The Making of a Buddhist Heretic:A Case Study of Sky-Blue Sect

I examine Mòpyar Gaing: a new Buddhist sect that came to prominence in Myanmar in the 1980s and its founder monk; U Nyanar, who was arrested in the early 1980s for propagating the concept of ‘this-worldly karma’, which posed a major challenge to traditional beliefs in karmic causality and rebirth in the conservative Theravada tradition. The article examines how his re-interpretation of Buddhist doctrine brought against him charges of heresy and eventually led to lengthy prison terms until his release in 2016

Monastic Discipline and Communal Rules for Buddhist Nuns in Myanmar and Thailand

This study explores the contemporary social reality of Buddhist precept nuns in Myanmar and Thailand through the lens of the monastic regulations and communal rules they adhere to, and how/if such rules inform their monastic discipline and communal cohesion. The concept of cohesion, in turn, may have much to tell us about nuns’ ritual practices and religious activities in relation to those of monks, as well as about their engagement with the outside world. The article also discusses nuns’ legal status in relation to the state; traditional norms for Buddhist women in various socio-religious contexts; the workings of hierarchy, authority and punishment in nunneries. In recent decades, some Buddhist nuns in both countries have expanded the size of their communities and enhanced their levels of education in part by upholding discipline and following Buddhist rules and norms. However, while thilashin in Myanmar have worked closely with monks by offering ritual services and are now fully integrated into the wider Buddhist community there, mae chi in Thailand have enhanced their education and spiritual development by making the most of their independent status outside the control of the sangha