Monks in Politics, Monks in the World

Buddhist Activism in Contemporary Myanmar

Bibliographic Data

ID4188063
AuthorsMatthew J Walton, Matthew Walton (0000-0001-5882-8837, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume82
Issue2
Pages507-530
Publication date2015-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-783X • E-ISSN: 1944-768X
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/sor.2015.0020
OpenAlexW940561768
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited10

Monks in Politics, Monks in the World: Buddhist Activism in Contemporary Myanmar Despite common claims that monks in Myanmar are expected to remain aloof from politics, there is a long history of monastic political engagement in the country. This activism has continued during the present transition period, with monks being involved in issues from land rights protests to anti-Muslim campaigns. Of particular interest, beyond the mere range of issues, are the motivations and methods as well as the ways in which monks have justified their participation in political issues. Based on field work in Myanmar from 2011-2014, this chapter identifies four different ways that monks explain their participation. First is invoking the duty of a monk to defend the sāsana, the Buddhist religion, second is a further consideration of other "vocationally correct" ways for monks to participate in politics, third relates to the particular characteristics of monks, and the fourth looks at the importance of the intention behind any act and its purpose. The range of views on monastic political engagement reveals the ways in which the monastic vocation in Myanmar is being discussed, challenged, reinforced, and transformed during this period of change

Aesthetics · Buddhism · Duty · Period (music · Political activism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Asian Studies and History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy

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