Obama in Burma

[tiltbillings]

There should be another speech after this.

[Mr Man]

It's beautiful to see an American president walking barefoot through the grounds of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

[Khalil Bodhi]

It is kind of inspiring to see that kind of sensitivity from an American president. Obama, politician though e may be, is just someone I can't help but liking...

[plwk]

[Ben]

Fantastic!
I heard some of Obama's speech on the radio this evening but not all of it.

[tiltbillings]

[gavesako]

They should all start bowing to him as he is reckoned to be a Bodhisattva according to a Thai senior monk:


Clinton asked the monk why there was a Reclining Buddha statue and she was told that it was a symbol of peace and success. The monk then told Obama that if the US allowed him to be re-elected for a third term, he would win the election because he has paid homage to the reclining Buddha. Obama said he did not want to be re-elected for a third term as he wanted to raise his children and pointed to Mrs Clinton and said she would be the next president. All burst out in laughter.
Obama said it was just a rumour but noted that he was interested in Buddhism and asked the assistant abbot why he had ordained to be a monk. The monk told Obama it was not compulsory but in those days rural children did not have a lot of opportunity to get an education and the only chance was to study while being a monk.
After that both were introduced to the 96-year-old abbot of the temple, Phra Thammapanya-bodi. Obama smiled when he was told that he would live longer than 100 years because he had a chance to wai a senior man with extra longevity like the abbot. The US president smiled even broader when the assistant abbot told him that he was like Bodhisattva as he was not just President of the US but the whole world.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 94580.html

[Dhammanando]

It is kind of inspiring to see that kind of sensitivity from an American president.

I doubt he would have had much choice in the matter.

Some years ago Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand went on a state visit to Burma. Before the visit, the Thai royal protocol people had talks with their Burmese counterparts about the details of the visit. They requested that the prince be exempted from the requirement that visitors to the Shwedagon should remove their footwear, for in Thailand the custom is that this is not required of royalty when visiting temples. The Thai royal family even walk into uposatha halls and viharas with their shoes on and sometimes a sword hanging from their waists (the ordinary military can't bring weapons into temple buildings because of the Vinaya prohibition against teaching Dhamma to people with weapons).

But the Burmese weren't having any of it: if the prince wouldn't take his shoes off he'd have to stay outside. For a few days the two sides played hardball with each other, with the Thais threatening to cancel the visit and the Burmese refusing to budge. The latter also pointed out that King Bhumibol didn't have any problem removing his shoes when he visited the Shwedagon many years earlier. Anyhow, in the end the Thais backed down and the prince went barefoot.

So, if the Burmese wouldn't compromise even with head-anointed royalty, it's hardly likely they'd do so with some tuppeny ha'penny president.

[Ben]

Hi Ajahn,

There's a bit of history there.
During the British colonization period. the Burmese wouldn't allow the British to enter their monasteries and temple grounds with their footwear on.
It came to a stand off with the British military and burmese monks.
The British backed down.
kind regards,

Ben

[Raksha]

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand...head-anointed royalty

'A monarchy is the most expensive of all forms of government, the regal state requiring a costly parade, and he who depends on his own power to rule, must strengthen that power by bribing the active and enterprising whom he cannot intimidate.'
(James Fenimore Cooper)

'Of the various forms of government which have prevailed in the world, an hereditary monarchy seems to present the fairest scope for ridicule.'
(Edward Gibbon)

[daverupa]

Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand...head-anointed royalty

'A monarchy is the most expensive of all forms of government, the regal state requiring a costly parade, and he who depends on his own power to rule, must strengthen that power by bribing the active and enterprising whom he cannot intimidate.'
(James Fenimore Cooper)

'Of the various forms of government which have prevailed in the world, an hereditary monarchy seems to present the fairest scope for ridicule.'
(Edward Gibbon)

"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."
(Winston Churchill)

[appicchato]

...some tuppeny ha'penny president.

Brit?...

[tiltbillings]

...some tuppeny ha'penny president.

Brit?...

Yes. They are still smarting over the decline of the Empire.

[Ben]

...some tuppeny ha'penny president.

Brit?...

Yes. They are still smarting over the decline of the Empire.

Who?
The Americans??

Seriously...
Tilt - thanks for linking Obama's speech. i'm listening to it now - its excellent.
It will be interesting to see what happens next given the disparity between western and burmese power relations.