Aung San Suu Kyi the next 700 years, containing eloquent poems and prayers of

poetic merit.
Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon (now named Yangon). In the fifteenth century up to the nineteenth century, palm-
Her father, Aung San, founded the modern Burmese army and leaf (scratched with a stylus) and folded-paper literature
negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire in became common. Such works were filled with Buddhist piety
1947; he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. She and courtly refinement of language. The authors were monks,
grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi , and two brothers, Aung educated courtiers, and court poetesses. Prose works during
San Lin and Aung San Oo , in Rangoon. Aung San Lin died at this period were few, mostly Buddhist scriptures and
age eight, when he drowned in an ornamental lake on the chronicles of kings. Poetry was varied: there were historical
grounds of the house. Her elder brother emigrated to San ballads, panegyric odes, the pyo (Buddhist story in verse), and
Diego, California, becoming a United States citizen. After Aung the ya-du (poems of love or nature). The writers also used the
San Lin's death, the family moved to a house by Inya Lake ―mixed style‖ or prose and poetry together. Examples of this
where Suu Kyi met people of very different backgrounds, are the Yagan, a serio-comic epic, and the Myil-Ta-za, a letter
political views and religions. She was educated in Methodist of an abbot to the king.
English High School (now Basic Education High School No. 1 Modern fiction began with the novel. An example is Tet-Pon-
Dagon) for much of her childhood in Burma, where she was gyn, a classical novel.
noted as having a talent for learning languages. She is a With the founding of the University of Rangoon in 1920 came
Theravada Buddhist. Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, gained an increase in output of Burmese literature. Foreign literature,
prominence as a political figure in the newly formed Burmese especially English works, was transplanted. With
government. She was appointed Burmese ambassador to India independence in 1948, Burmese has gradually replaced English
and Nepal in 1960, and Aung San Suu Kyi followed her there, as the medium of instruction, and literature has become
she studied in the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New nationalistic.
Delhi and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi
with a degree in politics in 1964. Suu Kyi continued her THINK AS A BUTTERFLY
education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a B.A. degree
in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1969. After Pair up with another partner THINK AS A BUTTERFLY and fill
graduating, she lived in New York City with a family friend and up the butterfly organizer on main idea with supporting
worked at the UN for three years, primarily on budget details based from the same text. Respond also to the
matters, writing daily to her future husband, Dr. Michael Aris. enumerated questions and use this as a basis for group
In 1972, Aung San Suu Kyi married Aris, a scholar of Tibetan dynamics.
culture, living abroad in Bhutan. The following year she gave
birth to their first son, Alexander Aris, in London; their second 1. What does prose usually contain? How about poetry?
son, Kim, was born in 1977. Subsequently, she earned a PhD at 2. What can you say about Burmese literature?
the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of 3. What is considered as the first example of Burmese
London in 1985. She was elected as an Honorary Fellow in literature?
1990. [26] For two years she was a Fellow at the Indian 4. Why is the founding of the University of Rangoon very
Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) in Shimla, India. She also significant in their literature?
worked for the government of the Union of Burma. 5. How does their literature reveal the character of the
In 1988 Suu Kyi returned to Burma, at first to tend for her Burmese people?
ailing mother but later to lead the pro-democracy movement.
Aris' visit in Christmas 1995 turned out to be the last time that
he and Suu Kyi met, as Suu Kyi remained in Burma and the
Burmese dictatorship denied him any further entry visas. Aris
was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997 which was later
found to be terminal. Despite appeals from prominent figures
and organizations, including the United States, UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II , the Burmese
government would not grant Aris a visa , saying that they did
not have the facilities to care for him, and instead urged Aung
San Suu Kyi to leave the country to visit him. She was at that
time temporarily free from house arrest but was unwilling to
depart, fearing that she would be refused re-entry if she left,
as she did not trust the military junta 's assurance that she
could return. MEETING YOU
Aris died on his 53rd birthday on 27 March 1999. Since 1989,
when his wife was first placed under house arrest, he had seen One of your classmates or a representative will read the said
her only five times, the last of which was for Christmas in speech for you to follow. Form groups with five (5) members
1995. She was also separated from her children, who live in and assign each to identify what are asked from the table. Be
the United Kingdom, but starting in 2011, they have visited her creative in presenting your output.
in Burma.
On 2 May 2008, after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, Suu Kyi lost
the roof of her house and lived in virtual darkness after losing
electricity in her dilapidated lakeside residence. She used
candles at night as she was not provided any generator set.
Plans to renovate and repair the house were announced in
August 2009. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on 13
November 2010.

