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Shwegyin Nikaya
Buddhist monastic order in Myanmar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Shwegyin Nikāya (Burmese: ရွှေကျင်နိကာယ; MLCTS: Hrwekyang Ni.kaya., IPA: [ʃwèdʑɪ́ɰ̃ nḭkàja̰]; also spelt Shwekyin Nikāya) is the second largest monastic order of monks in Burma.[1] It is one of nine legally sanctioned monastic orders (Pali: gaṇa) in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.[2]
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Statistics
According to 2016 statistics published by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, 50,692 monks belonged to this monastic order, representing 9.47% of all monks in the country, making it the second largest order after Sudhammā.[3] With respect to geographic representation, the plurality of Shwegyin monks live in Yangon Region (23.66%), followed by Sagaing Region (17.47%), Bago Region (16.58%), and Mandalay Region (13.98%).[3] In 2016, the order had 3,608 monasteries, representing 6% of the country's monasteries.[4]
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Doctrine
Shwegyin Nikaya is a more orthodox order than Sudhammā Nikāya, with respect to adherence to the Vinaya,[5] and its leadership is more centralized and hierarchical.[6] The head of the Shwegyin Nikaya is called the Sangha Sammuti (သံဃာသမ္မုတိ), whose authority on doctrine and religious practice is considered absolute (နိကာယဓိပတိ ဥက္ကဋ္ဌ မဟာနာယက ဓမ္မသေနာပတိ).[7]
History
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The monastic order was founded in 1860 by Ashin Zagara, a chief abbot monk in the village of Shwegyin (translated into English as Gold or suvaṇṇa into Pāḷi); hence, its name.[7] It formally separated from the Sudhammā Nikāya during the reign of King Mindon Min, and attempts to reconcile the two sects by the last king of Burma, Thibaw Min, were unsuccessful.[1]
The Shwegyin sect emerged as a response to King Mindon’s centralized control over the Sangha via the Thudhamma Council.[8] After clashing with sangha authorities, the Shwegyin Sayadaw secured royal approval to remain independent from the thathanabaing and Thudhamma Council.[9] Known for their strict adherence to Vinaya, Shwegyin monks distinguished themselves from the more lenient Thudhamma majority, reflecting broader religious divisions shaped by colonial influence.[9]
Under British colonial rule, the group gradually formalized its structure to preserve its identity amid the loss of monarchical support.[10] By 1920, the Shwegyin monks held their first official meeting, asserting their autonomy while still recognizing the Thudhamma Council.[10] They established their own administrative system, court, monk registry, and historical records.[10] Their leader functioned similarly to a thathanabaing, overseeing organization, discipline, and doctrinal matters, effectively creating an independent, self-governing monastic body.[10]
Monks of the order did not participate in the nationalist and anti-colonial movement in British Burma of the early 1900s. In the 1960s, with the ascent of Ne Win to power, the order gained monastic influence in the country, as Ne Win sought counsel from a monk at the Mahagandayon Monastery, a Shwegyin monastery in Amarapura.[11] During the 2021 Myanmar protests, the order urged Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to immediately cease the assaults on unarmed civilians and to refrain from engaging in theft and property destruction.[12][13] Its leading monks reminded the senior general to be a good Buddhist,[12] which entailed keeping to the Five Precepts required for at least a human rebirth.[a]
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Religious Authorities
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The following are the Sayadaws who have served as the religious authorities of Shwe Kyin from the time of King Minton to the present day in the Burmese calendar. [15]
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Notes
- This letter, released in March, gained notoriety for the discrepancies between its signed original draft and its final version, the latter which appears to have legitimized Min Aung Hlaing's rule through a veiled reference to him as king.[14] The Burmese word for 'king', min (Burmese: မင်း; MLCTS: mang:), coincides with the first syllable of the general's name,[14] even in the Burmese script.
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References
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