Renunciation and Power: The Quest for Sainthood in Contemporary Burma (review)

Despite its rich religious culture, scholarship on Burmese Buddhism has been given little attention by historians of religion. Most of the scholarship on Burma has been predominantly conducted by political and cultural anthropologists. Rozenberg's recent work is another example of this trend. Renunciation and Power is an excellent anthropological study of the ideology of Buddhist sainthood, highlighting the eight contemporary saints in Burma, the nature of saintly asceticism, the political ideology of sainthood, and saint worship. With his engaging writing and thoughtful analysis of these saints, Rozenberg marks a new voice for Buddhist studies, anthropology, and Asian studies.

Rozenberg starts the book by claiming that Buddhist doctrine has never been interesting to him (vii). However, he found the "Buddhist saint culture" completely enthralling, and he ended up studying in Burma for several years. The monograph consists of three parts: "Values that Qualify," "Activities that Certify," and "Saint by or Against the State?" Parts I and II contain two chapters each, while part III has three chapters. It is followed by a conclusion, endnotes, and an updated bibliography.

While reconstructing the values that legitimize someone as a living saint in chapter one, Rozenberg analyzes two famous saints: Thamanya and Myaing Gyi Ngu Hsayadaw. These two saints identify themselves as forest meditative monks who have accomplished spiritual excellence. Rozenberg argues that the ideology of sainthood is developed on the basis of an ideological war between city and forest monks (41).

Saint ideology is intractably associated with the Burmese word weikza (superman/supernatural activities), a term that has multiple meanings and manifestations. Scholars of Burmese culture encounter many difficulties in trying to interpret weikza phenomena correctly. While engaging such problems in the second chapter, Rozenberg corrects a misinterpretation of weikza. He does this nicely by distinguishing two kinds of weikza: mundane and supramundane (47). The mundane aspects of weikza, which are the practices of supernatural power, alchemy, and talisman, are open for everyone. In contrast, supramundane weikza is obtainable only by a yahanda, or arahant, who has attained enlightenment (61).

Chapter three explores the issue of the saint's role in lottery practices and gambling. A saint's ability to predict the winning numbers of a lottery can be described as a kind of test of his spiritual achievement (83). The central focus of chapter four is the ceremonial birthday celebration of Thamanya Hsayadaw, who is the most publicly recognized saint. Here, Rozenberg documents the practice of generosity, reciprocity, and redistribution in the institutionalized saint tradition, which he calls "symbolic capital of saintliness" and "absolute detachment" (102).

Chapter five provides the details of how the development of religion is enacted through participation in numerous religious projects such as restoring ancient pagodas, building monasteries, and erecting an ordination hall. He argues that the feature of saints in Burma is always paradoxical (69). The last two chapters examine the dual roles between the state and the saint-monks in relation to the notion of "making religion." Rozenberg's goal is not to show how Buddhism and the state work together to control the people, but how the state interferes with the development of sainthood. In Rozenberg's observation, this is done through the act of "Buddhacization" (129-30). Through the scheme of Buddhacization, the state not only fulfills its role as protector and promoter of religion, but also strongly establishes its authority over monasticism (134).

One main weakness of the book is the lack of detailed exploration into meditative aspects of the saints; a detailed account of such aspects would have strengthened the book. Nonetheless, the overall strength of the book comes from Rozenberg's lucid storytelling and ethnography, as well as his ability to synthesize data collected from local narratives. The book definitely deserves to be appreciated by all—specialists, non-specialists, and graduate students. I highly recommend it to everyone...