Author Affiliation: Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
關鍵詞
Buddhist nationalism; Ma Ba Tha; nationalism; Buddhism; religion and politics; Burma/Myanmar
摘要
Since 2012, Buddhist nationalist movements – especially the 969 movement and Ma Ba Tha – have emerged in Burma/Myanmar seeking to defend Buddhism against mainly the Muslim minority, with monks delivering nationalist anti-Muslim sermons to huge audiences. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how a discriminatory nationalist agenda can – by appealing to the common trope of Buddhism-in-danger – appear to be justified to Buddhists. Based mainly on nationalist sermons, as well as on fieldwork and nationalist publications, this article examines discourse on the Buddha as a nationalist. First, it argues that Burmese Buddhist nationalism, analytically, should be understood as a ressentiment ideological discourse that also informs a Buddhist-nationalist discipline claimed to bring karmic merit. Second, it traces the roots of this ideology to the colonial period. Third, the article outlines and seeks to define how ‘Buddhist nationalism’ should be understood in an emic sense.
目次
Abstract 661 The nation and nationalist ideology 663 The emergence of Burmese nationalism in the colonial period: a Burman Buddhist identity 664 Nationalist ressentiment ideology: anti-Indian and anti-Muslim sentiments in the colonial period 666 969 and Ma Ba Tha: a Buddhist state, Buddhist nationalism, and a Buddhist nation 668 The Buddha as a nationalist bodhisatta: the origin of nationalism 669 Gotama Buddha as a devoted nationalist: saving the Sākiya clan and protecting racial purity 673 Defending Buddhism and the nation against the Muslim other 677 Is this Buddhist nationalist ideology marginal within Ma Ba Tha? 680 Burmese Buddhist nationalism: blurred boundaries 680 The nationalist discipline: social, religious, and political implications 683 Conclusion 685 Acknowledgements 686 Disclosure statement 686 Funding 686 Notes on contributor 687 References 687
