Download - History of Buddhism in Thailand

8/10/2019 History of Buddhism in Thailand

1/39

fHE HIUORY

OF

HUOOHUH

IN

THAliA

S

8Q

55

8

67

C 3


2/39

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BUD DH1SM N TH IL

NO

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tJ

,WAIIG

BORIBAL BURIBANDH

tr nsl ted y

, 'Or.

Luall

SurlyalteDls M.D.

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3/39

,

Pre ace

:N

former

d 8 Y ~ .

88y50

years ago,

h a i 1 a ~ d :was

mostly only

, known from

boo'ksand

colourful deSCrIptions

made

by a

:few privileged

persons who

had

ventured to visit this country.

t was

ktlown

as

~ h ~ Land of

White

Elephants

t

of gilded

temples

apd

pag()das.

as

ci

the

Land

of Yellow

Robes and

., the Landof Smiles

II

It was described as

an

island of peace

and

tral)quility, a

haven

far

away

from the high

seas

,of

u p ~

heaval

and

pOlitical unrest.

Today

particularly since

the

armed

conflict in Korea,

where, the free nations

of

the

world

struggled to contain the

disruptive

fo,rcesof

C o m m u n ~ s m

the

eyes of

the world

are

focussed

upon Thailand as

a possible future victim of Com-

m u n i s t a g g r e s s i o ~ .

, It is receiving the attention of both sides,

precisely

because of

its privileged position.

t

is still

an

island

of

peace

and

relative prosperity, where there are class dis .

tinctiQns

y ~ t

no class

hatred.

Where rich

and poor

live p e a c e ~

fully togetl,1er

because

of their Buddhist tolerance and because

~ h e r e . i s

abundant

food,for all.

Where

foreigners of every

race

and

coUntry are

met

with a smile.

And

where

the

subtle

tactics ~ n d s L\bversive activities of Communism

have

not as

yet met with succesa worth speaking of, because of the

p e o ~

ple \i deep faith

in

their Religion and because of their inborn

love of personal freedom, and their loyalty. to their Rulers

who ~ n c e

.ancient times

have

cared

for their

peoples as

a

Father

would

look after his children.

Today. most

peoples of

the

world

have become

a i r ~

minded. And

because of the

ease and

comfort

and speed

with which

.it

i . possible to travel by air, hundreds of people

from all corners of the earth

and

of every description now

come

to

see

for themselves the wonders of this country,

of

whlchtney'have

read

in

old books

and

in magazines or which

they

saw

in the picture..

They

come into personal contact

widl ordinary folk, they learn to

laugh and

play,

with them.

Withthelr

ow

eye.

they see how the Buddhist religion

is

be-

iDg

faithfully

p r a e ~ d

~ y

monks

and laymen alike;

and, at

the

aame t i ~ e . h o w people

enjoy

the

many

amenities of

mo-

d e l n c i ~ t i O n i m p o r t e d

from

the

West. ThOle

who have

I


4/39

visited Thailand before. SaY

20 r

30 ';years ago. ,1so notice

the sad decline of our highly spiritual Culture which once

had gained the

respect

of foreign countries

and which

in the

process of rapid

sectilarisation

has

become

less

apparent in

the larger cities.

but

still lives on in the hearts of the ordinary

Thai

in rural areas and in the ,older

generations.

The

great attractions of Thailand alld her

people

fot

'foreigners

are

stjU the fairylike

beauty of

our

temples and

ch dis; the picturesque sight of ancient cuitUTaI monuments

and modem buildings standing side by side in complete har-

mony; th highly spiritual culture of

the ordinary

Thai their.

traditional

hospitality

and

their extreme tolerance

toward. all

fO'feigneH and their creeds. In short. better communications

have brought Westernera

into c lOH contact with

our

people

and have effected a better

mutual

understanding. 1

he

only

barriers.

besides

tlle inoon'V,enience

of

paeaporta

and v ~ a s fo'

a still greater knowledge of each other. are those imposed

by

the limited knowledge

of

foreign

languages.

The eultitree

and

religious beliefs

of

Eastern peoples.

their cuatoms and

habits. are

an enisma

to most and are

not 'Yet

well known

enGugh eVen to

higher

educated people in the

West.

The1'e

is slill a

wide gap

to be bridged.

and

as long as this

P P

Cit

tha:e

is

bound

to be misunderstanding

and mutual di.truet

among

the peoples of the world. Therefore there is a great

need for more books on the various aspects of the Eastern

Way of Life;

books

that are baaed on facts aDd ligurea and

written with

thorough knowledge of the subject

at hand

.

