Constructing collective identity through Theravāda Buddhism: religious memory, monastic authority, and sacred infrastructure among the Bulang community in Southwest China

Introduction Theravāda Buddhism plays a central role in the cultural and religious life of several ethnic communities in Southwest China, yet the ways minority communities mobilize Buddhism to construct collective identity remain insufficiently explored. Methods This study used ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, and semistructured interviews with ten purposively selected participants in Laoman’e village, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. Results The findings show that Buddhist architecture, including temples, stupas, shrines, monasteries, and ritual areas, functions not only as places of worship but also as symbols of Bulang Buddhist legitimacy and cultural continuity. The sacred biography of Phra Somdet Aggamuni, locally also remembered as Meghamuni, operates as a form of soft religious infrastructure through which spiritual stories and moral values are transmitted across generations. The continuity of Bulang Buddhism is sustained through the mutual engagement of monks, elders, lay Buddhists, women, and youth in rituals, donations, storytelling, temple renovation, and ceremonies such as Kaṭhina. Discussion The study demonstrates that Theravāda Buddhism in the Bulang community is not merely inherited as tradition; it is transformed, actualized, retold, and performed as a living system of collective identity.