The Lion's Outlook_Sitagu Students' Research Journal_vol-04_2013

THE LION’S OUTLOOK

Sitagu Students’ Research Journal

Sitagu International Buddhist Academy

Mandalay, Sagaing, Yangon,

MYANMAR

Vol. IV

March 2013

Organizing Body: SitaguStar StudentSelection

Free Distribution

Any part of this publication may be republished and redistributed in any form or by any means

with the prior permission from authors as their moral rights have been asserted.

Published for Department of Research & Compilation,

Sitagu International Buddhist Academy,

Sagaing Hills, Sagaing, Myanmar.

The Sītagū Resolution

We resolve to make effort:

To beautify our lives in this world we live,

To promote our Sāsana ardently,

To make our country prosperous,

With the best of our ability, without arrogance.

Sitagu International

Buddhist Academy emerges as a

gateway where the traditional

Buddhist education structures en-

ter into a fresh perspective of aca-

demic disciplines at the advent of

new century. Based on the me-

thodical foundation of Pariyatti,

SIBA offers students the leading

edge of the sustainable infrastruc-

ture of Piṭaka exploration along

with the etymological approaches

on a variety of native and foreign

languages.

As an impressive out-

come from SIBA students, pursu-

ing higher knowledge of multi-

disciplinary courses at home and

abroad, this journal stands by

every research work they contrib-

Preface

ute with the utmost admiration for Sitagu’s

academic achievements. On the auspicious

occasion of Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw’s 76th

Birthday, it is a prime time to showcase their

humble attitude toward the development of

critical thinking within the domain of Pariyatti

and other related areas. Shaping as a valua-

ble platform to new generations of Sitagu stu-

dents, this journal proves that the authentici-

ty of their works is beyond doubt.

The organizing body is grateful to all

Sitagu research students whose helping

hands are always there behind the release of

this journal. The organizing body is also in-

debted to Sitagu brothers, sisters and friends

who are taking keen interest in collaboration

with Sitagu academic activities.

Organizing Body

SitaguStar StudentSelection

Sitagu International Buddhist Academy

Mandalay, Sagaing, Yangon,

MYANMAR

26 March 2013

REVIEWS AND FEEDBACKS ARE WELCOME !

http://sitagustar.wordpress.com

http://facebook.com/sitagustar

http://twitter.com/sitagustar

[email protected]

[email protected]

Contents

Sitagu Resolution

Preface

I. Sitagu Sayadaw’s Speech

1. Congratulatory Message to Aung San Suu Kyi, Global Citizen Award and US Congres-

sional Gold Medal Winner

II. Sitagu Students’ Selection

1. The Concept of Wholesome and Unwholesome consciousness in Buddhist literature 7

Ashin Medhānanda

2. A Day of Pa ñcasīla or Garudhamma 15

Ashin Kusala

3. A Humble Report of IBEC to Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw for Admonitory Guidance 22

Ashin Sobhita

4. Annamalai University 34

Ashin Guṇissara

5. Fasting Custom in Hinduism 43

Thaint (Myanmar)

6. Jambudīpā, Yamunā and Asoka’s footsteps: A Field Study 51

Ashin Dhammācāra

III. Academic Approach

1. Different Approaches to Writing in Religious Studies 69

2. Expressing Your Voice 82

3. Good Habits to Develop Early and Bad Habits to Break Right Away 93

1

Sitagu Sayadaw’s Speech

The Lion’s Outlook, Sitagu Students’ Research Journal

1

Dear Global Citizen,

I am truly honored and happy to have

this great opportunity to speak to all of my

global brothers and sisters at this prestigious

Global Citizen Award and the US Congres-

sional Gold Medal Ceremony. Much to our

delight, I am so proud of my sister Daw

Aung San Suu Kyi receiving the Global Citi-

zen Award.

Living in this limited and confined

world, we are bound by so many constraints,

restraints, restrictions, and limitations. In

many ways, we were in fact affected —

Congratulatory Message to Aung San Suu Kyi,

Global Citizen Award and US Congressional Gold Medal Winner

Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw

Sitagu Congratulatory Message

2

downgrading ourselves to become a narrow

-minded citizen when dealing with spiritual,

social and commercial affairs. I am so im-

pressed and thankful to those founding

world leaders and visionaries—contrary to

the many aother—those leaders have come

up with this beautiful concept of the limit-

less and times award.

The Lord Buddha has expounded the

essence of the Four Noble Conducts: (I)

Loving-kindness—extending unlimited uni-

versal love and good will (mettā) to all living

beings without any kind of discrimination,

just as the mother love her child; (II) Com-

passion—compassion for all living beings

who are suffering, in trouble and affliction;

(III) Sympathetic Joy—sympathetic joy in

other success, welfare and happiness; and

(IV) Equilibrium of mind—equanimity in all

vicissitudes of everyday life. This profound

philosophical teaching s and ethical system

of the Four Noble Conducts has a special

power to transform this “limited” world to a

“limitless” one. The teaching can also break


3

down the walls, barriers, and boundaries

and liberate ourselves into the boundless

world of freedom and one-ness. Thus, it is

also synonymous with “the Measureless

Doctrine”.

Whoever takes heart of the Four

Noble Conducts must say, “May all beings

be happy and peaceful.” The Four Noble

Conducts are meant to be all inclusive

and comprehensive—leaving no one be-

hind. The Lord Buddha’s teachings are

not meant to be narrow, limited, and ex-

clusive. Unlike other isms, the teachings

are the embedment of the humanism—

related to the full potential of human-

kinds with their individuals’ unalienable

rights, liberty and democratic rights. Ha-

tred and jealousy never cease through ha-

tred in this world. Jealousy is a seed of un-

happiness toward a person enjoying suc-

cess or advantage. Through the Four No-

ble Conducts, they cease. The Buddha’s

teachings is for everyone and thus there

will be no such things as “May all Ameri-


4

can people be happy, … Or may all com-

munalist people be happy, … Or May all

Buddhist people be happy, etc.”

However different we may be in ap-

pearance, we can see and feel many intrin-

sic values of Global Spirit and Universal

Spirit in common among ourselves. Let’s

look into the “crying and laughing” instanc-

es. There is no difference at all the way cap-

italists, federalists, socialists would cry and

laugh.

The anguish and laughter of American are

same as those of our fellow Burmese—no

difference at all. Likewise, the hate and love

-kindness of a Buddhist is no different from

those of a Christian and Muslim. Nonethe-

less, our mind and world vision should be

kept as broad as possible. Under no circum-

stances should we not be judged by the

mere name and label sticker on the surface.

The mere name and labels are the

one that restricts the universal citizenship of

the prehistoric human beings who once en-

joyed and lived a measureless and bound-


5

less life. Therefore, the above-mentioned

Four Noble Conducts such as Loving-

kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy,

and Equilibrium of mind are in fact the

Universal Brotherhood Spirit. On the

same token, the Four Noble Conducts are

equally applicable to the development of

the Universal Sisterhood Spirit.

Therefore, we should consult and

seek advice from one another and build a

common ground to live in together in-

stead of arguing on the differences that we

have. In hope to find and build our com-

mon ground, we need to seek out for the

common spirit first. The common spirits

are the above-defined living-kindness,

compassion, sympathetic joy, and equilib-

rium of mind.

The Four Noble Conducts should

not be restricted and tainted by the name

of religion, politics, and race. The Lord

Buddha’s teachings are the doctrine of

limitless, the doctrine of measureless and

the doctrine of boundless.


6

I have a message that I would like to con-

vey to you—Brothers and Sister. The Message is:

developing and keeping the loving-kindness,

compassion, sympathetic joy, and equilibrium of

mind very close to our heart and mind, let us em-

brace the virtue of the Global and Universal Citi-

zenship.

May all beings be free from aversion!

May all beings be happy!

May peace and harmony prevail in every corner

of the world!

*** Photos credited to

http://www.sitaguflorida.org/2012/09/from-sitagu-to-daw-

aung-san-suu-kyi/

http://www.sitaguflorida.org/2012/09/from-sitagu-to-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi/

http://www.sitaguflorida.org/2012/09/from-sitagu-to-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi/

Sitagu Students’ Selection


7

According to teaching of the Bud-

dha, it is very important to know clearly

that the concept of wholesome and un-

wholesome because it is not possible to do

good things for followers and to avoid evil

things without knowing them which one is

wholesome and which one is unwhole-

some.

Wholesome means what tends to-

ward desirable results. If you do good ac-

tion you will find good results. Unwhole-

some means what tends toward undesira-

ble results. If you do bad action you will

find bad results.

Aṭṭhsālinī (Dhammasaṅgaṇī com-

The Concept of Wholesome and Unwholesome Consciousness

In Buddhist literature

Ashin Medhānanda

The Concept of Wholesome and Unwholesome Consciousness In Buddhist literature

8

mentary) says that the characteristics of

wholesome in Buddha’s teaching mean ‘of

good health’ (ārogya), ‘faultless’ (anavajja),

‘skillful’ (cheka), and ‘productive of happy

results’ (sukha-vipāka).

As a contradictory of wholesome,

the characteristics of unwholesome in

Buddha’s teaching mean ‘faulty’ (sāvajja),

and ‘productive of unhappy re-

sults’ (dukkha-vipāka).

Wholesome can be done by domi-

nation of three roots; - non-greed, non-

hatred and non-delusion. Unwholesome

can be done by the domination of three

roots; - greed, hatred and delusion.

The Buddha admonished to his fol-

lowers for doing good things and avoiding

bad things. Wholesome and unwholesome

are state which arise in the mind, produc-

ing results initially in the mind, and from

there to external actions and physical fea-

tures. The meanings of kusala and akusala

therefore pressure the situation, the con-

tents and the actions of mind as their


9

foundation.

In Pāḷi literature work represent as

kamma, we are working incessantly every

second. The Buddha gave the specific

meaning of it and He says mental volition

is called kamma. (Cetanāhaṃ bhikkhave

kammaṃ vadāmi). It means that having

volition when one acts by body, speech

and thought it is called action (kamma).(AN.III. P.415. MN.A.III.P.38) Kamma means all ac-

tions, good and bad. It covers all kinds of

intentionally actions whether mental, ver-

bal or physical, thoughts, words and,

deeds. In its ultimate sense Kamma means

all moral and immoral volition.

