DOCSLIB.ORG

Bringing the Buddha Closer: the Role of Venerating the Buddha in The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bringing the Buddha Closer: the Role of Venerating the Buddha in The BRINGING THE BUDDHA CLOSER: THE ROLE OF VENERATING THE BUDDHA IN THE MODERNIZATION OF BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA by Soorakkulame Pemaratana BA, University of Peradeniya, 2001 MA, National University of Singapore, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2017 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Soorakkulame Pemaratana It was defended on March 24, 2017 and approved by Linda Penkower, PhD, Associate Professor, Religious Studies Joseph Alter, PhD, Professor, Anthropology Donald Sutton, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Religious Studies Dissertation Advisor: Clark Chilson, PhD, Associate Professor, Religious Studies ii Copyright © by Soorakkulame Pemaratana 2017 iii BRINGING THE BUDDHA CLOSER: THE ROLE OF VENERATING THE BUDDHA IN THE MODERNIZATION OF BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA Soorakkulame Pemaratana, PhD. University of Pittsburgh, 2017 The modernization of Buddhism in Sri Lanka since the late nineteenth century has been interpreted as imitating a Western model, particularly one similar to Protestant Christianity. This interpretation presents an incomplete narrative of Buddhist modernization because it ignores indigenous adaptive changes that served to modernize Buddhism. In particular, it marginalizes rituals and devotional practices as residuals of traditional Buddhism and fails to recognize the role of ritual practices in the modernization process. This dissertation attempts to enrich our understanding of modern and contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka by showing how the indigenous devotional ritual of venerating the Buddha known as Buddha-vandanā has been utilized by Buddhist groups in innovative ways to modernize their religion. Based on archival research of printed materials of the British colonial era (1815–1948) and ethnographic research of Buddha-vandanā in various venues, the dissertation shows that this traditional ritual was simplified, formalized, and promoted among laypeople through printed liturgical booklets during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Then later it was promoted in homes, schools, workplaces, and public spaces moving it beyond its traditional context in temples. In these new contexts, the ritual was utilized to enhance lay religious engagement, to train children in Buddhist behavioral forms, to reassert Buddhist identity of local communities, and to deal with mental stress. iv These novel utilizations of this ritual reveal that efforts of Sri Lankan Buddhists to modernize their religion were not limited to simply imitating or appropriating Western models. Moreover, these strategic uses of Buddha-vandanā show how rituals can be part of the process of modernization. By revealing unacknowledged methods for promoting Buddhism in modern times, this dissertation reveals that Sri Lankan Buddhists found their own distinctive ways of modernizing Buddhism that went beyond the Westernization paradigm. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. XII 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 MODELS FOR UNDERSTANDING BUDDHIST MODERNIZATION ....... 5 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .................................................................. 6 1.4 METHODS AND APPROACH ......................................................................... 17 1.5 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS........................................................................... 19 2.0 REVIVING THE BUDDHA: PROMOTING THE RITUAL OF VENERATION IN COLONIAL SRI LANKA ................................................................................................. 23 2.1 BUDDHA-VANDANĀ AND ITS PROMOTION THROUGH PRINT MEDIA.. ............................................................................................................... 26 2.2 FORMALIZATION OF THE LAY PRACTICE OF BUDDHA- VANDANĀ.. ........................................................................................................ 39 2.3 BUDDHA-VANDANĀ AS A SIGNIFIER OF BUDDHIST IDENTITY IN THE COLONIAL ERA................................................................................. 49 2.4 PROMOTING DEVOTIONAL BUDDHISM .................................................. 60 2.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 66 vi 3.0 LAY RELIGIOUS ACTIVISM AND DOMESTIC BUDDHA-VANDANĀ ................ 68 3.1 LAY RELIGIOUS ACTIVISM: REVIEW OF EXTANT SCHOLARSHIP….............................................................................................. 70 3.2 VENERATING BUDDHA AT HOME: AN OLD PRACTICE IN A NEW PLACE.. .............................................................................................................. 79 3.3 PROMOTING DOMESTIC BUDDHA-VANDANĀ ...................................... 87 3.4 NEW ICONS OF THE BUDDHA ..................................................................... 96 3.5 ENHANCING LAY RELIGIOUS ACTIVISM ............................................. 105 3.6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 136 4.0 BUDDHA FOR TRAINING: UTILIZATION OF BUDDHA-VANDANĀ IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL ................................................................ 