Religious and Scholarly Exchanges between the Singhalese Sangha and the Arakanese and Burmese Theravadin Communities: Historical Documentation and Physical Evidence Skip to main content

Religious and Scholarly Exchanges between the Singhalese Sangha and the Arakanese and Burmese Theravadin Communities: Historical Documentation and Physical Evidence

Religious and Scholarly Exchanges between the Singhalese Sangha and the Arakanese and Burmese Theravadin Communities: Historical Documentation and Physical Evidence"
by Catherine Raymod

Presently a component state within the Union of Burma, Arakan was — for at least a full millennium preceding its extinction in 1 784 — an independent kingdom with a well-documented and illustrious history. Buddhism apparendy came to Arakan comparatively early, and in t±ie legends and traditions of the Arakanese, an exemplary, uncorrupted strain of Theravada was maintained there over the centuries, even until today. 

Numerous references are made in the classical chronicles of the Singhalese on one side of the Bay of Bengal, and of the Arakanese and the Burmese on the other, to monastic and scholarly exchanges of paramount importance towards re-animating their respective sanghas after periods of decline. (In some cases, military or economic assistance was also sought, especially where non-Buddhist invaders threatened established Buddhist primacy.) Yet very little physical evidence has so far been identified, dated or catalogued corroborating the tradition of significant Buddhist links between Ceylon and Burma (including Arakan). The unexpected recent discovery in Arakan of a collection of bronze Buddha images in the Singhalese style, and evidendy of Ceylonese origin, is at the centre of the research presented here. 

My objective is to show the role played by the court and sangha of the former kingdom of Arakan in the preservation of Theravada Buddhism in Ceylon, particularly during the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries. To this end, I have examined local chronicles, epigraphical documents, Singhalese manuscripts, and foreign (usually Western) sources. This is in addition to material archaeological evidence including items of statuary and certain religious structures erected during the Mrauk-u l period, i.e. 1430 through 1784 AD.

Read More: Religious and Scholarly Exchanges between the Singhalese Sangha and the Arakanese and Burmese Theravadin Communities: Historical Documentation and Physical Evidence" 

Download: Religious and Scholarly Exchanges between the Singhalese Sangha and the Arakanese and Burmese Theravadin Communities: Historical Documentation and Physical Evidence"

Comments

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

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

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