List of Illustrations .......................................... vi
Foreword ...................................................... vii
Acknowledgments .............................................. x
Note on transcription and abbreviations ..................... xi
Eight monks ................................................. xi
Introduction—How Does One Become a Saint? ....................... I
Part I. Values That Qualify .................................... II
1. "Going into the forest": Absolute Renunciation .............. 13
The second renunciation ..................................... 13
The forest as a place of purity ............................. 19
A path paved with exploits .................................. 24
The sources of the Burmese sainthood imaginaire ............. 30
2. The "Weikza Path": Supernatural Power and Spiritual
Accomplishment .............................................. 42
A Burmese conundrum ......................................... 42
Shifting the question ....................................... 44
The enduring ambiguity of a word ............................ 45
Two ways to nirvana ......................................... 47
Supernatural powers: a discriminating criterion of
spiritual perfection? ....................................... 57
The conundrum answered ...................................... 60
Part II. Activities That Certify ............................... 69
3. Predicting .................................................. 72
Lottery, the other opium of the Burmese people .............. 72
The forest of predictions ................................... 74
Testing society ............................................. 81
4. Redistributing .............................................. 87
A birthday ceremony and what it says ........................ 87
Two types of giving relationships: reciprocity and
redistribution .............................................. 88
Thamanya Hsayadaw's birthday (I): reciprocity at work ....... 91
Thamanya Hsayadaw's birthday (II): redistribution at work ... 97
5. Building ................................................... 104
Entrepreneur monks ......................................... 104
Two ways to weave Buddhism into space ...................... 107
The sainthood syndicate .................................... 113
Part III. Saint By or Against the State? ...................... 119
6. The Double-Edged State ..................................... 123
When the state purifies .................................... 123
When the state sanctifies .................................. 129
Keeping alert .............................................. 132
7. Not Too Close, Not Too Far: Keeping a Fair Distance ........ 135
Parrying the risk of stately pollution ..................... 135
The "unclassifiability" of the saint ....................... 138
A unique configuration ..................................... 143
Conclusion—The Principle of Sainthood ......................... 149
Notes ......................................................... 159
Bibliography .................................................. 172
Illustrations
FIGURE
4.1 The birthday of Thamanya Hsayadaw: circulation of gifts,
circulation of merit ....................................... 98
MAP
Burma, showing sites of the eight monks facing
page ............................................ facing page 1
|
