An interview with the head monk of Mae Ka Thar Pariyatti monastery, which came under aerial bombardment by the military council
October 12, 2022
Mae Ka Thar Pariyatti monastery in Win Yaw area, Kyainseikgyi Township, Karen State, which is home to more than 50 Buddhist monks, was bombed by the military council air force at around 2 am on October 6, 2022. U Thiri Nanda, the head monk of the monastery, was asked about the current situation of the monks after the bombing.
Q: First, please describe the October 6 bombing in detail.
A: The junta’s planes flew in circles over the monastery on October 3 before the bombing on October 6. They flew around about two or three times. When I checked the situation, it seemed suspicious. We also have many young novices in the monastery. So, we fled to Payathonzu. The monastery was bombed for the first time around 2:30 am on October 5. I think they dropped three bombs, including one on the office room. One monk had remained in the monastery.
Also, one monk stayed in the dining room and another elderly monk stayed upstairs. At night, two laymen came to the monastery to keep watch for them. These men slept on the ground floor and fled to us out of fear when the monastery was first bombed. They fled the monastery from different sides. The older monk left a little too late. So, he got a slight bruise on his head from a shrapnel. He’d to flee to the mountain [nearby] right after the hit. I think luck was on our side. Otherwise, many young novices would have been injured [in the bombardment]. I’m 38 years old now, but I’d never experienced anything so terrible
Q: As I said, what was the first news you heard after you noticed the planes flying over the place? And now please tell us about the state of the damage after the bombing.
A: When the seminary was founded, there were only a few monks. The number of monks has increased over time. There are more than 50 individuals, including pupils. And we haven’t finished the construction of the seminary yet. We hope to finish this year, our fourth year as a monk working to spread the Buddhist teachings. A water libation ceremony was planned for this year in the Burmese month of Tabaung. We’d also made preparations for a Kathain Festival, confirming donors and even sending out letters of invitation. Everything was prepared. Some offerings were kept at the main monastery. They [the donors] had also planned to buy ceramic tiles for the seminary.
It was a two-story building with 66 pillars. Such supporting pillars are rare in monasteries in Karen State. They were made of iron wood. Each of them weighed one and a half tonnes. From the very beginning, our goal was to build the seminary in order to create a kind of great building for those who will continue to spread Buddhism for future generations. If we look again at the value of the building, it’s enormous. It was a great loss. If you take into account both the building and the other items in it, the damage is more than 1 billion MMK. I never thought that something so bad would happen to the monastery. They [the junta’s planes] flew in circles over the place in broad daylight. A monastery and a house are two completely different things. And it’s not the same with an office or a school either. The monastery had many peaked roofs. In my opinion, they did that on purpose.
Q: How important is Mae Ka Thar Pariyatti monastery for Buddhists?
A: When I first came to Mae Ka Thar monastery, there was only one presiding monk. The monk was old and sick and then passed away. I then became the head monk and replaced him. As a Pariyatti monastery, there were disciples. We’d novices and 20 other lay students for secular studies. And there were also nuns in the monastery. Mae Ka Thar monastery became famous when its students came first and second in the examinations in Kyainseikgyi Township and were admitted to the honours classes. Our monastery had very good passing rates. I’ve always fulfilled my religious duties and never mixed them with politics. Now that it’s come to this, I feel bad, but I don’t want to blame anyone. I’m not downhearted. I’ll continue to make an effort.
Q: Are there any difficulties for other novices and monks who’ve sought safety elsewhere because of the incident? And how great is the damage to the monks of the monastery who do Buddhist propagation work?
A: We’re not in the monastery at the moment. Lay people also had to run to safety in many directions to save their own lives. Some have fled to the border area. So we’re facing many challenges to rebuild the monastery. There’s no way we can rebuild it until the situation becomes peaceful. But we’re relieved that we’re in a safe place. Even though it’s difficult at the moment, we’ll never be poor because we’ve fame through our meritorious deeds as monks. We’re now among the displaced and have received many lay people who’ve come to help us. Right now, what we want most is peace.
The monastery was destroyed, but we can still rebuild a new one. The most important thing is that we’re alive. If we’d not fled, at least 30 or 40 people would have lost their lives [in the bombing]. But my mind isn’t too affected because I’ve the Buddhist wisdom in my mind. The incident wasn’t because I was involved in politics. I attribute it to past karma that it got so bad. Let them do it, and they’ll suffer the consequences of their actions. We plan to live here until the situation becomes peaceful
Q: As far as we know, it was agreed that the armed forces wouldn’t be allowed to attack religious buildings or schools. Why do you think they targeted these religious buildings?
A: I’ve no idea about that. They were conducting reconnaissance flights in broad daylight, flying circles over the place. Young novices came out and watched the place as it was flown over. But it’s hard to understand why our monastery became the target of their bombing. I’m a monk working to spread the Buddhist teachings. It would have been a different situation if they’d hit other places. But they hit the most important part of the monastery, where there were altars and Buddha images.
Three Buddha images were completely destroyed. When they hit the Buddha [images], it was as if they hit our heart. We’ve been doing our religious work for so long. We tried to do our best, but we couldn’t understand why they did such a thing. Our monastery had no connections with the National Unity Government (NUG) or the People’s Defense Force (PDF). The Karen National Union (KNU) operates in its own territory. This case will surely be cleared up one day.
Q: Were there any communications from other groups about this incident?
A: After the incident, we received a call from [an official] at the Kyainseikgyi Religious Affairs Department. When he asked if the incident happened that night, I replied, yes. Two bombs were thrown at our monastery. When he asked if we were there at the time, I answered in the negative because we’d fled before it happened. At the end of his questioning, he asked how much the monastery was worth. I replied that it was worth no less than MMK 1.5 billion. Then I asked the official why the monastery was hit so hard and why this happened. He didn’t give any answer. He said he didn’t know anything about the situation. I think they [ministry officials] shouldn’t take all the blame. So far, no other groups have inquired about the incident.
Q: What’ve prominent monks said about the bombing of the entire monastery?
A: So far, none of the prominent monks like Sitagu Sayadaw or Ashin Sandadika have contacted us. It’s not possible for us to contact them. They’ll have noticed the incident because the news has spread all over the world. They haven’t yet said any encouraging words or given any help. Now it’s only lay people who’re giving help. But the head monk of Taungwine Monastery in Payathonzu has come to help us. He came to bring arm bowls, robes and medicine and to give us words of encouragement. Friends from afar and some other unexpected ones encouraged us. We’ve not heard a single word from prominent monks of the Patriotic Association of Myanmar (Ma Ba Tha). There were no prominent monks among those who encouraged us
Q: The junta once said that Buddhists felt inferior under the NLD government. Now that they’ve carried out targeted attacks on religious buildings, what do you say about their religious beliefs in relation to the bombing of this monastery?
A: I don’t know anything about that. I haven’t studied it or kept it in mind. Instead of considering that Buddhists feel inferior, I’d try to improve the religion with a full religious spirit. I’m not concerned with insulting or criticizing any religion. Since I started my religious service, I’ve been unceasingly trying to improve that religion. I must say that a person with a good mind must never cultivate that kind of thought.
Q: What will you do next?
A: No matter how much mistreatment we’ve experienced, we’ll not be swayed from our goal. Right now, we can’t go back. We continue to study what we’ve to, even though we’re living in the IDP camp at the moment. When the situation becomes peaceful again, we’ll return and rebuild our monastery. I want it to be a more successful monastery and an example for others. We’re not downhearted. We’ll return to our monastery.
Sent from KIC.