A Firm Committment
Bhikkhu Mokkhita's journey in robes through the tumultuous landscape of Myanmar offers a compelling study of the intersection between deep spiritual commitment and urgent societal engagement, as he told in a recent podcast interview. Here is a monk who navigates not just the peaceful realms of meditation and monastic life, but also plunges into the civil movements and community crises that mark Myanmar’s struggle with democracy and military oppression. Mokkhita's active participation in demonstrations, his leadership in community projects, and his efforts to support the civil disobedience movements are not peripheral to his spiritual life; they are central to it. This integration of activism and spirituality challenges the conventional image of monastic detachment from worldly affairs, presenting instead a vivid picture of engaged Buddhism in action. His experiences underscore a broader narrative about the potency of spiritual practice as a foundation for social action. Moreover, Mokkhita’s story is set against the backdrop of a nation grappling with severe political and social upheaval, where the pursuit of peace and justice is fraught with danger and complexity. The monk’s dual commitment to inner peace and external action mirrors the larger dichotomy faced by Myanmar itself, oscillating between forces of repression and aspirations towards freedom. Through his eyes, we see the impact of individual courage and moral clarity in shaping the narrative of a nation, revealing how deeply personal transformation and public activism are intertwined in the quest for societal change.
“That’s on a global level, and then, of course, on a personal level, we’re having these world wars, these pandemics, and these situations. And just through the Dhamma, I’ve lived through so many ups and downs and situations.”
I could see different aspects of reality during COVID, seeing the hardships we were facing and the need to look at different perspectives. The Dhamma, the Buddhist teaching, teaches us Dukkha, the reality and suffering we all face. So we weren't alone in this situation with COVID and, especially now with the military coup that happened; it's not only us; everybody is on the same boat, not only our country but also the world; you can look over to others places in the world, you see it in Syria, you see it in Africa, you see it in Russia, anywhere where you look, you see fires, whether it has to do with politics or climate change, with the pandemic, wars, civil wars starting; these are the times we're living in, and it has always been like this: peaceful times between world wars; we have had a lot of challenges throughout history.
That's on a global level, and then, of course, on a personal level, we're having these world wars, these pandemics, and these situations. And just through the Dhamma, I've lived through so many ups and downs and situations. I had many jobs to get through, and I could see that if they did not lead me to grow in my mind, I'd let go of it and start a new one. I'd pressed the reset button and started a new life chapter. I'd live in a new location and a new project with new people, and this has not been easy, but meditation has helped me a lot. Still, I always had the Dhamma in my life, letting go of whatever has been in the past, accepting the reality as it is in that moment, and gaining, through that mindfulness and equanimity, the strength to go on. Over the years, you can see that every time I face some difficulty, the pandemic, this coup, or losing everything we have built, every time I grow. My life has continually improved as I become stronger through experiences and hardships.
We have a saying: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's what I experienced in my life. Looking at this project I started, I could only deal with all the management because I went through all of these experiences in my life before working for a bank, for a marketing firm, and then working in tourism management; my medical background, all of these areas they helped me incredibly and also my five years, working as a male nurse gave me a lot of experience from how to treat the children how to help them.
All these things added up, and when I look at the future and where we are going now, that helped me a lot in accepting that situation and where I'm standing now in my life. What I know for sure, something I didn't know a few years ago, is that there are only two things in my life that I will always do, and this is the Dhamma. I will always practice the Dhamma and follow that path with yoga, meditation, or Buddhist psychology and then also teach that out to my students, sharing the Dhamma, organizing retreats, bringing people into a deep process of purifying their minds, and then setting this up into a project, which is, for me, holistic and healthy at all levels. And that's Mudita.