5 - The forest-monk tradition in Southeast Asia: a historical backdrop

Summary

The classical and well-entrenched duality within the sangha between those monks labeled forest dwellers (āraññavāsī/vanavāsī) and village or town dwellers (gāmavāsī/nagaravāsī) is frequently seen as corresponding (though not always perfectly) to another division between monks devoted to the vocation of meditation (vipassanādhura) or “practice” (patipatti) and the vocation of books (ganthadhura) or learning (pariyatti). While these dualities or oppositions may seem sharply defined and mutually exclusive, it is important to realize that ideally the bhikkhu should combine both vocations and that in actuality one vocation does not necessarily exclude the other. Moreover, the oppositions are not necessarily homologous and need not therefore create consistent profiles; thus in Thailand, as elsewhere, town-dwelling monks and urban monasteries have promoted meditation, and there have been forest-monk communities that have produced well-known scholars. Nor have forest dwellers and town dwellers, or those dedicated to learning and those to meditation, necessarily constituted separate sects. Burma provides us with examples of mainstream “orthodox” sects or fraternities spawning groups or sections that hive off and dedicate themselves to “purer” Vinaya practices or more appropriate vocational paths, however they are defined. For Sri Lanka, a famous example is Välvita Saraṇamkara, who initiated a reform movement within the dominant Siyam Nikāya with the aim of learning and observing the Vinaya rules. Correspondingly, as instantiated by the history of the Thammayut sect in Thailand, a reform-oriented sect that begins in opposition to the establishment may itself in the course of time develop the full spectrum of activities and orientations manifested by the latter.

Finally, there is still another source of ambiguity that spoils any simple dichotomization. Orthodoxy is frequently seen as conformity with the disciplinary rules defined in the canonical Vinaya code.