HOUTMAN'S BOOK ON MENTAL CULTURE: I

[uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

POSTED SUN 6-FEB-2000; 9:00AM

INVITATION TO COMMENT ON BURMESE MENTAL CULTURE, A
BOOK BY GUSTAAF HOUTMAN--NOW PREPARING FOR SECOND EDITION.

An invitation is extended to all our friends on the net, especially 
Burmese compatriots, to give input/comments on above book. The book is
available on-line at URL:

	http://homepages.tesco.net/~ghoutman/index.html

Gustaaf Houtman  is an anthropologist form Britain. About his book on
Mental Culture in Burmese Politics, he appears to guage the influence of
Buddhism in current & historical Burmese political events. Admitting, I
cann't be certain on this judgment because I've managed to read only
first 3-chapters to date, and my reading still haven't covered the
breadth or depth of the whole book. The book has 21 large chapters (250K
size/chapter).

The most interesting part of the book, so far I have read, is the
author's view of how Burmese people's political thinkings were shaped up
over the century. 

IT'S NOT A WASTE OF TIME

I encourage my Burmese compatriots to especially read this book and give
comment to Mr Houtman (Burmese name San Maung and can also speak Burmese
too!!). Of course, there will be some factual mistakes and philosophical
errors in his writing. In the case of Burma, you are the expert and you
-- the Burmese -- are to comment what is right/wrong. Mr Houtman said he
welcome comments from wide-ranging Burmese exiled community. He would
make use of these comments in preparation for the next edition.

As for the books on social studies on Burma, I saw few books around
1950-60, and seems quite flawed and outdated. Also, there haven't been a
great deal of understanding in international community about Burmese
people and their culture. To our Burmese compatriots, your input on the
book is certainly not a waste of time: this kind of book will help
open-up Burmese culture/mind to the world. On the one hand, because of
rich discussion of historical background were included in the book, we
can learn a lot about ourselves (Burma) too.

The Houtman will not come online to Burma political lists, but he can be
directly contacted at <ghoutman@xxxxxxxxx>. If you consider relevant,
please also forward to Lists about your comment/discussion with Mr
Houtman, which might be of interest to all of us. 

With best regards, U Ne Oo.
-----------------------------------------
MY COMMENT ON CHAPTER-1:
***********************
31-Dec-99
Dear Mr Houtman:

I have recently visited your website 
and the book on mental culture. Thank you, firstly, for researching on
and writing about Burma and Burmese people and their politics. We need a
lot of those kind of research, I suppose. I am reading through your
writings, with a rate of Onechapter per 3-4days, and with much pleasure,
would like commenting few things I tend to disagree.

In your book, first chapter, following paragraphs talk about Gen Aung
San and his reference to LOKA NIBBANA:

"The nibbana that Aung San describes is in the popular imagination often
represented as ?the city? and as ?the country? of nibbana in prayers
accompanying the water libation ceremony at the end of an act of
Buddhist charity.  Though this is popularly believed the equivalent of a
?kind of indestructible country or city? and some believe that it     
is a place where ?those who have passed into it lived happily with mind
and body free of old age, sickness and  death?, it in fact represents
successful accomplishment of a complete and permanent transformation of
the mind by  arahat and Buddhas in their last existence, with the
consequence that there is no longer a next existence, since there has
been annihilation of all ignorance and its related mental defilements.
Loka nibbana, however, is but one  kind of nibbana. Lokuttara nibbana,
is another kind, where additionally also has occurred the extinction of
the five bodily factors (khanda), so that there is no longer any
physical existence ? this involves the complete ceasing of being.[109]

          Going as far back as the Pagan Period, it has long been part
of Burmese political tradition for royalty to pray for the attainment of
nibbana at the end of their grand acts of charity. Furthermore, out of
compassion for the world, it  was not uncommon for political leaders to
take the vow to become a Buddha (i.e. as bodhisattvas) out of mercy    
for their subjects, the inhabitants of this world; they aimed to remain
in this world longer to achieve some political  objective. They would
postpone their personal entry into nibbana so as to eventually build up
the strength to take the masses across the threshold of samsara into
nibbana. If this was the prerogative of aristocracy in the past, in    
Burma of the 1920s and 1930s a transition was gradually made which
democratised the concept of nibbana as being within reach of every
person. This culminated in the democracy period of U Nu, where vipassana
centres  were sponsored all over the country."

MY COMMENTS: Firstly, Gen. Aung San and, later Burmese political leaders
and writers, usually use the word 'loka nibbana' synomymous with a
country which is prosperous, peaceful and is free of oppressions. In
that sense, you are quite right to interpret that word with some analogy
to 'Lokuttra nibbana', but it will be misleading to take that meaing far
too literally in Buddhist religious terms or conceptions.

The other thing is that in U Nu's Government in 1950s as a routine
promote 'vipassana' centers. But it is for mere promotion of Buddhism as
a national religion-- the PM U Nu was a truly religious person. But this
aim, actually, has nothing to do with Burma as a country to achieving a
'Loka nibbana'. In otherwords, these Burmese political leaders appear
frequently borrowed the term 'loka [NIBBANA]' from Buddhism for reason
of easy explanation of political objectives to the Burmese population.
But there has been no such attempt -- and there has been no religious
means-- to attain that objective by the use of Buddhism.

That all I've got comment on at the moment. Please, if you have some
time, visit my home page also and help contribute to our struggle for
democracy. Your continuing interest in Burma is most appreciated.

-- 
HTTP://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/~uneoo
EMAILS: drunoo@xxxxxxxxxxxx, uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
POSTMAIL: Dr U Ne Oo, 18 Shannon Place, Adelaide SA 5000, AUSTRALIA
[http://freeburma.org/[http://www.angelfire.com/al/homepageas/index.htm]
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