Aung San Suu Kiyi was fifteen years under house arrest in Myanmar but years of mental torture could nether break her nor dent her courage and mental fortitude to endure all that she went through- plus the trauma of being denied the right to live with her family- needs a certain spiritual courage and deattachment and Aung San Suu Kiyi's Myanmaar Leader of the National League for democracy revealed these trials in plenty. The world has recognised her stoic struggle and moral victory including her nobel peace prize. Her rare combination of intelligence and charm and generous compassion with which she looks at her erstwhile tormentors.
During her captivity, she had busied herself studying and exercising. She occupied herself in meditation, working on her skills in the French and Japanese language and relaxed herself by playing Banch on the piano. This regular practice of meditation helped her withstand her long confinement and separation from family for so many years.
She is recognized as a symbol of moral and spiritual beauty of a pilgrim. What Rabindranath Tagore once wrote in his poem "I feel beautiful as my mind is free", rightly applies to Aung San Kyi's beauty that knows no fear.
In Buddhism, it is explained that at this core of our being are profound Brahmaviharas or heavenly realms which are our true nature and they need to be accessed. These are karuna or compassion, upeka or equanimity, mudita or sympathetic joy for others and metta or loving kindness. Buddism tells you to overcome and avoid negative patterns of thought and at the same time, enhance positive thinking to attain a compassionate , balanced and a spiritual outlook for a more fulfilling sense of well-being.
Suu Kyi's own book, Fear of Freedom proposes that dictators are worried more than anything, by the fear of freedom. She refused to enter into combat with her captors on terms of hate, violence and revenge, and managed with compassion and tolerance to keep the spirit of freedom alive, without fear.
This quality of inner and moral beauty, and spiritaulity in its stoic grace, has enhanced Aung's persona today as the international icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression. Truly, she is a democratic pilgrim.
During her captivity, she had busied herself studying and exercising. She occupied herself in meditation, working on her skills in the French and Japanese language and relaxed herself by playing Banch on the piano. This regular practice of meditation helped her withstand her long confinement and separation from family for so many years.
She is recognized as a symbol of moral and spiritual beauty of a pilgrim. What Rabindranath Tagore once wrote in his poem "I feel beautiful as my mind is free", rightly applies to Aung San Kyi's beauty that knows no fear.
In Buddhism, it is explained that at this core of our being are profound Brahmaviharas or heavenly realms which are our true nature and they need to be accessed. These are karuna or compassion, upeka or equanimity, mudita or sympathetic joy for others and metta or loving kindness. Buddism tells you to overcome and avoid negative patterns of thought and at the same time, enhance positive thinking to attain a compassionate , balanced and a spiritual outlook for a more fulfilling sense of well-being.
Suu Kyi's own book, Fear of Freedom proposes that dictators are worried more than anything, by the fear of freedom. She refused to enter into combat with her captors on terms of hate, violence and revenge, and managed with compassion and tolerance to keep the spirit of freedom alive, without fear.
This quality of inner and moral beauty, and spiritaulity in its stoic grace, has enhanced Aung's persona today as the international icon of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression. Truly, she is a democratic pilgrim.
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