According to Abhidhamma literature,

there are ten kinds of good conduct

(sucarita) and ten kinds of evil conduct

(duccarita). Wholesome actions through

deed, word and thought are called good

conduct (Sucarita). The ten kinds of good

conduct (sucarita) are three kinds of bodi-

ly good conduct, four kinds of verbal good

conduct and three kinds of mental good


10

conduct. It may be said that ‘kamma’ is

generated by actions of living beings.

Therefore it is basically divided into three

actions:

(i) Kāya kamma, Physical action, gen-

erally occurs through the door of the

body, known as bodily intimation.

(ii) Vacī kamma, verbal action, gener-

ally occurs through the door of the

speech, known as vocal intimation

(iii) Mano kamma, mental action, gen-

erally occurs in the mind without intima-

tion these are subdivided into good ac-

tion and bad action.(AN.III, 415; Dhs A. P,88; kv .P,393)

The first three abstinences; abstinence

from killing, abstinence from stealing, ab-

stinence from sexual misconduct, are said

t o b e ‘ ph y s i c a l m o r a l a c -

tion’ (kāyakamma). (Mov. P, 32.) The middle

four abstinences; abstinence from false

speech, abstinence from slandering, ab-

stinence from harsh speech, and absti-

nence from frivolous talk, are regarded as

‘verbal moral action’ (vacīkamma) (Ibid.)


11

and the last three abstinences; abstinence

from covetousness, abstinence from ill will,

and abstinence from wrong view, are de-

scr ibed as ‘mental moral ac-

tion’ (manokamma). (Ibid.)

The dialogue between the wanderer

Vacchagotta and the Buddha in Mahāvac-

cha Sutta (MN.II,p.157-164. The dialogue is described in detail in

the discourse of Mahāvaccha Sutta, Paribbājakavagga, Majjhima-

paṇṇāsa. However just necessary dialogues of the discourse are men-

tioned here) are related to the difference be-

tween wholesome and unwholesome. Vac-

chagotta met the Buddha at Rājagaha in

the Bamboo Grove. Vacchagotta asked to

the Buddha to explain according with the

wholesome and the unwholesome briefly.

The Buddha teaches to vacchagotta the

wholesome and unwholesome in brief, "the

greed is unwholesome, non-greed is

wholesome; hatred is unwholesome, non-

hatred is wholesome; delusion is unwhole-

some, non-delusion is unwholesome. In

this way three things are unwholesome and

the other three things are wholesome".


12

Moreover, Buddha explained to abstain

from ten kind of unwholesome and to per-

form the ten kind of wholesome. In this

way ten factors are unwholesome and the

other ten factors are wholesome.

The unwholesome conditions are of

three roots; greed, hatred and delusion and

all the defilements arise from them which

contain those roots of unwholesome bodily

kamma, verbal kamma and mental kamma

which have those roots of unwholesome as

a foundation. These are unwholesome con-

ditions." (Dhs.181) When greed, hatred and de-

lusion arise within his mind, they destroy

the evil doer, just as the bamboo flower sig-

nals the ruin of the bamboo plant. (SN.I.70,)

These three things arise in the world not for

welfare or benefit, but for woe, for discom-

fort. (SN.I.98)

These are the cause of all bad things

and causes of kamma. Therefore, in

Kālāmasutta the Buddha said that the un-

wholesome states are harmful, and will

bring about what is neither beneficial nor


13

conducive to welfare, but will cause suffer-

ing. So it should be abandoned.

Bad kamma follows and burns the

evil doer just like hot coals buried in ash. (Dh. P.10 verse 71) He said that one who previ-

ously made bad kamma, but who reforms

and creates good kamma, brightens the

world like the moon appearing from be-

hind a cloud." (Dhp. P. 26, verse 172) To make

good kamma is like having a good friend

at your side." ( SN.I.P.37)

The way how to develop the whole-

some and to abandon the unwholesome is

stated by the Buddha. In Majjima Nikāya,

the Buddha proclaimed to his disciples the

way to develop and to abandon the four

right kinds of striving. They are as follows;

(1) one should make effort for not arising

of the un-arisen unwholesome states, (2)

one should make effort to abandon of the

arisen unwholesome states, (3) one should

make effort for arising of wholesome states

which is not arising before and (4) one

should make effort to develop the arisen


14

wholesome state. (MN.II, P. 246, Anuppannanan akusalānaṃ

dhammānaṃ anuuppādāya channdaṃ janeti vāyamati, uppannānaṃ aku-

salānaṃ dhammānaṃ pahānāya channdaṃ janeti vāyamati anuppānānaṃ

kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ uppādāya channdaṃ janeti vāyamati up-

pannānaṃ kusalānaṃ dhammānaṃ biyobhāvāya channdaṃ janeti vāyama-

ti.) What is evil or wrongful is renounced

(akusalaṃ pajahati) while the good should be

cultivated (kusalaṃ bhāveti) (AN.III. P.165) is the

constant advice to human beings given by

the Buddha. In the Aṅguttaranikāya, observ-

ing clearly the possibility of pursuing the

good (kusala) and destruction of the evil

(akusala) by human beings, the Buddha urges

his disciples to abandon what is akusala

while cultivating what is kusala:

The most important thing to do in Bud-

dhism is to try to attain the realization. To ob-

tain it we have to try to do wholesome, to

abandon the unwholesome and to purify our

mind. Therefore all Buddha admonished that

not to do any evil, to do good things and to

purify our mind. (DN.II.P49, Sabba pāpassa akaranaṃ

kusalasupasaṃpadam sacitta pariyodāpanaṃ etaṃ buddhāna sāsanaṃ.)


15

Today is special Buddhist occasion

of the Kurudhamma or Garudhamma

or Pa ñcasīla. In the commentary of the

Jātaka, the Kurudhamma means the

five precepts which were followed by

people from the Kuru country or

northern land. In the Vimānavatthu,

the five precepts are known by the

name of Nicca sīla i.e. uninterrupted

observance of virtue. It is also called as

Garudhamma which means important

Dhamma in the society. Therefore the

Kurudhamma and the Garudhamma

are one and the same thing but just

name is different.

The Day of Pañcasīla or Garudhamma

Ashin Kusala

The Day of Pañcasila or Garudhamma

16

Today is called as Pa ñcasīla or Kuru or

Garu with reference to the Kurudhamma

jātaka in the Khuddakanikāya. The Jātaka

story mentions that it rains there regularly

just by the observance of especially the five

precepts.

The summary of the Jātaka story is as fol-

lows;

In the country of the Kaliṅga ruled by

the King of Kaliṅga became foodless be-

cause of no sufficient rain and hence peo-

ple suffered from the chronic diseases be-

cause of not getting suffcient food to eat.

That is why people wander here and there

in the country together with their families.

Finally all people unitedly went to the pal-

ace of the King. They took the King respon-

sible for that situation. Therefore they pro-

tested against the King demanding to do

something for them. The king asks his min-

isters the reasons of the protest made by

the people and what to do so that rain can

rain. The minister reports to the king that

people protested against him because of no


17

rain, not getting enough food and diseas-

es. They also suggest the King that accord-

ing to the ancient tradition by doing chari-

ty work like donation and observing the

precepts there can be a good raining.

Even the king Kaliṅga followed the

ancient tradition of donation, charity work

and observance of the Sīla there was no

rain at all. On the other side in the Kuru

country governed by the king Dana ñjaya

korabya, Boddhisattava, the people were

living confortably with full of foods be-

cause of good and regular raining. The

ministers from the Kaliṅga suggested that it

was raining regularly in the Kuru country

because of the lucky elephant. Therefore

King Kaliṅg requested to bring that lucky

elephant to their country and accordingly

that lucky elephant was brought to the

Kaliṅga .But that lucky animal also could

do nothing for good raining.

Indeed the reason for the good rain

and availability of foods in the Kuru coun-

try is the practice of Kurudhamma prac-


18

ticed with much care by the eleven per-

sons, who are the king Dana ñjayakora-

bya, his queen mother, his queen, his

young brother prince, advisor minister, a

land surveyor, driver, rich man, farmer

mister, door-man and prostitute lady. The

king Kaliṅga sent the minister and some

brhamans to the Kuru country to record

the Kurudhamma from these eleven per-

sons which are practicing the precepts

always. Finally, the Kaliṅga people are

happy with heavy rain and a full of food.

The full Mon day of the month, mon-

soon is recognized as the day of Ku-

rudhamma or Garu or Pa ñcasīla with ref-

erence to the Kurudhammajātaka.It

shows the story of good raining by the

practice of the Kuruddhamma.

In the Buddhist literature it is men-

tioned clearly that the living beings and

non living things support each other. The

Jātaka story mentions that the tree, fruits

and leave are of full quality when the

people have the morality.


19

In Adhammikasutta, Anguttaranikaya,

mentions that leader is very important

and the climate has connection with mo-

rality of humanity. When the people do

not follow and practice the Sīla, the way

of the moon, the sun, the stars change in

the sky. Then the time and the dates

change and raining also not do come reg-

ularly. Futher the Abhiddhamma texts also

mention that the all material things de-

pend upon the Kamma and mentality of

the beings. In the Cakkavatti sutta, Angut-

tara nikaya, the Buddha has explained

that the morality is basis of life-span.

The five precepts is the natural law

which can be seen in the constitution of

every country in the form of non-killing

etc. When we see the situation of the

world today, it is easy to know that the

five precepts are very important thing. To-

day the main problems in the world are as

follows;

Killing the human and animal beings

(Pāṇātipāta)


20

Steal ing , corruption, invading

(Adinnādāna)

Sexual assault (Kāmesu micchācāra)

Talk lying( Musāvāda)

Intoxicating (Surāmeraya)

If we can avoid these bad things,

there is no doubt that the world will be-

come very peaceful place to stay in.

The five precepts is the base of Bud-

dhism. The sīla is the control on bodily

and verbal actions from doing evil action.

The foundation of sīla is Hiri, shameless-

ness and Otappa, fearlessness of wrong

doing shame or fear of doing evil things.

About the information of Sīla so many

thing can be seen in the Pāḷi literature but

here some of them are mentioned;

The morality is similar to the earth and

the Samadhi and pa ññā are similar

to the trees grown up on the

ground. (Saṁ. 1. 150)

Sīla makes clear the world. (saṁ.1.23)

The Sīla is supreme in the world.

