Original author: Ohn Kyaw Myint

Translated by Dr San Oo Aung (one of the Pseudonyms of Dr Ko Ko Gyi @ Abdul Rahman Zafrudin)

[Updated to reflect the present SAC Military Junta under Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, 2021–present]

Are you smiling with a smirk after reading my heading? Myanmar and the SAC Military Junta could not be present during Lord Buddha’s period. I know that you think we are just bluffing and using religion to attack blindly our political opponents. Do not misunderstand or misinterpret me or give a prejudgment before finishing this article. Once you finished reading, consider the current political scenario in present Myanmar according to Buddha’s teachings. Then only you will understand the truth and wisdom of our religious teachings.

There is a saying, “Eyes do not see; only the brain sees”. Yes if you do not look and think, you could easily miss the truth. If we observe with care only, we could understand and see the truth and essence of our religion.

During the time of Lord Buddha, there was a prosperous and busy country called ‘Wai Thar Li’ or Vesali. (Please allow me to use these modern, Burmanized, easily recognizable words instead of real words in Pali or real names in India e.g. Vesali. Please kindly allow me to continue using these words in this whole article)

Lord Buddha had even praised the beauty of that Wai Thar Li country in the ‘Maha Pari Nibbana Thoke,’

“Dear son Ananda, that Wai Thar Li country is very beautiful. The worshipping places around that Wai Thar Li are also very pleasant.”

We wonder why Min Aung Hlaing — after seizing power in the February 2021 coup — continued to operate from Naypyidaw, that eerily ghostly capital built on the superstitious whims of his predecessor Than Shwe. That name, ‘Naypyidaw,’ meaning Royal Capital of the Kings, sits uneasily on a city born not from legitimacy, but from fear and paranoia. Perhaps it suits him after all.

Let us go back to our religious story. One day, Lord Buddha visited Wai Thar Li and stayed at the ‘Amva Pali’ mango garden. Once heard that news, ‘Lizza Wee’ princes wore their best clothing to visit and pay respect to Lord Buddha.

(They were not like SAC Generals, who wear Military Uniforms adorned with golden badges, flowers and white cloth slings across the shoulders — yet carry pistols at the waist. A visit to a shrine or pagoda with a visible pistol is meant for what?

• To threaten God? Or —
• To show off the power? Or —
• To intimidate the Abbots so that they dare not show any disrespect to the generals?

Anyway, even if they are paranoid and believe themselves surrounded by enemies, there is no need to carry pistols so openly. Even Iraq’s ex-Dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his soldiers not to wear uniforms in public. He said it could be seen as threatening the people and could cause misunderstanding about the government. The SAC Generals with pistols dangling from leather belts are reminiscent of Fascist militarists — or simply bullies dressed in khaki.)

The unity of those well-dressed Princes even attracted the attention of Lord Buddha, who told his monks,

“Dear sons, look at those ‘Lizza Wee’ people. They even resemble the angels from the ‘Tar Wa Rein Tar’ paradise.”

If Lord Buddha had seen those SAC Generals in uniforms with dangling pistols, he would likely comment,

“Dear sons, look at those SAC people. They even resemble the butchers, hunters and assassins.”

Wai Thar Li country was so united — the king and his subjects helping each other and staying as real brothers. Therefore, the country progressed and was prosperous. Naturally, the neighbours became jealous and attacked them, but they were all defeated by the unified forces of Wai Thar Li.

Once, ‘King Azar Da That’ sent the minister ‘Mar Gada’ to the Lord Buddha to ask his opinion on whether to attack Wai Thar Li or not. Although humanly problems are not his concern, Lord Buddha saw the dangers of the plan and instead of answering directly, asked the brother ‘Ananda’ the following seven questions.

Those seven great questions and answers became famous as the ‘A Pari Har Niya’ — meaning the ‘Seven Precepts Which Could Never Lead to Failures’ — and later popularly known as the ‘Seven Precepts for the Kings and Rulers’.

The Seven Precepts — And the SAC Junta

Brother ‘Ananda’ answered Lord Buddha’s questions: “Dear Lord, those ‘Wazzi’ kings from Wai Thar Li are:”

Precept 1: They are united and always hold meetings, discussions and conferences.

(The SAC Military Junta under Min Aung Hlaing never holds genuine meetings with the people or the opposition.

• The National Unity Government (NUG), the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), and ethnic resistance organisations are all declared terrorist entities — dialogue with them is forbidden.
• All decisions flow from the top: Min Aung Hlaing alone. Appointments, military operations, economic policy — all decided by one man.
• The SAC’s so-called roadmap — ‘free and fair elections’ — has been postponed repeatedly since the coup, but now done as shammed election.
• Even within the military, senior figures have been purged or sidelined if deemed insufficiently loyal to Min Aung Hlaing.
• The SAC is deeply fractured internally, with battlefield losses to the PDF and ethnic armed organisations exposing cracks in cohesion.)

Precept Number 1 is out of question for them.

Precept 2: They go to meetings together and finish together.

(The SAC Junta never meets together with the people or opposition.

• The sham ‘Multi-Party Democracy General Election Commission’ consultations are staged theatre designed to deceive the international community.
• The National League for Democracy has been dissolved by decree. Its leaders — including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, sentenced to decades in prison on fabricated charges — cannot participate.
• Ethnic political parties, civil society organisations, and elected representatives of the 2020 election are barred or persecuted.
• Delegates to any SAC-managed forum are hand-picked loyalists; independent voices are conspicuously absent or under surveillance.)

Precept Number 2 is out of question for them.

