HELP US HELP MYANMAR

Hello Everyone and Thank You so much for the Birthday Wishes!

Those of you who know me well, know that on my birthday I like to give rather than receive – it’s a tradition I learned while living in Burma as a Buddhist nun and lay practitioner. In Burma, on your birthday, you take our your parents to tea, to give thanks to them for the gift of life, and then you take out all of your friends, to thank them for being in your life. This radically different and generous way of approaching birthdays and life touched me so deeply – it changed me – and is so reflective of the Burmese culture that saved my life.

Burma is neglected in the media, so for those who may not know – for 30 years they suffered under an oppressive military junta, ignored and abandoned by the world. While I was living there, the price of gas was raised so high that people barely subsisting were not able to feed themselves, and so the monks and nun rose up on behalf of the people, and many were slaughtered and thrown in jail. After I left, for a brief period Aung Saan Suu Kyi (who had been held under house arrest for nearly 30 years) was elected leader and tried to restore some sense of democracy and freedom to the people, but the junta was still holding the main strings of power, and supporting a genocide in the north. Recently, when Aung San Suu Kyi was again voted into leadership – the military leaders rebelled, putting her and others leaders back in jail, and beginning a campaign of terror against the nation.

Now, this country full of the kindest, most generous, compassionate, oppressed people I have ever met, is being slaughtered while the world turns a blind eye. Children are killed daily. Monks and nun are tortured. 90% of the country is considered rebels and therefore able to be tortured and killed by the government with no consequence. This is literally a place where people start each day going to temple and praying for the benefit of all beings in the world, a culture that has given so much to the West – through buddhist teachings that people here practice in fancy yoga studios and beautiful retreat centers . Through centuries of struggle and sacrifice they have stewarded these ancient teachings and shared them selflessly with the world.

Now, they are being murdered and suffering starvation, poverty, injustice, and destruction. They need our love. They need it now.

One Light is working with Insight Myanmar Podcast / Better Burma to get funds directly to small organizations working on the ground to provide medicine, clothes, food, water, protect children’s schools, nuns and more. Our goal is to raise $25,000 for the Burmese by January.

These people saved my life, and they are experiencing unimaginable suffering, completely ignored by the media. Any contribution you are able to give today will make a huge difference and be the greatest birthday gift I can imagine. We lift our hearts together for each other across this earth. As the Burmese say each day, May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be free.

For more information about the situation in Myanmar/Burma Click Here

For more information about Insight Myanmar/BetterBurma (the founders have studied at the same meditation center I did) Click Here.

One World. One Family. One Light.

With so much love and gratitude,

Zoë & the One Light Global Team