Locating Theravāda Buddhism in Maritime Southeast Asia

Little scholarly attention has been given to the Theravāda Buddhist minority communities in maritime Southeast Asia, but recent works have begun to address this gap. The Theravāda Buddhist minority in maritime Southeast Asia offers a valuable lens through which to examine how diasporic communities construct and negotiate religious identities. These minority communities also adapt traditions to diverse cultural landscapes and illuminate the broader interplay between migration, cultural preservation, and religious innovation.

Unlike in mainland Southeast Asia, where Theravāda Buddhism predominates, Buddhism is a minority religion in the region, with the exception of Singapore. The majority of Buddhists in maritime Southeast Asia adhere to Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Most Theravāda Buddhists in maritime Southeast Asia are not part of the indigenous majority but belong to non-indigenous minority groups, which include local ethnic Chinese communities and Burmese, Sri Lankan, and Thai migrant communities. They have established institutions, engaged in rituals, used vernacular and non-canonical texts, and developed new forms of religious practice. In doing so, they aim to preserve their diasporic identity, ensure the survival of their faith, and attract younger adherents.

When Theravāda Buddhists migrated from their South Asian and mainland Southeast Asian homelands to the Malay archipelago, they brought their faith and ritual practices to their new host countries. These early Ceylonese migrant communities had to adapt their religious practices to the resources available in their new environments. They facilitated cross-cultural interactions that shaped Buddhism’s development in the region. Sri Lankan Buddhist temples played a key role as cultural hubs that extended beyond spiritual practice. The vibrant interactions between Sri Lankan Theravāda and Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhists highlight the fluidity of religious practices and underscore the adaptability of diasporic communities in response to changing social landscapes.

Similarly, Thai Buddhists made their way to maritime Southeast Asia during the colonial period. More recently, the expansion of Thai Buddhism in Singapore since the 1980s is due to the strong spiritual and administrative connections between Buddhist authorities and communities in Thailand and Singapore, and the high demand for Thai monks’ magical rituals and amulets from Singaporean Chinese Buddhists. This phenomenon demonstrates how transnational religious networks and localised spiritual traditions intersect to shape the religious identities of Singaporean Chinese and Thai migrant communities. In the Singaporean context, ritual ceremonies and religious objects play a greater role than canonical knowledge or texts in popularising Thai Theravāda Buddhism.

In contrast, Thai Buddhists are long established in Malaysia’s Kelantan, which was under Siamese (Thai) rule until it was ceded to British Malaya in 1909. The Kelantanese Thai Buddhists’ emphasis on ritual practice over doctrinal knowledge challenges conventional perceptions of Buddhist leadership, suggesting a form of religious authority that is deeply embedded in local cultural settings. Moreover, it highlights how the physical and performative dimensions of Buddhism can function as potent instruments for fostering community cohesion and constructing identity within a minority.

The Theravāda Buddhist minority in maritime Southeast Asia offers a valuable lens through which to examine how diasporic communities construct and negotiate religious identities.

Burmese migrants are generally believed to have introduced the faith in the nineteenth century along colonial trading networks; there are references to a Burmese Buddhist community in Singapore. Similarly, the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple in Penang, Malaysia, was established by Burmese migrants around that time. The construction of Burmese Buddhist temples in Indonesia is a more recent phenomenon. One initiative in the early 2000s was led by an Indonesian Buddhist monk, Bhikkhu Khantidharo, to construct a replica of Myanmar’s Shwedagon Pagoda in a Buddhist Vihara in Batu city, East Java. These examples highlight the transnational dimensions of Burmese Buddhism in maritime Southeast Asia.

Although Ashin Jinarakkhita (1923-2002), a Peranakan Chinese Indonesian, was not the first to promote Theravāda Buddhism in Indonesia, he is often regarded as the first Indonesian-born Buddhist monk to champion the faith. Crucially, he considered himself neither a Mahāyāna nor a Theravāda monk but a combination of both, which is rare for monks. He aimed to make Buddhism less Chinese and more Indonesian to ensure its survival in Muslim-majority Indonesia. He founded the Buddhayāna movement to promote an indigenous “Indonesian Buddhism” (agama Buddha Indonesia) for a culturally and linguistically diverse Indonesia.

During the New Order (Orde Baru, 1966–1998), Ashin Jinarakkhita quickly adjusted his strategies to ensure the survival of Buddhism. He introduced the concept of “Sang Hyang Adi-Buddha” as the Buddhist version of a “Supreme God” to make Buddhism compatible with the Pancasila principle of “belief in the one and only God” (Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa). However, while the non-canonical concept of God was accepted by the Suharto government, ensuring that Buddhism remained one of Indonesia’s recognised religions, it faced criticism from Theravāda monastics, leading to a schism in the Indonesian Sangha. This tension reveals the inherent challenges that minority religious communities face when operating within dominant political and religious frameworks. This led to a reconfiguration of Buddhist identity in Indonesia that emphasised the dynamic and context-specific nature of religious adaptation. This development reflects the internal diversity of Indonesian Buddhist communities. It also underscores the broader struggle over religious authority and authenticity in modern Buddhist practice in maritime Southeast Asia.

The emergence of contemporary Buddhist bands in Indonesia represents a shift in how Buddhism is practiced and propagated, moving beyond traditional rituals and teachings to embrace popular culture as a medium for religious expression. For instance, True Direction pioneered the use of contemporary music styles to communicate Buddhist values, followed by Sadhu United, which explicitly modelled itself after Christian worship bands to adapt Buddhist practices for a younger audience. Buddhist Worship leverages social media and digital platforms, showcasing the use of music and technology to engage with a tech-savvy generation. This not only highlights the flexibility of Theravāda Buddhism in navigating cultural changes but also illustrates how younger Buddhists are redefining religious identity.

The vibrant presence of Theravāda Buddhism in Indonesia and other maritime Southeast Asian countries highlights the diverse ways in which Theravāda Buddhists negotiate and adjust to local conditions, which continue to evolve beyond the Theravāda-majority of mainland Southeast Asia.

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