-Peninsula; Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA

Rev. Ryuun Joriki Baker, Blue Mountain Zendo, PA

Howard Cohn, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, California

Anne Seisen Saunders, Sweetwater Zen Center, CA

Rev. Diane Shoshin Fitzgerald, Boundless Way Zen

Fran Ludwig, Dharma Teacher, Boundless Way Zen

Monika Winkelmann, Zen Peacemakers, Germany

Karen Harrison, Canadian Buddhist Civil Liberties Association

Jeff Kitzes, Guiding Teacher, Empty Gate Zen Center, Berkeley, CA

Rev. Hoka Chris Fortin, Dharma Heart Sangha, CA

Rev. Kanzan Bruce Fortin, Occidental Laguna Sangha, CA

Anka Rick Spencer, Puerto Compasivo, Puerto Vallarta, México

Rev. Zoketsu Norman Fischer—Founder and teacher Everyday Zen Foundation, CA

Ken Kessel (Zen Master Jok Um), Chogye International Zen Center of New York

Kotatsu John Bailes, One Heart Zen

Rev. Peg Syverson, Appamada, Austin, TX

Roshi Roland Wegmüller, Spiegel Sangha, Switzerland. & Zen Peacemakers

Roshi Barbara Wegmüller, Spiegel Sangha, Switzerland. & Zen Peacemakers

Rev. Genshun Dai-En Bennage, Mt. Equity Zendo, PA

Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center, Redwood City, CA

Myoko Sara Hunsaker, Monterey Bay Zen Center, CA

K V Soon, Interim Secretary, International Forum on Buddhist-Muslim Relations

Rev. Layla Smith, Mountain Source Sangha, Larkspur, CA

Frank De Waele, Teacher, Zen Sangha, Belgium

Madeline Klyne, Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, MA

Yozen Peter Schneider, Abbot, Beginners Mind Zen Center

Guy Armstrong, Guiding Teacher, Insight Meditation Society, Barre, MA

Rev. Gesshin Greenwood, Blue Cliff Zen Sangha

Zen Master Ji Haeng/Thom Pastor, Kwan Um School of Zen, Las Vegas, NV

Jamie Cresswell, President, Jamie Cresswell, European Buddhist Union

Rev. Myo Lahey, Hartford Street Zen Center, CA

Rev. Eric Daishin McCabe, Zen Fields, Ames, IA

Rev. Densho Quintero, Magnanimous Mind Zen Temple, Bogota, Colombia

Rev. Shodo Spring, Mountains and Waters Alliance, MN

Eiko Joshin Carolyn Atkinson, Everyday Dharma Zen Center, CA

Jaime McLeod, Treetop Zen Center, ME

Jundo Cohen, Tree Leaf Zendo, Japan

Jisho Sara Siebert, Zen Fields, Ames, IA

Rev. Zuiko Redding, Cedar Rapids Zen Center, IA

Rev Ryushin Andrea Thach, Whatcom Zen, Bellingham, WA

Brian Lesage, Flagstaff Insight Meditation Community, AZ

Rev. Ryushin Paul Haller—Senior Dharma teacher, San Francisco Zen Center, CA

Angie Enji Boissevain, Floating Zendo, San Jose, CA

Rev. Josho Pat Phelan, Chael Hill Zen Center, NC

Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin, Prairie Mountain Zen Center, CO

Rachael Neumann, Publisher, Parallax Press, CA

Myozan Kodo, Zen Buddhism Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Shodo Spring, Mountains and Waters Zen Community, MN

Kokyo Henkel, Head Teacher Santa Cruz Zen Center

Rev. Myo Denis Lahey, Abbot, Hartford Street Zen Center, San Francisco CA

Tonen O’Connor, Resident Priest Emerita, Milwaukee Zen Center

Zenshin Greg Fain, Head of Practice, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, CA

Jisho Warner, Abiding Teacher, Stone Creek Zen Center, CA

Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher, Red Cedar Zen Community, Bellingham, WA

Shosan Victoria Austin, Teacher, San Francisco Zen Center

Aarti Tejuja, Director of the Office of Social Engagement, Shambhala International

Ven. Guan Zhen, International Center of Chinese Buddhist Culture and Education, USA

Shinryu Thomson, Teacher, Village Zendo, NY—Centro Zen, La Paz, Bolivia

Yuka Nakamura, Vipassana teacher, Meditation Center Beatenberg, Switzerland

Rev. Daijaku Kinst, Guiding Teacher, Ocean Gate Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA

Rev. Shinshu Roberts, Guiding Teacher, Ocean Gate Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA

