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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 37

I got to college, I knew of many people who had died
really tragic deaths. Buddhism gave me a perspective
and orientation to understand what was going on. This is
sorrow and lamentation, the grief that accompanies life.

I’ve always been interested in and moved by death,
how painful and mysterious it is. In my early twenties, I
became a hospice care volunteer. I’m sure that’s unusual
for people in their twenties, to spend their time making
friends with people who will die soon — but it was
Spirit in Education Project, Myanmar
really meaningful to me.

You’re writing a book which talks about forgiveness.
How has your understanding and practice of
forgiveness been influenced by Buddhism?

I’ve written about forgiveness, yes, but it’s still
mysterious to me! I think it’s important to be in
conversation with forgiveness, if that makes sense.
Forgiveness is a process. It unfolds over time, and it
means different things as the months and years go by.
Spirit in Education, Laos
I think forgiveness is akin to letting go. It’s about
accepting the things that have happened. Often this is is only one of many tools we have for meeting the world
a process of grieving, coming to terms with loss and and its atrocities.
pain. The Buddha taught us to understand suffering. We
don’t turn away. We try to understand our losses and With the recent military coup in Myanmar, I think it’s
mistakes, and to understand the causes of this suffering. very important we support the Civil Disobedience
We tend to our personal suffering, but we also see the Movement (CDM). We must support people’s struggle for
universality of it — and that is one of the places where liberation, their wish to be free from oppressive regimes.
letting go can occur.
This is something we can support as Buddhists. My
You talked about the atrocities against the friend Hozan Alan Senauke, a well-known socially
Rohingyas in Mynmar committed by the military engaged Buddhist, is supporting CDM through the Spirit
who are mainly Buddhists. How do we forgive them in Education Movement (http://www.sem-edu.org/.)
for their cruelty? This is a group connected to the International Network
of Engaged Buddhists. They are promoting peace and
I think that is an important question, but I don’t know if democracy in Myanmar, and I encourage people to
now is the time for forgiveness. There were more than support their work. In the United States, donations
a million Rohingyas displaced from their land in 2017, can be made to Spirit in Education Movement through
and many are still living in refugee camps. The forced Hozan’s nonprofit Clear View Project.
resettlements are brutal, and not a viable solution.
It’s also essential for the UN and our governments
The Rohingyas who remain in Rakhine state are still to impose sanctions against Myanmar’s military.
being persecuted by the military, as are many other The boycott campaigns, led by groups like Justice for
ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including Kachin, Shan, Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, are also very
and Karen peoples. Forgiveness is very important but it important. The Myanmar military partners with