パーリ学仏教文化学 (21) - 004Ratna Gyana「Contemporary Buddhism in Rakhine State (Arakan) of Myanmar ： Distinguished Characteristics of its Existence in the Society」

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Society for the Study of Pali and Buddhist Culture

Society for theStudy of Pali and Buddhist Culture

Contemporary

Buddhism

in

Rakhine

State

(Arakan)

ofMyamnar

-Distinguished

Characteristics

_of

its

Existence

in

_the

Society-Gyana

Ratna

1. Introduction

The landthat is known as Arakan by the foreignersis called

"Rakhaing-pray" _by_its

own _people.AccordingtotheArakanesechronicles, the name Rakhaing

(Rakhine)

was originated

from

the Paliword Rakkha,

SanskritRaksasa, synonymous with the Burmese Bilu.The country is said to havebeennamed }lrkkhopuraby Buddhistmissionaries from India

becauseof theferociousnature of itsinhabitants(i)and thetransitionfrom

RaltkhatoRakhaingtohavetaken_placeat thetimeofthe establishment of thefirstcityiDhafifiavati,when thehemiitNagindatoldthefbunderMarayu

that becausethe _people now fo11owed theBuddhist _precepts,they might

dropthe finala fromRakltha,and becalled Rakhaing.(2)

Itisinterestingto note that the old Tamilword fbrdemon, derived

from Sanskrit7iiksasa, isarrakan.(3)There appears to be some connection

havewith Tamil arrakam, "shellac",

said to be derivedfrom the lexical

Sanskritraksa "lac".(`) Itmay be thatArakan, inthe firstcenturies of the

Christianera, was a major source of lac,stilla _productof itsoldest hill

tribes.The earliest recorded traderoutes toArakanorigifiated inthe Sonth

of India.(5)The classical _geographers initiallyreferred to SotheastAsia as

the Golden land,Chryse,and thesilver land,Argyre.(6)

The fragmentaryprcurfastion the north faceof the Shitthaung_pillar,

written inthe mid-11th century, mentions AnekacieSa,the landof Areka,

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of Pagan and Ava, fromthe12thto 15thcentuties, thecountry isreferred to

as Rakhuiilt/Rakhaing,(7)from which Nicolo deiConti,_quoted inPoggius,

De Phrientate

fortunae,

deriveshisRaccheni in c 1420,{8)Taranatha in

hisdGos-`dbd-kun-'

_hyuh

of 1608 Rakhah and the SriLanka chroniclers

Rakhanga. The forrnAracan was firstused by Barbosa _quotein Ramusio

in1516,and he was fbllowed in thisby the laterPortuguese and English

wrlters.

2. The Rakhine Kingdom

Rakhine

(Arakan)

State islocatedinwestern Myanmar

(Burma),

bounded by Bangladesh to the northwest; Chin Stateto the north; the

IrrawaddM2Lfague,and Pagu Divisionstotheeast; and theBay ofBengal

to the west and the south. RakhineStatehas an area of 36,778square

1cilometers

_(14,200

square miles). The capital and chief _port is Sittwe

(formerly

known as Akyab),locatedat the mouth of the 1<aladon River.

Rakhine'sother chief towns are jkyauig?yu and Sandoway.Rakhine'smain

rivers includetheKtilacian,the Mliyu,and theLemro. Rakhine State's

economy basicallydependson wet-rice agriculture.

Generally,the residents of Rakhine Statespeak Burmese, although

many also speak Bengalior other languages.The _populationconsists mainly

of the Arakanese and the Rohingyas, although the current anti-Muslim

policiesof theregime make itdifficulttoascertain theexact _percentageof

theiroverall representation inthe _population.Smallerethnic _groupsinclude

theBurmans and the Chins.The majority ofArakanese are Buddhists,while

the Rohingycllyare mostly Muslims.(9)

3. Rakhine MythologicalHistory

When writing history)mythological historywill also haveto bewritten

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ContemporaryBuddhism inRakhineState_(Arakan)ofMyanmar 3

hereinbriefshowing when contest was made with Pagan with dates.This

will show thatPagan isvery recent and could not thus influencethe other

fburKingdoms. The Rakhinemythological historyrelates about the first

formationof kingdom by MZxha thamaciaand was called 71I)agewon.The

7;Piagei,vonKings took _great_prideinupholding the correct _principleswhen

governingtheir subjects. Gautama Buddha was born in the 77iagewon

Khattmpa Family and the Rakhines of old havetaken _great_prideintheir

country being _governedby 77)agewonKings from mythological times.

Mythological historystates thatthe seat of GoVernment was firstat

Ramawacly or Ramapura, theRamree Island.Ramawacly isan Indianword,

Ram meaning God. Hence Ramawacly would mean land of God. History

thenrelates about theformationof 16 ProvincesinIndiaduringthereign of

JlhraAza Raza.There16Provinceswhich become Kingdom were formed

befbrethe time of IickuthanBuddha. Inthecourse of time 85 smaller

Kingdoms were formed.Hence the whole ofIndia isknown inancient times

as the land of 101 kings.This came to be called ILdyitzimaDaytha ending

inthe East at themountain called Rakhaing fomas today. The _presentday conception ofRakkhopura beinginMyanmar is_{geographically}not correct,

the Ybmas bringthe_proo£ Rakkhapura was includedinMyanrria:on

Britishconquest

fbr

administrative _purposes.Inancient timesRaldkhopura and Ahyusapura were under one Government.Rakkhapura

included

the

whole of modern Bengal.Bengal was referred to as 12 Bunga towns,(iO)to capital beingmauk-thu-za meaning thefbodof Adbuk.The Rakhines are still

known as mauk _(7t4og)inBengal.

