State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee

The Committee was formed after the First Congregation of All Orders for the Purification, Perpetuation and Propagation of Sasana, which sought to consolidate state control of the country's Sangha, was held in Rangoon (now Yangon) from 24 to 27 May 1980.{{cite book|last=Seekins|first=Donald M.|title=Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00seek|url-access=limited|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00seek/page/n185 152]–153|isbn=978-0-8108-5476-5}} The Congregation developed a hierarchy to regulate monks at the village tract/ward, state/division and national levels via committees and devised a central governing body of 33 members now called the state Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, which would be responsible for all Buddhist monks in the country. The Committee also developed regulations to force monks to register and receive separate identification cards.{{cite book|date=September 2009|title=The Resistance of the Monks: Buddhism and Activism in Burma|publisher=Human Rights Watch|isbn=978-1-56432-544-0|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/burmamonks0909webwcover.pdf}}

The Committee now consists of 47 members, including a chairperson, six vice-chairpersons, one secretary general, six joint general secretaries and 33 other members, all of whom are appointed by the Burmese Ministry of Religious Affairs. Until 1995, appointment terms lasted 5 years. Since 1995, the government has cut term lengths, with a quarter of seats changed every 3 years.

Fifth Supreme Sangha Council of Myanmar is His Most Venerable Baddanta Cantimabhivansa.

In theory, the Committee oversees violations of the Vinaya, the traditional regulatory framework of Theravada Buddhist monks. This body has been used by the government to curtail monks' involvement in non-religious affairs.{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Emma|title=No Bad News for the King: The True Story of Cyclone Nargis and Its Aftermath in Burma|publisher=Penguin|date=28 June 2011|isbn=978-0-14-311961-6}} The Committee has the power to disrobe monks who have violated its decrees and edicts as well as Vinaya regulations and laws, and expel monks from their resident monasteries.

During the Saffron Revolution in 2007, the Committee announced new regulations to prohibit monks from participating in secular affairs.{{cite news|url=http://myanmargeneva.org/NLM2007/eng/9Sep/n070925.pdf|title=State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee has duty to reinforce and observe basic principles and rules and regulations and implement religious matters|date=25 September 2007|work=The New Light of Myanmar|access-date=19 February 2012}}

In December 2009, the Committee banned advertisements of Dhamma talks and lectures held by monks, including posters.{{cite news|url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17408|title=Junta Bans Dhamma Advertising|last=Arkar Moe|date=16 December 2009|work=The Irrawaddy|access-date=19 February 2012}}

In February 2012, Shwenyawa Sayadaw ({{lang|my|ရွှေညဝါဆရာတော်}}), the abbot of the Sadhu Pariyatti Monastery, was evicted from his monastery by the Committee for alleged disobedience, by holding a sermon at the Mandalay office of the National League for Democracy in September, where he had publicly called for the release of political prisoners and the end of ongoing civil wars, despite sending the Committee an apology where he had asked for a repeal.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebestfriend.org/2012/01/19/shwe-nya-wah-sayadaw-ordered-to-leave-his-monastery/|title=Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw ordered to leave his monastery|date=19 January 2012|work=The Best Friend|access-date=20 February 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/75745573/Unfair-Order-for-Shwe-Nya-Wa-Sayardaw|title=ရွှေညဝါဆရာတော် ဦးပညာသိဟအား အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်ရန်ကိစ္စ|date=12 December 2011|work=State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee|language=Burmese|access-date=20 February 2012}} In December 2011, he had met with Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, along with other civil society delegates.{{cite news|url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22888|title=Evicted Buddhist Abbot to Leave Monastery Within One Month|last=Zarni Mann|date=19 January 2012|work=The Irrawaddy|access-date=20 February 2012}}

In February 2012, U Gambira, a prominent monk in the Saffron Revolution was accused by the Committee for committing the offences of illegal squatting and breaking and entering of monasteries, and subsequently arrested by secular authorities.{{cite news|url=http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/Feb19_06.html|title=U Gambhira not only commits offences but also insults national-level Sangha organization after his release from prison Legal actions to be taken in consideration of religion, Sasana and purity of Sasana as Dhamma action no more works|date=18 February 2012|work=New Light of Myanmar|access-date=20 February 2012}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.mahana.org.mm/ Official website]

{{Religion in Myanmar}}

{{Government of Myanmar}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Buddhist organisations based in Myanmar

Category:Government agencies of Myanmar

Category:1980 establishments in Burma

Category:Government agencies established in 1980