(Sīlavīmaṁsana-jataka)


21

Sīla is the door of Nabbāna

(Visuddhimagga)

The person who is observer of the five

precepts is similar to the Sotāpanna

(Aṅ.Aṭṭhakathā)

The morality and wisdom are better

than the casteand the recitation of

the Vedic texts. (Sīlankhadhavagga)

The morality is better than knowledge

(Sutasoma-jātaka)

The morality is lucky for money

(Mulapaṇṇāsa)

The fragrance of morality is better than

all fragrance (Dhammapada)

It is easy to know that the Buddhism

brings peace in the world by the five pre-

cepts. Therefore we request you all on the

special occasion of the Garudhamma or

Pa ñcasīla day to try to follow the five pre-

cepts for the peaceful life and society and

the whole world.

May all beings be happy!


22

Adhipati Sayadaw

We, under the guidance and admoni-

tion of the Sayadaws, have been the stu-

dents of SIBA since 2004. We stand with

B.A course and, at present, we are doing

M.A course and Ph.D. course at SIBA. We

have been enjoying being students of yours

since that time. We spend the time learn-

ing valuable lessons from the Sayadaws

and other teacher of SIBA. Sometimes we

are learning in the class and sometimes dis-

cussing the lessons in the gazebos under

the beautiful shady trees in the SIBA cam-

pus. Those gazebos are probably the birth

A humble Report of IBEC to Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw for Admonitory Guidance

Ashin Sobhita

A Humble Report of IBEC to Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw

23

place of IBEC for we encouraged and mo-

tivated by the endless endeavor of the Sa-

yadaws dreamed about imitating the Sa-

yadaws even if we could do maybe just a

small portion of the Sayadaws endeavor.

We are with a lot of difficulties facing fail-

ure and success one after another, trying to

make our dreams come true.

As Sayadaw might have acknowledged, we

participate on the occasion of Adhipati Sa-

yadaw’s birthday by writing some articles

and poems. The “New Star” that is also

called “Kye Sin Thit”, a yearly issued book-

let of poems on the occasion of Sayadaw’s

Birthday is our effort. Another work of ours

is “the lion’s outlook” in which we ex-

pressed our views honestly and due to

which we were first acknowledged by the

Adhipati Sayadaw. In 2005, on the occa-

sion of the 65th Birthday of Adhipati Sa-

yadaw, when we submitted “the lion’s out-

look” to the Sayadaw, we received unfor-

gettable admiration of Sayadaw. Adhipati

Sayadaw said with obvious satisfaction on

the smiling face- “These are my students”.


24

Following this happy time of ours, one of

our friends received sponsored by the Ad-

hipati Sayadaw to study in India.

Although we have never failed to fol-

low the guidance and admonition given by

the Adhipati Sayadaw and the other Sa-

yadaws of SIBA. We somehow have a dif-

ferent image “IBEC”. That is something we

would like to change. We are hoping that

we are continued to be considered as stu-

dents of SIBA and IBEC to be a branch of

SIBA. If possible, we hope that we are to

be known as Sitagu IBEC. We hope to have

admonition from the Adhipati Sayadaw

and the other Sayadaws of SIBA more of-

ten and follow the guidance accordingly.

Therefore, we are to make a humble and

sincere request to the Adhipati Sayadaw,

the Rector Sayadaw, the Registrar Sayadaw

and the Administrator Sayadaw to give us

admonitory guidance in this matter.

The successful tasks that have been

achieved so far by this group of students of

the Sayadaws are mentioned separately in


25

the attached file.

In 2006, we successfully completed

the B.A course receiving recognition from

Sayadaws as outstanding students. There-

fore, Ashin Sobhita was counted to partici-

pate in the Buddhist Summit held in Bang-

kok, Thailand in 2006, the full moon day

of Kasun, as Sitagu Sayadaw uses to praise

the one who is outstanding and intelligent.

As the consequences of the Buddhist Edu-

cation Workshop at the Buddhist Summit,

the initiative idea of establishing of IBEC

has become alive.

In May 18, 2006, the IBEC organiza-

tion was organized by the nine monks of

Sitagu nonresidential students at Kywe Luu

Taw Ya Monastery by accepting the ad-

monition from Kywe Luu Taw Ya Sayadaw

and Baddanta Medha, Myo Oo Monastery,

Kant Ba Luu, Sagaing Division.

In 2006, we began the Education Tour

Program at Basic Education High School in

Bant Bwe, Naung Cho Township, Northern

Shan State by the invitation of Bant Bwe


26

Sayadaw. In this Education Program, we

shared the teaching of Buddhist Culture,

Dhammapada, Abbhidhamma, an Eng-

lish Language Course and a Basic Com-

puter Course.

In 2006-2007-2008-2009, we had

training for the children during the sum-

mer vacations as a Tour Education Pro-

gram in Natt Ywa, Butalin Township,

Sagaing Division.

In 2007, we had one month course

education program to share the student’s

knowledge at the Basic Education High

School in Naung Cho, Northern Shan

State.

In 2007, the IBEC compound was

admitted by the chair monk and Secre-

tary Sayadaw of Township Samgha Or-

ganization of Sagaing by the date of Feb-

ruary 27, 2007.

IBEC area


27

Uhmin Thone See Pagoda and Parak-

kama Monastery in the East. Along Htut

Khaung Village in the West. Taw Kywe Luu

Monastery in the North. Zarmani Monastery

in the South.

We requested the North-West division-

al commander-Thar Aye to officially recog-

nize the land of the IBEC by the date of

March 22, 2007. We have (15.17 area) of

IBEC compound by the measurement of di-

visional land office. We appealed to the

Government of the Union of Myanmar, Nay

Pyi Taw, Ministry of Home Affairs, General

Administration Office offered (12.57 Area)

for IBEC as a religious land (tax free) by date

of July 9th 2012 and another (2.60 Area) was

offered officially as la/na (39).

In September 8th, 2007, when we were

in final year of B.A course, we took sugges-

tion from the Sitagu Adhipati Sayadaw after

his lecture at the Gandhara Hall and con-

formed our project to establish from that


28

day onward.

Adhipati Sayadaw’s admonitory guid-

ance:

“Great! Carry` on! How wide is it for the

campus? Try to train novices to be in Sa-

manekyaw Exam and promote up to col-

lege education level. I am not pleased the

name “Chat Kya Chaung”. Once Sitagu is

Shaw Phyu Chaung” But I changed the

name as Sitagu. Now well known all over

the world. Name is precious. I will name

later. Offer the constitution to the Rector

Sayadaw. Prove must be read at least three

times.”

Saying so, IBEC was identified in Adhipati

Sayadaw’s mind.

2007-2008

March 28th, 2008. After the Sitagu In-

ternational Buddhist Academy final year

exam we set up the IBEC and introduced

some courses, such as Buddhist Culture,

English Language and Computer training.

On 28th August 2008, the IBEC opened a


29

monastic school’s education project offi-

cially permitted by Ministry of Religious

Affairs authority.

2008-2009

We were able to begin for the mo-

nastic education school (primary-middle-

high Level) in the 2008-2009 academic

year. The result of Matriculation Exam is

20%. In this year, the permanent monks

and novices are 37 only. They were

trained to sit for the samaneralamkara and

Phathamapyan Exam.

2009-2010

In 2009-2010 Academic Year, Mo-

nastic school levels improved dramatically

to 60% outstanding in the following year.

For the Buddhist scripture, we could up-

graded basic level to Dhammacariya Lev-

el. We opened new courses including

English and other technical subjects.

May 2008, following the Nagic


30

(cyclone) the IBEC welfare association do-

nated 3000000 Kyats (3 millions) to vic-

tims by gathering together from all Sagaing

Hills. They also donated food and clothes

delivered with Sitagu Sayadaw.

2008-2009

Two of patrons of the IBEC Ashin

Kovida and Ashin Sundara went to India

and got the M.A Degree at Mumbai Uni-

versity.

2009-2010

Another two patrons of the IBEC,

Ashin Vannita and Ashin Candavara got

M.A Degree at Pune university and Naga-

juna university in India. One of them, Ash-

in Vannita, was sponsored by Sitagu Sa-

yadaw of SIBA.

2010-2011

Another two patrons of the IBEC,

Ashin Uttma and Ashin Candavara got MA

Degrees at Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka,


31

21st October, 2010

Ashin Sobhita became the lead monk

and principle of the IBEC after an agree-

ment between the nine patrons. According

to this agreement he is responsible for the

daily management of the school, construc-

tion projects and the monastery.

2011-2012

207 novices, 15 lecturers, 47 teachers

remain in the IBEC. We have a special

course called Buddhist Civil Society Man-

agement. Since 2010 this has been running

every year.

Lecturers:

Ashin Chekinda (Dhammadhuda)

Dr Dhammapiya (ITBU)

Ashin Gandhamalalamkara (Tipitakadhara)

Dr Kittibala (Sitagu)

Dr Sajjana (Sitagu)

Dr Indacariya (Sitagu)

Ashin Devindabhivamsa (Sitagu)

IBEC Patron Sayadaws


32

The IBEC is primarily split into three de-

partments:

Buddhist Scripture

Monastic Education

College Courses

2011-2012

Buddhist scripture study: Five monks

in the IBEC attend the Sasanadhaja

Dhammacariya. We currently have 274

monks and novices plus five lecturers. All

novices passed well in the Pathamapyan

Exam and nine monks passed the

Dhammacariya Exam and Nikaya Exam.

And one of them was outstanding by taking

prize of Siripavara Dhammacariya.

2013 onwards

We are applying with the Buddhist

Ministry and Education Ministry to be rec-

ognized as an example of excellent monas-

tic education in the Sagaing region. The

Sagaing divisional government and the Un-

ion Ministers has also recommended that

the IBEC be recognized in this way. We


33

have a two year college course in associa-

tion with the UMBC Washington, USA. Al-

so, we have an advanced English Language

course for school leavers, graduates and

professionals running every two months.

We want to work under the guidance

of Sitagu Chancellor, Rector Sayadaw, Reg-

ister Sayadaw and Administrator Sayadaw

to continue to grow and provide a high lev-

el of education to children, monks, novices

and any willing locals.

It’d be our great honor if we’d receive

advice or assistance you’d offer.


34

The Annamalai University is a unitary,

teaching, and residential university. It was

founded by the munificence of the farsight-

ed and noble hearted philanthropist and

patron of letters, the late Hon’ble Dr.Rajah

Sir Annamalai Chettiar of Chettianad, Kt,

LL.D., D.Litt. He started several colleges,

and ultimately, the University in 1929.

