Editing Theravada (section)

===Monastic vocation===
[[Image:Na_uyana_aranya_cave_kuti.jpg|thumb|A cave ''kuti'' (hut) in the Sri Lankan forest monastery [[Na Uyana Aranya]]]]
Theravāda sources dating back to medieval Sri Lanka (2nd century BCE to 10th century CE) such as the [[Mahavamsa]] show that monastic roles in the tradition were often seen as being in a polarity between urban monks ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: {{Transliteration|si|khaamawaasii}}, Pāli: ''gāmavasī'') on one end and rural forest monks ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: {{Transliteration|si|aranyawaasii}}, Pali: ''araññavasi, nagaravasi'', also known as ''Tapassin'') on the other.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, pp. 12, 15.</ref> The ascetic focused monks were known by the names ''Pamsukulikas'' (rag robe wearers) and ''Araññikas'' (forest dwellers).<ref>Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja, The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology), 1984, p. 55.</ref>

The Mahavamsa mentions forest monks associated with the [[Mahavihara]]. The Pāli [[Dhammapada]] Commentary mentions another split based on the "duty of study" and the "duty of contemplation".<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, p. 12.</ref> This second division has traditionally been seen as corresponding with the city – forest split, with the city monks focusing on the vocation of books (''ganthadhura'') or learning (''pariyatti'') while the forest monks leaning more towards meditation (''vipassanadhura'') and practice (''patipatti'').<ref name=":0">Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja, The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of Amulets (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology), 1984, pp. 53, 58.</ref> However this opposition is not consistent, and urban monasteries have often promoted meditation while forest communities have also produced excellent scholars, such as the [[Island Hermitage]] of [[Nyanatiloka]].<ref name=":0" />

Scholar monks generally undertake the path of studying and preserving Theravāda's [[Pali literature|Pāli literature]].<ref>Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, The Ascendency of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia 1990, p. 258.</ref> Forest monks tend to be the minority among Theravāda sanghas and also tend to focus on [[asceticism]] (''[[dhutanga]]'') and meditative praxis.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, p. 9.</ref> They view themselves as living closer to the ideal set forth by the Buddha, and are often perceived as such by lay folk, while at the same time often being on the margins of the Buddhist establishment and on the periphery of the social order.<ref>Taylor, J.L. Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study, pp. 9–13.</ref>

While this divide seems to have been in existence for some time in the Theravāda school, only in the 10th century is a specifically forest monk monastery, mentioned as existing near [[Anuradhapura]], called "Tapavana".<ref>Taylor, J.L. ''Forest Monks and the Nation-state: An Anthropological and Historical Study'', p. 15.</ref> This division was then carried over into the rest of Southeast Asia as Theravāda spread.

Today there are forest based traditions in most Theravāda countries, including the [[Sri Lankan Forest Tradition]], the [[Thai Forest Tradition]] as well as lesser known forest based traditions in Burma and Laos, such as the Burmese forest based monasteries (''taw"yar'') of the [[Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa|Pa Auk Sayadaw]].<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/about-us|title=About Us|website=Pa-Auk Tawya}}</ref> In Thailand, forest monks are known as ''phra thudong'' (ascetic wandering monks) or ''phra thudong kammathan'' (wandering ascetic meditator).<ref>Tiyavanich, Kamala, nForest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand p1.</ref>