Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Theravāda Buddhism established a special relation between state power and Buddhist fraternity in Southeast-Asian countries. In fact, the relations between royal authority and Buddhism resulted in the mixture of regal power and Saṅgha in reality. Therefore, the understanding of traditional royal authority requires an understanding of Saṅgha. And the understanding of Saṅgha requires an understanding of Buddhism. The main argument in the studies of the relations between Buddhism and politics in southeast-Asian countries before the modern era is that “the relations between royal authority and Buddhism were determined by politics and religious order based on Buddhist view of the world; therefore, royal authority was justified by merit and kamma as the essence of Buddhist doctrine, and the main duty of Buddhists was to support the kings.” This means that through those relations, the kings could justify their power, and Saṅgha could receive material benefits. However, this argument does not seriously consider the Buddhist view of the world and order; moreover, it lacks a discussion illustrating the thought of merit and kamma in Buddhist doctrine. In that sense, this argument has a limit in understanding the Buddhist view of the world, Buddhist understanding of politics, and the social role of Saṅgha. This study is, therefore, focused on overcoming limits of the existing studies and providing a certain logical basis in understanding the relations between regal power and Saṅgha. In doing so, I will first discuss the concept of Theravāda Buddhism, its transmission process, and the role of king Asoka, which is the key to understanding the relations of regal power and regional power, in Chapter 2. The Buddhist view of the ruler and the state will be explained in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, I will finally illustrate the mutual relations between regal power and Saṅgha in southeast-Asian countries based on Theravāda Buddhism.