Buddhist Countries Research Articles

The Past Explains the Present: State control over Religious Communities in Medieval China

Buddhists in Chinese history did not enjoy the same political authority that their co-religionists did elsewhere. The clergy in other Buddhist countries could become official members of the government, participate in political decisions and select the head of their community autonomously. The affairs of the community were managed by the community itself. None of these rights were available to the Chinese sangha throughout its classical history, much as is the case today. The state in medieval China seems to have exercised complete control over the affairs of religious communities. The present day subservience of the Buddhist clergy to the Communist regime in China, thus, has a long tradition behind it, for the state has always been above religion there unlike in the medieval West where the Church dominated it.

"Texts and Bodies": Refashioning the Disturbing Past of Tran Vietnam (1225-1400)

AbstractVietnam is often seen to have undergone a fundamental shift in the Tran period (1225-1400) from an unfamiliar, highly Buddhist country to a highly Confucian one. Using a key source for Tran history, the Dai Viêt su ky toan thu, this essay challenges this common view. First, it focuses not on post-Tran Confucian representations of the past but on Tran bodily practices. Second, it argues that modern Vietnamese historians in particular, utilizing texts, ideologies, and structural transformations, have slighted the history of bodies and practices and Confucianized the Vietnamese past.

A Study on Ethnic Conflict in a Theravada Buddhist Country -Sri Lanka-

A Study on Ethnic Conflict in a Theravada Buddhist Country -Sri Lanka-

The Theravāda Buddhist Engagement with Modernity in Southeast Asia: Whither the Social Paradigm of the Galactic Polity?

In the Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia, that is Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and, to some extent, Vietnam, the articulation of secular and religious authority developed in historically particular ways. Scholars have explained these historical changes in terms of religious and political modes of constructing and negotiating power characteristic of the galactic polities of Southeast Asia and their Theravāda Buddhist tradition, such as state-saṇgharelations and the notion that one's position within the social hierarchy is perceived as a function of, and hence validated by, one's ability to engage in merit-making ritual exchange to support the Buddhist dispensation generally and thesaṇghain particular. Trevor Ling has argued that the differences created by country-specific developments in the social history of Buddhism in Southeast Asia are more significant than communalities found in the Pali scriptural tradition.

Catholics, Buddhists, and the Church of England: The 1883 Sri Lankan Riots

In his discussion of community formation, Benedict Anderson argues that communal identity is not natural but rather is constructed, dynamic, and fluid. He views identity as imagined by people who are linked together by the print medium, which has the power to consolidate despite great distances or geographic boundaries.' The development of Catholic identity in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country, provides an interesting example of the fluid nature of communalism that Anderson addresses. In this paper, I explore the changing identity of Sri Lankan Catholics in the colonial and postcolonial periods, especially as it appears in the 1992 Kandalama project controversy and the 1883 Kotahena riots. In regard to this, I argue that, although in the present Sri Lankans cast identity predominantly in terms of markers such as Sinhala, Tamil, Burgher, or Moor, only one hundred years ago they cast it in terms of religion. As we shall see, the study of Catholic identity in Sri Lanka affords an interesting instance of the way in which communal identity is constructed and deconstructed in response to various historical exigencies.

Temple and pet primates in Thailand

In Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, isolated populations of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) especially may be found at temples in both rural and urban areas where they are provisioned by people making merit although the monkeys may be shot as agricultural pests in adjacent rice or corn fields in rural areas. At the same time, macaques and gibbons, especially the lar gibbon (Hylobates lar), have been kept as pets in both rural and urban areas. Gibbons even are reported to be the « favorite pet for Thais ». The number of primates being offered for sale has risen dramatically as legal and illegal timbering have reduced Thailand’s forest cover to perhaps no more than 12 %, peripherali-zing primate populations and making them more vulnerable to hunting. A provision in Thai law permitted individuals to possess as many as two primates or other wild animals of the same species — « a potential pair to promote breeding » — even though their capture and sale was prohibited. Changes in Thailand’s wildlife laws governing private possession of wild animals have caused owners to abandon pets to government agencies and temples. Private rescue centers offer acute care and permanent shelter for some of these primates but cannot cope with the numbers involved. Pilot studies suggest that rehabilitation and réintroduction may be feasible alternatives for some former captive gibbons.

