Hngettwin Nikaya

Hngettwin Nikaya (Burmese: ငှက်တွင်နိကာယ, IPA: [ŋ̊ɛʔtwɪ̀ɰ̃ nḭkàja̰]), officially Catubhummika Mahāsatipaṭṭhana Nikāya (Burmese: စတုဘုမ္မိက မဟာသတိပဋ္ဌာန် နိကာယ) is the name of a monastic order of monks in Burma, primarily in Mandalay.^[1] Founded in the mid-19th century by the abbot of the Hngettwin Monastery, it is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders (nikaya) in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.^[2] Hngettwin Nikaya is a very orthodox order, with a minimalist and austere approach to Buddhist rituals found in Burma, not recognizing any rituals inconsistent with Buddhist doctrine, including nat spirit worship. For instance, members of this order do not worship or venerate the image of Buddha, but rather his memory and teachings.^[1]

Statistics

Ordained Buddhist monks by monastic order in Myanmar (2016).^[3]

Thudhamma Nikaya (87.24%)

Shwegyin Nikaya (9.47%)

Mahādvāra Nikāya (1.15%)

Muladvāra Nikāya (0.72%)

Veḷuvan Nikāya (0.70%)

Other (0.72%)

According to 2016 statistics published by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, 1,445 monks belonged to this monastic order, representing 0.27% of all monks in the country, making it the fourth smallest legally-sanctioned monastic order.^[3] With respect to geographic representation, the plurality of Hngettwin monks are based in Yangon Region (31.90%), followed by Mandalay Region (24.57%), Ayeyarwady Region (17.92%).^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Hngettwin Nikaya". Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
^ Gutter, Peter (2001). "Law and Religion in Burma" (PDF). Legal Issues on Burma Journal (8). Burma Legal Council: 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Account of Wazo Samgha of All Sect, M.E 1377 (2016)". The State Samgha Maha Nayaka Committee. Retrieved 2020-05-19.