32 Matthew J. Walton and Susan Hayward There are also stories of monks opening their monasteries to protect Muslims, including in Meikhtila, where the monk U Withuta provided safe sanctuary to hundreds of Muslims. When rioting crowds came to his monastery demanding to be let in, he stood outside the gate and told them that they would have to kill him to get to the Muslims inside. The crowd moved on. When asked later why he took them in, he responded: “I was only doing it in accordance with Buddha’s teachings. You must help all beings who are in need, who are in trouble.” He went further to say: “If we can live harmoniously without religious or racial discrimination, there will be peace not only for Myanmar but for the whole world…If we’re living free of conflict, with each person truly practicing his or her religion, then we’re helping bring peace. It would be best if we could steer clear of all the violence instigated by people abusing religion for nefarious means.”32 As one monk said in a meeting with a number of other monks sympathetic to the 969 movement, and who had been accusing Muslims of stoking violence: “We need trust. The main thing is trust. We need to remove our suspicions on both sides. In order to have trust, we need love and compassion…we need to teach people not to hate each other.”33 At the same meeting, another monk spoke up to say: “We all must have right understanding in order to resolve the conflict. Right understanding of Buddhism…people are teaching things that promote violence. We cannot condemn each other; we must change ourselves. If we blame others, the problem always becomes bigger.” These comments, raised in response to negative statements made by other monks—for example, referring to Muslims as “crows…who try to steal the eggs of others”—demonstrate both the myriad positions held by the monks, and the subtlety with which it is necessary to raise objections. In these statements, we can see monks criticizing, even if gently, their fellow monks by referencing particular points resonant within Buddhist ethics. The well-known monk Sitagu Sayadaw, who runs several school systems and hospitals throughout the country, has made a series of statements calling for interreligious peace. He has participated in interreligious peace events across the country, and has traveled with other religious leaders—including Muslims—to visit communities affected by Buddhist/Muslim violence. In a speech given in Yangon on March 30, 2013, he said: