An Officer and a Gentleman

About this episode

Sunda Khin shares her family's journey through contemporary Burmese history, highlighting significant political events and Buddhist concepts.

Episode #548: Sunda Khin shares a remarkable family journey through contemporary Burmese history. She starts with her father, U Chan Htoon, who suggested that a young Indian businessman named S.N. Goenka learn meditation from Sayagyi U Ba Khin to cure his migraines. Growing up as the daughter of the country's first Supreme Court Justice, she recalls spending time in General Ne Win's home during the "Caretaker Government" years. Ne Win's coup in 1962 marked a shift, leading to economic turmoil and loss of civil liberties, including the arrest of her father. As a means for explaining the many challenges that have befallen her country since 1958, she explains the Burmese Buddhist concept of " tha gyarr thar tha nar ," which is a Burmese prophecy that signifies the end of the Buddha’s protective period after 2,500 years. Sunda Khin shares several international situations that her father was involved with. The most complex of these was when South Vietnamese members of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) demanded the organization stand up against Ngo Dinh Diem's discrimination of the country's Buddhist minority. The US was concerned that this move could weaken their ally against…

People in this episode

Guest: Sunda Khin

Topics covered

• Burmese history
• Buddhism
• political turmoil
• civil liberties
• family journey
• mediation
• Buddhist prophecy

Keywords

• Burmese history
• Buddhism
• U Chan Htoon
• General Ne Win
• World Fellowship of Buddhists
• Ngo Dinh Diem
• civil liberties
• mediation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Fellowship of Buddhists

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