In pursuit of the sorcerer's power: sacred diagrams as technologies of potency

Drawing upon research for a dissertation on lived religion in Myanmar as it pertains to various religious cults and followers whose devotions are directed towards Buddhist sorcerer saints (weizzā), this article examines the technologies at work in potency practices involving the production and use of in (cabbalistic squares) and sama (diagrams and drawings using specific Burmese syllables). In particular, the paper will examine how such devices are used by the devout traversing the weizzā path and explain how in and sama are employed to transform one's self into a full-fledged weizzā. The paper will conclude with a discussion on how such an examination can help us reshape our understanding of Burmese Buddhism in contemporary Myanmar.1 ?1. All Burmese and Pāli translations are mine unless stated otherwise. In the body of this article, Burmese words and phrases will be transcribed phonetically. Proper names and the titles of works in Pāli and Buddhist technical vocabulary in Pāli will be transliterated according to the Pāli Text Society convention with diacritics. Pāli words that have been domesticated in English to a certain extent, such as ‘sangha,’ will not receive diacritics except when used as technical vocabulary.