Since its inception, it has progressively tried

in realize the aims of the noble Founder Pro

-Chancellor. After him, his illustrious son,

Padma Bhushan Dr. Rajah Sir Muthiah

Chrettiar of Chettinad, was the Pro-

Chancellor from 1948 to 1984 and he sed-

ulously nurtured the growth and develop-

Annamalai University

Ashin Guṇissara


35

ment of the University. The present Pro-

Chancellor Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy, a philan-

thropist and patron of sports, is the distin-

guished son of Dr. Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar.

The university has had the unique good fortune

of having a succession of eminent Voice-

Chancellor to guide its destinies. During the last

eighty-four years, the University has grown rap-

idly and has consolidated its position as a uni-

tary and residential University, with forty nine

Departments of Study and over 3240 members

on its teaching staff. Annanmalainagar is al-

ready a busy and full-fledged University town,

east of Chidambaram, the abode of Lord Nata-

raja. The University campus, including the col-

leges, hostels, and playgrounds, occupies an ar-

ea of about one thousand acres.

Genesis

The Annamalai University owes its existence to

the farsighted vision, enlightened wisdom, ben-

efaction and philanthropy of a single individual

– Dr. Rajha Sri Annamalai Chettiar of Chat-

tined. As early as 1920, he founded the Sri


36

Meenakshi College at Chidambaram, a great pil-

grimage center and also a center for South Indi-

an traditional culture and learning.

In 1928, the Annamalai University Act was

passed, and Sri Meenakshi College became the

nucleus for the University which is unitary, resi-

dential, rural in its setting and progressive in its

outlook. During his tenure as Pro-Chancellor for

19 years, he paid immaculate care and detailed

attention to the growth and development of the

University in every field. He paid great attention

in the appointment of Voice-Chancellors. Equal

attention was also paid by him in the appoint-

ment of enlighten staff, especially the professors

and Heads of Departments. The Professors of

Annamalai University are scholars and scientists

of great renown in their own field.

Growth and Development

After the demise of Dr. Rajah Sir Annama-

lai Cettiar in 1948, the founder’s eldest son Dr.

Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar adorned the Pro-

Chancellorahip. A multi-faceted personality of

rare caliber, the later strove with sustained vig-


37

our and zeal to lead the University into “fresh

fields and pastures new”. He gave new dimen-

sions, direction, and new goals to the function-

ing of the University. The Directorate of dis-

tance education of the University, his brain-

child and an asset to the University, was set up

in 1979, and it has been rendering yeoman

service in a continuing education to all. The

Faculty of medicine with the Dental Collage,

Nursing, and Pharmacy Departments, was

started in 1980, and the cherished desire of

Dr. Rajha Sir Muthiah Chetter to set up a Med-

ical College under the umbrella of the Faculty

of Medicine was fulfilled in 1985. During the

span of 36 years of his pro-Chancellorship, he

strove hard to nature and nourish the contin-

ued growth and development of the University

both on quality and in dimension.

Consolidation and Expansion

The present Pro Chancellor Dr. M.A.M

Ramaswami was nominated by the Chancellor

to succeed his father as Founder Pro-

Chancellor of the University. With the insight


38

of a skilled entrepreneur, the organizational

capability of an executive, the versatility of a

venturesome industrialist, and the qualities

of leadership and organization, he has con-

tinued to show the same care and guidance

for the growth and development of the Uni-

versity with a sense of devotion and commit-

ment. Thanks to his guidance and encour-

agement, several new courses have been

started in various Faculties and job-oriented

courses through Distance Education. As a

patron of sport, he has paid attention to the

growth and development of the Physical Ed-

ucation Department, by adding to it the Ten-

nis Complex, the Gymnasium, and the

Sports laboratory.

The University which started with only

seven departments in 1929 has, over the last

84 years, developed into a mighty institution

of higher learning with nearly 49 Depart-

ments, in all Faculties. This is one of the very

few institutions in India with all the Faculties

located on the campus. The University can

boast of a well-equipped Central Library and


39

Laboratories, providing every good facilities

for taking up research project, for Ph.D.,

and Post-Doctral work. Several Research

Projects have been undertaken by various

Faculties, funded by several agencies of the

state and Central Governments. A close in-

teraction has been developed between the

institution and the neighboring industries for

promotion of research and training pro-

grammes. Thus the University campus en-

joys an atmosphere which exudes a fra-

grance of sweetness, heightened by enlight-

enment. As aptly observed by the Indian

Universities Grants Commission headed by

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, “the Annamalai Uni-

versity is eminently fitted to be a genuine

centre of learning and culture by virtue of its

situation and its beautiful campus.” All the

ten faculties enjoy reputation across the

globe for their distinguished record of effec-

tive teaching at the higher level and contin-

uing research. Numerous infrastructure fa-

cilities have been created to cope with the

voluminous increase in enrolment of stu-


40

dents in various on-campus programmes.

New laboratory facilities in terms of space and

quality equipment have been provided to ca-

ter to the needs of the learners and research-

ers. Video conferencing Edusat, Campus wide

network, high-tech class room are some of

added new facilities. In Internal Quality Assur-

ance Cell has been set up to monitor the

quality of academic output. The departments

of study conduct national and international

seminars, symposia, workshop and confer-

ences so as to enable teachers of the universi-

ty to update their teaching and research at the

global level. Students Progression Cell has

been created to coach students for taking

I.A.S. examination. In keeping with the na-

tional policy of public health, the concept of

‘No Smoking Zone’ has been put in to prac-

tice. A student welfare Cell, for on-campus

students, has been set up to develop the indi-

vidual’s personality.

With a view to preparing the students

for their profession and, in particular, to im-

part right attitudes and specific skills, the


41

placement cells are functioning in three dif-

ferent locations. One to cater to the needs of

the students in the Faculty of Engineering &

Technology, another to cater to the needs of

the students in the Faculty of Agriculture and

the last, in the Department of Business Ad-

ministration, for the students of Arts, Science,

Education and Fine Arts. These cells advise

students with regard to the choice of careers

and higher studies. They help students to un-

dergo in-plant training during semester holi-

days and also find suitable placement through

campus interviews. They also conduct semi-

nars and training sources periodically on En-

trepreneurial Department Career Guidance

Programme. The 1400 bedded teaching hos-

pital with a built-up area of about 4 00,000

sq.ft. provides basic as well as specialised

health care services to various section of the

community in and around the campus. Stu-

dents can opt to attach themselves to any of

the extracurricular services like NSS, NCC or

YRC so as to develop social awareness, an in-

terest in the community and with a clear am-


42

bition to improve their personality. To im-

prove upon the physical fitness of the stu-

dents, a sport pavilion with many infrastruc-

ture facilities has been established.

The University Library named after the

eminent scholar statesman and former Vice-

Chancellor Dr. Sir. C.p. Ramaswami Aiyer is a

key knowledge resource for the students and

the staff. The Library is equipped with INTER-

NET connectivity and CD NETWORK station.

Quite a good number of journals can be ac-

cessed through the Info-net facility. The Uni-

versity has Memorandum of Understanding

with many foreign Universities on research

collaboration and exchange of students and

staff as well. There are sufficient numbers of

hostels for the convenience of the students to

pursue their studies on campus. Modern

kitchen facilities, with safe drinking water, are

available to ensure the hygienic conditions in

the hostel.


43

In a pluralistic nation state – INDIA,

Hinduism is one of the most prominent

and one of the oldest religions. Based on

the theory of “Karma and Dharma”, it be-

lieves in transmigration of soul, which has

been called “other- worldly asceticism” by

Max Weber, a prominent Sociologist. Fast-

ing tradition is deep rooted in this religion

and held as sacred as calling for god. In a

polytheistic religion, Hinduism, the num-

ber of gods and goddesses worshipped are

infinite as there is a God related with each

day of week, planets, natural things (water,

fire, etc.). Through this paper I am high-

Fasting custom in Hinduism

Thaint (Myanmar)


44

lighting some of the fasts which are associ-

ated with the days of week.

Monday

Monday fasting is associated with

good husband and wish fulfillment. Mon-

day is for Lord Shiva. He is believed to be

creator of the whole world. He creates

everything according to they believe.

Formality

Formality of fast is one can have fruits

whole day around. One meal a day only

and that would be without salt.

Ritual

Ritual is they go to the temple offer

milk and water on Lord Shiva. Every Mon-

day they keep on fasting for sixteen Mon-

days continuously that may be around

four months. On 17th Monday of fast they

offer many things to Lord Shiva and wor-

ship in elaborated way, all things should

be 16 in numbers like sixteen bananas.


45

They recite one prayer of the religious story

related to God Shiva.

Tuesday

Tuesday fast is for getting out of trou-

bles. Tue day is for Lord Hanuman who

was bachelor. He was disciple of Lord Ra-

ma.

Formality

People take one meal a day that too

without salt. Fruit and milk can be con-

sumed at any time and as they wants.

Ritual

What they do is they offer Vermaillon

(sindhur), red color power and ghee (which

is made from milk) to Lord Hanuman as

well as Parsad , it can be any things.

Main Parsad is “Badana” kind of sweetdish

to offer after Sunset.

They recite the scripture regarding Hanu-

mam.


46

Wednesday

People not used to do fast on Wednesday.

Thursday

Thursday fasting is for good study as

well as for getting married. People worship

Guru or master whom they believe in. On

this day people worship Banana tree.

Formality

Banana eating is prohibited because that

day they worship banana tree. They offer

turmeric power and Gram pulse to the tree.

They wear yellow color and eat food

of yellow color like yellow rice, gram flour.

Scripture they just read the study about the

same fast.

Friday

Friday fasting reason is for money and

wish fulfillment.

Friday is fast for two types. One is they

are worshipping Godness lakshmi. This is

Goddess of money.


47

Number of fast can be 7, 9, 11, 21,

31, 51, or hundred and one (101).

On that day, if female get menstruates

periods she skips the fast .She will contin-

ue the counting from the next fast on

wards.

Formality

Among the formalities people they

don’t eat or drink from any one house or

any one’s things. Whatever they eat

should be their own, even in the shop or

group they must pay .Meal they take one

meal before sunset .It can be sweet or salt.

Fruits and milk allow in every day fast the

whole day around. Worshipping style is

different. It is before sunset, they read the

scripture regarding fast. They offer flowers,

rice to Goddess Lakshmi.

Saturday

Saturday fast is for good luck. People

worship God Shani (Planet Saturn). This

day people worship planet Saturn and fast


48

for it.

