Paper 02

This study examines the persistence of the Sangha (the Buddhist monastic community) in colonial Burma between 1886 and 1948, following the abolition of the monarchy and the subsequent loss of traditional state patronage. While existing scholarship often emphasizes monastic involvement in militant nationalism or symbolic politics, it pays limited attention to the specific institutional strategies employed to ensure cultural survival. Using historical analysis of primary and secondary sources, this study investigates how the monastic order adapted to a secularizing colonial state. The findings reveal that the Sangha functioned not as a passive victim but as a dynamic agent of cultural defense through three interconnected strategies: political activism, educational reform, and the vipassanā (insight meditation) meditation revival. Specifically, the research demonstrates how monks democratized Buddhist knowledge through the reinterpretation of the Vinaya (monastic code) to maintain authority without royal support. Ultimately, this study concludes that these colonial-era adaptations fundamentally shaped modern religion-state relations in Myanmar. By reframing the Sangha as a strategic actor, this thesis offers a nuanced perspective on religious resilience under imperial rule, highlighting the enduring legacy of monastic leadership in national identity within modern Burmese society.