138 4.1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SRI LANKAN SCHOOLS ....................................................................................... 141 4.2 THE PRACTICE OF BUDDHA-VANDANĀ IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ...... 146 4.3 LEARNING BY DOING .................................................................................. 163 4.4 INSTILLING DISCIPLINE IN MIND AND BODY ..................................... 169 4.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 175 5.0 BUDDHA IN THE MARKET PLACE: VENERATING THE BUDDHA IN PUBLIC PLACES ............................................................................................................................ 178 5.1 WIDESPREAD PRACTICE ........................................................................... 179 5.2 PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP .......................................................................... 180 5.3 PERCEIVED THREATS TO BUDDHISM ................................................... 186 5.4 RESPONSES AT THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS ..................... 193 vii 5.5 REASSERTING THE BUDDHIST IDENTITY OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES ............................................................................................... 196 5.6 INFLUENCING THE BUDDHIST PUBLIC ................................................. 211 5.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 222 6.0 BUDDHA-VANDANĀ AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING .............................. 223 6.1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT .............................................................................. 224 6.2 BUDDHIST MODERNISM AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING ..... 226 6.3 USE OF BUDDHA-VANDANĀ IN THE WORKPLACE ............................ 229 6.4 USE OF BUDDHA-VANDANĀ IN HOSPITALS AND TO DEAL WITH PHYSICAL AILMENTS .................................................................................. 238 6.5 USE OF BUDDHA-VANDANĀ IN PRISONS .............................................. 243 6.6 BUDDHA-VANDANĀ AS POSITIVE INTERVENTION IN COUNSELING .................................................................................................. 247 6.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 252 7.0 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 253 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 262 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 263 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 264 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Distribution of responsibilities of Buddha-vandanā among members of the Abeyratna family from Kuliyapitiya ............................................................................................................ 121 Table 2. Distribution of responsibilities of Buddha-vandanā among members of the Alahokon family from Maharagama ........................................................................................................... 123 Table 3. List of schools studied .................................................................................................. 262 Table 4. List of public shrines studied ........................................................................................ 263 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Altar of the Kudabanda family, Thalawa ...................................................................... 97 Figure 2: Buddha Image on the altar of the Publis family, Tissawa ............................................. 97 Figure 3: Altar of the Senanayaka family, Boralesgamuwa ....................................................... 103 Figure 4: Altar of the Liyanage
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Holidays Religion in China
    Holidays all passion, hatred, and delusion die out and the soul is released from the body. Buddha also understood the CHINA Chinese traditional holidays are calculated according constant motion of the universe and that everything in to the lunar calendar. Here are some national holidays it is subject to birth and decay. This motion is part of celebrated in China: the Dharma, the laws of nature. One of these laws is of January/February* cause and consequence, or karma, which implies that Spring Festival all actions have a corresponding effect. In essence, the March 8 force generated by a person’s actions is a determining International Women’s Day factor in the nature of his/her next life. Buddhism May 1 emphasizes five regimens: striving not to kill, not to Labor Day steal, not to engage in sexual misconduct, not to speak June 1 falsehoods, and not to use drugs. Buddhist holidays Children’s Day include Bodhi Day (December 8), which celebrates the October 1 enlightenment of Buddha under the Bodhi tree; Buddha National Day Day (April 8), which commemorates the birth of Gautama in Lumbini Garden; and Wesak (April/May), the holiest *date varies of Buddhist holy days, which celebrates Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death. Religion in China Population 1.4 billion Christians are followers of Jesus, a carpenter and a Jew China is a primarily Buddhist country. Roughly 3 percent from the city of Nazareth in present-day Israel. Christians Capital City Beijing of the population are Christian, and the remaining 1 believe that Jesus is the only son of God, born of a virgin Official Language Standard Chinese or Mandarin percent is Muslim.
