At least 1000 members of the Buddhist clergy are expected to attend a conference in Yangon Region’s Hmawbi township in early 2015, the organising committee said. The Shwekyin Association will conduct its 19th conference at Dhammaduta Jetavana Monastery on January 27-29.
Those invited include monks undertaking missionary trips abroad, and monks from other Buddhist countries.
The head of the association, Sayadaw Aggamahathadhammajoita Badanta Aggiya Mahahtae, will lead the session, which will focus on purifying, preserving and propagating Theravada Buddhism.
Participants will discuss whether members of Shwekyin are respecting the Vinaya (ecclesiastical code of conduct) and how monks can preserve the core aspects of Theravada Buddhism in a relevant way.
The order is named after Shwekyin Sayadaw, who lived in a village of the same name in Shwebo township, Sagaing Region, and was well-known for his strict adherence to the Vinaya.
King Mindon (1853-1878) was one of the sayadaw’s admirers and occasionally invited him to Mandalay to solve disputes among the Sangha. Shwekyin monks are expected to follow every detail of the Vinaya, such as only eating meals from their own alms bowl.
The first Shwekyin Association conference was held in 1920, during the time of the third Shwekyin Sayadaw.
Myanmar has nine Buddhist orders, of which Thudhamma is the largest, and Shwekyin is the second-largest.
The order has a strong focus on education, with one-quarter of its members having passed the Tipitaka examinations held by the government each year. Association conferences are usually held every three or four years.
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