The buddhist world of Southeast Asia Second Edition Donald K. Swearer The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia SUNY series in Religious Studies Harold Coward, editor The BUDDHIST WORLD of Southeast Asia Second Edition Donald K. Swearer Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2010 State University of New York Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Robert Puchalik Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Swearer, Donald K., 1934- The Buddhist world of Southeast Asia / Donal K. Swearer. — 2nd ed. p. cm. — (SUNY series in religious studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-3251-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4384-3250-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Buddhism—Social aspects—Southeast Asia. I. Title. BQ410.S93 2010 294.3’370959—dc22 2009039613 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In memory of Kenneth K. S. Ch’en and Singkha Wannasi, mentors and friends Contents Preface to the Second Edition..........ix Acknowledgments ............xiii Introduction ..............xv PART I. THE POPULAR TRADITION ...... 1 Ideal Action ............. 4 Ritual Occasions, Merit, and the Appropriation of Power . 17 Festivals ..............37 Rites of Passage ............ 50 PART II. BUDDHISM AND THE STATE ...... 71 Asoka, the Exemplary Buddhist Ruler ....... 72 Kings and Cosmology...........82 The Cosmological Scheme of the Three Worlds.....101 The Buddha as Cosmocrator .........104 Modern Nationalism and Buddhism .......109 PART III. BUDDHISM AND MODERNIZATION . 129 The Changing Role of the Monk ........130 Reforming the Tradition..........159 The Changing Role of the Laity ........177 Women and Buddhism ..........190 Buddhism and the West ..........197 Postscript..............203 viii the buddhist world of southeast asia Appendix 1 H^\°aV`VHjiiV: Code of Lay Ethics .....205 Appendix 2 Borobudur ...........208 Notes ...............211 Glossary ...............253 Bibliography ..............262 Index ................287 Preface to the Second Edition I]Z7jYY]^hiLdgaYd[Hdji]ZVhi6h^V is the result of my observation and long-term study of Theravada Buddhism. My interest in Buddhism began as a result of personal experience. In the late 1950s I spent two years in Bangkok, Thailand, where I lived in a Buddhist culture and taught at a Christian college and a Buddhist monastic university. Since that time I have spent several sabbatical leaves in Thailand with shorter stays or visits in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Although my understanding of Buddhism has benefited from the work of scholars from different disciplines, this mono- graph also reflects my personal experience in Thailand and Southeast Asia. This experience is informed by teaching in the liberal arts college classroom, the primary context in which I have spent most of my academic career. My approach to Buddhism, especially its expression in Thailand, is a multidis- ciplinary approach integrated with a personal appreciation of its depth of meaning and diversity of expression. This monograph is written for readers who wish to study Buddhism, not simply as a normative doctrinal system, but as a historically and culturally contextualized religious tradition, or to put it another way, Buddhism as a lived tradition. This study of Buddhism offers a broad, holistic analysis of the Buddhist tradition as it has been shaped within the historical and cultural milieu of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. Diverse forms of Buddhism took root in Southeast Asia, but from the twelfth centuryC.E ., the branch of Buddhism known as Theravada or “Teaching of the Elders,” with its extensive and diverse scriptural canon written in the Pali language, gradually assumed a dominate religious and cultural role.1 Historical evidence from major archaeological ix x the buddhist world of southeast asia sites as well as contemporary Buddhist rituals demonstrate the influence of Hinayana, Mahayana, and Tantrayana forms of Buddhism, which also incorporated Brahmanical and Hindu elements. It must be kept in mind, furthermore, that the forms of Buddhism and Hinduism that took root in Sri Lanka and in insular and mainland Southeast Asia, grew in diverse cultural soils already enriched by various indigenous belief systems from the Sinhalese, Burmese, Tai,2 Lao, and Khmer peoples. We must reject the notion that there existed in mainland Southeast Asia any kind of Theravada Pali “orthodoxy”; this is an ahistorical projection, first constructed by monks of the Sinhalese Mahavihara monastic lineage and subsequently perpetuated in the modern period by both Buddhist adherents and Western scholars. Today, Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia mirrors the rich diversity of its variegated historical and cultural development. In one sense this monograph provides a demonstration of this claim. My use of the term, Theravada Buddhism, therefore, encompasses this sense of the richness and diversity of the tradition. A problem adheres to the use of the word, bdc`. Frequently, Buddhist scholars construct the Buddhist monk as a rational renouncer who single- mindedly walks the Buddha’s path toward enlightenment (nibbana). They either ignore or are oblivious to the multiple roles played by the monk, not just in the present day, but also throughout Buddhist history. The word, monk, is further problematized because it has been gendered as male, requir- ing that the female “monk” be identified as “nun.”3 In Theravada Buddhism the community of Buddhists is divided into four groups—male and female renunciants or almspersons (bhikkhu and bhikkhuni), and their male and female lay supporters (jeVhV`V and jeVh^`V). Although it is an oversimpli- fication, it may be said that both men and women who joined the Buddha’s order or sangha were fundamentally alike in the sense that they shared the common designation of “almspersons.” I shall use monk in this inclusive sense, although in specific contexts, I shall refer to male almspersons, female renuncients, or for clarity, simply monks and nuns. In parts 1 and 3 of the monograph, specific historical and contemporary issues of women and Bud- dhism will be explored. My use of the word, monk, therefore, acknowledges the buddhist world of southeast asia xi both gender distinction and the historical diversity of roles played by Bud- dhist almspersons. Dramatic changes have occurred in the Buddhist world of Southeast Asia since the first edition of this monograph appeared in 1995. The perva- sive effect of globalization has further intensified the transformation of the world’s political economies, cultures, and societies. Mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos) and Sri Lanka, which share the teachings, practices, and monastic institutions of Theravada Buddhism, have also been transformed. Despite the significant differences that pertain among these countries where Theravada Buddhism is the dominant religion, Buddhism continues to be a major factor in their politics, economies, and cultural identities. The neo-Marxian and secular-liberal predictions of the withering away of religion have been proved false, whether the reference is Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, or—in the case of this monograph—Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. For example, Buddhism is being revived in Cambodia; new monastic and lay movements are flourishing in Thailand; Buddhist monks are actively involved in the political conflict current in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. These are hopeful signs of a vigorous, vital Buddhism, not of a moribund religion. Hopeful signs notwithstanding, overall Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka faces an uncertain future. Will the Buddhist institutions in these countries, their teaching and practices, continue to inform the cultural identities of the Thai, Burmese, Lao, Khmer, and Sinhalese, or will they fail to adapt sufficiently to the changing material realities of their increasingly globalized societies and, hence, become largely irrelevant to daily life’s circumstances? The complexity of the many worlds of Theravada Buddhism defies any easy generalization about its future and challenges any predictions. As this monograph demonstrates, Buddhism is not one “world” in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka, but many different worlds. It is this very diversity and adaptability that has contributed to its enduring influence. What will the future hold? Certainly for its continuing viability, it will require an even greater degree of flexibility xii the buddhist world of southeast asia and adaptability while at the same time retaining those principles and values that have informed, inspired, and challenged the lives of its adherents. This revised and expanded edition of I]Z7jYY]^hiLdgaYd[Hdji]ZVhi6h^V includes numerous additions and changes. Part 3 has been greatly expanded to take into account some of the most significant developments that have occurred within the Buddhist world of Southeast Asia since 1995. Major additions have also been made to the Ideal Action section