Struggle for Freedom (Updated Second Edition)

By Patrick Yay

Patrick Yay's official name is Dr. Maung Maung Yay but he is generally know as Patrick. He was born on the day when the

British and allies invaded Normandy each on the D Day the 6th of June in Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma). He graduated in

medicine in

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Universal Breakthrough
• Release date: Feb 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781956094893

Patrick Yay

Patrick Yay was born in Rangoon, Myanmar, at the end of the Second World War. After earning a degree in medicine, he served as a physician, ultimately escaping the country for the United Kingdom where he continued his medical career until retiring in August 2009. Dr. Yay is now an international artist and resides in Hungary.

Book preview

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Struggle for Freedom

(Part three of Agony to Agony)

The memoirs of an unconventional Burmese doctor.

In search of Tranquillity.

Patrick Yay

Copyright 2022 © Patrick Yay.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without a prior written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review, and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by the copyright law.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022900245

ISBN: 978-1-956094-90-9 (PB)

ISBN: 978-1-956094-91-6 (HB)

ISBN: 978-1-956094-89-3 (E-book)

The Universal Breakthrough

15 West 38th Street

New York, NY, 10018, USA

[e-mail]

www.theuniversalbreakthrough.com

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction

This is the last part of my autobiography book Agony to Agony part three – The struggle for Freedom.

In my mind when I left Myanmar I thought that I would have absolute freedom in the democratic country with relatively peaceful than most of the countries but actual freedom in my mind was not completely fulfilled as I have described the Institutionalized Racism I went through in my second book Through the Eagle Eyes

However, the limited freedom I had in Britain was far better than in Myanmar, my mother land.

In 1987/88 the nation had reached the limit and even the Buddhist monks despite their vow of Renunciation of the Earthly matters they finally united to protest the government for freedom to the nation and demanded the democracy. Fortunately I was not there to witness the monstrous cruelty of Myanmar Army led by General Than Shwe senselessly and inhumanely even killed many Buddhist monks although there was a nonviolent demonstrations across the nations.

I was deeply hurt in agony which I could not cope with the news of frightening horror on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and many cities. I was in pain and yet I could not do anything about it but I cannot cope with my anger and the guilt I carried since I was not there with those freedom fighters on the street. I only had to shut down my mind and meditate daily to overcome the anger and practice forgiveness with love. As a layman human my mediation did not give me much power to overcome the deeply seated internal turmoil in my mind.

Finally, another alternative was I turned towards Nature which provides me better internal peace and thus I painted intensely. At last to cope with my grief I painted the painting shown on the front cover of this book as to register the event. I depicted how monks were on their knees begging for peace and yet heartless generals ordered to shoot and kill the monks on the street and invaded the Buddhist monasteries at night beaten and tortured those Buddhist monks in their own domain. Nobody knew how many monks were severely injured and how many were killed.

What I was totally amazed was the United Nation, Amnesty International and all the super power countries simply just ignored the catastrophe in Myanmar land.

I realized that if my country has ample of Oil and gas production Americans and British might invade like they did to Iraq, Lybia and Syria. However it was blessing in disguise for they did not interfere our internal affairs otherwise our land will be a war zone and people would suffer like in Middle East and Vietnam.

When I came home from work I heard the bad news from back home daily. I just could not do anything but to pick up a glass of Malt Whiskey and walked into my art studio and painting alone till midnight sometime. Whisky made me numb my feelings and due to the highest emotion producing in my mind I depicted many paintings even better than in my normal life of an artist.

It is strange how the art can take the pains away from my heart and it was almost like meditation on the canvas my mind was momentarily in peace.

It was surprisingly effective how art can gave relative peace to the disturbed mind. Then I realized that Vincent Vangogh and Edward Munch went through the same period and helped themselves by depicted their master pieces.

Artists are all highly emotional and t hey depicted the pictures out of their deep emotions which no one can read it. Vangogh was the extreme example as he was screaming in the lunatic asylum screaming that he wanted to paint. Finally his mental illness and deep suffering pushed beyond the limit of his coping mechanism and he committed suicide.

Luckily I was not genius like Van Gogh and my suffering was not so severe enough to take my own life. I was feeling deep pain and agony through the bad news from my country. Although I was drinking quite regularly but not heavily I did not reach to the stage of alcoholics.

I changed the direction of my life more so towards art and my art works are better and better and even I managed to do a series of art exhibitions and started enjoying my life again and managed to hide my anger towards the monsters of Burma and feeling sorry for the people and my family.

I remembered at the beginning of my artist career as I mentioned in my first book I started painting when I broke my arms and disable and fairly depressed and thus later in my exhibitions I described that I painted better when I am in melancholia.

This is the true story of how art is very important in my life; and I still keep this self discovery although the connection of human emotions especially negative emotions can produce positive outcome in life was not vividly appreciated and recognized at the beginning. I have become better artist because of all those pains and agony provoked my deep thoughts and pushed me to successful artist career. Now I am reaching the international level.

Therefore I can claim to some extent that my art was originated from pain and depicted more of the painful subjects like revolutions in Myanmar, Ukraine. When I did the exhibition the Ukrainians can understand me well and appreciated my art as we shared the same pain and agony.

I was merely encouraged by the stories of Picasso, Freda Carlo, Edward Manet, and many grand masters painted revolutionary and war pictures and they did not intend to make money out of it but to express their freedom in their mind as no one can ever stop and take away of their innermost freedom of expressions in colours, shapes, designs and pictures how they saw this world.

I claimed frequently that Art