[Buddha-l] Burmese Buddhist anti-Muslim nationalism: 969?

[L.S. Cousins]

Jamie,

I think the numbers are derived from the standard Pali (and Sanskrit) 
chants in praise of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. So for the first: iti 
pi so bhagavā arahaṃ sammāsambuddho he is the Bhagava because he is 1. 
an arahat, 2. a perfectly awakened one, 3. perfect in knowledge and 
conduct and so on. Depending how you parse the list there are nine or 
ten Buddhaguṇa. Similarly the other numbers are derived from svākkhāto 
Bhagavatā dhammo etc. and supaṭipanno Bhagavato sāvakasaṃgho etc.

Pretty standard.

Lance Cousins

> Hello-- there has been a lot of reporting on the Buddhist-Muslim strife in
> Burma these days, and it seems a group either labeled or using "969" as its
> slogan is spearheading the rhetoric and violence. Here is one link:
>
> http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/myanmar/130326/969-anti-muslim-buddhist-riots-burma
>
>
> According to this article: "Wirathu [the main Buddhist bad guy in most
> reports] credits local Muslims with inspiring 969: for decades, Muslim
> merchants have decorated their signage with the numbers 786, an allusion to
> Islamic numerology."
>
> I have looked around a bit and the only thing I could come up with at all
> for 969 is: "9 stands for the nine special attributes of Lord Buddha, 6 for
> the six special attributes of Buddha's teachings and the last 9 for the
> nine special attributes of the Buddhist Sangha or Order."
> http://www.maungzarni.com/2013/03/stop-969-burmas-fastest-growing-neo.html
>
> I have no idea at all of these supposed attributes, and I also have not had
> time to check the cred of any of the reporting sources, the alleged
> military and government collusion,
>
> Leaving aside all the vitriol of this situation (in the anti-Buddhist
> rhetoric monks are called "Nazi skin-heads," and Aung San Suu Kyi does not
> fare well either), I wonder if anybody out there can give any substance to
> the numerology, either Buddhist or Muslim.
>
> It also reminds us that not all Buddhist nationalisms are the same.
> Particularly in places where you have slogans like, "To be Burmese is to be
> Buddhist" (substitute Khmer, Sri Lankan, Thai, and a host of other places)
> things do get ugly. I pray that the right thing happens for those directly
> involved and also that this does not derail the liberalization process in
> Burma.
>
> In any case, any numerologists out there?
>