Seth Zuiho Segall, Zen Priest, White Plains Zen, NY

Rev. Todd Hotai Watson, Guiding Teacher, Walking Tree Zen, Keene, NH

Rev. Seiso Paul Cooper, Two Rivers Zen Community, Narrowsburg, NY

Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, Abbot,Houston Zen Center, Houston, TX

Rev. Kotoku Ray Crivello, Head Teacher, Deep Spring Temple, Sewickley, PA

Rev. Dr. David Taikyo Morgans, Guiding Teacher, Zen Association Wales

Tomon Lisa Marr, Milwaukee Zen Center, WI

Rev. Myogen Kathryn Stark, Guiding Teacher, Sonoma Valley Zen Group, CA

Peter Seishin Wohl, Spiritual Director, Wild Fox Sangha, Portland, ME

Rev. Hobu Beata Chapman’Head Teacher, Open Zen Community, CA

Rev. Val Meiren Szymanski, Bamboo in the Wind Zen Center, Sunnyvale, CA

Shokan Jordan Thorn, San Francisco Zen Center, CA

Rev. Ann Myosho Kyle Brown, Mendocino Zen Center, CA

Rev. Myo-O Habermas-Scher, Guiding Teacher, Dharma Dance Sangha, Minneapolis, MN

Noirin Sheahan, Senior Teacher, Satipanya Buddhist Retreat, Wales

Don de Silva, Faith Advisor, Buddhist, University of Westminster and Council Member of the Faiths Forum for London

Lama Surya Das, Dzogchen Center, Cambridge, MA

Robert Kolodny, Buddhist Climate Action Network

Ven. Ocean-of-Wisdom Sakya, Abbott, Middle-Way Meditation Centers

Rev. Konin Cardenas, Guiding Teacher, Ekan Zen Study Center

Dairyu Michael Wenger, Founding teacher, Dragons Leap Zen Center, CA

Daigaku Rummé, Confluence Zen Center, MO

Rev. Gengo Akiba, Director of Soto Zen Buddhism North America Office

Richard Reoch, former president of Shambhala

Martha Beosing, Shambhala, CA

Sandy Boucher, Dhamma Dena, CA

Junko Davis, Honolulu, HI

Asher Wallis, M.A., Chaplain, Brighton Hospice, OR

Marty Janowitz, Acharya, Shambhala U.S.

Maia Duerr, Five Directions Consulting, NM

Rev. Myogo Mary-Allen Macneil, Bodhi Oak Zen Sangha, CA

Frank Ostaseski, founder Metta Institute, CA

Rev. C. Collins Dhammaratana of Contemplative Traditions, Chapel Hill, NC

Michel Dubois, Roshi, Zenvoieducoeur

Rev. Helen Hobart, True Sacred Clouds, Order of Interbeing.

Jeana Teiju Moore, Banyan Dharma House, Deer Park, WA

Andrew Cooper, Features Editor, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

Millicent Quam, Arcata Zen Group, CA

Camille Tischler, Ithaca, NY

Janis Kobe, Sonoma, CA

Gina Belton, Arcata, CA

Gaila Marie Allen, Berkeley Zen Center, CA

Rev. Ted O’Toole, Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, MN

Robert & Susan Laskin, N. Hollywood, CA

Leona Laskin, Philadelphia, PA

Rev. Elizabeth & Rev. Ken Sawyer, Back Porch Zendo, CA

Eric Horstman, Ecuador

Peter Levitt, Founder, Salt Spring Zen Circle, British Columbia, Canada

Suzann Duquette, Acharya, Karme Choling, Barnet, VT

Acharya Dale Asrael, Shambhala International

Myoshin Kate McCandless, Guiding Teacher, Mountain Rain Zen Community, Vancouver, Canada

Shinmon Michael Newton, Guiding Teacher, Mountain Rain Zen Community, Vancouver, Canada

Sally Scoville, Sonoma, CA

Hilton Obenzinger, Stanford University, CA

Nagamitra Akshobhya, Nagaloka, India

Gillian Coote Roshi: Sydney Zen Centre, Australia

Rev. Chi Kwang: The Seon Centre Victoria, Australia

Cc:

Thura U Aung Ko,

Ministry for Religious Affairs and Culture,

Building no. 31,

Naypyidaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Building no. 9,

Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

President Htin Kyaw

Presidential Palace, Yaza Htarni Road

Zeyatheiddhi Ward, Zabuthiri,

Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing

Ministry of Defense

Building no. 24,

Naypyitaw , Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Fillippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt, Suisse.

+41-22-739-8111

Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State

Kofi Annan Foundation

P.O.B. 157 | 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

+41 22 919 7520

Att: Bijan Farnoudi

[email protected]

The Honorable Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520

Ambassador Scot Marciel, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar

110 University Ave, Kamayut Township,

Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

+95-1 536509

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save