Ritual

Ritual is lighting the oil lamp in Shani

mandir and temple. What they do is they

eat one meal. They eat black color pulses

and people give black color cloth to peo-

ple. They offer mah pulses and group nut

oil to shani

Reciting is scripture which is related to

shani’s power. Saturday fast is not too com-

mon.

Sunday

Sunday fasting is for fulfilling of one wishes and it is believed that kinds of skin diseases get cured. Sunday is for Lord Surya (the Sun God).

Formality

Formality is people take one meal be-fore sunset and that would be without salt, oil, friend food items. Alms are also given on that day.

Ritual


49

People offer red color flowers to Surya and apply red sandalwood pastes as ‘tilak’ on their forehead.

They recite related to God Surya power.

Karvachauth

Another most auspicious fast among

Hindu’s is Karvachauth. Karvachauth- it is

fast by women for their husband long life.

It falls in the month of October mostly. The

fast got its name from word “karva” which

means small earthen pot, and “chauth”,

another word which stands for the 4th day

of Hindu calendar. So on this is the 4th day

of this month women fast with karva from

morning till night for the long life of her

husband.

On this day women get up early and

they take meal before sunrise which is

known as sargi. Sargi is given by mother in

law to her daughter in law. After the meal

women can’t take anything neither water

nor anything till moon arises. When moon

arises women worship moon and offer co-


50

conut and sweets.

This day women wear red cloths, red

bangles and put on mehndi (heena) on

hand. This fast is mainly kept by females

and rarely by males.

*** Photos from Internet.

The Lion’s Outlook’s Sitaug Students’ Research Journal

51

Yamuna River is originated at Ya-

munotri glacier located above the sea

level of 21,000 ft. at lower Himalaya,

Uttarakhand, India and entered into

Ganga River at Allahabad, Uttar Pra-

desh. Along with flows of blue water,

1400 km long River Yamuna brings the

ancient and modern history of India

since centuries ago.

In the history of India relating to

River Yamuna, an account of Asoka, one

of the most eminent Emperors of India,

must be emphasized. Literary facts and

archaeological evidences reflect the

greatest glories of Emperor Asoka.

Jambudīpā, Yamunā and Asoka’s footsteps: A Field Study

Ashin Dhammācāra

Jambudipā, Yamunā and Asoka’s footsteps: A Field Study

52

Among these proofs, inscriptions of

Mauryan Era found throughout Indian

Subcontinent play major role in the

field of Asokan studies. Inscriptions

known as Asoka’s Edicts were excavat-

ed since late 18th Century A.D. and

the research on Asokan Edicts carries

on till 21st Century.

Along the River Yamuna, Aso-ka’s Edicts were found: (1) Kalsi Rock Edict at the beginning of the river, (2) Delhi-Topra Pillar Edict, (3) Delhi-Meerut Pillar Edict, (4) Delhi-Bahapur Minor Rock Edict at the middle of the river, (5) Allahabad-Kosam Pillar Edict, (6) Kosambi Minor Pillar Edict and (7) Queen Minor Pillar Edict at the end of the river.

(1) Kalsi Rock Edict

Flowing down from Himalaya,

River Yamuna touches the plain at Ka-

ta Pathar village, Doon valley, Uttarak-

hand. The village is situated on the

small hill from where the flow of River

Yamuna can be viewed. I went down


53

to get the bank of River Yamuna by

passing through a primary school and

the fields. This was the harvest season

on the days of autumn. From the edge

of the cliff I saw River Yamuna flowing

freely. I reached at the bank after pass-

ing small lane through bushes. The

water was incredibly clear in blue.

Different sizes of rock spread over the

both sides of the bank. Yamuna was

covered by the rocky hills. Atmos-

phere was still and silent except the

song of stream. The River Yamuna

known as Pabbateyya and Sīghasota

was never ever turning back and flow-

ing down forever.

10 Kilometers down from Kata

Pathar there was a village Kalsi. It was

located about 50 Km away from Deh-

radun, caplital of Uttarakhand State.

On the small range of hill a small vil-

lage was quiet, not as big cities. At the

roadside of village market a signboard

indicating Asoka’s Rock Edict was


54

standing. Walking down through a narrow

lane, I saw a small and clean garden. In the

middle there was a bricked house where a

big rock was kept. On 1860 this rock edict

was found by Mr. Forrest, a shelter was

built by State Government on 1912, and it

was under the maintenance of Archaeolog-

ical Survey of India.

The inscribed Rock was 10 feet high,

10 feet long and 8 feet thick at the bottom.

On eastern side and left-hand side edicts

were inscribed Edict I to IVX in Brahmi

script of Prakrit language and a sketch of

Elephant was outlined, with the word

“Gajatama” inscribed under its legs. This

was one and only word I could read and

there was no time to read entire edict as I

was busy with taking photos from every

corner. The other side of the garden was a

wide range of fields on the western bank

of River Yamuna. Farmers were working

during the harvest time and I saw a track

with piles of straw running across the

fields. A boy was playing with a cow in


55

the field. He seemed to have no interest in

Rock Edict just a stone throw away from him.

One day, he would probably know the legend

of Asoka and his Edicts. The Rock was still

waiting for on its own spot.

(2) Delhi-Topra Pillar Edict

River Yamuna running down about 100

Km, reached village Topra Kalan. This village

was located at Radaur Mandal, Yamuna Nagar

District of Haryana State and just 18 Km away

from city Yamuna Nagar. It is believed that the

original location of Delhi-Topra Pillar was this

village from where Firoz Shan Tughluq of Del-

hi Sulatan King moved the Pillar to his Palace.

That’s why it was well known as Delhi-Topra

Pillar.

On the Pillar of about 43 feet height, 3

feet lower diameter, 2 feet upper diameter,

Pillar Edict I to VII were inscribed in Brahmi

script of Prakrit language. It was found by

Captain Poiler on 1785. Out of all other Pillars

found throughout India, this Pillar was one

and only pillar containing full version of Pillar


56

Edicts. On 1837 James Prinsep translat-

ed this edict into English which was the

first ever endeavor in the history of

Asokan studies. Later varieties of trans-

lation were released.

I’ve never been to Village Topra.

So many times I came back and forth

on the way of Delhi to Punjab and

when I got Kurukshetra junction I just

looked up the way to Yamuna Nagar. At

half, there was village Topra. Local

community tried to get back Asoka’s

Pillar from Delhi but failed as ASI said

no. So they were planning to set up

replica of Asoka’s Pillar with memorial

garden at Topra.

Though I stayed 4 years at Delhi

where Delhi-Topra Pillar was show-

cased at Firoz Shan Kotla, I failed to get

down there. After moving to Chandi-

garh, I went there to see it. ASI was

maintaining that Palace. There was an

entry fee and only 5 Rupees for BIM-

STEC countries. The Pillar was standing


57

straight on the top of a three-storied building

at Firoz Shan Kotla. I went up to the top and

approached to the foot of the Pillar. Time

was an evening on November autumn sea-

son just after unexpected rain. The atmos-

phere was quiet and peaceful under the dim

and cloudy sky. I had no word to express my

feeling mixed with appreciation to Firoz

Shan who brought the Pillar from Topra to

Delhi and remembrance to Asoka who or-

dered to create the Pillar. Asoka’s Dhamma

inscribed on the Pillar was in silent mood.

(3) Delhi-Meerut Pillar

River Yamuna flew down about 140

Km from Topra Kalan and reached Meerut,

Uttar Pradesh but it was 50 Km away from

the river. Delhi Sultan King Firoz Shan Tu-

ghluq moved the Pillar from there to his

Hunting Palace at Delhi. So, it is called Delhi

-Meerut Pillar found by Padre Tieffenthaler

on 1750. Pillar Edicts I to VI were inscribed

on it and all were same version as Delhi-

Topra Pillar Edict.


58

When it was found the Pillar was

broken into 5 pieces. On 1866 it was sent

to Asiatic Society of Bengal, Kolkata and

after a year brought back to Delhi where

it was fixed and set up in old position.

Recently the Pillar was 32 feet height and

standing by the roadside in front of Hindu

Rao Hospital. There was a fence but no

guard.

I’ve never been Pillar’s original lo-

cation, Meetut but I always remembered

it when I reached Meerut Junction at

Sonepat on the way of Delhi-Punjab. I

missed first time visit to the Pillar when

my class mates with History lecturers of

BS Department, DU took a small excur-

sion to the Pillar just 3 Km away from uni-

versity. Later I visited there several times.

Occasionally, I stopped by the roadside

and looked up that Pillar whenever I

backed from downtown to university.

Fixed in five broken pieces, the Pillar was

whispering its story severely affected by

the waves of change.


59

(4) Delhi-Bahapur Minor Rock Edict

About 50 Km Flowing down from

Meerut, River Yamuna reached Delhi. On

the Raja Dhirsain Marg, Bahapur area of

south east Delhi there was a Asoka’s Rock

Edict, just 5 Km away from River Yamuna.

On 1966 it was found by Shri Jang Bahadur

Singh and known as Delhi-Bahapur Asoka

Minor Rock Edict I, inscribed in Brahmi

script of Prakrit language.

Delhi was the centrepiece city of cit-

ies through the River Yamuna. Varieties of

the ancient images of Delhi were still re-

mained till 21st Century. As there were an-

cient remains, so it is called Old Delhi and it

is also called New Delhi as there were mod-

ern developments. Now New Delhi was the

capital of India. In the Royal history of an-

cient Delhi Asoka cannot be forgotten. Rock

Edict was a written witness of the history of

Delhi by the River Yamuna.

Kammāsa Nigama of Kuru Janapada

found in Pāḷi literature was located at south

east of New Delhi, as ASI affirmed. There

the Buddha delivered the discourse:

Ānaṅjasappāya Sutta, Mahānidāna Sutta,

Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Māgaṇḍiya Sutta,

Ariyavāsa Sutta and Sammāsa Sutta. The


60

most well-known one was Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna

Sutta. It is said that people were able to un-

derstand deep and delicate

Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta as they possessed

higher knowledge, being healthy and happy,

and living at Kuru Janapada where there

were better weather and nutriment condi-

tion.

