Renaissance of Buddhism and Vipassana Meditation in Modern Burma

The paper describes Theravada Buddhism adopted in South-East Asia. In the first part the author (of Burmese origin but working in Poland) presents the traditional relations between the Burmese State and Buddhism. The British colonial regime separated state administration from religious structure and deprived the Sangha of the state protection in the political, financial and educational spheres. Under such circumstances Buddhism suffered from degeneration and decomposition, even though it had been combined with the national identity. On the other hand, the Burmese, used to the traditional political-and-religious state power, disrespected the foreign (solely political) administration. Independence resulted in the re-establishment of the traditional model of state power and of the state protection of Buddhism and the Sangha. The author outlines the main functions Buddhism performs in the modern Burmese State and its changing policy towards the Sangha. In his opinion, U Nu’s concept of democracy differed essentially from Western standards, since the government tried to “purify the citizens of their moral impurities” to build up a “Buddhist society”. For ten years General Ne Win’s military regime maintained a predominantly civilian character, but later on it increased its ties with Buddhism and the Sangha. It resulted in a peculiar “Buddhist socialism” that combined Marxism and Buddhism. After 1988 the new military regime emphasised its religious ties even more. The state protection of Buddhism and the Sangha served not only to increase the authorities’ prestige, but also their control over the Sangha. The regime organised numerous magnificent religious ceremonies that undoubtedly increased the prestige of the ruling military junta. In the second part of the study, the author shows the close ties of the Sangha with Burmese society and analyses the role of meditation in Buddhism. He outlines the particular characteristics of Buddhism and explains essential Buddhist notions. Then he moves on to a more detailed description of meditation itself and of its important place in the Buddhist Path. In addition to individual meditation practice, there was a lay meditation movement, which evolved as a kind of millenaristic national movement under the British colonial regime. It changed the traditional relations between the Burmese society and Buddhism. The Buddhist master Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982) contributed much to this new religious development in independent Burma. Notwithstanding the changes of the regime, the Buddhist mass meditation movement remains an important part of the Burmese social and spiritual life and it has great impact on Burmese society