Yogavacara Traditions in Theravada Buddhist Societies
Lead Research Organisation:
School of Oriental and African Studies
Department Name: Study of Religions
Abstract
Theravada Buddhism is regarded as a conservative form of Buddhism that preserves 'early' Buddhism, in keeping with early Buddhist texts, while other forms of Buddhism (broadly Mahayana and Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism) developed new expressions. However, it is clear from manuscript and practitioner lineages that Theravada is not monolithic. Yogavacara designates a system of Theravada practice open to lay and ordained practitioners that involves incorporating qualities of the Buddha into the body and applying the power thus gained to soteriological and practical ends, e.g. healing and protection in warfare.
There are striking similarities between yogavacara and Vajrayana in terms of somatic practice and ritual enactment, although there is no evidence of non-Theravada terminology or pantheon. It is our view that these similarities relate to the shared influence of developments in understanding of such sciences as embryology, alchemy, and group theory mathematics throughout the Indian subcontinent and broader region. Yogavacara can be seen not as a corruption of Theravada, but as its development in keeping with the science and world view of pre-modern Asia.
Partly under the influence of European colonialism, reforms swept Theravada countries during the 18-20th centuries. These based themselves on early canonical materials predating yogavacara developments. They also sought to present Buddhism as consistent with Western science, but emphasised the superiority of Eastern mind-culture in the face of the apparent superiority of Western somatic culture. The result obscured forms of Theravada such as yogavacara which did not fit with this model of Buddhism. We have clear evidence of this struggle between reform and traditional Theravada in French Cambodia.
As a result of such reforms and exacerbated by the destruction of Buddhist lineages and material culture-e.g. under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia-yogavacara today is marginal, surviving in lineages in Cambodian boran Theravada (now in a process of revival), in Thailand in dhammakaya practices (under threat) and in a small number of Bangkok temples, and possibly in some Bangladeshi and Burmese 'non-orthodox' lineages (subject to secrecy). Textual remains, especially meditation manuals, are also found in some Sri Lankan and Southeast Asian collections, but have been little documented, identified or edited because their content has not been recognised or understood by classically-trained (in canonical Theravada) scholars.
There is nevertheless an increasing scholarly recognition of the importance of yogavacara. It needs to be established whether yogavacara was the dominant form of Theravada in the pre-reform period. Put another way, is the perceived similarity of modern Theravada to early Buddhism the result of reform rather than continuous tradition and did pre-modern Theravada look more like the esoteric forms of East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism?
The researchers on this project, Kate Crosby and Catherine Newell, working on Sri Lanka and Thailand respectively, have noted a range of evidence for court and high-ranking monastic sponsorship of yogavacara in the 18-19th centuries. In this project they will, through archival research, seek to clarify the extent to which yogavacara was the dominant form of Theravada and what led to its demise and marginalisation. They will also bring together the primary and secondary materials relevant to yogavacara studies on a single website, through which the planned database will be accessible. Interested academics and other stakeholders will be invited to join a discussion network based around a LISTSERV-style email list. In addition to writing scholarly articles on the transition of yogavacara's standing during the reform and colonial periods, they will incorporate the findings in teaching materials, including the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell Theravada Buddhism, to ensure the findings feed directly into broader representations of Theravada.
There are striking similarities between yogavacara and Vajrayana in terms of somatic practice and ritual enactment, although there is no evidence of non-Theravada terminology or pantheon. It is our view that these similarities relate to the shared influence of developments in understanding of such sciences as embryology, alchemy, and group theory mathematics throughout the Indian subcontinent and broader region. Yogavacara can be seen not as a corruption of Theravada, but as its development in keeping with the science and world view of pre-modern Asia.
Partly under the influence of European colonialism, reforms swept Theravada countries during the 18-20th centuries. These based themselves on early canonical materials predating yogavacara developments. They also sought to present Buddhism as consistent with Western science, but emphasised the superiority of Eastern mind-culture in the face of the apparent superiority of Western somatic culture. The result obscured forms of Theravada such as yogavacara which did not fit with this model of Buddhism. We have clear evidence of this struggle between reform and traditional Theravada in French Cambodia.