4. Ancientand PresentDay Rakhine

(Arakan)

Arakan issituated among Indiainthe North,Burma inthe Eastand

People'sRepublic ofBangladesh inthe West.[[bthesouth, itextends up to

HaigriIslandand isboundedon thesouthwest bythe Bay ofBengal.

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4 7e-V\thtwJS(k\

Mlegarvady

(Man

Aung), Dwarawady

(Sandway),

Rammawacly

(Rann

Bray)

and 12 Bengal cities includingChittagong

(now

inBangladesh). Dacca

(present

capital of RepublicofBangladesh, Dhaka)_previouslyAtlashiciabad

(near

presentday Calcutta)was most of thetime under Arakaneserules.

Arakan'ssecond largest_portcity)Chittagongwas invadedand occupied by theMoghul in1666AD and subsequently Arakanese territoryof 12 Bengal

citieswere losttotheMoghul.

The kingdom of Arakan lostitssovereignty to the Burmese after it

was invaded and annexed by theBurmese king Boe daw Maung Wyne in

December, 1784.

The area of Arakan was about 20,OOOsq. ml. tillthe British_period.

But, _Burmese ruler, without the Arakanese_people'sconsent, split up the

nonh western Arakan HillTractsarea borderingIndiaand a southern

most _partof Arakan

(from

Kyauk Chaung Riverto Cape Negaris)from

the Arakan mainland. Due to these _partitions,the _present_day totalarea

ofArakan was reduced to 18,500 sq. ml and itcomprise lessthanhalfof

historicArakan.

In1974,theRakhinestate,consisting of 17townshipswas created but

itwas _perfbrmedby the Burmese foradministrative _purposes.Itis_presently

locatedbetweenLat.`16' `OO'

N- Lat.`21' `20'N

and Lat `92' `20' E- Lat.

`95' C20'

E as one ofthe _pooreststates under so called Union ofBurma with

itsoiificialname, Rakhine State.However, Arakanese use the term "Arakan"

tomean thearea, which was historicallyand traditionallyknown as Arakan

before

the1784BurmeseinvasiQn.

Despite over 200 _years of Burmese occupation of Arakan, the

Arakanese _peoplerefused to beconquered and subjugated by the Burmese.

Arakan independentmovement started

just

after itlostindependentand is

carrying on until now.

'Ibday, Arakanese peoplesunder the military

junta

of Burma are at

the rnost

risky

_pointof

losing

itsnational

identity

under Burmese

junta's

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Society for the Studyof Pali andBuddhist Culture

ContemperaryBuddhisminRakhineState_(Arakan)ofMyamar 5

Modern Historical

Area 18,500sq.ml. Twiceofthepresentsize

Capital Sittwe(Akyab) Mrauk-U

Population Over7millions:890/oArakanese,70/o Khami,Chin,Mara&otherethnics, 4e/oBengaliMuslirnsImmigrants NationalFlag Notspecific Government SPDC:Oneoftheworld'smost notoriousmilita!ydictatorship Monarchy LegalStatus Occupied&ColonizedbyBurmese Junta Independent& SovereignBuddhist Kingdom

BorderingCountries India,Burma,Bangladesh lndia,Burrna

Provinces 17Townships:Thandway,Taungauk, Ann,Mraybon,Rammre,Manaung, Mongbra,Rathaedaung,Buthidaung, Maungdaw,Ponnagyaun,Akyab, Kyauktaw,Mrauk-U Mrauk-U,Sandway, Rammbre,ManAung Language Arakanese.Theofficiallanguageis Burmese. Arakanese Religion 890/oBuddhisg50/oChristian,4e/o pereentMuslim,20/eAnimist AverageTemperature July58fJan.24f. MineralDeposits Oil,whitemarble,world's2nd 1argestnaturalgasresouree Rivers Kaladan,Laerrnro,Mayu,Nav Ecenomy 700/oofArakanesepeoplesworkin

Fgricultureandfishery.1OO/ework

ingovemment,commereeandthe servicesector,20e/oprivatebusiness

NationalBird Eagle Eagle

AverageRainfallper

ann.

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6 7<-V#nathXTt\

5. Mahamuni Traditionand itsInfluenceover Rakhine People(ii)

5.1.Royal Precedent

MahEmuni 'Iliradition isnot an after-thought. It is_genuinely old

and implicitlybelievedinby successive _generationsthat came after it.

Accordingto theRakhinehistory,kingsof Rakhine,even after they had

moved theircapitals to various other sites, always recognized that

it

was a

scared dutyforthem to visit itfrom time to time and _generallymade itthe

occasion fbr_greatreligious feastsof charity. Insuch cases they invariably

leftsome votive offering, may bea small shrine or an image,as a memento

of theirdistinguishedvisit.