    [Show full text]
  • Materials of Buddhist Culture: Aesthetics and Cosmopolitanism at Mindroling Monastery
    Materials of Buddhist Culture: Aesthetics and Cosmopolitanism at Mindroling Monastery Dominique Townsend Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 Dominique Townsend All rights reserved ABSTRACT Materials of Buddhist Culture: Aesthetics and Cosmopolitanism at Mindroling Monastery Dominique Townsend This dissertation investigates the relationships between Buddhism and culture as exemplified at Mindroling Monastery. Focusing on the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, I argue that Mindroling was a seminal religio-cultural institution that played a key role in cultivating the ruling elite class during a critical moment of Tibet’s history. This analysis demonstrates that the connections between Buddhism and high culture have been salient throughout the history of Buddhism, rendering the project relevant to a broad range of fields within Asian Studies and the Study of Religion. As the first extensive Western-language study of Mindroling, this project employs an interdisciplinary methodology combining historical, sociological, cultural and religious studies, and makes use of diverse Tibetan sources. Mindroling was founded in 1676 with ties to Tibet’s nobility and the Fifth Dalai Lama’s newly centralized government. It was a center for elite education until the twentieth century, and in this regard it was comparable to a Western university where young members of the nobility spent two to four years training in the arts and sciences and being shaped for positions of authority. This comparison serves to highlight commonalities between distant and familiar educational models and undercuts the tendency to diminish Tibetan culture to an exoticized imagining of Buddhism as a purely ascetic, world renouncing tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from the ACCORD As the “Saviours”, and Darfurians Negatively As Only Just the “Survivors”
    CONTENTS EDITORIAL 2 by Vasu Gounden FEATURES 3 Paramilitary Groups and National Security: A Comparison Between Colombia and Sudan by Jerónimo Delgådo Caicedo 13 The Path to Economic and Political Emancipation in Sri Lanka by Muttukrishna Sarvananthan 23 Symbiosis of Peace and Development in Kashmir: An Imperative for Conflict Transformation by Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra 31 Conflict Induced Displacement: The Pandits of Kashmir by Seema Shekhawat 38 United Nations Presence in Haiti: Challenges of a Multidimensional Peacekeeping Mission by Eduarda Hamann 46 Resurgent Gorkhaland: Ethnic Identity and Autonomy by Anupma Kaushik BOOK 55 Saviours and Survivors: Darfur, Politics and the REVIEW War on Terror by Karanja Mbugua This special issue of Conflict Trends has sought to provide a platform for perspectives from the developing South. The idea emanates from ACCORD's mission to promote dialogue for the purpose of resolving conflicts and building peace. By introducing a few new contributors from Asia and Latin America, the editorial team endeavoured to foster a wider conversation on the way that conflict is evolving globally and to encourage dialogue among practitioners and academics beyond Africa. The contributions featured in this issue record unique, as well as common experiences, in conflict and conflict resolution. Finally, ACCORD would like to acknowledge the University of Uppsala's Department of Peace and Conflict Research (DPCR). Some of the contributors to this special issue are former participants in the department's Top-Level Seminars on Peace and Security, a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) advanced international training programme. conflict trends I 1 EDITORIAL BY VASU GOUNDEN In the autumn of November 1989, a German continually construct walls in the name of security; colleague in Washington DC invited several of us walls that further divide us from each other so that we to an impromptu celebration to mark the collapse have even less opportunity to know, understand and of Germany’s Berlin Wall.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on Ethnic Crisis and Newspaper Media Performance in Sri Lanka (Related to Selected Newspaper Media from April of 1983 to September of 1983)
    IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 23, Issue 1, Ver. 8 (January. 