Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. xv, 226 pp. (Table.) US$99.99, cloth. ISBN 978-1-107-15569-5.
This is an important, fresh study of Buddhist political thought and influence in Myanmar. The book imparts a keen sense of Burmese history and culture, brought into perspective through the author’s extensive fieldwork in Myanmar over several years, where he had access to key members of the monastic order (sangha), local folk, scholars, politicians and students (though he was not permitted to work in Myanmar’s university libraries and generally does not identify his Myanmar contacts by name).
An introduction provides an extensive literature review, important because the subject has been recently and comprehensively analyzed from several perspectives, such as those of Michael Aung-Thwin, Gustaaf Houtman, and Juliane Schober, to name but a few. Seven chapters unfold the central argument: what constitutes a tradition of Burmese Buddhist political thought and concepts. The first chapter provides a synoptic review of a few pre-colonial Burmese monarchs (e.g., Mindon Min, Thibaw) and their contributions to an emerging national identity based on a traditional Theravada world-view.
Early post-independence (1948) figures and events, such as the political organization Dobama Asiayone, General Aung San, the Panglong Agreement, and the fourteen years of democracy mostly under Prime Minister U Nu, are put into focus. General Ne Win’s long military hegemony and his Burma Socialist Programme Party (1962–1988) also introduce the key subject of the place of Marxism and its relationship to Buddhist moral teachings in Burmese political thought. Most significant in this period was the 1988 mass political protest, with some sangha participation, and the emergence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as not only a key political figure, but as a national paradigm of Buddhist integrity and purpose. The chapter also introduces other themes later carefully unfolded, such as the 2007 “Saffron Revolution,” the 2010 and 2015 national elections, the quasi-civilian government of Thein Sein, and the emergence of problematic Burmese Buddhist nationalism (e.g., MaBaTha, Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion).
Chapter two provides a fine synoptic review of central Buddhist principles, such as the traditional characteristics of existence (impermanency, painfulness, non-self), moral action, merit-making, various virtues, and, above all, how those in political power (no matter how odious) were seen to deserve it because of their past good karma (kan). Important as well is the Buddhist dichotomy between lawki (the everyday material world marked by human craving) and lawkouttara (a condition free of greed, anger, and ignorance). Buddhist monks (hpoungyi) are traditionally seen as able to share their karmic merit (hpoun) with those in need, giving monks important respect. The author acknowledges that Burmese Buddhism has a vast Little Tradition of spirits, wizards (weikza), and other-worldly powers that also influence the lives of many.
Chapter three sets down the “framework of the Theravada universe” and how it has conditioned an understanding of politics. In the Burmese context, politics is initially seen as only the concern of the monarch and the elite, but in the twentieth century it became democratized with an emerging sense of national political identity (amyotha nain ngan ye). Two well-known, popular suttas from the Pali scriptures (Nikayas) provide an appropriate Buddhist philosophical and ethical background to this traditional political worldview. The Aggañña Sutta provides a treatise on human nature (inherently immoral, bound by craving) and the need for political authority in the figure of a great leader (Mahasammata). On the other hand, the Cakkavatti Sutta predicts the appearance of a righteous monarch (Sankha, Set Kya Min), and, among other things, emphasizes how a ruler is the result of a great store of merit from previous lives. These scriptures are in turn adapted to provide space and legitimacy for a politics of democracy.
A fourth chapter reflects on the two very different notions of “order” and “freedom” in colonial and post-independence Burmese political history. Initial reactions to colonialism ranged from linking the prospect of political emancipation to spiritual development and order in society (“moral freedom”) on the one hand, to socialist and even Marxist “political and economic freedom,” on the other. Of particular interest is the author’s review of Marxism and its brief embrace by key Buddhist teachers and politicians, including U Nu, U Chit Hlaing (important author of The Burmese Way to Socialism, 1962) and Ne Win. With the political upheaval of 1988 against an entrenched military government and the emerging leadership of Daw Suu Kyi, a shift in emphasis from order in society to freedom in society promoted a new sense of liberation political theory. Democracy crucially meant, among other things, the opportunity to find freedom from fear and three other traditional corruptions (desire, anger, and ignorance).
Chapter five asks what politics is in the Burmese context and what constitutes “participation.” “Space” for political participation has greatly widened since 2011, but a lingering sense of class entitlement and a traditional wariness about the “moral capacity” of some lesser-educated individuals to engage in democratic elections is apparent. Buddhist monastic involvement in politics is also controversial, but not uncommon. In the long era of military government (which technically ended in 2011), monastic political activity was discouraged. The role of the sangha in the 2007 so-called Saffron Revolution and thereafter has changed things dramatically, sometimes positively (e.g., active social work) and sometimes very negatively (pockets of racist ultra-nationalism).
A sixth chapter reflects on three notions of democracy that have some influence in contemporary Myanmar, notably the “disciplined democracy” of the former military government (aspects of which are accepted by Daw Suu Kyi), a rights-based democracy, and a so-called moral democracy based on Buddhist principles. The key feature of the promotion of national unity (nyi nyut chin) is considered a prerequisite for all of these models. A conclusion reinforces the argument that Burmese political thought will require ongoing public involvement, and an acknowledgement that Buddhism will have an active role in this discourse.
Bruce Matthews
Acadia University, Wolfville, Canada
pp. 861-863