According to Manrique's(i2)descriptionin 1630 AD, 'IIhirithu

DhammarEiza, a kingof Mrauk-U dynastymade hisdevotionto Mahamuni

with the tremendous water celebration along the Kbladon river. Further

more he mentioned that the _pomp and ceremony involved in a royal

pilgrimagetothe shrine; thekingThirithuDhammaraza himselftraveledon a raft which was a replica of hisMrauk-U _palace.

The King worshipped the image by offbring flowers,food,incense,

lightand _prayersand used tokeepthe Sabbathtakingnine or ten_precepts.

Afterkeepinga long Sabbath,the animals, especially birds,were let

released by the king.

Do Wai a historianinMaha Razawan recounts that as _partof the

coronation rimal of Rakhine Kings,50 were coins struck tocommemorate

thenew reign, togetherwith the50 coins struck inthe_previousreign were

depositedby the new king inthe holededicatedto wathoun-dorei, the

GoddessofEarth, at

the

frontofthe Mah5muni Image.

The other outstanding customs were as

fbllows:

_prisonersof war,

especially royal family,were donatedby theKings as _{pagoda-slaves}at

the Mahamuni shrine. This traditionisvery popularamong the Rakhine

monarchy and may be a kind of amnesty fbrtheirlivesaccording to

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Society for theStudyof Pali and Buddhist Culture

ContemporaryBuddhisminRakhineState_(Arakan)ofMyanmar 7

5.Z.PublicReligiousFunctions

During the harvesttime, new crops and firstftuitsare offered to

Mahamuni imageby the _people.Villagerscook freshriceand make various

sizes of pagodason their_platesand _go together to the shrine with much

joyfulness.

Duringthefineseason, thelay_peoplehavenoviciation ceremonies for boys who spend _some time, usually a week or more, ina monastery under

the_guidanceof a revered abbot tohave the experience of thelifeof a monk.

Thisceremony iscalled shiuprtt-mangala.

During the periodof Plasoe,_peoplewould keep the Sabbath taking

eight siltnsor _precepts.Inthemonth of 7bnzaungnone,the weaving festival

isheld inthe Mahamuni shrine. Girlsfrom the villages situnder the fu11

moori engaging inweaving competitions as they make new robes fbrthe monks.

5.3.AncientRakhine Coins

The sun and the moon are always inscribedinancient Rakhinecoins.

They are the auspicious symbols ofthe Rakhine nationals. The symbols of

thesun and the moon have some relations with the Mahamuni tradition.

KingSandaSuriawas thedonorof theMahamuni shrine. Sdndnmeans "the

moon" and Suriameans "the sun". Itiswidely believedinRakhine thatthe

reason forexpressing the symbols of the sun and themoon on the ancient

coins isthatKing Sanda

Suria

was regarded as the

donor

ofthe Mahamuni

shrine and as a herowho introducedBuddhism intoRakhine.(i3)The sun

carries the meaning of loyalty,_power,and braveryand themoon refers to

peaceand _prosperity.Even at _presentthesesymbols are stillused oflicially

on the state flagand the state seal of Rakhine, as a state of the union of

Myanmar.

5.4.Ancient Bronze Bells(i4)

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8 ?£--V\IZ,igptila\

religious center of the kingdom and _people of Rakhine

became

Buddhists.

Itsfame spread farand wide. Ever since the introductionof Buddhism,

Rakhine _professedBuddhism without breakup tothe_present.According to

the Theravada Buddhism bellsare hungunder theHtiof caitya and hungat

the terraceof _pagodasand monasteries with the hopethatthey would have

a sweet voice and oral _powerwhether inthisexisting lifeor inthe future

existences. Inaddition, Buddhistsstrike the bellsinorder toachieve nirvaha after theirmeritorious deeds.Fortunatelytwo inscribedancient bellswere

foundinthe vicinity of Mahamuni shrine. One of the bellsseems to bea

caitya belland the other a monastery bell.The caitya bellisabout 11.5cm

highand itweights over 2 lbs.The other monastery bellis9.8cm highand

weights halfasheavyas thefirstone. Both ofthese bellsare ofthe cup form

and made of bronze.Generallytheseshapes resemble the top of a stupa. The shape isstill used fbrbellsinMyanmar today. Thus,itissaid that

modern bellsare derivedfromthese ancient bells.Two linesofwriting were

inscribedaround the center of bothbells.PaleographicallMtheir casting

time can be datedinthe first_quarterof the6thcentury AD. The language

is a mixture of ancient Rakhineand Sanskrit.The inscriptions_present

the

dedication

by

the

donors

fbr

the

benefit

of theirspiritual _preceptors

and their_parents.These are _pious offerings of the TheravadaBuddhists.

Such are thebeliefsand _practicesof the_presentday Buddhistsof Rakhine

State.Thismay be related totheMahamuni Tradition.At _presentbothof

these inscribedbellsare keptinSittwe.Visitorscan see and study them in

BuddhistMuseums.

'

5.5.FivbCharacteristics of Mahfimuni Image(iS)

5.5.1._Crowned Buddha

Mahamuni Image isdressedup with alltheattributes ofKing. Itshows

that Buddha had been regarded as a cievatideva, _god of _gods or kingof

kings.Because Gotama Buddha was bom Saltkyanroyal familyand brought

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Society for theStudy of PaU and Buddhist Culture

ContemporaryBuddhism inRakhineState(Arakan)ofMyamnar 9

respected by the_people not only forhavingattained the Buddhahood,but

also

for

having

expected as the

future

king.

