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-PuelzAcademy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz, Germany