After killing more than 900 people—including dozens of children, some barely 6 years old—since its coup in February, the military regime, which describes itself as the defender and promoter of Buddhism in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, is now urging the people to take refuge in Buddha

On Tuesday, readers were left open-mouthed when they saw a notification in the junta’s mouthpiece newspapers in which the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture urged them to recite daily in their homes the Ratana Sutta, a Buddhist discourse that followers believe can offset the effects of famine and disease

In response, a Buddhist monk wrote on his Facebook page: “What people need is oxygen, and not the verse”
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The Religious Affairs and Culture Ministry said it had asked the region- and state-level Buddhist authorities known as Sangha Nayaka Committees to instruct township-level Buddhist authorities to recite the Ratana Sutta and other religious verses in line with COVID-19 regulations in their respective wards, villages and townships

The request came a month after junta troops swore and beat Buddhist monks from Masoeyein Monastery in Mandalay who were reciting suttas during a prayer service for Myanmar