[INDOLOGY] New Publication

[x kiepue]

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appearance of a new volume of the Journal


*Buddhism, Law & Society*, *Vol. 6 (2020–2021)*

*Contents*

Rebecca Redwood French, Comparative Law and Buddhist Legal Systems:
Editor’s Introduction



Hiroko Kawanami, The Making of an “Inside Enemy”: A Study of the Sky-Blue
Sect in Myanmar

Abstract: This essay is a study of Mòpyar Gaing in Myanmar, an unorthodox
Buddhist sect that became prominent in the 1980s and U Nyana its founder
monk gained notoriety for propagating the concept of ‘this-worldly karma’,
which led to his imprisonment for almost 20 years. The uncertainty that
followed Myanmar’s political reform and social trans-formation in the last
decade has contributed to intra-communal tensions and the rise of Buddhist
nationalism. Unorthodox religious viewpoints regarded as threatening to law
and order have been de-authenticated and discredited. Although the Myanmar
penal code was not used to regulate religious activities, rebuilding of law
and order in society has become a priority for the state, increasingly
bound up with a pronounced religious nationalism. Meanwhile, the state
Vinicchaya court, established with a broad aim of purifying the sangha,
have come to function as an official channel to penalize monastic
transgressions, through which scholarly monks eliminate heretical ideas and
impose their notions of Theravada Buddhist orthodoxy.



Jens W. Borgland, Lies, Laymen and False Accusations: the
*pātranikubjana *procedure
in the *Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya*

Abstract: This paper examines the monastic procedure known as “turning the
bowl upside down” (*pātranikubjana*), by means of which laypeople may be
excluded from regular interaction with the *saṃgha*. Focusing primarily on
the canonical presentation in the *Kṣudrakavastu *(“Chapter on
Miscellanea”) of the *Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya *(MSV), where the procedure
is performed against a layman who falsely accuses a monk of having had sex
with his wife, I examine how this procedure relates to other rules
regarding false accusations in the MSV, monastic punishment procedures (
*daṇḍakarman*), as well as the proceedings connected with the *aniyata
*(“undetermined”)
rules, which regulate cases with lay accusers or witnesses. English
translations of the *pātranikubjana *sections preserved in Chinese
translations in the MSV (T 1451), *Sarvāstivāda vinaya *(T 1435),
*Dharmaguptaka
vinaya *(T 1428), *Mahīśāsaka vinaya *(T 1421), and *Mahāsāṃghika vinaya *(T
1425) are included as an appendix.



Petra Kieffer-Pülz, Brief Summary of the Development of Buddhist Monastic
Law Codes and Institution

Abstract: The first part of this contribution traces the origins and
development of the Buddhist monastic law codes (*Vinaya*), their
composition and dating. These law codes contain the rules and regulations
which function as a guide and directive for the monastics of the Buddhist
communities (*saṅgha*) and are therefore also central for an investigation
of the Buddhist institution, namely the *saṅgha*. The Buddhist *saṅgha *in
its widest sense comprises monastics and lay followers alike. In a narrower
sense it refers to the monastics only, that is to monks and nuns. It is
this sense which is the focus of the second part of this contribution, for
the *saṅgha *of the monastics was responsible for transmitting the teaching
of the Buddha, for teaching nuns, novices and lay followers, and thus for
keeping Buddhism alive. We will outline the development of the Buddhist
*saṅgha*, and trace its role and legal structure.



Gilbert Z. Chen, Impermanent Expulsion: Monastic Discipline in
Nineteenth-Century China

Abstract: In the field of Buddhism, it is widely assumed that the penalty
of expulsion results in the permanent and irrevocable withdrawal of a
transgressive monk or nun from the Buddhist monastic order. This view,
however, is empirically flawed. Drawing upon legal case records involving
monastics from the Ba County Archive of the Qing Dynasty, in this paper I
argue that local practice of expulsion was a process of negotiation that
often ended with the expelled cleric’s reinstatement. More specifically, I
begin with a discussion of various causes leading to a cleric’s expulsion,
arguing for a more contextualized understanding of clerical transgression.
The paper then moves on to analyze the tension-ridden procedure of
expulsion, highlighting the temple’s dilemma of getting embroiled in
liability disputes concerning its expelled cleric. Finally, I examine
various life trajectories an expelled cleric might encounter in the
aftermath of expulsion, unveiling the social mechanism contributing to
his/her reinstatement.



journal website: http://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/journals/buddhism.html


With best wishes,

Petra Kieffer-Pülz

****************************

Dr. Petra Kieffer-Puelz
Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz, Germany
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