Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious - Volume 7

193 Pages·2004·8.382 MB·English

by  Paul Williams

BUDDHISM
Critical Concepts in Religious Studies
Edited by Paul Williams
Volume VII
Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia
~~ ~~o~~~~n~~~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2005
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
Editorial material and selection © 2005 Paul Williams; individual owners
retain copyright in their own material
Typeset in Times by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-415-33226-5 (Set)
ISBN 0-415-33233-8 (Volume VII)
Publisher's Note
References within each chapter are as they appear in the original complete
work.
CONTENTS
VOLUME VII BUDDHISM IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
Acknowledgements vii
88 The female renunciants of Sri Lanka: the Dasasilamattawa 1
LOWELL W. BLOSS
89 "Merit transference" in Sinhalese Buddhism: a case study
of the interaction between doctrine and practice 20
RICHARD GOMBRICH
90 Narrative, sub-ethics, and the moral life: some evidence
from Theravada Buddhism 34
CHARLES HALLISEY AND ANNE HANSEN
91 Buddhism and law: the view from Mandalay 54
ANDREW HUXLEY
92 The Great Tradition and the Little in the perspective of
Sinhalese Buddhism 93
GANANATH OBEYESEKERE
93 Dhamma in dispute: the interactions of religion and law in
Thailand 111
FRANK E. REYNOLDS
94 The 32 myos in the medieval Mon kingdom 129
H.L. SHORTO
v
CONTENTS
95 Buddhist law according to the Theravada-Vinaya: a survey
of theory and practice 149
OSKAR VON HINUBER
96 Buddhist law according to the Theravada-Vinaya (II): some
additions and corrections 181
OSKAR VON HINUBER
Vl
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Volume VII
The publishers would like to thank the following for permission to reprint their
material.
The International Association of Buddhist Studies for permission to reprint
Lowell W. Bloss, 'The female renunciants of Sri Lanka: the Dasasilamattawa',
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 10, 1, 1987,
pp. 7-32.
University of Chicago Press for permissiOn to reprint Richard Gombrich,
'"Merit transference" in Sinhalese Buddhism: a case study of the interaction
between doctrine and practice', History ofR eligions 11, 2, 1971, pp. 203-19.
Blackwell Publishing for permission to reprint Charles Hallisey and Anne
Hansen, 'Narrative, sub-ethics, and the moral life: some evidence from
Theravada Buddhism', Journal ofR eligious Ethics 24, 2, 1996, pp. 305-27.
The International Association of Buddhist Studies for permission to reprint
Andrew Huxley, 'Buddhism and law: the view from Mandalay', Journal of the
International Association ofB uddhist Studies 18, 1, 1995, pp. 47-95.
The Association for Asian Studies, Inc., for permission to reprint Gananath
Obeyesekere, 'The Great Tradition and the Little in the perspective of Sinhalese
Buddhism', Journal ofA sian Studies 12, 2, 1963, pp. 139-53.
Blackwell Publishing for permission to reprint Frank E. Reynolds, 'Dhamma in
dispute: the interactions of religion and law in Thailand', Law and Society
Review 28, 3, 1994, pp. 433-51.
Cambridge University Press for permission to reprint H.L. Shorto, 'The 32 myos
in the medieval Mon kingdom', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 26, 3, 1963, pp. 572-91. © School of Oriental and African Studies,
reproduced with permission.
The International Association of Buddhist Studies for permission to reprint
Oskar Von Hiniiber, 'Buddhist law according to the Theravada-Vinaya: a survey
Vll
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
of theory and practice', Journal of the International Association of Buddhist
Studies 18, 1, 1995, pp. 7-45.
The International Association of Buddhist Studies for permission to reprint
Oskar Von Hiniiber, 'Buddhist law according to the Theravada-Vinaya (II):
some additions and corrections', Journal of the International Association of
Buddhist Studies 20, 2, 1997, pp. 87-92.
Disclaimer
The publishers have made every effort to contact authors/copyright holders of
works reprinted in Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies. This has
not been possible in every case, however, and we would welcome correspon
dence from those individuals/companies whom we have been unable to trace.
viii
88
THE FEMALE RENUNCIANTS OF
SRI LANKA
The dasasilamattawa
Lowell W. Bloss
Source: Journal of the International Association ofB uddhist Studies 10, 1 (1987): 7-32.
Scholars of contemporary Theravada Buddhism in South and South East Asia
have noted the significant changes in lay beliefs and practices as well as monas
