Sky-Blue Buddhism in Myanmar: Doctrinal Reform, Monastic Resistance, and State Suppression

Abstract

This study is about Present Karma Buddhism (the Sky-Blue or Moe Pyar sect) which represents a radical reformist movement in Myanmar that reinterprets Theravada doctrine into a strictly "this-worldly" psychological framework (Pyissouppān-kamma-wāda), triggering decades of severe state suppression and official charges of heresy (adhamma-vāda). Moving beyond existing scholarship centered primarily on founder U Nyāna, this study investigates the overlooked biographical trajectories and survival strategies of key co-founders, monastic scholars, and female practitioners who sustained the movement. Utilizing a qualitative, historical-biographical research framework, the study analyzes ecclesiastical court archives, state legislation, internal sectarian literature, semi-structured oral history interviews, and digital ethnographic media from online public channels. The research identifies major empirical outcomes regarding the movement's socio-intellectual adaptation: monastic entryism, wherein co-founder Venerable Guṇavanta readopted traditional saffron robes after 17 years to retain social influence while maintaining Present Karma views; underground dissemination, through scholar Venerable Ñāṇindālaṅkāra’s secret publication of banned treatises from within orthodox monastic institutions; elite intellectual defense, demonstrated by top-ranked Dhammācariya scholar Vicittasārābhivaṃsa authoring apologetics and continuing lay preaching; and gendered resistance, as scholar nun Venerable Dhammaviharini Jana bypassed state bans on female higher ordination by adopting 311 Bhikkhuni Vinaya rules, confronting dual accusations of doctrinal heresy and institutional patriarchal resistance. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that despite headquarters seizure and severe legal persecution, Present Karma Buddhism persists through strategic concealment, digital platforms, and political defiance against military rule, highlighting the resilience of subaltern religious movements under authoritarian regimes.