Arakan's imagined place in the Theravada world Between Burma, Sri Lanka and the debate on the continuity of the sasana" Skip to main content

Arakan's imagined place in the Theravada world Between Burma, Sri Lanka and the debate on the continuity of the sasana"

Arakan's imagined place in the Theravada world Between Burma, Sri Lanka and the debate on the continuity of the sasana"

by Jacues P. Leider

Both in the East and the West, and for a long time, textbook knowledge nurtured a perception of Theravada Buddhism as a monolith that had been little eroded by time. But anthropological and historical studies of eighteenth and nineteenth century institutional reform, intellectual flexibility and homogenizing processes that were shared inside the Theravada world demonstrate change and have opened up new perspectives, especially in Sri Lanka and Thailand, less so in Burma, though.

The present paper’s subject falls into this broad theme of the complex relations between Theravada countries during the early modern period and the representation of these relations. It focuses on Arakan, a previously independent Buddhist kingdom that forms Burma’s northern Bay of Bengal rim. Arakan is an admittedly marginal quarter on the map of Southeast Asian Theravada lands, but has its own history of Buddhism that did not attract any scholarly attention. It was conquered in 1785 by the Burmese and soon its sangha was caught up in the monastic reformation process started by King Bodawphaya (1782‐1819) (Leider 2004c). What we may call the “reform movement” was a drift among leading monastic circles and by Buddhist courts to put greater emphasis on the observation of the vinaya rules and the textual acquisition of the scriptures by the monks. In Burma, the inclination for more discipline and higher textual knowledge produced court‐supported policies in the field of monastic education, new gaings and campaigns of monastic re‐ordination. The reform movement developed in various forms in Sri Lanka, Burma and the Tai countries and it took on quasi‐nationalist colors reflecting the pride of one’s own brand of excellence in the adherence to Buddhist orthodoxy. Among Burmese monks and laity, the pride of having well preserved the true dhamma nurtured the well‐known and extremely common belief that Burma was a mainstay of the sasana and a country that had been favored by the Buddha. In the Sasanavamsappadipika (The Light of the Buddha’s Religion; Law 1959, hereafter SV) written in 1861, the Venerable Paññasami (third Maung‐daung Sayadaw) was just one in a row of Burmese authors to demonstrate the unfailing continuity of the sasana in Burma. An interesting view on the frontline of monastic discussions during the reign of King Mindon (1853‐1878) is provided at its beginning where the author states that he wrote it in Pali for Sinhalese monks to make it clear that the sasana had not only been well preserved in Burma, but rather better than in Sri Lanka.

 Read More:
Arakan's imagined place in the Theravada world Between Burma, Sri Lanka and the debate on the continuity of the sasana

Download: Arakan's imagined place in the Theravada world Between Burma, Sri Lanka and the debate on the continuity of the sasana"
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Post a Comment
Read more

ARSA claims ambush on Myanmar security forces

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Sunday claimed responsibility for an ambush on Myanmar security forces that left several wounded in northern Rakhine state, the first attack in weeks in a region gutted by violence. Rakhine was plunged into turmoil last August, when a series of ARSA raids prompted a military backlash so brutal the UN says it likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority. The army campaign sent some 650,000 Rohingya fleeing for Bangladesh, where refugees have given harrowing accounts of rape, murder and arson at the hands of security forces and vigilantes. Myanmar's military, which tightly controls information about Rakhine, denies any abuses and insists the crackdown was a proportionate response to crush the "terrorist" threat. ARSA have launched few attacks in recent months.  But the army reported that "about ten" Rohingya terrorists ambushed a car with hand-made mines and gunfire on Friday morning
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
1 comment
Read more