UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Multiculturalism, Ethnicity, Religious Identity and the 1.5 and Second Generation in Two Los Angeles-Area Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0tf5k9m6 Author TILLAKARATNE, MIHIRI Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Multiculturalism, Ethnicity, Religious Identity and the 1.5 and Second Generation in Two Los Angeles-Area Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Asian American Studies by Mihiri Uthpala Tillakaratne 2012 © Copyright Mihiri Uthpala Tillakaratne 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Multiculturalism, Ethnicity, Religious Identity, and the 1.5 and Second Generation in Two Los Angeles-Area Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples by Mihiri Uthpala Tillakaratne Master of Arts in Asian American Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor Purnima Mankekar, Chair ABSTRACT: This qualitative study examines religious engagement and ethnic and religious identity formation in 1.5 and second generation Sri Lankan American young people at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihāra and the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center, two Sri Lankan Sinhala Theravāda Buddhist temples in the greater Los Angeles area. This study analyzes data from participant observation at 3 temples, 10 in-depth interviews, and a survey of 50 respondents. It explores the two different approaches these temples take toward their noncoethnic congregation and the 1.5 and second generation: cultural reconstitution and cultural preservation. Specifically, the study considers these generations’ varied temple experiences, relationships with clergy, and negotiations of multiple layered identities. Ultimately, regardless of self-labels, 1.5 and second generation’s views on self-identity participate in different types of resistance: resistance as pride in their difference, resistance against a mainstream American identity, and resistance against being racialized as Other. ii The thesis of Mihiri Uthpala Tillakaratne is approved. Thu-Huong Nguyen-Vo Min Zhou Purnima Mankekar, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2012 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 1 The Sri Lankan Population in America ...................................................................................... 3 Interrogating My Role as Insider .............................................................................................. 10 Religion, Temples, and the 1.5 and Second Generation........................................................... 14 American Buddhism ................................................................................................................. 16 My Intervention and Thesis Goals............................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY............................................................................................ 21 Participant Observation............................................................................................................. 21 Interviews.................................................................................................................................. 23 Surveys...................................................................................................................................... 25 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 27 CHAPTER 3: MULTICULTURAL CONGREGATIONS AND APPROACHES TO THE 1.5 AND SECOND GENERATION.......................................................................................... 30 Dharma Vijaya: Cultural Reconstitution in a Multicultural Religious Context ...................... 31 Location ................................................................................................................................ 31 The Politics of Clergy, Adaptation, and Women................................................................... 32 Dharma Vijaya as a Multicultural Site: Physical and Social Effects.................................. 36 Multiculturalism and the 1.5 and Second Generation.......................................................... 40 Passing the Torch, Contradictions, and the Future of Buddhism......................................... 48 Sarathchandra Buddhist Center: Cultural Preservation in a Multicultural Meditation Context ................................................................................................................................................... 50 Sarathchandra Center as a Multicultural Site: Location, Ordination, and Multicultural Meditation............................................................................................................................. 54 Sarathchandra Buddhist Center Approach to Second Generation....................................... 59 Comparisons ............................................................................................................................. 62 Coethnic and Noncoethnic Community Orientation............................................................. 62 Second Generation Assessments: Celebrations, Knowledge, Appearances, and Monks .... 67 CHAPTER 4: 1.5 AND SECOND GENERATION RELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT AND ETHNIC IDENTITY.................................................................................................................. 71 Temple Experience: Religious Engagement, Traditional and Familial Spaces, and Clergy .... 74 Who is a Buddhist? Views on Noncoethnic Congregation...................................................... 82 Self-Identity as Resistance: On Being Different...................................................................... 87 What “Sri Lankan” and “Sri Lanka” Means ....................................................................... 87 Self-Identity as Pride in Being Uniquely Sri Lankan............................................................ 89 Self-Identity as Resistance to Mainstream America ............................................................. 92 Self-Identity as Resistance to Being Racialized as Other ..................................................... 94 Encounters and Looking Towards the Future: the Convergence of Sri Lankan and Buddhist Identity ...................................................................................................................................... 96 The Next Generation............................................................................................................... 101 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 105 GLOSSARY............................................................................................................................... 111 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................... 112 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my committee members, Drs. Purnima Mankekar, Thu-Huong Nguyen-Vo, and Min Zhou, for their patience, understanding, and compassion during this process. I truly appreciate all of the monks at the Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihāra and the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center, for their generosity. I would like to especially acknowledge Bhante Piyananda, Bhante Kolitha, and Bhante Siriniwasa for allowing me to conduct research at their temples, and Bhante Kalyanawansa, Bhante Dhammajoti, Cynthia Shimazu, and the lay ministers who let me sit in on their classes. I am also grateful to all the monks, nuns, and laity at both temples for many hours of both humorous and profound conversation. Thank you to all of the 1.5 and second generation Sri Lankan Americans who spoke with me informally, responded to my online survey, and who were willing to speak with me for in- depth interviews. Your honesty, thoughtfulness, and passion lift my spirits, and I hope I have done justice to your words. To the UCLA Asian American Studies classes of 2012 and 2013: You are all inspirations, and I could not have asked for a more intelligent, caring, pragmatic, hilarious, and generally wonderful group of people to share this academic and personal journey with. To my parents, for their endless courage and unconditional love - I truly could not do this without you. Finally and most importantly, to both temples’ current daham pāsala children and young people: You are all amazing. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This study illustrates how temples, in running a congregation in America, are spaces that shape ethnic and religious identity. In examining how 1.5 and second generation Sri Lankan Americans in Southern California interact with their ethnic identity, religion, and religious spaces, I begin with the assumption that religious institutions are also social institutions, both in the homeland and in the immigrant community in America. However, these institutions take on a particularly significant role in the lives of immigrants, especially in the lives of the younger generation born and raised in America. Despite the decades-long history of Sri Lankans in America, there has been little academic