The Venerable Shin Uttarajīva ( ; died c. 5 October 1191) was

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of Pagan Kingdom during the reigns of three kings

Narathu , title = King of Pagan , image = , caption = , reign = 1167 – February 1171 , coronation = , succession = King of Burma , predecessor = Sithu I , ...

Naratheinkha Naratheinkha (, ; 1141–1174) was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1171 to 1174. He appointed his brother Narapati Sithu heir apparent and commander-in-chief. It was the first recorded instance in the history of the dynasty that ...

and

Narapatisithu Narapati Sithu (, ; also Narapatisithu, Sithu II or Cansu II; 1138–1211) was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1174 to 1211. He is considered the last important king of Pagan. His peaceful and prosperous reign gave rise to Burmes ...

from 1167 to 1191. The

Theravada Buddhist ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dhamma'' in th ...

monk presided over the realignment of Burmese Buddhism with the Mahavihara school of

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, away from the Conjeveram-

Thaton Thaton (; ) is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85. It is southeast of Yangon and north of Mawlamyine. Thaton was the capit ...

school of

Shin Arahan The Venerable Shin Arahan ( ; formally, Dhammadassī Mahāthera, ; 1034 – 1115) was Thathanabaing of Burma of the Pagan Kingdom from 1056 to 1115. The monk, a native of Thaton Kingdom, was the religious adviser to four Pagan kings from ...

.Harvey 1925: 55–56

History

The primate, who was of

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

descent, and a group of Burmese monks visited

on a religious mission in 1180.Hall 1960: 23 (Some Sri Lankan sources state the year of the visit was more likely circa 1171-1173.)Sirisena 1978: 67 He also brought a few young monks, including a 19-year-old Shin Chapata.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 320 Over the course of visit, Shin Uttarajiva decided to realign Burmese Theravada Buddhism, which probably came from Conjeveram in South India via Thaton, to the Mahavihara school. The returning monks refused to accept the validity of Thaton-Buddhism ordination. The quarrel became a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

: those who derived their ordination from

were known as the Former Order; those who derived it from Ceylon were known as the Latter Order. The king supported the new movement. More and more monks were sent to Ceylon where they received ordination at the ancient Mahavihara Monastery. Shin Uttarajiva died in October 1191 (right around the end of Buddhist Lent). By then, the Mahavihara school became the predominant school of Burmese Buddhism. Shin Chapata also returned from Ceylon right after his teacher's death, and carried on his teacher's reformation effort. But the old order did not yield easily. The schism lasted two centuries before Conjeveram Buddhism finally died out. Shin Uttarajiva was succeeded by Shin Siha Maha Upali as primate.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uttarajiva Theravada Buddhist monks Burmese Buddhist monks Pagan dynasty Burmese Mon people Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 12th-century Burmese people