Anyway, Buddha isalso a Great

being,a deityand the _gloryofthe threekindsofbeing, where

he

appears

in

monastic robes or inroyal robes.

5.5.2.FacingEast

Mahdmuni Image always faceseast. Itis the representation of

Enlightenment,one of the Greatevents of the master's life.Itcarries the

ideasofpriority, success, _good fbundation,originally and auspiciousness.

5.5.3.BhumisparsaMudra

Mahdniuni lmage perfbrmsbhumisparsamucb"a and sits on a decorated

throne.Inthismucb"a, the lefthandrests on thelapwith the_palm upward

and the right _palrndown resting on theright kneeand touehingthe_ground

below.The representation of the Enlightenmentand the incidentshas a

relation with the above-mentioned mucb"a and wnh the favoritethemes of

the Buddhist artists of all schools. According to the well-known events

of Buddha,he,by touching the earth, _gave notice to the Earth-Goddess

wathoun-ciarei to come and be the witness of hisaccomplishments. This

mudea indicatesthemovement when ceased tobeaBodhisattvaand became

Buddha. The Blessed One did this because Mara, the evil one, came to

attack with hisnumerous fbllowers.This_posturebhumispansa mudra can

beinterpretedas the victory over evils or enemies as well as the strength,

stabilityisteadfastness and solidarity.

5.5.4.VirasanaSittingPosture

The legsare fbldedand overlapped with the feetbroughtto rest on the

thighsand thesoles of thefeetturned upwards with the right legon the left

leg.Thisiscalled virasana. Rightlegmeans faimessand leftlegmeans

evil.Thissitting _posturevirasana stands fbrtheassurance of fearlessness,

tranquility}auspiciousness, and _protection_given

by

theMahamuni Image.It

isbelievedtobea sign of success.

5.5.5.CompassienateSmile

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lo .<-v\alta]}zk\

faceofMahamuni Image, one can feelhow finethe art ofsculpture is.Wide

fbrehead,_prominentnose, finelyetched eyebrows, almost meeting at the

center; downcasteyes, fu11lipsand slight smile denotethecompassionate

heartof Mahamuni. Itishighlyvenerated. Hundredsof copies intemples

and _pagodas in Rakhineand beyond are reputed to be replicas of the

original copy of the BlessedOne. But itisimpossibleforanyone to copy

the exact facialexpression ofthe Mahamuni Image.

5.6.The _Land of Rice

Then the Blessed One addressed his disciplesthus: "O Rahans, my

belovedson! In the islandof lambudipa and arnong the 16 countries of

Mop'himaciesa,the food offered to the_priesthoodconsists of a mixture

of maize, corn and millet and beans.But inthiscounty the fbodoffered

consists ofvarious kindsofbarely and rice: such fbodiseaten by the _priest with relish; my _precedingelder brothers

(lk

bkusan,Gotamana andKbssapa,

i.e.the three Buddhas who _preceded Gotama) have named thiscountry

Dhaayawaddy and as the inhabitantshavenever suffered fromfamine,this

region shall at alltimes continuously becalled Dhaayawaddy

(i.e.

the_grain

btessed)".Ci6)

Since then the landhas retained that name. This terrn applies very

fittinglyto Rakhine; whose wealth depended_principallyon the extensive

regions of itsRiceland,with a rainfa11 of over two hundredinchesa _year

where thecrops havenever failed.Thereare _plentyof _grainsinthe fields

seasonally.

5･7･The Land of Pagodas(i')

Afterthe Lord Buddha had preached tothepeopleofDha,ryawacldy,

theybecameBuddhiststhroughoutthecenturies, ever since theintroduction

of Buddhism up tothe_presenttime,Rakhine _professedBuddhism without

any

break.

The Mahamuni image formedthe center of religious worship.

AfterBuddha's _parinibbana the stupas or ceti became monuments erected

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ContempQraryBuddhism _in_Rakhine_State_(Arakan)of Myanmar 11

over relics ofBuddha all over the Budchistworld. Because Buddhistsrevere

the relics of the Blessed One, itoriginally fbllowsthatstupas

(pagodas)

should _playsleadingrole inBuddhist architecture fo11owingthe Mahamuni

tradition.

Pagodas were builton the top of thehillsby the kingsand the_public

donors

throughout the _generations.Thus,innumerable_pagodas belonging to all ages can befbundinthe historicalsites of Rakhine.But old _pagodas

datingbefbre1OOOA.D.are now extremely rare. They haveeither collapsed

dueto weathering or have been demolishedby treasure hunters,of have

been enshrined in_pagodasrepaired by the laterkings.Accordingto the

inscriptionof V7raeandrawho reigned Rakhine Playalibetween575A.D.to

578 A.D. hehadbuiltas many as one hundredstupas duringhisthree _year reign.

5.8.The KaladenRiver

Visitorscan _go toMahamuni

by

thisriverroute named Kdlatian,the

main river of Rakhine. This river hasbeen very usefu1 and most _popular

throughout the Rakhainghistory.Kings and inhabitantsof Rakhine used

thisriver to _pay theirdevotions.Accordingtothe Manriqueisdescription

in 1630 AD, ZliirithucthammaRaza, a king of thaukLU dynastymade

hisdevotionto _Mahamuni with a tremendous water celebration along the

KdlacianRiver.

