Monks’ political role was retroactively reconstructed by a 1946 book to legitimate later politicking.

Evidence

Scholar monk Walpola Rahula best articulated the bases of political Buddhism in a 1946 book entitled Bhiksuvage Urumaya (later translated as The Heritage of the Bhikkhu), which argued that given their mandate to perform social service, monks could participate in politics and had done so since the time of Buddha. Although historically monks did advise kings, legitimize rulers, and thereby influence policy, H. L. Seneviratne (1999) has vigorously challenged Rahula’s claim. … Criticizing political Buddhism, which resorts to antidemocratic and ethnocentric practices, is not to criticize the Buddhist religion: the former merely highlights how laymen and monks alike have manipulated Buddhism for political ends and contributed toward Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 51

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the colonial-custom reconstruction debates in A Mission to Civilize, where administrators invented traditions to legitimate rule. — connects to: Monks built anachronistic historical claims to legitimize politicized Buddhism — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 51

Broader Connections

• Monks built anachronistic historical claims to legitimize politicized Buddhism #corroborates (0.90) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 51