Lead Story Mandalay Division News Religion
Dutchman faces 2 years for insulting Buddhism
Klaas Haijtema, 30, is alleged to have walked into a dharma hall during chanting, with his shoes on. He then pulled out the plug connected to the speaker.
129 Search results for "Buddhism"
Interview Lead Story News Religion Rohingya
Wirathu: ‘Delightfully proud’ to have defended Buddhism
Following a week in which Wirathu has been roundly criticised for a foul-mouthed tirade against a UN envoy, DVB interviews him exclusively and asks him if he regrets it.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story News Religion
Blasphemy and offence in Burmese Buddhism
Those taking offence might also be prompted to reflect on the centrality of the idea of non-attachment and understand that their resentment is a hindrance upon the Buddhist path.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story News Religion
The roots of intolerance and prejudice in Buddhism
Many believe that Buddhism has a pure history in which misdemeanors, carnage, war and hostility has been committed by everyone — except the Buddhist. This is why the recent violence in Sri Lanka and Burma elicits such shock.
Contributor Lead Story News Society
Ethnocentric Buddhism: A new theme in Burmese Buddhism
The term ‘ethnocentric Buddhism’ points to the notion that Buddhist identity is intrinsically linked to national identity, says scholar Dr Paul Fuller.
Rangoon police arrest Bangladeshi nationals for ‘defaming’ Buddhism
Two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested and hit with charges for defaming the Buddhist religion in Rangoon on Tuesday after they were caught disguising themselves as monks
Year after madrassas shuttered, street prayer organisers face Ramadan in jail
The closure of the Islamic schools and subsequent imprisonment of Muslims involved in their operation has been described as “clear religious discrimination, and blatant violation of freedom of religion” by one human rights advocate.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story Politics
How the NLD keeps its lawmakers under control
Renaud Egreteau argues that potential dissidents within the National League for Democracy are unlikely to gain influence in the near term.
Scandal-hit Thai temple helps to stage mass Buddhist event in Mandalay
Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in Mandalay on Sunday for an event partly organised by a scandal-hit Thai temple whose abbot is wanted for questioning on money-laundering allegations.
Election commission rejects nationalist political party’s registration bid
The Union Election Commission rejects a proposal by Burmese nationalists seeking to establish a political party with an explicit goal of furthering their agenda, with the electoral gatekeeper saying its decision was made based on the country’s Political Parties Registration Law.
Lead Story Mandalay Division News Religion
NLD probing controversy over Mandalay interfaith event’s seating
Following criticism from nationalists, the NLD has launched an inquiry into controversy surrounding an interfaith prayer event in Mandalay Region, where Buddhist novices were pictured sitting on the floor while leaders of other faiths were afforded chairs.
Chin State, marked by change, looks to hold on to its roots
“At the age of 10, I got my tattoos,” says Ma Lha Sen.
Arakan Lead Story News Politics Rohingya
In a first, Arakan crisis unites NLD, army and public
If there’s one thing that unites Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the army that once tried to crush her, and the majority of people in mostly Buddhist Burma, it is their vehement dislike of Rohingya Muslims, seen as a threat to national security.
Election commission probes new nationalist party
Maung Thway Chon, the would-be chairman of the PUP, said, “Our policy is anti-Bengali and to lead in the development of Buddhism.”
Lead Story News Protest Religion
Govt prepares to tackle Buddhist extremists
A spokesperson for the religious affairs ministry said that local and township chapters of the Sangha Maha Nayaka have been instructed to stop the protests.
Ma Ba Tha dealt potentially crippling blow by highest Buddhist authority
The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee has announced a mid-July deadline that, if enforced, would effectively put an end to the public profile of the Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha.
Support rallied for Myanmar Now journalist in defamation row
Supporters have rallied behind embattled journalist Swe Win after a defamation complaint was filed against him on behalf of extremist monk Wirathu.
Magic in the air: Wizardry flourishes in post-junta Burma
From spells to win back an errant lover to help communing with the spirits, Burma’s mediums, soothsayers and wizards dabbling in the occult are in high demand.
International Relations Lead Story News Religion
Buddhists in Burma decry Thai govt’s temple crackdown
Around 100 Buddhist monks and nationalists in Burma staged a protest against Thailand on Friday, denouncing the government of the neighbouring country for its actions against a temple that has defied orders to hand over a wanted monk.
Thai police call off raid on scandal-hit Buddhist temple
Thai police on Tuesday called off a raid to arrest a prominent Buddhist monk wanted for suspected money laundering after devotees barricaded entrances to his sprawling temple complex in a Bangkok suburb.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Religion
Freedoms denied: Burma’s Christians fight for religious rights under NLD
Christians around Burma say they are no better off under the democratically elected government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, despite promises made in the lead-up to the historic 2015 general election to protect the nation’s’ four major faiths.
Ethnic issues Interview Lead Story News Women's Issues
Interview: ‘Women are not complaining or sitting idly’
Chin human rights activist Cheery Zahau speaks to DVB about what is needed to empower women in the workforce.
Monks’ censure deepens Ma Ba Tha’s isolation
Mainstream Buddhist clerics are among the growing chorus of voices speaking out against the divisive activities of Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha.
Religious affairs minister urges measures to rein in hate
Religious Affairs Minister Thura Aung Ko criticised monks for “wasting time” on social media, calling it “a platform for the ignition of religious and racial tensions”.
New Ma-Ba-Tha school teaches children to ‘protect race and religion’
The nationalist monks opened a Rangoon school that teaches students how to become ‘decent citizens’ who protect Burma’s majority race and Buddhist religion.
English football champs visit Shwedagon
Hundreds of football-mad Burmese fans were able to catch a glimpse of this year’s Premier League champions during a brief stopover in Rangoon that included a visit to the city’s famed Shwedagon Pagoda.
Aung Ko: A ‘traitor’ to his party, but loyal to his country
A member of the rival USDP, Thura Aung Ko is an unlikely NLD ally, but as a minister in the newly formed cabinet, he vows to put country before party.
Lead Story News Opinion Religion
Burma, leading the way toward Buddhist extremism
The influence of Burma’s controversial Buddhist nationalist organisation Ma Ba Tha is being felt across the border in neighbouring Thailand.
DVB Bulletin: 2 March 2016
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson
OPINION: Burma has failed women – that’s why the Monogamy Law is popular
Patriarchal attitudes, bureaucratic indifference, and little support from society leave women feeling powerless.
