Burma Protests a 'Success,' Says Buddhist Leader

Revered Buddhist spokesman Thich Nhat Hanh, famed for enlisting Martin Luther King's help against the Vietnam War, is supporting his spiritual brethren in Burma on a US tour. The monks' struggle against Burma is "already a success," he told Time, "because if monks are imprisoned or have died, they have offered their spiritual leadership."

Their greatest strike against Burma was to turn over their begging bowls, Hanh says, because giving food to monks is considered a moral act. Without it, “you are somehow left in the realm of darkness." Hanh also champions meditation as a way to access “the kind of insight you need to take action. To think that it is just to sit down and enjoy the calm and peace, is wrong." (More Burma stories.)