Buddhism in Ceylon and Studies on Religious Syncretism in Buddhist Countries

Buddhism in Ceylon and Studies on Religious Syncretism in Buddhist Countries

Dissent through Holiness: The Case of the Radical Renouncer in Theravada Buddhist Countries

Dissent through Holiness: The Case of the Radical Renouncer in Theravada Buddhist Countries

Dissent Through Holiness: the Case of the Radical Renouncer in Theravada Buddhist Countries

Dissent Through Holiness: the Case of the Radical Renouncer in Theravada Buddhist Countries

Buddhism in Ceylon and Studies on Religious Syncretism in Buddhist Countries

Buddhism in Ceylon and Studies on Religious Syncretism in Buddhist Countries

Studies in Malaysian Oral and Musical Traditions

The first of two studies included is “Music in Kelantan, Malaysia and Some of Its Cultural Implications,” by William P. Malm. Kelantan is the northernmost province on the east coast of Malaysia. It is considered to be the most orthodox area in a nation whose state religion is Islam. At the same time it must be noted that it borders to the north with the Buddhist country of Thailand and to the west is the Malaysian province of Perak whose jungles and mountains contain many “pagan” tribal traditions. Beyond Perak is Kedah with its larger Indian and Chinese populations and to the south is Trengganu where some Indonesian traits are still to be found. It is in this context that Malm’s study of music is made. The second study is “Professional Malay Story-Telling: Some Questions of Style and Presentation” by Amin Sweeney. In view of the hitherto almost exclusive concern with the content of such tales as those of Sang Kanchil or Pak Pandir, Sweeney throws some light on the form, style, and presentation of oral Malay literature, with special reference to that class of story-telling popularly known as penglipur lara, or what Winstedt termed “folk romances.”

A Model for the Study of Thai Buddhism

THIS paper constitutes an attempt to reconcile—at least for one region of Southeast Asia: central Thailand—one of the discrepancies in analyses of contemporary Theravada Buddhism. The model proposed below—which is the outcome of comparing some of the relevant literature with my own field data—encompasses two distinct sections of society, each holding a different attitude towards Buddhism. The interaction between different interpretations of religion may well be one of the major factors n i the process of religious change in Thailand. Furthermore, this model may be of use for other Theravada Buddhist countries.Literature on the SubjectA survey of the literature on the practice of religion in Theravāda Buddhist countries reveals what may be a unique situation in the study of religions. Many authors state unequivocally that Theravāda Buddhists adhere to more than one religious tradition. Apart from “otherworldly” Buddhism, these Southeast Asian peoples adhere to other strands of religion, generally classed under rubrics such as “non-Buddhist beliefs,” “folk religion,” “animism,” or “supernaturalism.” Yet, though virtually all authors recognize this situation, there is no consensus in their views on how the different subsystems are interrelated.

Irredentism Contained: The Thai-Muslim Case

Political and ethnic boundaries rarely coincide completely, even in an age of nation-states. Yet the attractions of an ideal union between nation and state have long led various nationalists to take up the cry for their unredeemed brethren beyond the border. Irredentism-a policy of incorporating remaining ethnic groups within the mother country-has become common to the contemporary political vocabulary. For those concerned with the relationships between internal and external conflicts, irredentist strife is particularly interesting, since by definition, irredentism involves both internal and external parties. Yet irredentist problems do not always grow into intense conflicts between the states concerned. This article discusses some of the factors that prevent irredentist strife from becoming a severe interstate conflict. Among these factors, social change is important in two respects: (1) sociopolitical conditions largely determine the grievances of the minority group which is unredeemed; and (2) these conditions influence the attitude of the mother government toward irredentist demands. The case study in this article deals with the Malay-speaking Muslims who inhabit the southern part of Thailand, which is predominantly a Buddhist country. They constitute both a separatist and an irredentist problem, but the two are sufficiently similar to permit a discussion in irredentist terms. These terms are drawn in part from the irredentist conflict between Italy and Austria-Hungary; thus, a brief summary of this classical case may be useful. Following the unification of Italy during the age of Garibaldi and Cavour, many Italians still remained outside the borders of the new state. Italian nationalists started to refer to these areas of the Austrian-Hungarian empire as Italia irredenta-unredeemed Italy. The government, often caught between the conflicting demands of the nationalists and the broader considerations of national security, 187

Theravāda Buddhist Sangha: Some General Observations on Historical and Political Factors in its Development

AbstractThe emergence of an historiographical tradition in Ceylon was caused by the importance of an unbroken succession of ordinations in the Sangha for the survival of Theravada Buddhism and by the emergence of the Sinhalese nation. One of the main factors of this nation-building process was the acceptance of Buddhism as the national religion. The survival of Buddhism depended on the state of the Sangha. History of Theravada Sangha is largely a history of efforts towards monastic reforms, and most reforms were implemented by the worldly power. The description of Asoka's religious politics in Sinhalese chronicles laid a basis for state-Sangha relations. Political thinking shows a dualism of ideological concepts based on religious values and of a tradition of practical political science. The impact of historical factors in the development of Sangha structures becomes visible from a comparison of these structures is the predominantly Buddhist countries and in the Buddhist minority community in Bengal. In this context, recent changes in state-Sangha within society, and the interrelations of Buddhism and popular cults can be analyzed as a result of the interaction of ideological, historical and political factors.