THE LITERATURE OF MYANMAR

The literature of Myanmar, formerly Burma, has a long history.
The Mayazedi inscription (A.D. 1113) is the earliest extant
specimen of Burmese literature. It narrates the dedication of
the Golden Buddha by a prince and the gift of slave-villages to
the image, ending with a prayer for the donor and his friends. ON THE THREE EVILS
Over a thousand such dedicatory inscriptions were set up in
Humanity has been led astray by three evils – greed, hatred 2. What does this excerpt reveal about the temperaments and
and ignorance. Whether we are Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, psyche of the Burmese?
Christians, Animists, or Atheists, we cannot escape the three 3. Can you still lead a simple life today even amid the ongoing
inevitables: old age, disease, and death. Nobody can deny that technological advances? Elaborate.
the five sense objects – pretty sight, delightful sound, fragrant 4. Explain the line, ―Live simply so that others may simply
smell, savory taste, and nice touch – are only fleeting live.‖
phenomena. They are neither lasting nor permanent. 5. If you were a parent, what would you teach your children to
Nor can anybody deny that property is transitory: no one can make sure that they do not grow up to be greedy people?
carry away his property after death. Men have been chasing
these transitory pleasures with a dogged tenacity mainly VISION
because they hold false views regarding property. They forget by Feraya
that this life is not even one millionth part of the whirlpool of
Samsara (the cycles of rebirth), and go on amassing wealth A country of great beauty People so gentle and kind
even though it never brings them full satisfaction. There is also ugliness And cruelty Fleeing and hiding And
This insatiable greed for wealth results in the profit motive foraging for food To survive
which is not directed toward any utilitarian purpose. Once Our people are in pain Suffering like no hell on earth Darkness
upon a time all commodities were common property, and and despair Surround them
everybody had a right to use them for his own benefit. But And freedom is out of reach
with the advent of the profit motive these commodities Beaten and battered by life Death and diseases Of the mind
became objects of exploitation. They became instruments of and spirit
wealth and stimulus for greed. This led to the following
phenomena: Swallowed up by gloominess And bitterness How can they
1. Human society was split into two classes: Haves and Have- carry on?
nots. Each of us has a role to play
2. The Have-nots had to depend on the Haves for their living, To help our countrymen Not by hatred and blame Not by
and thus the evil system of exploitation of one class by giving false hope Or ideas Or concepts
another emerged. But to see the big vision
3. With class exploitation, the poor became poorer because A vision that‘s not small or limited A vision that‘s vast and
they could not get adequate returns for their work. They had spacious
to resort to evil ways like stealing, looting, and prostitution. So that Burma‘s people may rise up
4. The Lord Buddha has taught us that there are four causes of Like a beautiful lotus From a muddy pond.
death: kamma, frame of mind, weather, and food. Under the
system of class exploitation, how can the Have- Idioms or idiomatic expressions are words, phrases or
expressions which are commonly used in everyday
nots enjoy good food and protect themselves from extremes conversation by native speakers of English and usually
of weather? Can there be any sense of happiness or figurative.
contentment for them? Can even a good kamma favor one
who is cheerless? Thus one who is born into the class of Have- Give me a hand
nots is handicapped in all the above four factors, and disease Hit the books
is the inevitable result. Keep an eye on you
5. How can the Have-nots care for education with their hard You're pulling my leg
struggle for a bare living? Lack of education breeds an ever- Cat's got your tongue
increasing band of ignoramuses and Mr. Zeros. Zip your lip
6. How can a country abounding in ignoramuses and Mr. Zeros Cold turkey
ever progress? Wear your heart on your sleeve
It is evident that most of the evils in the world can be traced to In the doghouse
the advent of the profit motive. Do you remember the legend
When pigs fly
of the Padaythabin (the tree of fulfillment) we heard as
Put your foot in your mouth
children?
On pins and needles
According to the legend, there was once a time when men and
I'll be there with bells on
women could get whatever they wanted from the Padaythabin
tree. There was no problem of food or clothes or housing, and Bite off more than you can chew
there was no crime. Disease was comparatively unknown. In Toss your cookies
course of time, however, the people fell victim to greed and
spoiled the tree of fulfillment which eventually disappeared. Propaganda
Then a class of people who could not afford to eat well, dress publicly to promote something: information put out by an
well, or live well appeared, and crime became rampant. organization or government to promote a policy, idea, or
Now I ask you to think of the Padaythabin as the natural cause
wealth of our country, both above and under the ground. If misleading publicity: deceptive or distorted information that
only this natural wealth is used for the common good of is systematically spread
mankind it will be inexhaustible, besides satisfying the needs
of everybody. But greed comes in the way. The poorest of the Basic Propaganda Strategies
poor wants to become rich; the rich want to become richer, 1. Bandwagon - persuading consumers by telling them that
and the process goes on ad infinitum. Spurred on by greed, others are doing the same thing.
people are apt to ―botanize on their mothers‘ graves,‖ so to 2. Testimonial - when a product is sold by using words from
say, in order to become richer. Thus the distribution of wealth famous people or authority figures.
becomes unequal. While some can amass wealth which Transfer - when a product is sold by the name or picture of a
cannot be spent in ten lives, others have to wallow in extreme famous person or thing but no words from the said person or
poverty with bare rags on their bodies. thing
4. Repetition - when the product‘s name is repeated at least
four times in the ad
PROCESS QUESTIONS 5. Emotional Words - words that will make a consumer feel
strongly about someone or something are use
1. What lesson does the legend of the Padaythabin tree teach
the Burmese?