During the days in Delhi, the most

attractive site was a small park where Delhi-

Bahapur Rock Edict was located. For Myan-

mar, it is one and only memorable place out

of all historical sites of Delhi. It is known as

Satipaṭṭhāna Hill. It was simple and plain

and there was no shine of gold and silver

like any other Buddhist sites. Once it was a

toilet place for locals and visitors got to con-

template Paṭikulasa ññā meditation rather

than Buddhānusati and Dhammānusati

Kammaṭṭhāna. Now, under the care of ASI

the wall was set up and surrounding is neat

and clean. Inscribed on the rock face of the

small hill, the visibility of Rock Edict was im-

perfect to read. However, the voice of

Dhamma recorded on it was still echoing

together with the peacefulness of Dhamma

taught by the Buddha who once dwelt in

that area.


61

(5) Allahabad-Kosam Pillar

River Yamuna, flowing about 650 Km,

reached Kosambi, Uttar Predesh State. Origi-

nally there was a Pillar at Kosambi but it was

moved to Akbar Fort, Allahabad, about 63

Km away from Kosambi by the order of

Mughal King Akbar, it is said. On the Pillar,

37 feet height, nearly 3 feet lower diameter

and 2 feet upper diameter, Major Pillar Edict

I to Vi was inscribed in Brahmi script of Pra-

krit language, same version as Delhi-Topra

and Delhi-Meerut Pillar Edict.

The day after I got in Allahabad, I run

down to see Asoka Pillar but had no way in

as Akabar Fort was not for public. I did not

know who to be blamed, King Akbar who

moved the Pillar to the Fort or Indian Army

who occupied the Fort. Let it be. Luckily, I

got a chance to take a bath though I got no

fish. Allahabad is a city where River Yamuna

and Ganga mingled. It is called Triveni San-

gam, formerly known as Payāga Port.

It is believed that Payāga is the best

place for Pāpavāhana to wash away one’s


62

own sins and bring one’s salvation. This is

a holy place where Ardh, Purna and Maha

Kumbh Mela took place. Maha Kumbh

celebrated once in 144 years on 2001 and

over 70 million people took part, as it was

one of the greatest human gatherings on

earth. From Pauṣa Pūrṇimā (January) to

Māgha Pūrṇimā (February), it was per-

formed in the coldest days of winter sea-

son. In this year 2013, there was Kumbh

Mela hold once in 12 years and 100 mil-

lion were expected to join.

Unfortunately I’ve never been there

during the festival. When I was there in

the late winter, it was the end of February.

By a small boat I went up to the conflu-

ence of River Yamuan, Ganga and mythi-

cal River Saraswati and washed my dirt

out. From the middle of the river Akaba

Fort was clearly noticeable at the bank. In

my mind, I was forced to imagine Asoka’s

Pillar in the Fort where I couldn’t enter.

(6) Kosambi Minor Pillar


63

On the Allahabad-Kosam Pillar Kos-

ambhi Minor Pillar Edict was also inscribed

in Brahmi script of Prakrit language. Though

it was not written on the separate Pillar, the

content was different and concerned with

Kosambhi. So it is called Kosambhi Minor

Pillar Edict. Issued to the Minister of Kos-

ambi, this was an Order relating to Saṃgha-

bhedaka and Saṃghasamaggi and it was

clear evidence that the importance of Kos-

ambhi and Asoka’s concern over Saṃgha

affair can be seen.

While dwelling at Kosambhi the Bud-

dha delivered numerous Dhamma discours-

es. There are some Dhamma discourses de-

livered by his disciples. In these discourses,

an interesting sentence struck me. It ran …

“Āgametu, bhante, bhagavā dhammassāmī,

appossukko bhante bhagavā diṭṭhadhamma-

sukhavihāraṃ anuyutto viharatu. Maya-

metena bhaṇḍanena kalahena viggahena

vivādena pa ññāyissāma.” Asoka could not

cope with his deep concern about it.

Unfortunately I couldn’t go to Kos-


64

ambhi about 60 Km away from Allaha-

bad where I reached. I couldn’t enter

even I got to the gate of Akbar Fort

where the Pillar was preserved. I missed

two. I felt terrible. But I found the top of

the Pillar in Allahabad museum. But

there is no trace of Brahmi script on

beautifully carved upper portion of the

Pillar. The lion capital was also not

there. I felt just half after having chance

to see only the top but not the Pillar. A

piece of satisfaction came to me, only

when I saw a wood curving statue in

dancing pose and a bronze bell from

Myanmar were exhibited in the muse-

um.

(7) Queen Minor Pillar

Together with Allahabad-Kosam

Pillar Edict and Kosambi Minor Pillar

Edict, Queen Minor Pillar Edict was in-

scribed on the very same pillar. Con-

cerning with the donation of Kāruvākī,


65

junior queen of Asoka, the Edict was written

in Brahmi script of Prakrit.

When I touched the flow of River Yamu-

na at Kata Pather, I remembered Payāga Port

where Akbar Fort was located. I simply no-

ticed the color of water depending on the soil

it streamed. At Payāga Port I wasn’t interested

to dip at the confluence of Yamuna and Gan-

ga. In Delhi, I’ve never ever thought to go

down and take a bath at Yamuna simply be-

cause the water was severely polluted. Surpris-

ingly River Yamuna just near about Kalsi Rock

Edict was crystal blue. No wonder I had no

choice but to go and take a dip in the flow of

Yamuna. It was unforgettable. While taking

bath and touching the cool, clean and clear

flow of River Yamuna, I could feel Asoka’s

Dhamma streaming along the length of River

Yamuna from Kalsi to Allahabad.

At the bank of River Yamunam from Kalsi

to Allahabad, Asoka’s Edicts contained varie-

ties of matters. In Asoka’s Edicts known as

“Dhammalipi” the term “Dhamma” was used

over 150 times. That’s why it is called


66

“Asoka’s Dhamma.” One of the fundamental

features of Asoka’s Dhamma could be tasted

on Delhi-Topra, Delhi-Meerut and Allahabad-

Kosam Major Pillar Edicts. It ran:

“Dhaṃme sādū. Kiyaṃ cu

dhaṃmeti. Apāsinave bahu kayāne.

Dayā dāne sace socaye.”

Practice of Dhamma is good. What’s

Dhamma? Abstaining from evil, do-

ing numerous merits, kindness, gen-

erosity, truthfulness and purity of

body and mind.

Such a significant nature of Dhamma was

applied by His Majesty Asoka who governed

Mauryan Empire enriched with multi-cultural

and multi-ethnic diversity. That’s why it was

labelled as “Asoka’s Dhamma Policy.” It might

sound reasonable as it ran:

“Esāpi vidhiyā iyaṃ dhamena

pālenā dhaṃmena vidhāne

dhaṃmena sukhiyanā dhaṃmena

gotīti”


67

“This is (the State) constitution:

guard by Dhamma, rule by

Dhamma, comfort by Dhamma

and protect by Dhamma."

When River Yamuna from Yamunotri

Galicia of Himalaya, flew the way of 1400

Km and River Ganga from Gangotri Galicia

of Himalaya met at Allahabad, two Pabbat-

eyya Rivers mingled and it was the end of

the journey of River Yamuna. The flow of

history brought through River Yamuna would

go on forever. The waves of Dhamma re-

flected on Asoka’s Edicts at the banks of Riv-

er Yamuna would echo for centuries ahead,

forever, I wish.

REFERENCES

Alexander Cunningham, Inscriptions of Asoka, Cal-

cutta: Office of the Superintendent of Gov-

ernment Printing, 1877.

D. K. Chakrabarit, Historical Geography of the Aso-

kan Edicts, New Delhi: Aryan Books Interna-

tional, 2011.


68

M. C. Joshi and B. M. Pande, “A Newly Discovered In-

scription of Aśoka at Bahapur, Delhi,” Journal of

the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ire-

land, No. 3/4, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1967, pp.96-98.

Meena Talim, Edicts of King Aśoka, A New Vision, New

Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2010.

N. P. Rastogi, Inscriptions of Aśoka, Varanasi:

Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1990.

Radhakumud Mookerji, Asoka, London: Macmillan and

Co., Ltd., 1928.

Romila Thapar, Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas,

(12th impression) New Delhi: Oxford University

Press, 2008.

အ႐ငအာဒစၥဝသ, အေသာကမငးတရားႀကး၏ ေကာကစာေတာ,

(ဒတယအႀကမ ပႏပျခငး) ရနကန: စ႐ား စာပႏပတက, ၁၉၆၉.

ဥးဖးလတ, အေသာကေကာကစာမား, ရနကန: ပညာနႏၵပႏပတက,

၁၉၅၀.

INTERNET SOURCES

Locations and Distances of Villages and Cities through

Yamuna River

@ http://maps.google.com/

General sources related to Asoka’s Edicts and Yamuna

Rivers

@ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://maps.google.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Academic Approach


69

Using Historical Methods in the Study of Religion

Whenever writing history you will want to follow

the general advice already given in this handbook. In

other words, you will need to find a topic (e.g., Christi-

anity during the Civil War), generate a set of questions

about that topic (e.g., What role did specific church X

play in the conflict in Y region?) and marshal the evi-

dence needed to answer these questions-documents,

letters, ks, newspapers, artifacts-essentially anything

that can tell us about life in the past.

What distinguishes a history paper from another

kind of writing? What are historians interested in? His-

torians study the past, but they study it with particular

Different Approaches to Writing in Religious Studies*

* This article is a pickup from a book entitled “A Guide to Writing in Religious Studies,” Cambridge, MA: Harvard Writing Project, 2007.

70

Different Approaches to Writing in Religious Studies

1. Read and understand scholarly interpretations

of your topic.

2. Study and take notes on the debates that

scholars are having about this past event.

3. Study and take notes on the primary sources

you have read on this event.

4. Think about the questions, problems or con-

tradictions that remain for you. What kinds of

questions have scholars not asked about these

primary sources? When and why have scholarly

interpretations clash? Do you have a slightly dif-

ferent reading of these primary sources-a read-

ing that might resolve contradictions or puzzles

in the secondary sources? Do you have a read-

ing of the primary sources that might add some-

thing to how we understand these events? Do

you have primary evidence that has not been

used before-or not been used specifically to

speak to these problems? Perhaps your reading

of the primary evidence could change or shed

light on our interpretations of the past?

Yet sometimes you will want to begin not

with secondary sources but with primary ones. If

you know about primary sources that are under-


71

questions in mind. Historians are interested in explain-

ing how events in the past changed over time, why

they happened in the first place, what other trends

they were connected to or what their significance was.