2018) PP 25-33 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org A Study on Ethnic Crisis and Newspaper Media performance in Sri Lanka (Related to selected Newspaper media from April of 1983 to September of 1983) Assistant Lecturer Sarasi Chaya Bandara Department of Political Science University of Kelaniya Kelaniya Corresponding Author: Assistant Lecturer Sarasi Chaya Bandara Abstract: The strong contribution denoted by media, in order to create various psychological printings to contemporary folk consciousness within a chaotic society which is consist of an ethnic conflict is extremely unique. Knowingly or unknowingly media has directly influenced on intensification of ethnic conflict which was the greatest calamity in the country inherited to a more than three decades history. At the end of 1970th decade, the newspaper became as the only media which is more familiar and which can heavily influence on public. The incident that the brutal murder of 13 military officers becoming victims of terrorists on 23rd of 1983 can be identified as a decisive turning point within the ethnic conflict among Sinhalese and Tamils. The local newspaper reporting on this case guided to an ethnical distance among Sinhalese and Tamils. It is expected from this investigation, to identify the newspaper reporting on the case of assassination of 13 military officers on 23rd of July 1983 and to investigate whether that the government and privet newspaper media installations manipulated their own media reporting accordingly to professional ethics and media principles. The data has investigative presented based on primary and secondary data under the case study method related with selected newspapers published on July of 1983, It will be surely proven that journalists did not acted to guide the folk consciousness as to grow ethnical cordiality and mutual trust.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER 4 Perspective of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1 Identification of the Colombo Metropolitan Area
    Urban Transport System Development Project for Colombo Metropolitan Region and Suburbs CoMTrans UrbanTransport Master Plan Final Report CHAPTER 4 Perspective of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1 Identification of the Colombo Metropolitan Area 4.1.1 Definition The Western Province is the most developed province in Sri Lanka and is where the administrative functions and economic activities are concentrated. At the same time, forestry and agricultural lands still remain, mainly in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the province. And also, there are some local urban centres which are less dependent on Colombo. These areas have less relation with the centre of Colombo. The Colombo Metropolitan Area is defined in order to analyse and assess future transport demands and formulate a master plan. For this purpose, Colombo Metropolitan Area is defined by: A) areas that are already urbanised and those to be urbanised by 2035, and B) areas that are dependent on Colombo. In an urbanised area, urban activities, which are mainly commercial and business activities, are active and it is assumed that demand for transport is high. People living in areas dependent on Colombo area assumed to travel to Colombo by some transport measures. 4.1.2 Factors to Consider for Future Urban Structures In order to identify the CMA, the following factors are considered. These factors will also define the urban structure, which is described in Section 4.3. An effective transport network will be proposed based on the urban structure as well as the traffic demand. At the same time, the new transport network proposed will affect the urban structure and lead to urban development.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAP 9 Sri Lanka
    79o 00' 79o 30' 80o 00' 80o 30' 81o 00' 81o 30' 82o 00' Kankesanturai Point Pedro A I Karaitivu I. Jana D Peninsula N Kayts Jana SRI LANKA I Palk Strait National capital Ja na Elephant Pass Punkudutivu I. Lag Provincial capital oon Devipattinam Delft I. Town, village Palk Bay Kilinochchi Provincial boundary - Puthukkudiyiruppu Nanthi Kadal Main road Rameswaram Iranaitivu Is. Mullaittivu Secondary road Pamban I. Ferry Vellankulam Dhanushkodi Talaimannar Manjulam Nayaru Lagoon Railroad A da m' Airport s Bridge NORTHERN Nedunkeni 9o 00' Kokkilai Lagoon Mannar I. Mannar Puliyankulam Pulmoddai Madhu Road Bay of Bengal Gulf of Mannar Silavatturai Vavuniya Nilaveli Pankulam Kebitigollewa Trincomalee Horuwupotana r Bay Medawachchiya diya A d o o o 8 30' ru 8 30' v K i A Karaitivu I. ru Hamillewa n a Mutur Y Pomparippu Anuradhapura Kantalai n o NORTH CENTRAL Kalpitiya o g Maragahewa a Kathiraveli L Kal m a Oy a a l a t t Puttalam Kekirawa Habarane u 8o 00' P Galgamuwa 8o 00' NORTH Polonnaruwa Dambula Valachchenai Anamaduwa a y O Mundal Maho a Chenkaladi Lake r u WESTERN d Batticaloa Naula a M uru ed D Ganewatta a EASTERN g n Madura Oya a G Reservoir Chilaw i l Maha Oya o Kurunegala e o 7 30' w 7 30' Matale a Paddiruppu h Kuliyapitiya a CENTRAL M Kehelula Kalmunai Pannala Kandy Mahiyangana Uhana Randenigale ya Amparai a O a Mah Reservoir y Negombo Kegalla O Gal Tirrukkovil Negombo Victoria Falls Reservoir Bibile Senanayake Lagoon Gampaha Samudra Ja-Ela o a Nuwara Badulla o 7 00' ng 7 00' Kelan a Avissawella Eliya Colombo i G Sri Jayewardenepura
    [Show full text]
  • Membership Register MBR0009
    LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP REGISTER SUMMARY THE CLUBS AND MEMBERSHIP FIGURES REFLECT CHANGES AS OF JUNE 2020 CLUB CLUB LAST MMR FCL YR MEMBERSHI P CHANGES TOTAL DIST IDENT NBR CLUB NAME COUNTRY STATUS RPT DATE OB NEW RENST TRANS DROPS NETCG MEMBERS 3856 025584 BORELLA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 03-2020 26 1 0 0 -4 -3 23 3856 025597 KANDANA JAELA L C REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 49 1 0 0 -5 -4 45 3856 025600 KURUNEGALA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 05-2020 50 3 1 0 -2 2 52 3856 029171 ANURADHAPURA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 30 1 1 0 -6 -4 26 3856 030993 KELANIYA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 67 6 0 0 -11 -5 62 3856 032143 RAGAMA WELISARA L C REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 05-2020 25 3 0 0 0 3 28 3856 032755 GRANDPASS REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 34 0 0 0 -7 -7 27 3856 032834 KELANI VALLEY REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 25 0 0 0 -6 -6 19 3856 034781 BIYAGAMA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 44 0 0 0 -1 -1 43 3856 040381 COLOMBO METROPOLITAN REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 21 1 0 0 0 1 22 3856 041218 COLOMBO CITY REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 32 4 0 0 -1 3 35 3856 045198 AVISSAWELLA SEETHAWAKE REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 17 0 0 0 -2 -2 15 3856 045308 COLOMBO ORIENT REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 05-2020 20 0 0 0 0 0 20 3856 046089 COLOMBO KHETTARAMA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 11 0 0 0 -2 -2 9 3856 046090 GAMPAHA METRO REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 44 0 1 0 -5 -4 40 3856 046091 KULIYAPITIYA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020 34 1 0 0 -2 -1 33 3856 046196 KADAWATHA REP OF SRI LANKA 306 B2 4 06-2020
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Buddhist-Muslim Conflict in Asia and Possibilities for Transformation by Iselin Frydenlund
    Policy Brief December 2015 The rise of Buddhist-Muslim conflict in Asia and possibilities for transformation By Iselin Frydenlund Executive summary Violence against Muslim minorities in Buddhist societies has increased in recent years. The Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar are disenfranchised, and many of their candidates were rejected by the official Union Election Commission prior to the 2015 elections. Furthermore laws about religious conversion, missionary activities, and interfaith marriage are being pro- moted to control relations between religions and prevent conflict. The danger, however, is that increased control will lead to more, not fewer, conflicts. Discrimination against religious minorities may lead to radicalisation. In addition minority-majority relations in a single state may have regional consequences because a minority in one state can be the majority in another, and there is an increasing trend for co-religionists in different countries to support each other. Thus protection of religious minorities is not only a question of freedom of religion and basic human rights; it also affects security and peacebuilding in the whole region. Anti- Muslim violence and political exclusion of Muslim minorities take place in the wake of in- creased Buddhist nationalism. This policy brief identifies local as well as global drivers for Buddhist-Muslim conflict and the rise of Buddhist nationalism. It then shows how Buddhist- Muslim conflict can be addressed, most importantly through the engagement of local religious leaders. Introduction Buddhist countries are generally at risk of persecution. But Attacks on Muslim minorities in Buddhist countries have weak state protection of Muslim communities leaves these escalated in recent years (OHCHR, 2014).
    [Show full text]
  • FPMT Retreat Prayer Book Changes
    FPMT Retreat Prayer Book Changes 8/15/2009 After the 100 Million Mani Retreat at Institut Vajra Yogini in France, Education Services received a list of corrections to the FPMT Retreat Prayer Book. These changes are listed below, with the corresponding text included for each change. You may simply mark the changes in your existing copy with a pen, or may print these pages and cut out the corresponding sections and tape them over the mistaken passages in your prayer book. Retreat Prayer Books purchased from Kadampa Center for the Light of the Path retreat already include these changes and do not need to be corrected. For those who may be daunted by adjusting your current copy, new copies may be purchased from Kadampa Center. PAGE 17 Remove the title Inner Mandala Offering. According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings, this is not an inner mandala offering. There is no replacement title for this prayer. PAGE 29 Replace the subtitle Visualization with the subtitle: How to Meditate Before the Practice PAGE 31 After the end of the first full paragraph, add the subtitle (the paragraph under the new title has not changed, but is included here for convenience): How to Meditate During the Practice Think that each one of these buddhas is the embodiment of all three times ten directions Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and all statues, stupas, and scriptures. Think they embody all holy objects, whose essence is the Guru. Have complete faith that each one has the power to purify all your negative karmas and imprints, accumulated since beginningless time.