Itissuggested thatthisname, Kbiladnnwas derivedfromKtzlar-7bnt.

Accordingtolocalchronicles, thiscan besummarized as fo11ows:

At one tirne,when the upper KtiladonRiver was floodedby heavy

rains, a _princewho came from Kbpilavastu and his_princess,the daughter

of a localtribalchieC were swept away and finallylandedon the banknear

,Sblagiri hill.The river was therefbrenamed Iinlartant

(kular-swim),

(tant-stop). Lateron itchanged to kular-tan>>kulardanand kaladan,etc. The

ancient name of the Kbladon River isGicchabhanacly.The term originates

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12 7sc-V\thtaJscfu#

many stones, which lookliketortoise-shellintheupper river.Inwinte4 one

can see many Siberian_geeseinthe river. Sometimesthe _greatcrocodiles are

also fbundintidalcreeks ofKblacian Rivez

5･9･Urite-[[bungPagoda(i8)

An hourlaterfrom Sittwealong the river route, one can see a _pagoda

en the leftbankof the KtiladonRiver.ThisisLh"ite7inungPagoda, situated

on thetop ofa'small hilllock,188feethigh,ata distanceof 16miles to the

north of Sittwe.

The pagodais153feethigh,and theview from the_pagoda'sterrace

isspectacular. The KZxlacianRiver sparkles likediamondsinthe sunshine and runs down finelyIfthe sky isclea4 _you can see thedistantlandinall

directions.IntoaukLU King's_periodtherehadbeena Rakhinenaval base atKbladnnRiverat thefbotof U}'ite-7bungPagoda.The historyof ILb'ite

7bungPagodawas very interestingand related to theMahamuni tradition.

Buddha

held

a

discourse

with his

disciples

and then addressed Anando thus:

"Further to the south and near the Gicchabhanady thereisa steep

rocky hillknown as theSkempabbadu;thereIlivedduringone of my fbrmer

existences. Iwas bornas a Brahman versed in P2idus;my sku11, measuring

two _palms

(about

₁₈ inches)incircumference, stillremains there and will

beenshrined ina_pagodato benamed U)'ite-7hungZarti".

According tothe Buddha's prophecythe UriteTaung Pagoda was built

byKingMong Phalaungin1574AD.

DistinguishedCharacteristicsof Buddhism intheRakhine Society

6. Buddha Mo Ashama(i9)

PeopleofArakan likeother ethnicity believea lotinGod and Goddess

intheirdailylife.They believeina house,bigtrees,river, forest,city and village every where hasGod and Goddess. Peeplecome intouch with those

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ContemporaryBudchisminRakhineState_(Arakan)ofMyanmar

God and Goddess fbrtheirdailyneed. InSittwecity dweller

comes in touch with Buddha mo ashama around 507-08 BC.

city dwellervisits the area frequentlMwith a bigtaraphcrwi and _prayingfor

their_good luck,_good health,becoming rich, _gettingbettersocial statues,

stronger _grading_postinthe service as well as over coming freefrom

digester_povertyand unlucky things.

13

of Arakan

Most of the

6.1.HistoricalBackground ofthe Place(20)

When Buddha was residing in Sbvatti,there was a businessman

Mahabrahma byname, came toBuddha fromsunopantha ofMopimadesha.

Having listenedto theBuddhas sermon hebecame a monk and _practiced

meditation diligently.As a result he became an arahanta. After thathe

returned to hisvillage and residing there.That arahanta monk resided at

opuhata

pabatta hislstrain retreat. At _presentthe area isknown to the

peopleas (lskitouginArakan.His2ndrain retreat isinSbmudrcrgiri,which

the_presentname isBuddha mo.

During his residing _period in samudragiri when _people wanted to

know hisname, hesaid hisname isPunna,a

disciple

of Buddha. Due to

respect shown to him,_peopledidn'tcallhim by thisname, butthey called

him as a Buddha.Duringhisresiding timeinsamudragiri, most ofthe time, was _passedby_practicingmeditation. He never talkedfbra longtime.As a

result he becarnedumb. At thattime Peopleused to call him Bucidha-mona.

Lateron theycalled himas a Budd7za-mo>Budttha-moh.

Latera God inthe same area hadtaken _place.His name is

Budd7ia-sohma. Bucidha-sohma _protectsPunna as well as monks and inhabitant

dwellers.Therefbre,_peopleof sittwe respect him very much.

7. Death Ceremony of a Monk inArakanese

Society

According to the Buddhism "whatever

is

bom,

become,

and

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14 ,<-V#asth]filik\

inArakan deathceremony of a monk isreally eajoyable, even ifitssubject

will decay.There are three types of deathceremony occurs of a monk in

Arakan.Such as: 1.Cremationceremony thattakes _place1 month after thedeathofa monk, 2.3months after thedeathofa monk and finally,3.1 yearafter thedeathof a monk. Why

do

they

fo11ow

this

kind

of system? In

theMahtij?arinibbana-sutta(22)it'sclearly stated thatA-nandu "do not worry

yourselvesabout thefuneralarrangements of 7Zithitgata,thereare wise

IViatdyas,Brahmins and householderwho are devotedto the 7Zxthligata:

they will take care of the funeral."Itmean, arrangements of a funeralisnot

a short time _process,though 7lathiigatcLsfuneralhad taken _placewith in7

days.(23)Let'sexplain regarding a deathceremony of a rnonk inArakan.