How should you proceed once you have fixed

on a particular question? Many historical essays are in-

spired by the secondary literature: how have particular

historians interpreted the topic at hand? In other

words, you might proceed “backwards”–to go from

secondary literature to primary. If your topic is evan-

gelical revival in the 19th century (for example) you

will want to know what other historians have said

about this. You will want to know the debates that

characterize different historical views on this subject.

Once you have a sense for how others are thinking

about this topic, you might want to start looking your-

self at the primary sources (evidence) they are arguing

about. What do you think about this evidence? Have

you found other evidence from this period that might

help you revise or critique what they are saying? Do

you have another interpretive angle from which to un-

derstand this evidence?

Here is a point-by-point process for thinking

about the research and writing process:

72


used (sometimes a faculty member can suggest primary

sources to you) you can begin with these. Study them and

take notes. Then read secondary interpretations on these

sources or other sources related to your topic.

Whether you go from secondary to primary sources

or vice versa, you will want to establish what we have ear-

lier called a “motive”: you will want to show your reader

what is interesting, new or significant about your argu-

ment. One good way to do this in history papers is to ar-

gue that you are contributing something specific to the

scholarly conversation about your topic-that you have a

new or slightly different answer to problems, puzzles or

questions that historians have struggled with when en-

countering this past event.

Writing the Philosophy of Religion

Types of Arguments

Like most types of academic writing, a paper in the

philosophy of religion should make an argument. The kind

of argument it makes, however, differs from that in other

academic fields. Most often, it involves writing about a

view or position taken by the author of a text (or the views

of more than one author) and/or arguing in support of

one’s own philosophical views. Thus, generally you are not


73

just writing an argument but writing about arguments.

Depending upon the topic, the central argument of a

paper might be one of

several possible kinds. For instance, it might

• argue for a particular interpretation of a text

(especially if there is a plausible, competing interpreta-

tion that you can imagine)

• defend the position developed in a text (or series of

texts),

• argue that an author’s position has certain weak-

nesses or problems,

• compare two authors’ views to make an argument

about the relationship between the two views, or

• develop and defend an original position on a philo-

sophical question.

Regardless of which type of argument you en-

gage in, your claim will require you to provide a clear

account of the position in question; and this account

will often take up at least a few paragraphs.

Whether you are focusing on a text or on a phil-

osophical problem, remember that your paper does

not always have to provide a defi nite solution. An ex-

cellent paper may argue that a problem remains unre-

solved or that an author’s position contains a funda-

74


mental ambiguity. It is also appropriate to raise ques-

tions or issues that you do not resolve in the paper.

But be sure to indicate to your reader that you are

doing so deliberately.

Supporting an Argument

As with any essay, you will need to provide evi-

dence to support your argument. But certain kinds of

philosophical essays require certain emphases. If you

are arguing for a particular interpretation of an au-

thor’s argument, most of your emphasis will fall on

explaining exactly what you think that author’s view is

and showing how any quotations from that author

supports your reading of his or her view.

Other types of arguments require different

kinds of support. If you are arguing that a particular

view is weak or problematic, for instance, you need

to provide your reader with reasons why. These rea-

sons might involve pointing out internal contradic-

tions, hidden and unjustifiable presuppositions, or

objectionable consequences of the position. In both

reading and writing, you should constantly ask your-

self what an author’s argument takes for granted, how

each point she makes relates to others she has made,


75

and what the position’s consequences or implications

are. It may be useful to provide an example that

demonstrates the weakness of the position.

A final note: Perhaps even more than other kinds of

essays, a philosophical essay must respond to possible

objections. Just as you examine philosophical essays

for possible weaknesses, so readers will examine

yours, and if you can anticipate and defuse the major

objections, you will go a long way in convincing them

of the truth of what you are arguing.

Writing Paper based on Fieldwork

Anthropologists study the lives that people make

for themselves and for each other in the particular cir-

cumstances in which they find themselves. One major

and distinguishing way that anthropologists go about

this study is through fieldwork: fieldwork is embodied

learning–you go out to live alongside a particular

group of people because you believe that some ques-

tion about human experience is best explored by at-

tending to these lives in this place at this time. Writing

a religious studies paper based on fieldwork entails

then abundantly detailed accounts of three things:

1) how this group of people live (with a spe-

cial emphasis on the kinds of bonds they

76


form with each other);

2) the very specific circumstances of their

lives; and

3) the religious idioms they have made,

found, inherited, or improvised as they live

in these particular circumstances. Writing

based on fieldwork is above all else the art

of disciplined description.

Writing the paper is only one of the kinds

of writing you do for a fieldwork project. You take

notes in the field on what you are seeing and ex-

periencing; you record what the people you are

living with say to you in response to your ques-

tions about their lives and to your presence

among them; you take notes on what you are

feeling in the field, your fears, angers, hopes, and

desires. The paper you write eventually should be

based on this prior writing in the field.

Fieldwork means entering other people’s

lives; writing what you learned in this process

poses moral challenges. How will you represent

the lives of the people you have lived among,

their understandings of the world–in their voices,

in yours, in some combination? How will you

protect their anonymity? How will you handle


77

events or circumstances that may be less than flat-

tering of them, perhaps even downright ugly, es-

pecially if these are people that others are inclined

to be hostile to or suspicious of? You will have

handled some of these questions when you fi lled

out the necessary forms for research with human

subjects, but other questions will come up in the

circumstances of the field. There is no single an-

swer to these questions about poetics and ethics.

Different anthropologists have tried different ex-

periments in writing up their experiences in ways

that they feel honors their own life in the field and

respects the integrity and autonomy of the people

with whom they lived. The key thing is to be

thoughtful and intentional about such matters.

Above all, fieldwork as practice and writing is

transparent, meaning that you never use quotation

marks unless you had written a statement down

when you heard it; you do not use composites;

you give the context and circumstances of your

conversations; you do not ask leading questions.

This ethnographic honesty means a sharp and

clear introspection too: to be attentive to your de-

sires for the people among whom you go to be a

certain way, your fears of them, what it is that

78


brought you to this project in the first place, the

ways that your own life informs the questions you

are asking and the relationships you are making in

the field.

So the necessary components of a paper

based on fieldwork are: an account of the ques-

tions you brought to the field informed by reading

on the subject; some discussion of why this venue

and these people for your explorations; the most

detailed description of those aspects of people’s

lives and relationships relevant to your study; the

inclusion of their voices and perspectives, especial-

ly when they disagree with or simply confound

what you want to see; reflection on yourself as

fieldworker; and your conclusions–what do you

know now that you did not when you went out in-

to the field and what do other students of religion

learn for our own work from your experience and

reflection?

Writing a Comparative Religion Paper

Writing a paper on a comparative topic in

the study of religion poses a distinct challenge. The

problem is that comparison itself seems to provide


79

a natural framework for analysis: one presents A,

then presents B, then draws out similarities and dif-

ferences between A and B. The problem is that this

“natural” structure produces essays that list rather

than argue, essays whose theses boil down to some-

thing like, “These authors are similar in certain

ways, but they’re different in other ways.”

An effective comparative paper requires two

things. First, it requires a sharply focused topic,

which will allow you to get at some of the most cru-

cial points of agreement and difference. While it

may be enticing to compare Hindu and Christian

notions of salvation and the afterlife in a five-page

essay, for example, Hindu or Christian notions of

salvation in and of them-selves are topics for multi-

volume scholarly studies. Far more productive

would be a comparison of specific Hindu and

Christian thinkers on the topic of salvation and the

afterlife, say Buddha and Augustine.

Yet a narrow topic is not enough. A good

comparative paper requires a rationale for the com-

parison itself: what does one learn about either A or

B through comparing the two that one might not

otherwise notice? If one sets out to compare, as

80


above, the thoughts of Augustine and the Bud-

dha on human suffering, the question that im-

mediately arises in the mind of the reader is:

why? In comparing such two historically and the-

ologically disparate figures, what is to be gained

by comparison? Does one notice something

about the teachings of the Buddha if one consid-

ers them through the eyes of Augustine, or vice

versa? How does engaging in comparison illu-

mine otherwise overlooked elements of either

thing being compared?

An effective comparative thesis on the

topic above might be the following:

Example: In reading Augustine’s Confes-

sions through the lens of the

Buddha’s emphasis on compassion, Augustine’s

own doctrine of compassionate care for others

emerges as foundational for the Christian moral

life.

This thesis will move the author beyond simply

listing all the similarities and differences between

the texts in question because it has a tight focus,

but it also provides a justification for the com-

parison itself. Without this comparison, without


81

looking at Buddha’s text, we might have missed

this important point about Augustine’s.

One more example of a successful compara-

tive thesis will highlight a counter-intuitive aspect

of comparative essays:

Example: Examining Martin Luther King, Jr.’s appli-

cation of the Gandhian principle of non-violence

reveals both the Christian and distinctly Hindu ele-

ments of Gandhi’s thought.

As with the first example, this example does

not give equal weight to the two texts: King’s text is

being used to illuminate an otherwise obscure as-

pect of Gandhi’s. Thus, a useful metaphor for com-

parative essays is an optical one: in a successful

comparative essay, one text provides a lens that

brings into focus an interesting aspect of a different

one. Comparative essays are not “list essays” but

“lens essays.”


82

In academic writing, it is always necessary to

make your position clear. This is often called your

voice or your claim. Any voices that are not

acknowledged as being from another author are as-

sumed to be yours, and there is a danger that this

voice may not be expressed very strongly. However,

there are many things you can do to make your

voice clearer, more obvious and more explicit. You

can also make it more or less powerful. In any kind

of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make

decisions about your stance on a particular subject,

or the strength of the claim you are making. It is

unlikely that the evidence you present will be con-

Expressing Your Voice *

* This article is a pickup from the book entitled “Successful Academic

Writing,” England: Pearson Longman, 2009.

Expressing Your Voice

83

clusive enough for you to state that something

is definitely true. At the same time, you need

to be careful of making sweeping statements

which do not consider exceptions. This is why

academic writing often calls for a cautious

style, and there are various ways in which cau-

tion can be expressed.

It is not enough to simply describe a sit-

uation or recall the facts; you need to take a

stance or position yourself in relation to the

situation or the facts. In the following sen-

tence:

Previous studies have indicated that

the intensity of physiotherapy provi-

sion may affect some patient out-

comes including reduced mortality

following a stroke.

the words ‘indicate’, ‘may’ and ‘some’ show

the writer’s position towards the facts. Instead

of ‘indicated’, the words ‘shown’, ‘proved’ or

‘suggested’ could have been used. The word

‘may’ might have been replaced by ‘could’,

‘will’ or nothing. ‘Some’ was chosen, where


84

‘many’, ‘few’ or ‘most’ were also possible.

