-A tribute to Dr.
Michael Aris
27 March
1999
Delft
Delft
Dr. Michael Aris
passed away at 5:30 GMT on his 53rd birthday, 27 March 1999. He had contributed
so much to our cause in a very special way, set an example for us, what is
possible to achieve, even in an extreme case, seemingly impossible for a human being
to make it. We respect and thank him for it and he will always be remembered by
us for his invaluable contribution to our cause.
Reflecting the
past, all series of events going through my mind, make me recite a piece I once
read from the book entitled 'Liberty of the mind'. It is this, "The purpose
of the attack is the old one: to produce chaos. In the past, each man was
vulnerable if he is alone; now men and women are vulnerable also in their
collectivity. If the materialists had their way, we should be one, in effect,
one collective mind to be possessed. The chaos to be produced is not material
chaos only, for wars and economic confusion are but means to a more dreadful
end. The victory aimed at is an ultimate chaos of the world-mind, insanity by
the failure of distinctions and the fantasies of power, a blur of fragmented
reason in a spinning, causeless, faithless and ungovernable
dust.
The victory cannot
be achieved as long as the liberties of the mind survive, for it is inconsistent
with them. The greatest source of danger is in man's failure to recognize that
they, and not overt liberties only, are being attacked, and that the means of
attack, are becoming increasingly direct. The battle to be fought is not between
party and party or even, at root, between those whose emphasis is upon faith and
those whose emphasis is upon reason. It is rather, a struggle, transcending all
differences but one, for the validity of the human mind, its right to
distinguish between good and evil, and its power to make journeys in the light
of that distinction. Faith and reason are companions on an infinite journey.
There are no limits, except in our human capacity, to the extension of
either."
Having said that we
are most indebted to Dr. Michael Aris for showing us the way what is possible by
simply making his own journey in the light of that distinction. By doing so, he
had lived his very life in the most honourable way, if I may say.
And to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, we adore and love her more with total respect for the fact that she has conformed her deed with her own words. We all know that she often remarked, 'her personal plight was insignificant compared to many hundreds of others -- many languishing in state jails'. Last week, we overseas Burmese activists have approached international community and have declared our strong, consistent, unfailing and continuous support to her leadership regardless of any decisions she may take for her personal life. Yet again, she was able to extend her faith and reason for us, the Burmese peoples.
And to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, we adore and love her more with total respect for the fact that she has conformed her deed with her own words. We all know that she often remarked, 'her personal plight was insignificant compared to many hundreds of others -- many languishing in state jails'. Last week, we overseas Burmese activists have approached international community and have declared our strong, consistent, unfailing and continuous support to her leadership regardless of any decisions she may take for her personal life. Yet again, she was able to extend her faith and reason for us, the Burmese peoples.
May Dr.
Michael Aris soon reach Nibbana. May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be peaceful and strong
by the power of triple gem.
Dr. Khin Ni Ni
Thein
WRTC
WRTC
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Dhamma dana
Sir Edwin Arnold in 'The Light of Asia' states the five precepts in his own words:
Sir Edwin Arnold in 'The Light of Asia' states the five precepts in his own words:
'Kill not - for
pity's sake - lest ye slay;
The meanest thing upon its upward way.
The meanest thing upon its upward way.
Give freely and
receive, but take from none;
By greed, or force, or fraud, what is his own.
By greed, or force, or fraud, what is his own.
Bear not false
witness, slander not nor lie;
Truth is the speech of inward purity.
Truth is the speech of inward purity.
Shun drugs and
drinks, which work the wit abuse;
Clear minds, clean bodies, need no Soma juice*.
Clear minds, clean bodies, need no Soma juice*.
Touch not thy
neighbour's wife, neither commit;
Sins of the flesh unlawful and unfit.
Sins of the flesh unlawful and unfit.
(Soma - name of the
plant avestan haoma, the juice of which was the most important ingredient to
form the beverage.)
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