“Buddhist Monastic Boundary (sima) as an Explanatory Concept in the Contemporary Conception of the State in Southeast Asia”
Presented by Professor Ian Harris, Senior Research Fellow, Documentation Center of Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Date: Monday October 2, 2006
Time: 12:00 – 1:15 PM
Place: Institute of Asian Research, C.K. Choi Building Room 120, 1855 West Mall
For Theravada Buddhism a monastic boundary (sima) demarcates the special space set aside for ordination, the recitation of monastic rules, and confession. I shall provide a brief description of the uniquely sacrificial character of the sima-planting ceremony in both Cambodia and Thailand before attempting to illustrate the manner in which this key vinaya category has tended to break free from its original monastic context to influence the wider socio-political environment. More specifically, I argue that Cambodia’s recent and current obsession with violation of its borders by neighbouring countries contains strongly exorcistic and purificatory elements related to the traditional concept of the sima.
Dr. Harris is a candidate for the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation Chair in Buddhism and Contemporary Society. For more information, contact: Karen Jew, Institute of Asian Research.
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