These are choices that you – as a writer – have

to make. And every choice you make will in-

fluence your voice. The rest of this chapter will

provide you with some other words and

phrases that you can use to show your posi-

tion. If you change them, you will see that they

have a different effect on what you are trying

to say. If you have a choice, then you are

changing your voice by changing the words.

Your voice can:

show confidence

show relationships

show the strength of your claim.

Showing confidence

You can show your degree of confidence

in your claim by:

showing caution in your claim though the

use of hedges such as ‘probable’,

‘might’, ‘may’, ‘possibly’

showing confidence in your claim by using

boosters such as ‘definite’, ‘will’, ‘must’,

‘obviously’, ‘clearly’.


85

The sentences below are quite confident.

It is clear that schools need to intro-

duce sport at a young age.

Although your evidence may strongly support

this argument, in academic writing the sentence

may be expressed more cautiously with the use of

a modal verb such as ‘may’:

It is clear that schools may need to

introduce sport at a young age.

You can use various verbs, adjectives or ad-

verbs to show your degree of confidence as

shown below:

Modal verbs e.g. will, may, might, could

Apart from neuroanatomical differ-

ences, there may be differences in the

amount of, or sensitivity to, hormones.

(Martin et al., 2007: 472)


86

Modal adverbs e.g. certainly, definitely, proba-

bly, perhaps

Abstract words are definitely first

understood as adjectives. (Martin et

al., 2007: 415)

The origin of language probably

lies in the motor system of our brain.

(Martin et al., 2007: 450)

Production has perhaps the great-

est potential to clash with marketing.

(Brassington and Pettitt, 2006: 26)

Modal adjectives e.g. certain, definite

The oligopoly creates a certain

amount of interdependence between

the key players, each of which is

large enough for its actions to have a

big impact on the market and on the

behaviour of its competitors.


Signalling phrases e.g. it may be possible. . ., it

could be. . ., there is a chance that. . ., in gen-

eral

As students are funding more of their


87

studies there is a strong likelihood that they

will be heavily in debt at the end of their de-

gree.

. . . and it may be that the novel can be un-

derstood purely as entertainment . . .

TIP Whenever you are writing, make sure

that you are clear about how confident

you are in your claims.

Showing relationships

You can show your stance towards the rela-

tionships in the text and its organisation. In this

way you can explicitly show the reader how you

think the sections of your text are related.

Compare

A short period of counselling will

often help clarify whether such a referral

is necessary. Patients with long-standing

depression may be helped by cognitive

therapy.

with


88

A short period of counselling will of-

ten help clarify whether such a re-

ferral is necessary. Similarly, patients

with long-standing depression may

be helped by cognitive therapy.

or

A short period of counselling will of-

ten help clarify whether such a re-

ferral is necessary. However, pa-

tients with long-standing depression

may be helped by cognitive therapy.

Here are some more examples of

phrases you can use to show explicitly how

the sections in your text are related:

‘for example’ – you think the following is an

example and you are using it to support your

argument.

‘furthermore’, ‘similarly’, ‘moreover’ –

you want to show that you think there is

another piece of evidence, or more of

the same, to provide more support.

‘in contrast’, ‘however’ – you want to show

something different is coming or you are


89

providing a contrast, and you want to signal it.

‘therefore’, ‘thus’ – you want to show that you

think that one idea is a consequence of a pre-

vious item.

TIP Whenever you are writing, make

sure that you are clear about how

parts of your text are related.

Showing the strength of your claim

You can show your attitude to the view-

points, sources or the evidence that you have

presented. The word that you choose in these

two examples will alter the strength of the

claim you are making about the relationship.

Compare

Research suggests that we pos-

sess at least four forms of memory.

(Martin et al., 2007: 304)

with

Research proves that we possess

at least four forms of memory. (Martin

et al., 2007: 304)

Or

Nowadays the urinary symptoms are


90

of a lower order.

with

Nowadays the urinary symptoms

appear to be of a lower order.

As you can see, you can choose to

use another word or phrase instead of the

highlighted word, depending on how

strongly you want to make your point. Re-

member always to support your points

with evidence.

You could choose one of the follow-

ing expressions:

indicates

suggests

proves

For example:

The evidence discussed so far

indicates that cognitive ability, espe-

cially certain types of memory, de-

clines with age. (Martin et al., 2007:

491)


91

In the following sentences, you have

similar choices and you can choose one of

the following phrases.

seems

appears

is believed

is thought

is presumed

is assumed

is known

For example:

The reported figures for inci-

dence of disease are thought to rep-

resent 1 percent of the true num-

bers.

Alternatively, when you are explicitly re-

porting the work of others, you have a choice

of reporting verb:

believes

suggests

found

argued

discovered

shows


92

confirmed

proved

For example:

Within the food sector, Bolton

(1989) found that whereas coffee

brands and convenience foods are very

price elastic, certain types of fresh fruit

and vegetables are price inelastic.


Harr é (2002) suggested that there

were 12 uses of an experiment.

(Holden, 2008: 14)

In fact Lane (2001) argued that one

of the ways science moves forward is by

trying to solve disagreements between

one set of findings and another set of

findings that have been produced by a

different method. (Holden, 2008: 14)

In all cases, try changing the phrase and see what

effect it has.

TIP Whenever you are writing, make

sure that you are clear about the

strength of your claims.


93

Good Habits to Develop Early

DO be an active researcher.

To conduct research efficiently, you

will need to concentrate on being active, and

never passive. Being an active researcher

does not mean only that you are “alert”

while reading, with pen and paper always at

the ready. It means that you should constant-

ly be engaging your source material head-on

— interrogating it with your research ques-

tion and pulling out any answers that it might

Good Habits to Develop Early and Bad Habits to Break Right Away *

* This article is a pickup from the book entitled “A Guide to

Writing a Senior Thesis in History and Literature,” Harvard

Writing Project, 2010.

94

Good Habits to Develop Early and Bad Habits to Break Right Away

yield. You should be acting upon your sources, ra-

ther than just allowing them to act upon you.

Keeping your research question firmly in mind is

the key. The main reason that students grow pas-

sive when researching is that they lose sight of the

question that they are asking. Without the ques-

tion in mind, it’s impossible to know what, exact-

ly, is important in the sources. The result is either

that students try to note everything down or

(more common) that they note nothing at all. Re-

cite your research question like a mantra in your

head and follow where it leads. Write it on a note

card or a post-it and attach it to your computer.

Write it on the back of your hand if you must. Just

do whatever you can to keep it at the forefront of

your mind. If you do that, you will always be ac-

tive as you research.

DO be brutally honest with your tutor.

The senior tutorial is no time for being coy,

and it’s no time for putting on a show of strength

and understanding when you have none. Be as

confidently and stridently honest about your work

and your progress as you possibly can, as soon as


95

you possibly can, and as often as you possibly

can with your tutor. Tell your tutor every time

you see her or him precisely where you are in

the process and how you are feeling about it.

Your tutor may exhibit seemingly magical powers

of wisdom and insight, but no tutor can read

your mind. If you hide the fact that you’re strug-

gling, or procrastinating, or whatever, your tutor

can’t help you. And what your tutor wants more

than anything is to help you. Your tutor can help

you best when she or he knows what you need.

And to know, you’ve got to give up the info.

DO sleep, eat, and exercise.

This should probably be number one on

this list, because it is perhaps the most important.

Because the senior thesis is a marathon and not a

sprint, if you don’t pace yourself and take care of

yourself along the way, you quite honestly will

have a very difficult time making it to the end.

Physical and mental wellness through the long

months of your thesis project starts with the ba-

sics, and it has to start right now. There is no time

to waste. Get into a healthy routine. Maybe

96


choose to go out one fewer night each week

(or at least, not quite as late) so you can keep

up with your sleep. Go for the salad bar in-

stead of the fries at least once a day, every

day. Finally make good on those Harvard gym

privileges. Or start that yoga class. What-ever.

Just take care of yourself! You will thank your-

self in February (and for the rest of your life as

you realize that starting up those habits now

will keep you young). Oh, and by the way,

taking care of yourself also means allowing

yourself to put your thesis aside and to have

fun every once in a while, too. Working all

the time isn’t healthy, either.

Bad Habits to Break Right Away

DON’T make it your goal to write an award-

winning essay.

Over-achievement is something that

has been ingrained in many of us at Harvard

from the very beginning: we are a community

of perfectionists. If you are one of the many,

we’re not even going to try to suggest that


97

you eliminate your perfectionist impulses from

your brain (that would be a pipe dream). What

we will do, however, is strongly urge you to set

some smaller goals for yourself first, and right

away. Start by making Goal #1 a well-designed

research question. Make Goal #2 a complete

rough draft. And make Goal #3 a strong final

draft: one that asks a strong, well-conceived re-

search question; that makes a precise, clear, and

persuasive analytical argument; and that has a

clear beginning, middle, and end. Once you

have a strong final draft, then you can make Goal

#4 to polish it into award-winning shape. Every

Hist and Lit student is capable of truly amazing

work. And we mean every single student. So the

best theses are not a reflection of some innate

mystical capacity that certain students have and

most don’t. The best theses are almost always

(99% of the time) the ones that start efficiently

and stay efficient from beginning to end. If you

make it your goal to be efficient and organized,

not to skip steps, and to work that way through-

out the entire course of your project, we can

pretty much guarantee that success will follow.

98


DON’T shut yourself out from the rest of the

world.

This goes partly with the good habit of talking

to your tutor and allowing yourself some healthy

fun from time to time. But it also means that you

need to remember that your senior thesis is only

one aspect of your life, not your entire life. The

best theses, once again, are almost never the ones

that are all-consuming in a given student’s life.

Shutting yourself out from the rest of the world,

thinking that it will help you to “be serious,” actu-

ally will cause you to lose perspective, which does

notmake for good analytical work. Keep your per-

spective. Stay integrated with the rest of your life.

DON’T think of your senior thesis as a reflection of

you.

Ready? Everyone repeat: “I am not my thesis. My

thesis is not me.” This should be a mantra running

through your head each day, every day, for the

next year. No one (and we mean no one) will think

less of you — or more of you — based on the re-

sults of your thesis.

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