The recent split between the Christian Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization is a dramatic expression of the political role of religion. Religion, religious movements, and prophetic leaders are important elements in Karen identification and their relationship with neighboring peoples, states, and colonizers. Religious cosmology and rituals are not merely the essentials of their world view but also constitute modes of empowerment

A compelling look at how small tribes in the Southeast Asian hills adopt new religious ideas.

Dhammaloka’s life is a window into the relationships at the heart of empire, a glimpse into alternative possibilities of the struggle against colonialism. It is a way of thinking about the meaning of “Buddhism” at the start of its modern globalization. It is also, of course, a remarkable tale

The biography of a turn-of-the-century, plebeian agitator against the British colonial establishment and one of the first, Western monks.

You can hear an interview with Alicia Turner talking about the book on the New Books Network.

One of the toughest interviews I’ve ever had.

Bhikkhu Bodhi responds to ethical questions posed by Buddhists in Burma facing extraordinary violence from their military junta.

For Bhikkhu Bodhi’s return to the podcast a year later see episode 104.

I think we cannot talk about the Rohingya genocide or this persecution of Muslims in Burma without talking about western and Asian investors

Aside from the Buddhist lessons, it teaches a standard curriculum of Burmese, English, math, and science. Recently, monastic schools have become an officially recognized part of the Myanmar’s education system, and students can move from them to state schools.

… the vinaya is nearly as central to the Buddhist religion as the shari’a is to Islam. If we were to rank religions in order of legalism, Theravāda would come at the legalistic end of the scale, near to Islam and far from, for example, Taoism.

The fascinating history of Burmese law demonstrates and explains the relationship between textual conservativism and legal sovereignty in the Theravāda world and the profound effect this had on Buddhist discourse in the region.

… these hours were often spent in the company of close friends: women and adolescent girls used the twilight to enjoy the company of female friends, while some youth reported visiting friends’ houses where they played and listened to music, completed their homework or chatted. Others spent their pocket money on movies or karaoke.

On the nightlife of the Karen refugee camps.