Page 389 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Burmese Buddhism and traditional Beliefs CONTEXTS 387
The Sangha
Myanmar’s community of Buddhist monks, the Sangha, is one of the world’s largest – the
sight of monks (and also nuns) doing their daily morning rounds, bearing alms bowls and
possibly a brightly coloured umbrella, is one of the country’s most emblematic sights.
Exact figures are hard to come by, although there are probably between 300,000 and half a
million monks (plus at least fifty thousand nuns) in the country at any one time.
Burmese monks usually wear maroon-coloured robes rather than the orange robes
worn in countries like Sri Lanka and Thailand. There are nine officially recognized
monastic orders (nikaya); easily the largest is the Thudhamma Nikaya, followed by the
more conservative Shwegyin Nikaya. All Burmese Buddhist men are expected to
experience monastic life at least once. This often happens as a child – anytime after the
age of seven. Young boys are entered into the monastery during an elaborate shinbyu
ceremony, a major Burmese rite of passage during which their heads are shaved and
normal clothes exchanged for robes; better-off parents may also arrange a shinbyu
procession for their offspring, providing a symbolic re-enactment of the Buddha’s own
renunciation of royal life. Most boys enter a monastery for a short period only, perhaps
as little as a week, although poorer children may become novices and be educated at
the monastery. Full ordination (upasampada), for those who choose to enter the Sangha
for life, follows at the age of twenty or later.

Buddhism in daily life
Daily religious life for the Burmese laypeople is mainly concerned with observing the
religion’s Five Precepts (a kind of Buddhist five commandments) and accumulating
spiritual merit through good deeds and alms-giving (dana) – all of which, it is hoped,
will ensure a favourable rebirth in the next life. Meditation, particularly Vipassana
meditation, is also popular among both monks and laity.
Many Burmese homes have their own small Buddhist shrine, but local temples
remain very much at the heart of religious, and indeed social, life – larger places come
equipped with their own shops, resident palmists and astrologers, food vendors, flower
shops (and, nowadays, ATMs, wi-fi zones and lifts). There is no congregational worship

BUDDHISM AND POLITICS
myanmar’s monks play an important role in Burmese life as spiritual leaders and have also
assumed an important role in many of the last century’s political struggles. U Ottama and U
Wisara (both of whom starved themselves to death while in British prisons) were two leading
figures in the anti-colonial movement. the sangha also played a leading part during the 1988
and 2007 uprisings (see p.372 & p.376) – despite their revered status they suffered particularly
badly from military brutality, with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of monks being murdered
during the 1988 uprising (during which numerous government informers reportedly shaved
their heads and donned robes in an attempt to infiltrate the monastic orders and identify
protesters). their decision during the 2007 uprising to “overturn the alms bowl” (thabeik hmauk)
and refuse all offerings from the military – a kind of Buddhist version of excommunication
– served as a powerful, if ultimately unsuccessful, symbolic statement against military rule.
not all members of the sangha are irreproachably peaceful, however, as proved by the
influential 969 Movement and the more recently established Ma Ba Tha (Patriotic association
of myanmar), both of which have done their best to stoke Burmese islamophobia and inflame
anti-rohingya sentiment. the most prominent member of both groups is controversial monk
ashin Wirathu – dubbed the “Buddhist Bin laden” – who has been accused of inciting
anti-muslim riots and whipping up communal hatred, declaring (with reference to his muslim
fellow nationals) that “You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad
dog”. Wirathu’s political clout was considered such that even the all-conquering nld courted
his support during the 2015 elections, with 88-year-old party chairman and distingushed
pro-democracy activist tin oo himself kneeling in submission at the feet of the monk.

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