When Buddhists Go Bad: Photographs by Adam Dean

3 minute read

The spectacle of faith makes for luminous photography. Buddhism, in particular, lends itself to the lens: those shaven heads and richly hued monastic robes; the swirls of incense; the pure expressions of devotees to a religion whose first precept is “do not kill.” But as photographer Adam Dean and I discovered when traveling through Burma and Thailand from May to June, Buddhism’s pacifist image is being challenged by a radical strain that marries spirituality with ethnic chauvinism. In Buddhist-majority Burma, where communal clashes have proliferated over the past year, scores of Muslims have been killed by Buddhist mobs, while in Thailand and Sri Lanka the fabric binding temple and state is being stitched ever tighter.

(Cover Story: The Face of Buddhist Terror)

The godfather of radical Buddhism is a monk named Wirathu, a slight presence with an outsized message of hate. Adam followed Wirathu, who has taken the title of “Burmese bin Laden,” around Mandalay in central Burma, as he preached his loathing of the country’s Muslim minority to schoolchildren and housewives alike. In March, tensions detonated in the town of Meikhtila, where communal violence ended dozens of lives, mostly Muslim. Entire Muslim quarters were razed by Buddhists hordes. Even today, anxiety churns. One late afternoon as Adam walked near Wirathu’s monastic compound, a monk hurled a brick at him. Burgundy robes cannot camouflage inborn hostility.

In Southern Thailand, which was once united as a Muslim Malay sultanate, monks count on soldiers to shield them from harm. A separatist insurgency has claimed around 5,000 lives since 2004, and while more Muslims have died, it is Buddhists who feel particularly vulnerable as targets of shadowy militants. The Thai military now stations its troops in Buddhist temple compounds, further cleaving a pair of religions whose followers once shared each other’s feast days. One morning in mid-June, a bomb exploded in Kradoh, Pattani province, as Thai rangers patrolled a street where a peace and reconciliation meeting was taking place. Chanchote Phetpong, 28, who was clutching a bag of rose apples as he strolled, endured the brunt of the explosion; his orphaned fruit lay scattered in a pool of his blood.

(MORE: Straying From the Middle Way: Extremist Buddhist Monks Target Religious Minorities)

At the nearby Yarang hospital, Adam photographed as teachers, mostly Buddhist, came to pay their respects to the dead ranger, who normally protected them as they walked to school each day. A Muslim nurse with a head covering quietly plucked shrapnel out of Chanchote’s face, cleaning him up for his funeral, while another tended to one of his wounded comrades. A clutch of Buddhist rangers looked on. The nurses’ veils felt like a reproach, a symbol of the divide between faiths in this nervous land. “They are scared of all of us,” whispered one Muslim hospital worker. “We used to have trust but that’s gone.”


Adam Dean is a photographer based in Beijing. He is represented by Panos Pictures.

Hannah Beech is TIME’s China bureau chief and East Asia correspondent.


The following photographs were taken in May and June 2013.Wirathu, the spiritual leader of the 969 Buddhist Nationalist movement, and his entourage leave after giving a sermon at a monastery in Mandalay, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A Wirathu supporter bows at his feet outside his quarters at the New Maesoeyin Monastery in Mandalay.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
People drive past a burnt-out vehicle and damaged buildings, including a mosque, in the Mingalar Zayyone Muslim quarter, which was razed by Buddhists in ethnic violence in March, in Meikhtila, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Students of Wirathu study at the New Maesoeyin Monastery in Mandalay.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Monks wash at the New Maesoeyin Monastery.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A supporters of Wirathu looks at photos of him on the wall of his quarters at the New Maesoeyin Monastery.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A monk is reflected in the Wirathu's silhouette as he drives out of the New Maesoeyin Monastery.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Villagers from Kyaw Min drive ahead of Wirathu's vehicle as he arrives to give a sermon at the Shwe Areleain Monastery in Kyaw Min Village, Myiamu Township, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Villagers from Kyaw Min chant and pray as they wait for Wirathu's sermon at the Shwe Areleain Monastery.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Burned trees and damaged buildings are seen through the window of a destroyed house in the Mingalar Zayyone Muslim quarter, which was razed by Buddhists in ethnic violence in March, in Meikhtila, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A skull on the ground near a Buddhist graveyard, which appears to have been recently desecrated in Meikhtila, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
The Imam of Talanburee Mosque, which was attacked by Buddhist nationalists in 1997, prays in Mandalay, Burma.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A soldier from the 23rd Pattani Battalion of the Thai Army closes the door of an armored troop carrier during a patrol in Pattani, Southern Thailand.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A Thai Army soldier provides security as monks from the Nopawong Saram Temple collect alms on their morning rounds in Pattani, Southern Thailand.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Lieutenant Sawai Kongsit (center) talks to military trainers from the 23rd Battalion of the Thai Army (left) and Buddhist volunteer defense militia (right) during a training session at the Lak Muang Temple in Pattani.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Soldiers from the 23rd Battalion of the Thai Army provide security as monks from the Lak Muang Temple collect alms in Pattani.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Thai Army Rangers look at the body of recently deceased Chanchote Phetpong, 28, in the Mass Casualty Zone of Yarang Hospital, in Southern Thailand. He was killed by a bomb while on patrol for a peace meeting in Kradoh Village near Pattani. Two other Rangers were also wounded.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
A teacher (2nd from left) that used to be protected by Thai Army Ranger, Chanchote Phetpong, 28 looks at his body in the Mass Casualty Zone of Yarang Hospital after he was announced dead from wounds received by a bomb whilst on a patrol to secure a peace meeting in Kradoh Village near Pattani, Southern Thailand on June 10, 2013. Two other Rangers were wounded. Thai Army and Rangers are often used to protect monks and teachers who are targets of militants in Southern Thailand.
A teacher (second from left) who used to be protected by Chanchote Phetpong looks at his body in the Mass Casualty Zone of Yarang Hospital.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME
Sumoh Makeh, 51, the mother of Subri Dotaeset, 24, weeps during an interview in her home in Talok Hala Village near Yala, Southern Thailand. Subri, a suspected insurgent, was shot and killed in an ambush while attacking a Marine base.Adam Dean—Panos for TIME

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