My feelings of dismay and revulsion are mixed with curiosity. What drives a person to do such things? How would the President respond to the suicide note which apparently reads: “The Lee Myung-bak administration must stop its four rivers restoration project immediately, eradicate corruption and do its best for poor and underprivileged people instead of the rich”? What will be the long-term impact, if any, of her/his suicide?
I have typed the word "sacrifice" but have backtracked and deleted it in this text because I'm not sure if using that word connotes something positive that would glamourise self-immolation,even though some Buddhists may have a different perspective on the value of life. In a society which already has a high suicide rate, one more death is one too many, even though it's not motivated by financial woes or personal despair. Today, reading the news about Ven. Munsu, I feel diminished.
Lee Myung-bak, a.k.a. The Bulldozer, forges ahead, deaf to the calls of the self-immolating nun/ priest to stop the Four Rivers Restoration Project.
Rest in Peace, Ven. Munsu. I hope your death is not in vain.
sources:
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/06/01/buddhist-monk-burns-to-death-in-river-protest/
http://koreawetlands.blogspot.com/
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Dm_detail.htm?No=73015&id=Dm
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2921282
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/423695.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/06/117_66840.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_self-immolations
2 comments:
Dear Ajumma,
Thank you for your article on Moonsu Sunim. As a Buddhist and Korean, I just wanted to share that I also had mixed feelings when I first heard of her death by self-immolation. At the same time, perhaps her death struck so deeply at the hearts of not only Buddhists but simply, for us human beings, in that it leads us to ask the very deep question; what for? If her life was given as an offering to save many more lives, that's an offering as a bodhisattva, as one who vows to save all beings from suffering. In her death I felt her cry and compassion for the mountains, the rivers, the lives of so many beings that have no voice at all. As a Buddhist I believe she felt tremendous responsibility for that. There are clear stories of even Buddha himself, who in many lifetimes sacrificed his own flesh and blood to save others. If that is her true intention and direction, then her death is not in vain, whether we see it or not. Now, I'm not at all advocating self-immolation as an easy option for someone who wants to escape reality.
Conversely, it seems her death has changed some people; it woke up some Koreans who felt they were not nearly doing enough to really commit 100% to what they believe in, no matter the political pressures and challenges they face. Perhaps many of us cannot understand it, but perhaps her death has clarified and helped some people.
Karmically, her death is now part of the karma of President Lee and all those involved in the four rivers project. There is no way whatever they do, it will not go uncounted for karmically, which means cause and effect are very clear. The cause (i.e. creating an enterprise though perhaps in their view, comes from helping the nation on an economical level, but executed with methods and an end based on the fulfillment of an ego structure that undoubtedly harms and even destroys the lives of many beings as well as the fragile ecology) bringing result (creation of suffering for others eventually bringing suffering for oneself) Sooner or later, we all have to pay the price of our actions, speech and thoughts, and how clearly more so, for leaders of nations.
As Al Gore succinctly said in the "Inconvenient Truth", at some point, "there is a day we all have to reckon with" the truth. So as long as we face up to the deep honest truth of ourselves and what we do, we can bet that the universe will deal with it accordingly. I believe Moonsu Sunim knew this as a Buddhist nun who has taken Bodhisattva vows. However, these results may or may not be revealed to us in one lifetime. So more importantly, what are we doing in our own lives?
Thanks for you blog, I enjoy reading the posts.
Yours,
Kathy
Zen Student
Dear Kathy,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a substantial response and to give encouraging feedback. I guess we can never really know the full impact of Moonsu Sunim's choice in this lifetime and we can only reflect on our own actions.
You mentioned that some individuals have been affected by her death but you didn't elaborate. I was wondering how exactly her death may have inspired them into taking positive steps, whether in the campaign against the Four Rivers Project or in some other cause.
Thanks once again for sharing.
Regards,
ajumma
Post a Comment