On August 29th The New York City Metta Parami Monastery opened its doors to the community.  Close to 200 visitors and supporters attended the opening ceremony and the offering of food and alms to the monks.  It was a glorious event, enjoyed by all who attended.

“We marched for freedom of speech, of writing, freedom of the press,” said one of the monks at the Symposium of Socially Engaged Buddhism, held August 9-14 in Massachusetts.

Click here for a link to the article about the event.

Over 50 people participated in the rally held on August 7, 2010 across the street from the Union of Myanmar Consular office in New York City.  Speakers, including U Pyinya Zawta of the ABMA talked about their experiences during the August 1988 protests in Burma.

Click on Photo to see Album of the event

ABMA monks during morning prayers at their Utica monastery. Photo by REUTERS / Mike Segar

Several news organizations (Reuters, ABC, Yahoo) just posted an article by Reuters reporter Christine Kearney about the ABMA monks.

Click here to see a link to the article and a video.

And click here to see the slideshow about the monks.

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The Shambhala Sun – March 8, 2010

On the Buddhism Beat: U Pyinya Zawta and “Burma VJ” at the Oscars!

Click on title above for link to The Shambhala SunSpace

Anders Østergaard, Director, and Lise Lense-Møller, Magic Hour Films Producer, Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary Feature for their film Burma VJ arrive with U Pyinya Zawta, a leader of Burma’s 2007 revolution, Aye Chan Naing, of the Democratic Voice of Burma, and guests. Photo by Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

“A founding member and the executive director of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, U Pyinya Zawta, who spent ten years of his life behind bars for his pro-democracy activities, was one of the leaders of 2007’s “Saffron Revolution”—the nonviolent demonstration by thousands of Buddhist monastics calling for economic and political justice in the military-ruled country.

He’s also an integral part of “Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country,” which was honored with a nomination for this year’s Best Documentary Feature Oscar. (In the end, the award went to “The Cove.”) Directed by Anders Østergaard, produced by Magic Hour Films, and distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories, which is headed up by Beastie Boy and Tibet activist Adam Yauch, the film features the work of citizen journalists inside the Saffron Revolution as well as stylized reenactments of key moments.

U Pyinya Zawta and I spoke before the Oscars through translator Aung Moe Win, a graphic designer for the exile magazine, The Irrawaddy, who also made our interview possible. (Aung Moe shared his own remarkable story with PBS’s Frontline for their episode “Burma: State of Fear”.)

DANNY FISHER: Venerable, for those who don’t know you, would you please introduce yourself?

U PYINYA ZAWTA: I am U Pyinya Zawta, one of the monks who led the Saffron Revolution.  I now live in the United States and do what I can to raise awareness here about the situation in Burma.  I often visit colleges and universities, giving speeches and offering screenings of Burma VJ.

DANNY FISHER: There have been some interesting editorials in the last week or so—specifically at the New York Times’s Carpetbagger blog and Foreign Policy—about the “importance” of the Oscar nomination for Burma VJ.  Would you say something about why you think the Academy’s notice is so important?

U PYINYA ZAWTA: Burma VJ is very important because it can help raise awareness and educate viewers about what’s happening on the ground in Burma.  The film shows the horrible things that are taking place there, and also demonstrates how people are forced to gather information.  The more people who see the film, the more people can see what’s happening.

DANNY FISHER: What’s next in terms of projects aimed at raising public consciousness about the struggle for democracy in Burma?  What do you think the movement for democracy needs?

U PYINYA ZAWTA: People are getting to know more and more about Burma, but they also need to learn about approaches toward this illegitimate regime.   The coming election will not be legitimate.  Anything that can help the world community understand this and raise their voices for Burma is important.

DANNY FISHER: What are some simple things that concerned readers can do to help?

U PYINYA ZAWTA: What they can do is write or phone their elected officials to educate them as necessary and put pressure on them to not recognize this election.  Another way to be helpful, especially to the monks now imprisoned in Burma’s notorious prisons, is to support the All Burma Monks’ Alliance.  They are doing so much to help. Visit the website at http://www.allburmamonksalliance.org.

DANNY FISHER: If Burma VJ wins the Oscar, what will you say to the millions of people watching?  Or what do you hope others will say?

U PYINYA ZAWTA: The most important thing to say is that the world community must stand up for Aung San Suu Kyi and the monks imprisoned in Burma, and work for their freedom.”