Hngettwin Nikaya (Burmese:ငှက်တွင်နိကာယ,IPA:[ŋ̊ɛʔtwɪ̀ɰ̃nḭkàja̰]), officiallyCatubhummika Mahāsatipaṭṭhana Nikāya (Burmese:စတုဘုမ္မိက မဟာသတိပဋ္ဌာန် နိကာယ) is the name of a monastic order of monks in Burma, primarily inMandalay.[1] Founded in the mid-19th century by the abbot of the Hngettwin Monastery, it is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders (nikaya) in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.[2] Hngettwin Nikaya is a very orthodox order, with a minimalist and austere approach to Buddhist rituals found in Burma, not recognizing any rituals inconsistent with Buddhist doctrine, includingnat spirit worship. For instance, members of this order do not worship or venerate the image of Buddha, but rather his memory and teachings.[1]
According to 2016 statistics published by theState Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, 1,445 monks belonged to this monastic order, representing 0.27% of all monks in the country, making it the fourth smallest legally-sanctioned monastic order.[3] With respect to geographic representation, the plurality of Hngettwin monks are based inYangon Region (31.90%), followed byMandalay Region (24.57%),Ayeyarwady Region (17.92%).[3] In 2016, the order had 173monasteries, representing 0.3% of the country's monasteries.[4]
Theravada Buddhist orders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh |  | |
| Cambodia | ||
| Myanmar (Burma) | ||
| Sri Lanka | ||
| Thailand | ||
