The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second Edition

Rites of Passage

50 part 1 Whatever the historical explanation of the festival of Loi Krathong, it remains one of the most picturesque celebrations in Thailand, despite its tenuous connections with doctrinal Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Buddhist rationalizations have been provided for it, and where Buddhist temples are located near rivers, people take their krathongs into the temple compound to be blessed or to circumambulate the sacred precincts before placing them in the water; however, Loi Krathong represents a festival that defies identification as “Buddhist.” Perhaps for this reason both now and in the past, some Thai Buddhist monasteries choose this night to preach the popular, Vessantara J¡taka, thereby appending to this celebratory occasion a Buddhist meaning. Rites of Passage Buddhism in Southeast Asia has not only integrated into its own sacred history a culture’s seasonal, agricultural rhythm, but also has marked and celebrated important junctures in the life cycle of individuals in the community. These life passage rituals integrate various cultural elements. Traditionally, birth rites have had little or no connection with Theravada Buddhism, but adolescent, early adulthood, old age, and death rites have been assimilated into a Buddhist scheme of life passage or transition rituals.77 Male adolescent or puberty initiatory rites take the form of temporary ordination into the monastic order. In Myanmar, ear-piercing rituals are held for girls at the same time as male ordinations. Marriage constitutes a major young adult passage rite in which Buddhist monks may play a minor role, primarily to chant suttas for the protection and well-being of the couple or to preach a sermon and act as recipients of merit-making gifts. Buddhism has been especially associated with death rites or funeral observances throughout greater Asia. Life passage rites are open to several interpretations: to ensure a safe transition from one stage of life to another; to integrate the life cycle of the individual into the ongoing life pattern of the community; to place the individual within a cosmological structure governed by various unseen but the popular tradition: inclusive syncretism 51 relatively unpredictable powers such as kamma, gods, or protective spirits; or to relate the life of the individual and the community to the ethical and spiritual teachings of Buddhism. The remainder of this section will examine the rituals associated with four life passage periods: adolescence, young adulthood, aging, and death. We shall focus on the first and the last of these two rites, novitiate ordination and the funeral ceremony. Regarding the latter , S. J. Tambiah observes, “In no other rites of passage . . . is Buddhism so directly concerned with a human event.”78 Joining the Sangha Ordination into the Theravada Buddhist sangha can be interpreted on a variety of levels. From a doctrinal perspective, monks are religious virtuosos , that is, in seeking ordination, monks commit themselves to a lifelong pursuit of nibbana, Buddhism’s highest goal, within the context of the monastic order. The Pali words, bhikkhu/bhikkhuni,79 refer to one who gives up ordinary pursuits of livelihood for a higher goal—to become a mendicant or almsperson. Alms seeking “is not just a means of subsistence, but an outward token that . . . [they] have renounced the world and all its goods and have thrown . . . [themselves] for bare living on the chances of public charity.”80 The Dhammapada, the best known of all Theravada texts, characterizes the doctrinal ideal of the monk as follows: . . . the true monk is one whose senses are restrained and who is controlled in body and speech; he is contented with what he receives, is not envious of others and has no thought of himself. Such selflessness is rooted in the Buddha’s truth (dhamma), and the monk who dwells in and meditates on the dhamma is firmly established in the Truth (saddhamma). Such a being is suffused with loving kindness (metta), possesses the cardinal virtues, is refined in conduct, and is filled with a transcendental joy. Confident in the Buddha’s teachings, having attained peace and supreme bliss, the monk ‘illumines this world like the moon from a cloud.’81 52 part 1 Ideal monks are those who seek and attain the truth exemplified in the person of the Buddha. Having reached this goal they become morally and spiritually transformed, irradiating the Buddha’s dhamma for the benefit of humankind. In all Theravada countries, meditation monasteries maintain an environment of peaceful tranquility where men and women pursue the Buddhist ideal of nibbana...