"Loving kindness doesn't mean you never get angry, but understanding how anger springs up when you feel threatened loosens its grip - that brings strength. It's not power that corrupts", wrote Aung San Suu Kyi, "it's fear."
Whatever the outcome of the monks' revolt, their courage in stepping outside the monasteries to stand by ordinary people is a victory in itself.
The monks are honouring the Buddha's words, teaching that loving kindness is also a call to action. Just as a mother would risk her life for her child, her only child, so let one cultivate boundless love towards all beings.
This talk can be heard on the BBC Thought for the Day website. Vishvapani, a member of the Western Buddhist Order in the UK, argues that the monks' protests in Burma show the principle of loving kindness in action, in this think-piece broadcast by BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
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