this guy is also 24. he was one of the leaders of the maynmar monk protests. these protests were peaceful to demonstrate the economic inequality of the country. there are so many desperately poor people in maynmar... the monks wanted to bring attention and change.

the peaceful protests were broken up by the powerful military and monks were abused. people who had studied peace and karma their entire lives were brutally beat and accused of terrorism and harboring weapons. now many of these monks, including this 24 year old, who have grown up in the monestary, virtully sheltered from the outside world, are fighting for survival.

this guy was able to escape the country by dying his hair blonde, changing his clothes, and wearing a cross. i feel for this guy. he is my age, so that gives me some sort of connection to him. he has done things that i could not dream of. he has the same passion for justice i do, althought maybe his is greater? he is doing something about it, while i am training to do something about it at a later time. while his story is amazing, it makes me think about an issue outside of justice. it makes me think about religion.

i guess justice and religion should be and are tied. i dont believe it is a false statement to say most if not all mainstream religions seek justice in some way, however my thoughts on religion in this case go to this guy's use of the cross in his escape from maynmar.

i know it is easier said than done, and no one really knows what they would do in certain situations until they are presented with those situations, but i wonder how a devout buddhist monk could wear a christian cross. couldn't he have passed the multiple checkpoints by his clothes and hair alone? did he defy his religion by wearing a cross? how much importance are these outward things in comparison to your heart and what is on the inside? would i wear a symbol of another religion to survive something? even if the peril was because of my beliefs?

i don't know

(photo Thomas Fuller/IHT)