tic reforms that have taken place since the late 19th century.' Yet, within their
studies of this modem Theravada reformation very little attention has been paid
to the growth in prestige and numbers of Theravada Buddhist renunciant
women. The growth of orders of these robe clad, shaven headed women known
as dasasilmattawa, mae chi and the/a shin respectively in Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Burma reflect the changes in Theravada Buddhism and provide an important
piece of the puzzle for understanding this reformation. This is particularly true
of the dasasilmattawa movement of Sri Lanka, the youngest and most rapidly
growing and changing of these movements of Buddhist female renunciants.
Initially, this study will document the history of the dasasilmattawa move
ment from its beginnings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to its impres
sive growth in the 1950s. Focusing on three key dasasilmattawas (= dsms),
Sisters Sudharmachari, Mawichari and Sudharma, this history shows how this
movement has affinities and differences with "Protestant Buddhism" and relates
to both the vipassanii meditation movement and the growth of the forest
dwelling monastaries. After providing a history of this movement the study turns
to an assessment of the contemporary status of the dsms as seen from the points
of view of the members of this movement as well as from monk and lay per
spectives. It will be suggested that the laity's respect for a more renunciant style
of life than that of the village or city monks and the increasing popularity of
vipassanii meditation accounts for the growing prestige of the dsms.
BUDDHISM IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
I. History of the dasasilmattawa movement
In his book published in 1892 R. S. Copleston describes men and women in
white who have taken the ten precepts or dasasil. He reports:
... there are few men of this profession, but a considerable number of
women, generally old, are to be seen about the temples, especially in
Kandy, or on the way to Adam's peak. They carry bowls as if for
begging, and their shaven heads and dirty dresses give them a pathetic
appearance, and one who had read the books would naturally suppose
them to be nuns. Female mendicants they are, but they have not been
admitted to the Community, and therefore are not called 'bhikkhul)ls,'
but only 'upadikas.' (lay women)2
It is difficult to know the exact origins of such elderly women. Reports and
stories suggest that a number of these women upiisikiis wandered in Sri Lanka in
the early 1800s and it is probable that women mendicants were a part of the Sri
Lankan scene before that time, perhaps dating back to the collapse of the
bhikkhw:z! order in the 12th or 13th centuries.3 Their numbers may have
increased due to the revival of Buddhism in the late 1800s, especially because of
the poya campaigns which encouraged laity to take the eight precepts (atasil)
and wear white on full moon days, and because of the example of such figures as
Anagarika Dhammapala who took the ten precepts (dasasil) permanently.4
A small number of aged and seemingly destitute women like those Copleston
described can still be seen today congregating at the Sri Mahabodhi in Anurad
hapura or at other important Buddhist pilgrimage centers. However, some of
these women now wear yellow robes, having taken dasasil, and are accompan
ied by one or two women in white who have taken atasil. The atasils in white
can handle money and care for the dasasils in yellow. Often lacking shelter,
these women beg for food and money or subsist on the food prepared by Bud
dhist charity organizations. Only the yellow robes of a few differentiate these
women from those that Copleston described.
However, today there are many dsms, approximately 2500 wearing the
yellow robe, who make every effort to disassociate themselves from the few
poor older women such as those who beg near the Sri Mahabodhi.5 Most of
these modem dsms live in iiriimayas (monastic institutions) with more than three
companion dsms, were initiated under the tutelage of a teacher in a line of suc
cession of other dsms, and about half were given the ten precepts before their
twenty-fifth birthday.6 These yellow clad dsms are coming to see a close connec
tion between themselves and the bhikkhw;ls of ancient Sri Lanka. The link
between the women in white of whom Copleston speaks and the modem day
dsms in part is provided by Sister Sudharmachari, once Catherine deAlvis.
Catherine deAlvis was the daughter of David deAlvis Coonatillika, Mudali
yar of Raigama Korale, and Leisa deAlvis who was the sister of the famous
2