    [Show full text]
  • 29 Complaints Against Newspapers
    29 complaints against newspapers PCCS, Colombo, 07.06.2007 The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka had received 29 complaints against newspapers during the first quarter of this year of which the commission had dealt with. A statement by the commission on its activities is as follows: The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka (PCCSL) was established three and a half years ago (Oct. 2003) by the media to resolve disputes between the press, and the public speedily and cost-effectively, for both, the press and the public, outside the statutory Press Council and the regular courts system. We hope that the PCCSL has made things easier for editors and journalists to dispose of public complaints on matters published in your newspapers, and at no costs incurred in the retention of lawyers etc. In a bid to have more transparency in the work of the Dispute Resolution Council of the PCCSL, the Commission decided to publish the records of the complaints it has received. Complaints summary from January - April 2007 January PCCSL/001/01/2007: Thinakkural (daily) — File closed. PCCSL/OO2/O1/2007: Lakbima (daily)— Goes for mediation. PCCSL/003 Divaina (daily)- Resolved. PGCSL/004/01 /2007: Mawbima — Resolved. (“Right of reply” sent direct to newspaper by complainant). PCCSL/005/01/2007: Lakbima (Sunday) — Goes for mediation. February PCCSL/OO 1/02/2007: The Island (daily) — File closed. PCCSL/O02/02/2007: Divaina (daily) — File closed. F’CCSL/003/02/2007: Lakbima (daily) File closed. PCCSL/004/02/2007: Divaina (daily)— File closed. PCCSL/005/02/2007: Priya (Tamil weekly) — Not valid.
    [Show full text]
  • Myanmar Buddhism of the Pagan Period
    MYANMAR BUDDHISM OF THE PAGAN PERIOD (AD 1000-1300) BY WIN THAN TUN (MA, Mandalay University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2002 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the people who have contributed to the successful completion of this thesis. First of all, I wish to express my gratitude to the National University of Singapore which offered me a 3-year scholarship for this study. I wish to express my indebtedness to Professor Than Tun. Although I have never been his student, I was taught with his book on Old Myanmar (Khet-hoà: Mranmâ Râjawaà), and I learnt a lot from my discussions with him; and, therefore, I regard him as one of my teachers. I am also greatly indebted to my Sayas Dr. Myo Myint and Professor Han Tint, and friends U Ni Tut, U Yaw Han Tun and U Soe Kyaw Thu of Mandalay University for helping me with the sources I needed. I also owe my gratitude to U Win Maung (Tampavatî) (who let me use his collection of photos and negatives), U Zin Moe (who assisted me in making a raw map of Pagan), Bob Hudson (who provided me with some unpublished data on the monuments of Pagan), and David Kyle Latinis for his kind suggestions on writing my early chapters. I’m greatly indebted to Cho Cho (Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, NUS) for providing me with some of the drawings: figures 2, 22, 25, 26 and 38.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gandavyuha-Sutra : a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative
    The Gandavyuha-sutra : a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative Douglas Edward Osto Thesis for a Doctor of Philosophy Degree School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2004 1 ProQuest Number: 10673053 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673053 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract The Gandavyuha-sutra: a Study of Wealth, Gender and Power in an Indian Buddhist Narrative In this thesis, I examine the roles of wealth, gender and power in the Mahay ana Buddhist scripture known as the Gandavyuha-sutra, using contemporary textual theory, narratology and worldview analysis. I argue that the wealth, gender and power of the spiritual guides (kalyanamitras , literally ‘good friends’) in this narrative reflect the social and political hierarchies and patterns of Buddhist patronage in ancient Indian during the time of its compilation. In order to do this, I divide the study into three parts. In part I, ‘Text and Context’, I first investigate what is currently known about the origins and development of the Gandavyuha, its extant manuscripts, translations and modern scholarship.
    [Show full text]