Siyam Nikaya
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The Siyam (also Siyamopali and Siam ) Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lanka, located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand (formerly known in Europe as the "Kingdom of Siam"). The Siyam Nikaya has two major divisions (Malwatta and Asgiriya) and five other divisions within these two major units. The Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters have two separate Maha Nayakas or chief Monks.
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[edit] History
On the initiative of Ven. Weliwita Saranankara (1698-1778) the Thai monk Upali visited Kandy in 1753 during the reign of king Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747 - 1782), and there performed upasampada (higher ordination, as distinct from samanera or novice ordination) for a group of Kandyan monks. The Buddhist order had become extinct thrice during the preceding five hundred years and was re-established in the reigns of Vimala Dharma Suriya I (1591 - 1604) and Vimala Dharma Suriya II (1687 - 1707) as well. These re-establishments were short lived.
[edit] Venerable Upali
Upali Thera believed the Buddhist Sangha in Kandy was suffering from a state of corruption, which included the practice of astrology and his efforts were aimed at "purifying" the practices of the monastic order. It was also through the efforts of Upali Thera that the "procession of the tooth" came into being. Annually in Kandy there is a celebration which includes a parade in which the focus is a relic believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. This procession was originally focussed on honor to Hindu deities, particularly those incorporated into Sri Lankan Buddhism. Upali Thera believed this to be inappropriate in a Buddhist nation, and his influence led to the king declaring that "Henceforth Gods and men are to follow the Buddha".
[edit] Introduction of Caste discrimination
The Siam Nikaya now grants Higher ordination only to the Radala and Govigama castes. In the Kandyan region, higher ordination is further restricted only to 'Kandyan Govigamas' and high positions within the sect are reserved purely for the Radala caste. No restrictions seem to apply on ordaining foreign nationals and on attracting non-Govigama patrons.
The conspiracy of restricting higher ordination only to the Govigama caste is attributed to the year 1764, just over a decade after the establishment of the sect by reverend Upali. The cleansing of the Buddhist order envisaged by reverend Upali never materialized under the ruling South Indian Nayakkar Dynasty. This was a period when Buddhist Vinaya rules had been virtually abandoned and some members of the Buddhist Sangha in the Kandyan Kingdom privately held land, had wives and children, resided in private homes and were frequently called Ganinnanses. It was a period when the traditional nobility of the Kandyan Kingdom was decimated by continuous wars with the Dutch rulers of the Maritime Provinces. In the maritime provinces too a new order was replacing the old. Mandarampura Puvata, a text from the Kandyan period, narrates the above radical changes to the monastic order and shows that it was not a unanimous decision by the body of the sangha. It says that thirty two ‘senior’ members of the Sangha who opposed this change were banished to Jaffna by the leaders of the reform.
[edit] Consequences of Caste discrimination
The Govigama exclusivity of the Sangha, thus secured in 1764, was challenged by other castes in 1772 and 1798 by performing higher ordination ceremonies, respectively in Totagamuwa and Tangalle. However the validity of these ordinations was questioned on the grounds of unbroken pupillary succession. Therefore, in 1799, a Buddhist monk from the Salagama caste proceeded to Burma, obtained higher ordination, returned to Sri Lanka and established the Amarapura Nikaya sect. He was followed by Karava and Durava monks and by 1810 all three castes had regained the higher ordination denied to them in 1764 by the Govi conspirators. Ven. Weliwita Saranankara who survived several attempts at his life had also ordained a few non-govigamas even after the ban.
The Buddha has frequently condemned caste discrimination and preached that creating divisions within the Sangha is a heinous crime. However, the radical change of ordination rules by the Siyam Nikaya in 1764, and its continuance, plagues the Sri Lankan Buddhist Sangha, and the Sangha remains divided on caste lines.
[edit] The Number of Siyam Nikaya Temples and Monks
(Estimates from Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Sri Lanka) TEMPLES MONKS Malvatu Parshavaya (including Sri Rohana Parshavaya) 4,923 14,944 Asgiri Parshavaya 565 1,383 Rangiri Dambulu Parshavaya ? 200(?) Mahavihara Vansika Vanavasa Nikaya 71 889 Kotte Sri Kalyani Saamagri Nikaya, 85 230 Uve Siyamopali 22 78 Total 6018 18,780
