Maha Dwara Nikaya (Burmese: မဟာဒွာရနိကာယ, in Burmese pronounced as /məhà dwàɹa̰ nḭkàja̰/); also spelt Maha Dwaya Nikaya or, is a small monastic order of monks in Myanmar (Burma), primarily in Lower Myanmar.[1] This order is very conservative with respect to Vinaya regulations.[2] It is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders (nikaya) in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.[3]
According to 2016 statistics published by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, 6,166 monks belonged to this monastic order, representing 1.15% of all monks in the country, making it the third largest order after Thudhamma and Shwegyin Nikaya. With respect to geographic representation, the majority are based in Lower Burma, with a sizable plurality of Mahādvāra monks living in Ayeyarwady Region (40.69%), followed by Yangon Region (20.65%), Bago Region (20.61%), and Mon State (9.97%).
The founding of Maha Dwara Nikaya was inspired by nikaya reforms in Sri Lanka during the 19th century.[1] This Nikaya was founded in 1855, over disputes with the Thudhamma Nikaya on the constitution of a sīmā (Burmese: သိမ် or thein in Burmese), a formal boundary in which Buddhist religious ceremonies (including ordination of Sangha) occur.[2]
In 1900 and 1918, two other groups, the Anaukchaung Dwara (Burmese: အနောက်ချောင်းဒွာရ) and Mula Dwara (Burmese: မူလဒွာရ;) respectively, separated from the Maha Dwara Nikaya over leadership disputes.[2]