Encyclopedia of Buddhism

Japan (Sharf) and Thailand, illustrating perhaps that
modernist reformism is not simply a by-product of Eu-
ropean colonialism. In a Southeast Asian context,
“Protestant” influence can be seen most clearly in the
views of reformist leaders such as ANAGA
RIKA
DHARMAPA
LA(born David Hewavitarane, 1864–1933)
in Sri Lanka and Sayadaw U Ottama (d. 1921) in
Burma. Both emphasized the need for a “Buddhist Re-
formation” in order to overcome what they saw as the
decadence of the “superstitious ritualism” of folk or
“village” Buddhism. This also involved a call for the
san ̇gha to become more socially reformist and service-
oriented with regard to the needs of lay society. The
trends can be seen to involve a number of “Protestant”
elements. First, there is the desire to return to the pu-
rity of the Buddha’s original teachings, bereft of pop-
ular superstitions. Second, there is an emphasis on
bringing an understanding of Buddhist sacred litera-
ture directly to the people as the basis for understand-
ing the Buddha’s message. Finally, there is also an
emphasis upon “this-worldly asceticism” to be mani-
fested through acts of social service and in some cases
political activism by the monks.

Although Western influence is evident in all of these
trends one should be careful not to read such reformist
projects merely as mirrored responses to a European
Christian agenda. This would be to erase the indige-
nous aspects of such responses. “Protestant Bud-
dhism,” if one can call it that, not only reflected the
impact of European ideas upon Asian Buddhists, but
also represented indigenous protestations against Eu-
ropean colonialism and the claim that Western civi-
lization was morally and spiritually superior to
Buddhism. The promotion of a socially oriented ethic,
while clearly a response to centuries of Christian mis-
sionary criticism of Buddhism as a world-denying tra-
dition, was firmly grounded in Buddhist notions of
compassionate service to all. A key shift that began
during this period (and which provided the intellec-
tual foundation for what has since become known as
“ENGAGEDBUDDHISM”) was the rearticulation of tra-
ditional Buddhist goals, such as NIRVA
NA, in socio-
political and often explicitly anticolonial terms. In
Burma, for instance, the monk and political activist
U Ottama explicitly linked the attainment of libera-
tion to freedom from social, economic, and colonial
oppression. In the 1940s this link was rearticulated by
Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) in the notion
of a “mundane liberation” (lokanibba
na) of the Bur-
mese people from British colonial rule (Houtman).
The latter half of the twentieth century saw the end of

European imperialism and the establishment of

independent states in the former Asian colonies. In

this context the process of understanding the effects

that centuries of European colonial influence had

upon Buddhist civilization and its significance has

only just begun.

See also:Christianity and Buddhism; Communism

and Buddhism; Modernity and Buddhism; National-

ism and Buddhism

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RICHARDKING

COLONIALISM ANDBUDDHISM