Contesting Buddhist Narratives 22. The sangha in Sri Lanka and Myanmar share a common heritage and at times a close relationship. Nonetheless, in citing examples of similar dynamics in the Sri Lankan context we do not intend to conflate the two scenarios, but rather to show precedent in the Theravada world. 23. Interview in Mandalay, July 2013. 24. Interview in Mandalay, July 2013. 25. Interview in Mandalay, July 2013. 26. Perhaps more ominously, there has arisen in Sri Lanka over the past two years a movement with striking similarity to the 969 movement in rhetoric and tactics, which calls itself the Bodu Bala Sena, translated as “Buddhist power group” (Silva 2013). 27. Interview in Sagaing, July 2013. 28. See, for example, this sermon for coexistence preached by Ashin Issariya, who has been a particularly vocal critic of 969: https://www.youtube.com/watch ?feature=player_embedded&v=vQdNDS5b600#!; accessed December 14, 2013. 29. Interview in Mandalay, July 2013. See also Si Thu Lwin (2013a). 30. Interviews in Yangon, August 2012. 31. Interviews in Yangon, July 2013. 32. Nyein Chan (2013). 33. Interview in Sagaing, July 2013. 34. See Sitagu Sayadaw (2013). 35. The term “88 Generation” refers to the activists who led the anti-government protests in August 1988, many of whom were students or young monks at the time. 36. Interview in Mandalay with members of the Mandalay Inter-faith Mercy Group, July 2013. 37. Interview in Mandalay, July 2014. 38. According to vinaya rules, the sangha is to constantly seek and present to the world unanimity and concord, and to deal with internal disputes quietly and quickly. 39. Interview in Mandalay, July 2013. 55