When a monk

(Abbot)

_passedinthe temple _groundafter hisdeath

they will keep hisdeathbody infirontof the Budaha statue below the

Buddha alter. Ifhe diesinthe hospitalor other _placeshe should be _put

inthe sima. As Imentioned above there are 3 kinds of deathceremonies.

All3 kindsof deathceremonies havefburparts.Part1isto keepthe dead

body inthecasket, _part2 isto change the deadbody toa swing, _part3 is

a chariot by which the

dead

body

will be drawn by the devotee'sup to the

cremation _placeand the finalone isa firing_place.Ifit'sfor7 days,the

deadbody will keptfbr3 daysinthe casket. In the IStdaydevoteeswill

invitemonks, novices and the_people were they will make a safigha-dZina

ceremony. On the same daytheywill _putthe deadbody of a monk inside

the casket. Inthecasket theywill _putwhite _powder; drapetobacco

leafs

and

then _put the

dead

body

in.

Laterover deadbody again they_put thewhite

powder and thendrapetobacco leafs.Finallythey will _placea new robe

covering the body,and thenclosed the casket by itcover. Monks dntyis

finishedbutthe lay_peopleall dayand night will bethereand _perfbrming

religious _songs, Abhicthamma_chanting _etc. It_will last3 days.The 2nd

partischanging the dead body to a new swing alone with the coffin. It

will bekeptfbr3 daysagain. These

3

daysthe _young boysand _girlsof the

(15)

ContemporaryBuddhism inRakhineState(Arakan)ofMyanmar 15

whole dayand night. The 3rdpartisa very crowded day of theceremony.

A lotof monk, novices, nun lsand lay fo11owerswill _gatherinthe temple

ground.

All

together they make sahgha-dZina to the monks and offer fbod

to the monk as well as the layfbllowers.With religious songs and dances

perforrnedby thespecial _groupof _young stars, IS`of all a _groupof _young

monk and novices will takeup thecoffin, and hand over tothe leaderofthe

village and thentothehouseholder1aterto thespecial _groupof the _young

starsto take itto the chariot. More then 25 peopleride on thechariot with

the coffin. Right and leftside of the coffin thereare two groupsof _young star who are holdingan oar of a boat.Behind the chariot isstanding an

evil with uncommon bodM color and dress,holding with dagger and an

axe. The chariot isfastenedby a thick and longrope where _peoplehold

and lineup. On the middle of the chariot where the deadbody iskept,in

frontand behindthe chariot a lotof fo11owersare dancingand singing a

song either mice or orally. The fo11owerswho holdon totherope they are

drawingthechariet and charioteer are rowing thechariot by theiroar. Itis

really a wonderfu1 _processionup to the cremation _place.When the chariot

arrives at the cremation _ground the coffin istaken and it's_put on the stage where the monks are seated. Devotees are perforrningdZinaceremony and offering merit to the deadperson.On theother hand,the chariot hadbeen

separated 213_parts.By the separated _partsof the chariot twolthree_group

of _young stars _perfbrm with

different

kinds

ofphysical exercise. Untilthe

form

of

the

chariot is

broken

down

the _young stars _playwith that.Another

unique event at the timeisheroicplayingby the_young stars.Ithink all of

this_performance as a symbolic reason. Itisshowing us lifeand deathor

strength and weakness of the world. When we are alive we can do either

good or badbut

finally

we haveto decayor when we are strong enough,

playingand eajoying as we likebutfinallywe become weak and worthless and we are _goingto disappearfrom thisworld. Duringthesekindsof

symbolic _performancethe coffin iscarried by one special _group ofpeople

(16)

NII-Electronic Library Service 16 2<-V\assuJS(ila\

kindsof incense,sandal wood and so on. The headmonk fbllowed

by

some

other monks _givesfirebelowthe coffin and then the lay_peoplefbllowed.

8. Reading

Kbmmavt-ica

at

Death

Persons

House(24)

Kbmmava-'ca are among the most sacred of Burmese religious texts.

Kdmmavdca

_(kammavaca

inPalijconsist of nine KlzanclakungfromthePali

vanayaPitaka,each of which relates to a specific ceremony associated with

monks of the Theravada school of Buddhism. Kdmmavaca were usually

commissioned as wotks of merit tobepresentedtotheMonk hood when a

son entered theBuddhistOrderas a novice or becomesordained as a monk.

It'smy knowledge thatkammavaca was beingrecited when newly

sima is_goingtoset up and it

is

_performed when a _person

become

a monk. '

Withoutthese two reasons, I have no experience to see the kommavaca

reciting inmy life.Inever heartwithout above two mentioned reasons

hammavdca was recited in SriLanka, Thailandand other Theravada

countries except inArakan, even not _popularinother _partsof Myanmar too.

