Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

51 WITNESSING MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION Venerable Sein Di Ta Venerable Sein Di Ta is Abbot of the Asia Light Monas- tery and founder of the Asia Light Foundation, consisting of orphanages for boys and girls, a free-of-charge clinic, a school for monastic education, and a pre-school facil- ity. He is one of the leading monks negotiating with Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and his foundation works especially closely with Muslims. Although Myanmar society sees monkhood as occupying a higher plane of existence than that of an otherwise ordinary human being, Venerable Sein Di Ta is pioneering the idea of a monk as an ordinary person. His self-liberation is being realised in working for the people and, with this new perspective, he is helping soci- ety to find peace the way he found it, by making changes in his life to help bring change to others. Today he is a monk for people of every religion, every ethnic group and every rank. Having opened a new chapter in my life, I engage with any religion, age, background or gender. Despite the challenges in my community, I have opened the doors of my monastery as a home to anyone, offering space for interreligious dialogue with the support of local and international organizations that have showed love and acceptance to the work of the monastery. I travel to places of conflict in Myanmar to practice conflict intervention. What I see in people is that their suffering and pain is a shared commonality. When I go to those places of conflict, I keep in mind that I am there to serve, not to be superior and give help, but to serve. Through my training, I truly and deeply felt what Bud- dhism was about and this in turn gave me the courage to work in the field. Feeling suffering and pain led to a connection that reinforced my courage and devotion. In 2013, I travelled to the middle of Myanmar into a Buddhist/Muslim conflict zone where I encountered an 80-year-old woman who had been living in the town for her entire life. We engaged in conversation very often and, when one day she came and embraced me, it was almost a feeling of shock. This was a moment when I felt a connection beyond religion; I was experiencing the living kindness as in the teachings of Buddha. The old lady became my mentor and teacher, showing me that, regardless of religion, you can practice kindness and compassion. I now witness how the practice of mercy is an equalis- ing act, to genuinely serve others places one in a different dimension; through kindness, the pain and suffering caused by prejudice dissolves from the ego. If we genu- inely practice true mercy, unconditionally and regardless of the reactions of others, then there is love and peace, not conflict. I lead efforts to bring awareness to communities, engaging help for Muslims to whom injustices are done. In 2015 I realised that the majority of Burmese and Bud- dhists desire peace and reconciliation, but the issue is how to mobilise that group, particularly in the face of fear for the currently powerful radical groups. Recognise the fear within yourself. Pictured opposite: Ven. Sein Di Ta (right) with Bishop Kukah (left) and Dr. Ahmad Turkistani (centre)