This thesis is research on Chinese Buddhism in Yangon, Myanmar. For Chinese Buddhism in Myanmar, the Chinese Buddhist monasteries in Yangon have acted and functioned as Mission Church and Educational center for Sangha (Community of Monks and Nuns), leading the other Chinese Buddhist monasteries in Myanmar, they are the center. Therefore, to research Chinese Buddhism in Myanmar has to start with Chinese Buddhist monasteries in Yangon. There is a pattern that can be found in the development of Chinese Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Wherever there are Chinese, there is Buddhism. What kind of Buddhism is there depends on what kind of Chinese immigrants. The orthodox traditional Buddhism belief among Chinese in Southeast Asia, though, was not the first kind of Buddhism in Myanmar in the beginning. The early Chinese immigrants into Southeast Asia were laborers and merchants. The religious belief they brought into Southeast Asia was mixed with deities, Tao and Buddhist belief. Then the late Chinese immigrants were educated people and intellectuals. It was at this time that orthodox traditional Buddhism belief was set up. Due to different backgrounds of different country’s politics, economics, social culture, the number of Chinese, and the participation of educated Chinese monks and nuns, there are two features of development of Chinese Buddhism in Southeast Asia. One is thriving and the other is declining. It is the declining phenomenon in Chinese Buddhism that is predominant in today Myanmar. Basically, the main religious belief in Myanmar is Theravada Buddhism. There is no cultural role for Mahayana Buddhism as equal as that for Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar. The Chinese Buddhist monks and nuns have been working hard for almost 80 years to get the recognition of Burmese society. They first established the Chinese Buddhist Sangha (Community of Monks and Nuns) Association in 1958, and then invited monks from both Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism to participate in the activities of the Association. They were later invited by the Burmese government to represent Chinese Buddhism and to be involved in the event of Receiving the Relic of the Buddha’s Tooth, and they were also invited by The World Fellowship Of Buddhists to take part in the activities. All of these events together indicate the cultural role of Mahayana Buddhism is being recognized by Burmese society more and more. Chinese Buddhism in Yangon went through the social changes of British colonization, the Myanmar-Japan War, and, after the independence of Myanmar, the policy of Burmanization and isolationism, as well as the events of excluding Chinese. Under all sorts of bad circumstances from outside and lack of the leadership from educated and intellectual Chinese monks from inside, the feature of today’s Chinese Buddhist Monasteries in Yangon is: building monasteries and keeping watching and guarding them, and ordaining monks and nuns to continue the Buddhism lineage. Moreover, Chinese Buddhist monasteries have been seen as a system of conserving liturgy, ritual, and rites, especially for funerals. It is since the Open Reformation of Myanmar in 1988 that Chinese Buddhism in Myanmar has started again to connect with outside resources, and now it is at the beginning phase of a new level of development.