As a result of such reforms and exacerbated by the destruction of Buddhist lineages and material culture-e.g. under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia-yogavacara today is marginal, surviving in lineages in Cambodian boran Theravada (now in a process of revival), in Thailand in dhammakaya practices (under threat) and in a small number of Bangkok temples, and possibly in some Bangladeshi and Burmese 'non-orthodox' lineages (subject to secrecy). Textual remains, especially meditation manuals, are also found in some Sri Lankan and Southeast Asian collections, but have been little documented, identified or edited because their content has not been recognised or understood by classically-trained (in canonical Theravada) scholars.
There is nevertheless an increasing scholarly recognition of the importance of yogavacara. It needs to be established whether yogavacara was the dominant form of Theravada in the pre-reform period. Put another way, is the perceived similarity of modern Theravada to early Buddhism the result of reform rather than continuous tradition and did pre-modern Theravada look more like the esoteric forms of East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism?
The researchers on this project, Kate Crosby and Catherine Newell, working on Sri Lanka and Thailand respectively, have noted a range of evidence for court and high-ranking monastic sponsorship of yogavacara in the 18-19th centuries. In this project they will, through archival research, seek to clarify the extent to which yogavacara was the dominant form of Theravada and what led to its demise and marginalisation. They will also bring together the primary and secondary materials relevant to yogavacara studies on a single website, through which the planned database will be accessible. Interested academics and other stakeholders will be invited to join a discussion network based around a LISTSERV-style email list. In addition to writing scholarly articles on the transition of yogavacara's standing during the reform and colonial periods, they will incorporate the findings in teaching materials, including the forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell Theravada Buddhism, to ensure the findings feed directly into broader representations of Theravada.
Planned Impact
Beyond the immediate academic community and students (as detailed in the Academic Beneficiaries section above) we see this project as relevant to:
1) Practitioner Communities.
The project can support the protection of freedom of religious expression by demonstrating the existence of historical authority and prestige for yogavacara traditions. In Asia and beyond, the very survival can be threatened of 'Theravada' Buddhist practitioners whose Buddhism reflects yogavacara or related practices, and thereby does not fit within parameters of contemporary 'orthodoxy'. In Thailand and Cambodia, 'corruption of the Sasana' is a crime punishable by fine, exile, forced disrobing and even incarceration. In resource-strapped Bangladesh, an accusation of 'corrupting the sasana' can leave monks without food. In recent years the governments and Sangha councils of both Sri Lanka and Cambodia have independently hosted discussions on how to enhance state control of the Sangha (Buddhist monastic institutions), and in particular how to allow the state to intervene to force disrobing of monks. In all these countries, greater or lesser remnants of yogavacara inform religious diversity. Whether or not an individual becomes the object of such an accusation often depends on whether that person is perceived as a threat in some other sense, but the ability to defend religious expression often depends on what is perceived as orthodox. Theravada is currently regarded as essentially monolithic and at times of dispute practice is only considered orthodox if there is authority for it in early, canonical texts; thus, yogavacara-related traditions cannot defend themselves against such accusations of unorthodoxy. We have seen instances in modern Cambodia, Thailand and Bangladesh of the effects of this vulnerability. In present-day Cambodia, temples known for their yogavacara-related 'boran' practices seem to be quite safe for now because-in that volatile environment-high-ranking politicians seek to bolster their hold on power through blessings from yogavacara-empowered monks (in complete contrast to experiences during the French period). In Thailand, the Dhammakaya temples, which teach a simplified form of yogavacara practice, continue to be accused of teaching a corrupt form of Buddhism. In this case, there is now a move within Dhammakaya temples to engage in research into textual and academic authority for their practices, and we would seek specifically to invite those engaged in such work to become members of our network and make use of the website. We, the applicants, have no partisan involvement, but nevertheless see that our research is of relevance in safeguarding religious diversity and freedom of expression.
