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How Buddhism and Christianity can Help Victims in Burma to Forgive: An Exploration

Si Thu Tun December 18, 2019

Abstract:

The word, forgiveness, is a word that people hear quite frequently. While some people believe that they need to or should forgive, there are also people who want to be forgiven or believe that they deserve to be forgiven. Some people want to forgive while others do not. Some people believe that there are good reasons to forgive while others think that those reasons are not good enough for them to forgive. Whenever there is a consideration to offer forgiveness or the desire to seek forgiveness, it is highly possible that someone has wronged another person or one group has hurt another group. Many people in Burma today are the victims of a long and brutal military rule of that country. This military rule killed many innocent people, made many people to become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or refugees in some neighboring countries, and committed many forms of human rights violations against its citizenry. If the talk of forgiveness comes into this context, millions of people in Burma will be the group that can offer forgiveness while the military is the group who can receive forgiveness. This author argues that it is a good thing if the victims in Burma can forgive their wrongdoers because forgiveness benefits the victims first and foremost. The author does not urge the victims in Burma to forgive their perpetrators because he acknowledges that it is inappropriate to urge any victim to forgive his/her perpetrator. He does not ask the victims in Burma to forgive also because he believes that it can be very difficult for them to forgive because of what happened to them. However, the author does point out that it can be detrimental to the victims if they rule out the option to consider forgiveness because forgiveness benefits the victims first and foremost, and not the perpetrators. Since it can be very difficult for the victims in Burma to forgive, it may be possible for them to forgive if they receive help. The author believes that Christianity and Buddhism can help the victims in Burma to be able to forgive. 

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Tun, Si Thu (2019). How Buddhism and Christianity can help Victims in Burma to Forgive: An Exploration
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Journal of Living Together, 6 (1), pp. 86-96, 2019, ISSN: 2373-6615 (Print); 2373-6631 (Online).

@Article{Tun2019
Title = {How Buddhism and Christianity can help Victims in Burma to Forgive: An Exploration}
Author = {Si Thu Tun}
Url = {https://icermediation.org/buddhism-and-christianity-in-burma/}
ISSN = {2373-6615 (Print); 2373-6631 (Online)}
Year = {2019}
Date = {2019-12-18}
Journal = {Journal of Living Together}
Volume = {6}
Number = {1}
Pages = { 86-96}
Publisher = {International Center for Ethno-Religious Mediation}
Address = {Mount Vernon, New York}
Edition = {2019}.

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Si Thu Tun

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