On February 6th2007 when Iwas visiting inSittweofArakan, some

peopleinvitedme to

join

a Sbitghadunaceremony. One week beforethat

theylostone of theirfamilymembers. Everyevening they invitedmonks

forreciting sutta attheirhome. On the lastdaythey are _goingto _perform

Sangha cldna ceremony attheirhome forthe departed_person.As usual they

received five_preceptsbeforesahgha-duna. SuddenlM one devoteeasked

the sangha could they listento kammavaea reciting. Among the safigha

members 6 of them started reciting kommavdca. I was wondering why

peoplewant to listento kammavdca attheirhome. One of themonks told

me hereinArakan state when _peoplehave_passedon the sangha-duna day's

housekeeperwants to _purifytheirhome and theirmind. By the reciting of

kammavtzcano evil deva can remain inthehome and even inthemind of thehousekeeperFurthermore,ifunfbrtunatelytheirrelative vvas borninthe

(17)

Contemporary Buddhism inRakhine _State_(Arakan)of Myanrnar

Therefbre,_people ofArakan state are listeningkammavaca inth

a _person'sdeath.

17

e7days of

9･ Bodhi Tree Paja(25)

Though we know Bodui Tree ishonorableto all Buddhist,herein

Arakan also itisnot excluded. Arakanese _people honorthe BocVzitree in

a bitof a differentway. Thereare two Bocthitreesina village. One isin

Temple grounds and the other one isina completely separate side of a

village. Bo(thitreeinsidethetemple _grounds hasa room where a Buddha

statue was kept.At lesttwice a day _people offer foods,flower,incense, candle, water etc. infirontofthe Buddha stame. They recite therePaliverses

ofBod7iipipa. Buttheother one ismy discussionsubject today.

Ina completely separate area ofvillage thereare bigBodeitreeswhere

peopleare _goingto offerpig'a infrontof a small hutof a Bodliitree.Iwas

wonder why the BuddhistfbllowersofArakan are

doing

such a

distinguish

pojato another Bodhi treeinthe same village. Local peopleof arakan also

called that_placeas a "mar kkold'too."md' means "mother" and "khoid'

rneans "open space". Therefbre,"mar khola"means "an open space of

mother". There are mar bhai

(brother

of mother) and mar bon

(sister

of

mother) too. At _presentMoung Moung Agri

(55)

isthe

brother

of mother

and Anu

(27)

isthesister ofthe mother.

AccordingtoAnu sister of mother, said thatthe mother name isKZili

who came to herhouse with red boarderwhite cloth and red marks inher

fbreheadwho selected heras a sister of rnother. Latermother comes into

herbody and selected th. Mbuug Mbung Agrito mother's brother12 _years

befbre.Villagersalso respect them as a brotherand sister of mother. When

there

is

anYthing

bad,

dangerous,

and a disastertaking_placemother sister

Anu sitsina special seat with _purified

her

body

and mind and ask

help

from

mother with duerespect by candle, incense,fiowerand some other foodsin

(18)

18 . 2sc-V\(htwJltk\

benefitintheirdailylife.Once a _yearthe villager comes with a lotof foods,

fimits,candle, incense,and flowerinfrontof the Bodhi treesand offers all

tomother fortheirwelfhre, _prosperous,saving lives,not to_getsickness and

freefrom any kindsof

diseases.

Peopleof thevillage

believe

that_paritta(26) or Pa(than(27)reciting _protectsthe insideof the houseor insidethe village

butout side of village is_protectedby Bod7iitree_god.Therefbre,they are

used to_practicebothtraditionsinArakanState.

10.Concluding Remarks

Above,the explanation it'struethatancient Rakhinestate was enriched

with itsown custom and culture as well as natural resources. Even now

there are a lotof ancient cultural sites inRakliinestate which have not _yet

beendiscoveredand open tothe world culture lover_people.Compared with

other states of Myanmar, now Rakhine Stateisreally a backward side of

the country. Though itseconomy, _politics,society and religious stability is

not ina firmingeondition, facinga strong _povertyand communal _problem,

yetRakhine peopleare _proud to say thatBuddha theGreatvisited thearea,

duringhislifetime, which make them honorand _prosperitiesof the nation

as well as shown them as a significant state among with other ancient city of

India. '

Notesand References

(1)

Phayre,"On

the History'7,cf Judson,Dictionary,s.v. Bilu.Thistraditionisshared

with theold Mon country of SouthMyanmar,where theancient name forThatonwas

REksapura,and the original inhabitants,according toBuddhist_sources,were regarded

as demons. See G, H. Luce "The Advent

of BuddAist to Burma" inL. Cousinset al.

(eds.),BuddhistStudiesinHbnour

ofl

B.Hbrner,Dordrecht1974,pp.120-1.

(2)

AshinKetharaMZirayunhop Becthardy'awin rhan tham, _(TheHistoryofMarayu and

Bedha),Rangoon 1955,cited inL,Bernot,Lees_paysansArakanais,Vbl.1,_p.144. (3)Firstfound inreferences totheRamdyana inTarnil_poetry ofthe 2"d-3'dcenturies

(19)

ContemporaryBuddhisminRakhineState_(Arakan)ofMyanmar 19

A. SeeC. L. Hart,77iePoems

ofAncient

lbmil,their Milieu and theirSbnskrit

Cbunterparts,UniversityofCalifbmia Press,1975,_p.61.

(4)Cf also [familarakku "lac, sealing wax, shellac", Malayalam arakeu "gumlac,

sealing wax" Kannada aragu, id,Tulu araku, aragu id.In Burrowand Emeneau

DrcrvidianEtymolbgicalDictionary,Oxfbrd1961,no. 164;Hbbson Jbbsons.v, lac.