In

consideration of this very acute need fo, mOl'e books

to

fill

the gap between

Weat

and East,

,tllia

Hiatory

of

the

Buddhist Religion in Siam. written by an eminent Siamese

8cl10Ial'. ha. been translated into English for the c o n w : : e ~ e o c e

oJ

the m$ny

r i ~ n d s

of

Thailand. And

to make

it more

readily,

under.tood.

a .hol't introduction to

the

Buddha'. Doctrine hn

been

added

which

t :>gether

will.

it

i ,

hoped,

enluUlce

gC',)04,

under.

landin'S between

East

and

West,

so much deeded'. in

t h ~ e pre.eot

days of

fru$trati :>n.

of

fear

and of

mutual

dlstnlat

and ant 'lomam

b e ~ e e n the

people. of the:

world

.

Peace tt

all

eingsJ '1

:

;:

.

;


5/39

BUDDHISM IN THAILAND

11'

The,

Buddha s Doctrine

The

toun4e

of the BGddhiat Religion was Gotama the

Buddha., who lived.

.bout

60(} years before the Christian era.

He wae botnm6.22B.C. (80

year.

before the BuddhistEraHn

Lumbini Park, near Kappillavatthu, as the son of King S u d ~

dhodana.. and Queen Maya who reigned over an Indo-Aryan

tribe a I ~ d Saldya, in the North

of

India

at

the foot of the

Himalaya'mountains and at the border of Nepal. When he

wae horn; it

had

been predicted that

he

would either become

the Ruler of ,tLeWorld or a Buddha. As his parents did not

wi.h

him to become a Buddha, they sUfleJunded him only

with

YOWlg

'folk and tried to keep 'him in ~ o m p l e t e ignorance

of the aiUferinga of man; but they did not succeed. The sight

of

a decrepit old man, a sick man, a dead man

and a

mendi

cant monk-'lhese F ~ u r Signs left such a deep impression

uPOn hi.

tnirtd

that,

atfheage

of 29, he decided to leave

his

home

and

to enter the homeless life u

of

a

monk

to seek the

Truth

and

fO

'titl

a we.,

to

Sal-vatisn fer aU Sentient Beings,

an cape

f i . , .

.. the;WhM of

Rebirth

aud bom all Suffering

, In hi. aeareh for Salvation, he first went to Alara Kala.

ma

and

l a ~ t oh to Uddaka t advice; but he found that all

t L ~

doctrine'S

of

his

t e a c h e ~ 8

were ., insufficient, n,ot leading to

A.wllkenitlg,

to

Extinction and to Enlightenment

and

Insight ,

a he

himself laid. Not satisfied with their teachings, he

~ a l 1 d e t e d

up and down in the hind of Ml1ghadha from place

to'l'lace and arrived ne'ar the town of Uruvela, the present

Btiddha

Gaya. Here he

saw

.. a delightful piece

of

country

, with

a b e a ~ t i f u l

foreat and a dear river most suitable 'for

Lathiftg; I l l< 'el, place surrounded by meadows and fields

then came to me the thought, ye Brethren. this il.'l, indeed, Ii

delightful

.pot

on

eatth; this plaee

will

,

suffice for ascetic

\

~ d e e 8 . ' H.ne.

in

Uruvela; he met the Five Ascetics (Panca

VtIg ji)

whb offeltd their services 10 him. With greatest :zeal

'Repraetiaeic:l aelf-.orti6catioft

fOtmany

years, and the, Five'

AKetiee followed kim tn

evtrytLing'hedid,

but w,de unable

..,\bathimmrheit e r e i . e t .

3

"

t

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6/39

Finally

the Buddha

r e a ~ i e d

that these Ascetic.eiercillles

Were not

the

right way to

attain

to Salvation. He

had

p r ~ c t i s -

ed

self-mortification to the limit

of his endurance

and felt

much weakened without a.chieving anything. So he 'partook

of

food and having gained s t r e n ~ t h again he began topractise

meditation which finally led to his E n l i g h t e n m ~ n t

under

the

Holy Bodhi tree near

the

river Naranya

by

U ~ v e l a

when he

was

35 years

old.

The Supreme Knowledge he attained through his intui

tive insight

in his

Enlightenment under.

the Holy

Bodhi tree'

were: (J) The Doctrine of Anatta,

namely that

everything is

transient, miserable,

and

not

self.contained

AniccaDukkha-

Anatta

.

