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A kyaung (Burmese: ဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်း [pʰóʊɴdʑí tɕáʊɴ], often shortened to ကျောင်း) is a Burmese Buddhist monastery (vihara), comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Buddhist monks. Burmese kyaungs are sometimes also occupied by novice monks (samanera), lay attendants (kappiya), nuns, and young boys observing the Five Precepts (phothudaw). Kyaungs are typically built of wood, meaning that few historical monasteries built before the 1800s are extant.
Contents
The kyaung has traditionally been the center of village life in Burma, serving as both the educational institution for children and a community center, especially for merit-making activities such as construction of buildings, offering of food to monks and celebration of Buddhist festivals, and observance of uposatha (Buddhist sabbath).
Monasteries are not established by members of the Sangha, but by laymen who donate land or money to support the establishment of a monastery.
Usage
The modern Burmese language term kyaung descends from the Old Burmese word kloṅ (က္လောင်). The strong connection between religion and schooling is reflected by fact that the kyaung is the same word now used to refer to secular schools. Kyaung is also used to describe Christian churches, Hindu temples, and Chinese temples. Mosques are an exception, as they use the Hindi-derived word bali (ဗလီ).
Types
In modern-day Myanmar (Burma), kyaungs may be divided into a number of categories, including monastic colleges called sathintaik (စာသင်တိုက်) and remote forest monasteries called tawya kyaung (တောရကျောင်း). Burma's primary monastic university towns are Bago, Pakokku, and Sagaing.
History
In pre-colonial times, the kyaung served as the primary source of education, providing nearly universal education for boys, representing the "bastion of civilization and knowledge" and "integral to the social fabric of pre-colonial Burma." The connections between kyaungs and education were reinforced by monastic examinations, which were first instituted in 1648 by King Thalun during the Taungoo Dynasty. Classical learning was transmitted through monasteries, which served as venues for Burmese students to pursue higher education and further social advancement in the royal administration after disrobing. Indeed, nearly all prominent historical figures such as Kinwun Mingyi U Kaung spent their formative years studying at monasteries.
Traditional monastic education first developed in the Pagan Kingdom, in tandem with the proliferation of Theravada Buddhism learning in the 1100s. The syllabus at kyaungs included the Burmese language, Pali grammar and Buddhist texts with a focus on discipline, morality and code of conduct (such as Mangala Sutta, Sigalovada Sutta, Dhammapada, and Jataka tales), prayers and elementary arithmetic. Influential monasteries held vast libraries of manuscripts and texts. The ubiquity of monastic education was attributed with the high literacy rate for Burmese Buddhist men. The 1901 Census of India found that 60.3% of Burmese Buddhist men over twenty were literate, as compared to 10% for British India as a whole.
Kyaungs called pwe kyaungs (ပွဲကျောင်း) also taught secular subjects, such as astronomy, astrology, medicine, massage, divination, horsemanship, swordsmanship, archery, arts and crafts, boxing, wrestling, music and dancing. During the Konbaung Dynasty, various kings, including Bodawpaya suppressed the proliferation of pwe kyaung, which were seen as potential venues for rebellions.
Sumptuary law dictated the construction and ornamentation of Burmese kyaungs, which were among the few building structures in pre-colonial Burma to possess elaborate multi-tiered roofs called pyatthat. Mason balustrades characterized royal monasteries.
Following the abolishment of the Burmese monarchy at the end of the Third Anglo-Burmese War, monastic schools were largely superseded by secular, government-run schools.
Common kyaung features
The typical kyaung consists of a number of buildings called kyaung zaung (ကျောင်းဆောင်):
In pre-colonial times, royal monasteries were organized as complexes known as kyaung taik (ကျောင်းတိုက်), composed of several residential buildings, including the main building, the kyaunggyi (ကျောင်းကြီး) or kyaungma (ကျောင်းမ), which was occupied by the residing sayadaw, and smaller structures called kyaungyan (ကျောင်းရံ), which housed the sayadaw's disciples. The complexes were walled compounds, and also housed a library, ordination halls, meeting halls, water reservoirs and wells, and utility buildings.