2) Art galleries, archives and museums. An increasing interest is being taken in two forms of local Buddhist material culture found in large numbers in public and private collections: amulets and a genre of 'magical' designs from Southeast Asia that appear on cloths, clothes, in temporary art and body art, especially tattoos. The yogavacara tradition is directly related to and informs such art. The publication of outcomes and explanations in accessible sources, such as the website and Theravada Buddhism course book will enhance the identification and contextualisation of such materials. We shall ensure this happens, not just through the availability of materials, but through our ongoing involvement in artifact identification (e.g. our previous projects involving The British Library, SOAS library and the Natural History Museum; ongoing work with the Victoria and Albert museum and projected work with The Horniman Museum and the collections of the Wellcome Trust).
3) Media groups and 4) The General Public
Awareness of the expertise of the project's staff will be promoted by the Project's website. With so much initial research being web-based it
1) Practitioner Communities.
The project can support the protection of freedom of religious expression by demonstrating the existence of historical authority and prestige for yogavacara traditions. In Asia and beyond, the very survival can be threatened of 'Theravada' Buddhist practitioners whose Buddhism reflects yogavacara or related practices, and thereby does not fit within parameters of contemporary 'orthodoxy'. In Thailand and Cambodia, 'corruption of the Sasana' is a crime punishable by fine, exile, forced disrobing and even incarceration. In resource-strapped Bangladesh, an accusation of 'corrupting the sasana' can leave monks without food. In recent years the governments and Sangha councils of both Sri Lanka and Cambodia have independently hosted discussions on how to enhance state control of the Sangha (Buddhist monastic institutions), and in particular how to allow the state to intervene to force disrobing of monks. In all these countries, greater or lesser remnants of yogavacara inform religious diversity. Whether or not an individual becomes the object of such an accusation often depends on whether that person is perceived as a threat in some other sense, but the ability to defend religious expression often depends on what is perceived as orthodox. Theravada is currently regarded as essentially monolithic and at times of dispute practice is only considered orthodox if there is authority for it in early, canonical texts; thus, yogavacara-related traditions cannot defend themselves against such accusations of unorthodoxy. We have seen instances in modern Cambodia, Thailand and Bangladesh of the effects of this vulnerability. In present-day Cambodia, temples known for their yogavacara-related 'boran' practices seem to be quite safe for now because-in that volatile environment-high-ranking politicians seek to bolster their hold on power through blessings from yogavacara-empowered monks (in complete contrast to experiences during the French period). In Thailand, the Dhammakaya temples, which teach a simplified form of yogavacara practice, continue to be accused of teaching a corrupt form of Buddhism. In this case, there is now a move within Dhammakaya temples to engage in research into textual and academic authority for their practices, and we would seek specifically to invite those engaged in such work to become members of our network and make use of the website. We, the applicants, have no partisan involvement, but nevertheless see that our research is of relevance in safeguarding religious diversity and freedom of expression.
2) Art galleries, archives and museums. An increasing interest is being taken in two forms of local Buddhist material culture found in large numbers in public and private collections: amulets and a genre of 'magical' designs from Southeast Asia that appear on cloths, clothes, in temporary art and body art, especially tattoos. The yogavacara tradition is directly related to and informs such art. The publication of outcomes and explanations in accessible sources, such as the website and Theravada Buddhism course book will enhance the identification and contextualisation of such materials. We shall ensure this happens, not just through the availability of materials, but through our ongoing involvement in artifact identification (e.g. our previous projects involving The British Library, SOAS library and the Natural History Museum; ongoing work with the Victoria and Albert museum and projected work with The Horniman Museum and the collections of the Wellcome Trust).
3) Media groups and 4) The General Public
Awareness of the expertise of the project's staff will be promoted by the Project's website. With so much initial research being web-based it