The 15th Asia Pacific Research Prize (Iue Prize) “Commendation” winner:
Dr. Ryosuke Kuramoto

- Summary -

 How do Theravāda Buddhist monks put their doctrine into practice? This dissertation examines this question, focusing on the monk’s relationship with economic matters, that is, their relationship with property, including money in particular.
 A monk’s life under Theravāda Buddhism is ambivalent in nature; they are caught in a deep-rooted dilemma between doctrinal ideals and economic reality. This is because the Vinaya (the set of rules for monks) under Theravāda Buddhism severely restricts the monk’s ways to acquire, own and use personal possessions. For example, they are prohibited from being involved in any economic or productive activities and from owning personal belongings excessively, as well as from even touching money. Such a way of living as a monk through observing these rules is thought to be the optimum, though not the only, approach toward Nibbāna (the doctrinal ideal of Theravāda Buddhism). However, even living as a monk requires personal possessions, such as various goods and money. Therefore, strict observation of the Vinaya could prevent them from managing to live as monks. How can monks then live according to the Vinaya, while being caught in this dilemma? Exploring this question requires revealing how monks themselves address this dilemma, that is, how they acquire, own, and use personal possessions, focusing on various aspects of their experience of trial and error.
 The fieldwork I conducted in Myanmar to tackle this series of questions revealed the complicated and dynamic relationship between the doctrines (the Vinaya) and practices (the monk’s life) in Theravāda Buddhism; In some cases, the Vinaya serves as a given condition which provides orientation for a monk’s life course, the sizes and distribution of urban monasteries, the activities of monks for collecting religious gifts (alms), and the organizational structure of monasteries. Meanwhile, in other cases, the Vinaya itself serves as an absolute reference point, encouraging monks in their practices for reaching the doctrines, including the efforts to tackle the challenge of ‘renouncing’ society and to reform the monastery. This dissertation, though directly dealing with cases in contemporary Myanmar, thus highlights the “logic of living as a monk,” which is applicable to other times and areas.