Replacement or substitution in the meeting of religions

This paper provides an investigation of the meeting of Religions. Such a meeting may result in a perpetual existence side by side with no mutual contact or influence perceptible. Examples are easily found, Christians, Muslims and Hindus have lived side by side in India for centuries with little or no contact. Individually they may meet and even be mutually present at religious functions but officially and through 'office-bearers' there was no contact except as attempts at replacement. Another example may be taken from Spain where Christianity and Islam lived for centuries together. Whereas the cultural history of Spain is exhibiting a rich array of products of art, literature and thinking as a result of mutual influence there is hardly any manifestation of religious exchange as far as the organized forms of Christianity and Islam are concerned. Geographical boundaries are not decisive in spite of the popular way of dividing the earth in Christian and non-Christian countries, Buddhist countries and others. Not even the political border lines drawn on principle between "daral Islam,that is extending the mundane area of Islamic control", and the rest of the world is absolute. People of different faiths live side by side without meeting one another as far as their religious experience is concerned.

Religion and Politics in Burma, by Donald Eugene Smith

The interaction of Buddhism and politics in the Theravada Buddhist countries since their independence is considered. Burmese attempts to relate Buddhism to the ideologies of nationalism, democracy, and socialism are analyzed. Originally published in 1965. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Review of: Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism: their history, iconography, and progressive evolution through the northern Buddhist countries

Review of: Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism: their history, iconography, and progressive evolution through the northern Buddhist countries

Buddhism and Animism in a Burmese Village

John Fee Embree some time ago remarked that “… we can never learn the nature of a religion simply by a perusal of the sacred texts, i.e., written words, torn from their social context; nor will a life of Buddha and a study of his original teachings in 500 B.C. tell us much of the nature of religion in contemporary Japan.” This statement from a decade and a half ago is as applicable to religious behavior and belief in a modern Buddhist country like Burma as it originally was to pre-war Japan. There is a good deal of literature which purports to be descriptive of Burmese religion and Burmese religious behavior. Much of this literature takes as an initial premise that Burma is one of the most actively Buddhistic countries in the world and that we may therefore gain the most intimate understanding of Burmese religious behavior through a perusal of the sacred canons of that faith. This approach is not without merit, and it would be foolhardy indeed to take as a premise that Burmese religion is not Buddhistic and that the Pali scriptures are worthless as explanatory points of reference. Such an alternative would be unrealistic, and would be infinitely shocking to Burmese, who certainly regard themselves as Theravada Buddhists. At the same urne, the imported nature of the Buddhist faith in Burma is well understood, and its historic superposition upon a more ancient substratum of customs and beliefs is appreciated, even though descriptive details in the matter may largely be lacking. All objective reporters speak, in greater or lesser detail, of residual elements in Burmese religion which owe little or nothing to Buddhism.

Indian Influences on Western Culture

Indian influence upon European literature goes back to the earliest times. The learned German scholar, Dr. Gerland, traces to Indian sources a number of the episodes in the Odyssey; the story of Circe, for instance, appears also in Somadeva's Kathā Sarit Sāgara, where a Yakshinī, or female demon, changes men into beasts by playing to them on her magic flute. The Sirens are the Indian Rākshasīs, and the Cyclops are Rākshasas. India is the home of fables, especially of beast and fairy stories, and these found their way to the West by a variety of channels. Some were carried by traders, others by wandering tribes like the gypsies, whose Indian origin is now generally accepted. Others again reached the West by way of Baghdad and Alexandria. Thus the story of the Judgment of Solomon occurs also in the Mahoshadha Jātaka, where it is attributed to the Buddha in one of his previous incarnations; doubtless it found its way from India to Palestine along with the ivory, apes, and peacocks which Hiram, King of Tyre, brought from Ophir to Jerusalem by way of Ezion Geber. If we identify Ophir with Sopara on the west coast of India, near Bombay, this becomes still more probable, for Sopara or Śurpāraka was a well-known port in Buddhist times, and the capital of Aparānta, mentioned by Aśoka in his list of Buddhist countries.

CARCINOMA OF THE PENIS IN SIAM

Summary(1) The estimates of the frequency of cancer in the East are open to fallacy because of the lack of an adequate system of registration of deaths, but in the case of a particular disease, fairly reliable conclusions can be reached from hospital admissions.(2) Cancer of the penis formed 9.6 per cent. of the total admissions for cancer to the Siriraj Hospital during the four years under review.(3) Phimosis appears to play the chief rôle in the etiology of this disease. Siam, being a Buddhist country, circumcision is not performed as a rite in early life.(4) Syphilis comes second in importance as a causative factor.(5) The inguinal glands, although usually enlarged, are rarely the site of a secondary cancer.