Precept 3: Old tested customs, laws, rules and regulations are kept and obeyed.

(The SAC Military Junta discarded —

• The 2008 Constitution — even that flawed, military-drafted document — was suspended by the coup.
• The 2020 election results, certified by the Union Election Commission itself, were nullified by military decree.
• Laws are rewritten by military decree to criminalise dissent: peaceful protesters face terrorism charges; journalists are sentenced to decades in prison.
• Emergency law has been continuously extended since February 2021, with no end in sight.
• Even the religious and cultural customs of ethnic nationalities are suppressed and destroyed.)

Precept Number 3 is out of question for them.

Precept 4: Respectable persons are duly honoured, respected and obeyed.

(The SAC Generals —

• Imprisoned the democratically elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi — Nobel Peace Prize laureate — on absurd fabricated charges.
• Detained, tortured and killed elected MPs, civil servants, doctors, teachers, engineers and monks who refused to cooperate with the junta.
• Dismissed and replaced respected jurists, professors and public intellectuals with loyalist cronies.
• Monks and abbots who spoke against the coup were arrested, defrocked and jailed.
• The SAC believes it alone knows what is best — the people, the learned, the wise, are merely subjects to be managed.)

Precept Number 4 is out of question for them.

Precept 5: They never molest or rape women.

(For the SAC Military Junta —

• Sexual violence is used as a deliberate weapon of war in ethnic minority areas — Kayah (Karenni), Karen, Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Rohingya Areas and Sagaing.
• UN reports and human rights organisations have documented gang rape, sexual torture and murder of women and girls by SAC soldiers and militia.
• Women protesters have been specifically targeted, stripped and humiliated during arrests.
• The pattern of sexual violence amounts to crimes against humanity and is directed against ethnic and religious minorities as a tool of ethnic cleansing and genocide.)

Precept Number 5 is out of question for them.

Precept 6: The people’s worshipping places are cared for, respected and regularly paid homage.

(The SAC Junta —

• Has bombed and burned churches in Kachin, Chin, Karen and Kayah states — destroying Christian communities with airstrikes and artillery.
• Has torched Buddhist monasteries sheltering displaced civilians in Sagaing Region.
• Has bombed mosques and continued systematic obstruction of Muslim religious life — no new mosques permitted, old ones, EARTH QUAKE DAMAGED Masjids are left to decay.
• Has destroyed ancient and revered cultural sites and religious monuments belonging to ethnic minorities.
• Uses religious venues as military bases, detention centres and interrogation sites — defiling them entirely.
• Has weaponised some elements of the Sangha for propaganda while jailing monks who speak truth to power.)

Precept Number 6 is out of question for them.

Precept 7: Excellent government servants and those who sacrificed for the country are well rewarded.

(For the SAC Military Junta —

• Civil servants who refused to serve the junta — doctors, teachers, engineers — were dismissed, arrested or driven into hiding under the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• Thousands of professionals who sacrificed their livelihoods in protest were branded traitors.
• Heroes of the resistance, including young people who died fighting for democracy, receive no recognition — only the vilification of state media.
• The memory of General Aung San and the independence martyrs is increasingly suppressed as it highlights the illegitimacy of military rule.
• Those who served Myanmar with honour under previous governments but refuse to collaborate with the SAC have been stripped of ranks, titles and awards.
• Loyalty to Min Aung Hlaing personally — not merit, service or sacrifice — is the only currency of reward.)

Precept Number 7 is out of question for them.

The Buddha’s Verdict on the SAC

‘Mar Gada’ Minister reported all he seen and heard to the ‘King Azar Da That’. The King realized his wrong intention and decreed the ‘A Pari Har Niya’ or the ‘Seven Precepts for the Kings and Rulers’ as his way of governing the country. Since then, this ‘A Pari Har Niya’ became famous.

Then Lord Buddha replied:

“Dear son Ananda, if those ‘Lizza Wee Kings’ are observing the ‘A Pari Har Niya’, meaning the ‘Seven Precepts which could never lead to failures’; they could not be defeated and they would never lead to failures but progress only.”

For the SAC Junta who are against every single one of the ‘A Pari Har Niya’, Lord Buddha would likely comment:

“Dear son Ananda, if those SAC Generals are not observing the ‘A Pari Har Niya’, meaning the ‘Seven Precepts which could never lead to failures’ or the ‘Seven Precepts for the Kings and Rulers’ — they could be easily defeated and they would never lead to progress, but to failures only.”

Since February 1, 2021, the SAC has brought Myanmar not progress but destruction: a collapsed economy, millions displaced, thousands killed, entire villages burned, and a people in open armed resistance. The Spring Revolution — carried forward by the PDF, the NUG, ethnic armed organisations, and ordinary citizens of extraordinary courage — continues to prove that those who abandon the Seven Precepts cannot hold what they have seized.

We believe that the SAC Junta has already unwittingly pushed the button of self-destruction, the moment they chose guns over wisdom, power over principle, and cruelty over compassion.

Now I hope you can understand the remarks in my heading: “Junta Mentioned in Buddha’s Teachings.”

The Five Types of Enemies

According to Burmese beliefs there are ‘Five Types of Enemies’:

• Water — flooding, drowning, storms etc.
• Fire
• King or Government
• Thief
• The person who hates you

I hereby hope and pray that all the people of Burma/Myanmar could be free — and soon — from the worst of the ‘Five Types of Enemies’: the SAC Military Junta under Min Aung Hlaing.

— Ohn Kyaw Myint

Translated & Updated by Dr San Oo Aung