(5)

Forthelactradesee E M. Lebaretal.,EthnicGroups

ofMainland

SoutheastAsia,

Newhaven 1964,p.52;Hbbson .lobson, D. G. E.Hall,"Studies _in_Dutch _Relations with Arakan"JBRS XXVI, _pp.1-1O.

(6)

e.g. theDe SituOrbis of Pomponius Mela

(e.

50 A.D.), _quotedinCoedes,7hrtes

d'auteursgrecset latinsanddrtreme Orient,Paris191O,_pp.11-12.

(7)List963a.U.B, I 94. Sagaing Htupayon Pagoda inscription,Obverse,II.20-23

804s.1442AD.

(8)Hbbson Jbbson, s.v. Arakan; D. Chattopadhaya,

(ed.)

7Zirana-tha,ffistory

of

Buddhisminlhdia,Simla1970,pp.330-1;DPPN, s.v.Rakkhahga;R. C.Tlemple,

`LContribution totheHistoryofAnglo BurrneseWOrds" J/RAS1894,pp.158-60.

(9)

Thissection islargelydependenton ProfessorDaw ThinKyi'sPresidentialAddress

totheBuma ResearchSocietyin1970,C`Arakanese Capitals:A PreliminarySurveyof

theirGeographicalSitting]'JBRS 1970,_pp.1-13.

(10)

I-tsing'saccount of theroad is_givenbyChayannesinMemoiressur lesreligietLx

eminents _gui alliaient chereher laloiduns les_ppm d'occident,Paris1894,_p.82 and

nete, ChinesetextTletisho2066,Nbl.LI,_pp.1-12,which recerds thattwentyChinese

monks used the route at thetime of SriGupta Chavannes also _quotesa _passagefrom

Hui-lin'sGlossary

((Tlaisho

Vbl.LIVIp.835a,11-16)finishedin817,butrelying on an

old _geography,Kua-ti-chicornposed in642when YUnnan was _garrisonedeast ofTa-li,

Accordingtothis,theroad entered EasternindiaatKEmarupa, Assam) and

lo

(HankelalArakan)

laytethesouth. Seealso Luce,"Countries NeighbouringBurrna"

JBRS XIV; 1924,pp.138-9;WL Liebenthal,"The AncientBurmese Road-aLengend"

J(llSVbl.XXL 1956,pp.9-12;Pelliot,"Deux

ItinerairesdeChineen Inde" BEEEO IM

1909,p.403;Gyana Ratna:HistoryofArakan-Identities of theRakhineCommunity

Bulletin

ofDoho

Uimivensity,BuddhistCulturalInstitute,Vbl.26,2006,pp.21-28.

(11)

Tun Shwe Khine:A ([inicie

ofMahaneuni.

Yangon 1996,_pp.72-76.

(12)

1}"avels

ofFray

SlebastienManrigue1629-1643.A 1}'anslation

ofthe

llV7:llVEIIARIO

DE LAS MIssIONws DE LAS massIONES ORIENTALES with introductionand notes

by Lt.Col.C. FCKFORD LUARD, C.I.E.,MA, assisted by IIATHER H. HOSTEN,

SJ,In[[WoVblumesVbl.IARAKAN Reproduced by permissionof the HAKUYT

(20)

2o ?sc-v\{E,fai}tth\

REPRINT LIMITED Nendelen!Liechtenstein1967;Tun Shwe Khine:ibidL,p.67.

(13)

IISin-t'aug-shu22(II),_p.66

_CPo-na

ed.), c £ Luce,"The AncientPyu",IBRS,Vbl.

XXVII, iii

(1937),

p.251;R.C.Tlemple,op. cit.

(1897),

_p.233.

(14)

Tun ShweKhine:ibid.,_pp.80-81.

(15)Based on Mahamuni 71Jiamaingand theStir'vasthanaprakoranac£ Gutman, Pamela:

Ancient Arakan: with special Teference to itscultural historybetweenthe 5'hand 11th

centuries,PH.D, Thesis,Vbl.I,ANU

(Australian

NationalUniversity),1976,_p.326;

Tun Shwe Khine:ibid,pp.49-51,

(16)

Gutman, Pamela:ibid.,_pp.332-333;Tim Shwe Khine:ibidL,_pp.70-71.

(17)Tun Shwe Khine:ibid.,_pp.54-55.

(18)

Tun ShweKhaing:711)eRakhaing7lrnzauugMagtrzine,No,18- February1995.

(19)

Based on interviewand a Parrrphletofthe Temple.

(20)

Field works and interviewto the _people.

(21)

T. W Rhys Davids and J.EstlinCarpenter

(ed,):

The Digha Nikaya.

Maha-parinibbana-suttaVbl.II,PTS, p.158;Maurice Walshe (tr.):The Long Discoursesof

theBuddha.PTS, p.272.

(22)

T,W. Rhys Davidsand J.EstlinCarpenter

(ed.):

ibia,_p.141;MauriceWalshe (tr.):

ibiaL,p.264.

(23)

T.WL IUiysDavidsand J.EstlinCarpenter

(ed.):

ibidL,_p.159;MauriceWalshe

(tr.):

ibid,,p.273,

(24)

Fieldworks and interviewtothe_people.

(25)

FieldWorks and interviewtothe_people.

(26)

Mangula-sutta,Rama sutta, Mlettasutta iscommon forparittareciting.

(27)Whole ofPatthdn ofAbhidhamma.