Shin Upagutta

What it is

Shin Upagutta belongs to Burmese Buddhist devotion as an arhat, a figure who has reached the goal of the Buddhist path. People in Myanmar turn to him for safety, particularly from storms and floods. Images show him seated with legs crossed in monk's robes, one hand angled over a thabeik, the alms bowl carried by monks. He is linked with naga, the water serpents of Buddhist story. Outside Myanmar he appears in Cambodia, northern Thailand and Laos under the name Upakhut. This is a devotion centred on protection and remembrance.

Where it comes from

Accounts of his identity differ. One tradition identifies him with Moggaliputta-Tissa, the monk said to have led the Third Buddhist council. Another points to Upagupta, an arhat of Mahayana tradition. A third view treats him as a Mahayana creation. He has no place in the Pali Canon and is named in the Burmese chronicle Maha Yazawin. His story also places him in earlier Buddha eras. In the time of Kassapa Buddha he was the monk Eindagotta, who urged fellow monks to return to lay life. The Buddha foretold he would become an arhat 218 years after Gautama Buddha's death.

How it is done

Devotion takes the form of honouring his image and calling on him. A Pali incantation is used, in Burmese belief, to invite his presence. That presence is thought to hold back storms and floods. At the Ye Hmyaw Pwe in Yangon's Chinatown, the observance includes a procession in Chinese style and the ceremonial scattering of ashes into the Yangon River. The festival at Shwegyin, close to Bago, falls in Thadingyut. Public observance is centred on these two festivals.

Tools and materials

His image carries the signs of a monk: robes, a seated cross-legged posture and a thabeik, the alms bowl into which the hand is tilted. The naga, or water serpent, is part of his iconography. A Pali incantation belongs to the devotional practice that calls him. The Ye Hmyaw Pwe adds ashes, carried in procession and dispersed in the Yangon River. These are the visible marks of a devotion focused on safety from water and weather.

What it is for

The main appeal is protection. Worshippers ask Shin Upagutta to avert danger, and floods and storms are named among the harms he is believed to check. The Irrawaddy Delta, a region exposed to water, is where devotion is especially common. The two festivals give communities a public occasion to honour him: one at Shwegyin in Thadingyut, one in Yangon's Chinatown in October. The ritual disposal of ashes at the Yangon event gives the observance a local, Chinese-influenced form.

Who does it

Ordinary Buddhists in Myanmar form the main following, and Burmese communities hold the festivals. The figure himself is a monk in the stories, and his image is that of a member of the monastic community. In Cambodia, northern Thailand and Laos he is known as Upakhut and honoured within local Buddhist life. Devotion is expressed through image, invocation and festival.

Peoples and places

Myanmar is the centre of his veneration, with particular strength in the Irrawaddy Delta. Burmese Buddhists call him Shin Upagutta and keep his festivals at Shwegyin and in Yangon. In Cambodia, northern Thailand and Laos the same figure is called Upakhut, with the Thai spelling Uppakhut in Roman letters. Across these countries the shared thread is Buddhist honour paid to an arhat asked for safety.

What people believe

Behind the devotion is a Buddhist world of Buddhas, arhats and rebirth. Shin Upagutta is held to have lived through earlier Buddha eras and to have become an arhat in the time after Gautama Buddha. Some Burmese believe he is still alive in a palace of brass that drifts on the sea. He can be called by incantation, and his unseen presence is thought to keep storms and floods away. Naga, the water serpents, belong to this watery setting.

When it is done

Two public dates stand out. The larger festival is held at Shwegyin, near Bago, in the Burmese month of Thadingyut. The Ye Hmyaw Pwe takes place in Yangon's Chinatown in October, with a Chinese-style procession and ashes dispersed in the Yangon River. Both place his protection in a calendar of communal gathering.

How scholars and sceptics see it

His identity has several explanations. He is absent from the Pali Canon and appears in the Burmese chronicle Maha Yazawin. He may be Moggaliputta-Tissa, the monk linked to the Third Buddhist council. He may be the Mahayana arhat Upagupta. He may also be a figure formed within Mahayana Buddhism. These identifications draw on different Buddhist traditions.

Compare and confuse

Shin Upagutta is also written Shin Upagot, Shin Upagote and Shin U Pagoke. In Cambodia, northern Thailand and Laos he is Upakhut, spelled Uppakhut in Thai Romanisation. His identity is compared with Moggaliputta-Tissa and with the Mahayana arhat Upagupta. The naga, or water serpent, is a related motif in his imagery.

Today

Devotion continues in Myanmar, with Shwegyin and Yangon hosting his festivals. The Irrawaddy Delta is named as a place where he is commonly honoured. The Ye Hmyaw Pwe in Yangon's Chinatown brings a Chinese-style procession and the scattering of ashes into the river. In Cambodia, northern Thailand and Laos, Upakhut remains a familiar name within Buddhist life. The figure crosses national and ethnic lines while keeping a Burmese centre.

Questions people ask about Shin Upagutta

Good reading and sources

• Shin Upagutta on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data