Leaving Theravāda Buddhism in Myanmar

Abstract

This chapter examines narratives of Burmese Buddhists who have left the “traditional” Theravāda Buddhism in Burma, into which they were born, for the teachings – stamped “heretical” and illegal by the state – of a dissident Buddhist monk, Ashin Nyāna. His teaching is claimed to represent the Buddha’s original doctrine, in contrast to the allegedly later and corrupt Theravāda Buddhism. Based on fieldwork in Myanmar, the aim of this chapter is to – using various theoretical and analytical frameworks – investigate interlinked deconversion and conversion narratives of my informants divided into three different groups, based on their attitudes (secular, devotional, or spiritual seekers) and the kind of Buddhist practice in which they were mainly engaged before converting.

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