Maha Dwara Nikaya (Burmese: မဟာဒွာရနိကာယ, [məhà dwàɹa̰ nḭkàja̰]; also spelt Maha Dwaya Nikaya or Maha Dvara Nikaya is the name of a small monastic order of monks in Myanmar (Burma), numbering a three to four thousand monks, primarily in Lower Myanmar. This order is very conservative with respect to Vinaya regulations. It is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders (nikaya) in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.
Origins
The founding of Dwara Nikaya was inspired by nikaya reforms in Sri Lanka during the 19th century. This Nikaya was founded in 1855, over disputes with the Thudhamma Nikaya on the constitution of a sima (သိမ် or thein in Burmese), a formal boundary in which Buddhist religious ceremonies (including ordination of Sangha) occur.
In 1900 and 1918, two other groups, the Anaukchaung Dwara (အနောက်ချောင်းဒွာရ) and Mula Dwara (မူလဒွာရ) respectively, separated from the Dwara Nikaya over leadership disputes.