All phenomena. nay

the

whole universe, is

subject'

to change. It

is

a fleeting

process of

arising and disappearing,

without

any perceivable break in it. t There is no primary

cause apparent, but all things

arise and

cease in dependence

of

each other

in a long chain of

cause and

effect.

All

is

,. Be,:

coming without permanent substance;

put

together. unatable

and

changeable , says the Buddha.

(J

1 The Doctrine of

Karma

and Rebirth,

namely

that

all sentient beings. including tIlen.

are

born

according

to their,

good and evil deeds, each merely consisting of wLat

he

has

thought, sPoken and

done

before. and only differs from others

by

his

own

selfcreated

Karma

( will-actions) which none

can

escape. All beings exist because of their individual Karma.

~ n

as

long

as

his

will

actions are misguided

by

ignorance of

the'true facts of life. by

Greed.

UI.will.

and

Delusion of,Self.

he is bound

to

create new Karma. h i ~ h 'causes c ~ n t i n a e d ,

Suffering and Rebirth. In man there is no abiding principle"

he

has

no eternal Soul, as all

the Five

Aggregates of which

lJ,is ..

personality

consists are subject .to constant

change

and'

at

the moment of death are

completely e x t i n g u i ~ h e d . No

. soul not

even

consciousness,

passes

over

to

the new

Being,

but only that part of Karma whic'll has

not

yet been ~ h a u . t e d

ill

t h ~ p r e . e n ~

life is reborn in anot)ter form. in another bodY.

and either in

this

realm

of

existence or in

any

otherl'ealtQ.

such as in hea\l'en or in hell,

depending

upon'

the

Kan::na

< : r ~ a t e d in the a s t : This e ~ i d u a l Karm.a

i

somewhat i R , ~ t

, .of:

I

; ,


7/39

own

~ o t i . : ~ K a r m 8 : of .the

deceased,

as it only consists of the

K a r n l a ~

l f t ~ by

the deceased.

It constitutes a

separate

entity

in the

individual life stream and

becomes

the

One

to

f;,e,born

Gandhabba)

which

creates consciousness of its

from this reeidual Karm:a and ullder the inRuence of

_. I

ignorance and ite i n h e ~ e n t desire to live Tanha). This new

conscil;)usnes. of. the

one

to be born

eventually descends

intot:h.e maternal womb' as the

Buddha

says, and creates a

new

set

of Five Aggregates

of

Existence

and

is

born

a.8 the

new Being. Thus Rebirth

takes

place without transmigration

of

any

.purlou.

soul or

Ego

and

eyen

without

any

passing

over

of

consciousne.s.

Life consist. of a specific stream 01 Karmic.

causes

and effects created by each. individual life.

This

continuity

of life, this indiv;dual life stream manifests itself a,s man or

beast or in any other kind of being in the various realms of

existence depending upon the

good

or bad will-actions of its

past

life.

Birth, Death and Rebirth are but manifestations of

one

and

the

same

in.dividuallife-stream

which

will continue to

~ o w

without a break

i.n. it

from life to life until no more Karma

is Cl .eated; until no more a t t a c h ~ e n t to life e x i s t ~

that

is until

the individual has destroyed the Thirst of Existence and Ig

norance

which

are the causes of Karma. of renewed con

s c i o u ~ h e s s ~ n d of rebirth. When all eonscioU:sness has- com.

pletely ceased all life ceases.

Namean9, Form (our corporeal organism) die out,

l e ~ v i n g po tracebehin'd . as the J;luddha says. With

the

com

p l e t e ~ x : t i n c t i o n

of consciousness. the state of nothingness is

attained which is Nirvana, the consummation of man's spirit

ual

struggle. the goal

of ll

Buddhists.

tU) The Foul'

'Noble

Truths. namely the Truth of

Sqift)ring, ite origin. its cessation; and the Holy Eightfold

Path

that

leads to the cessation of suffering. The Four Noble

Truths constitute

the

eS,sence pf the

Buddha's

teachings. Birth.

disease, old age

death:

not to attain what

one

desires; to be

separated from those we love; even the

Five

Aggregates of

~ c h r n e n t of

whicbOU'tpersonality

conslets;-all these are

5


8/39

'Sufferiilg".

The origin of 8'Uikrintt

i.

tbe Threefold i

'

namely, .exual de.ite. thed4lti:r6 to live,

and

the

du!r& ~ t e

be

what one dislike.. T ~

Cl'avifts'is

due

1:0

ianorance

of the

true facts of life; namely, thai aD

ill

itn'Pftl'llanent, mWerable,,'

and

not self-contained.'

In.

~ r * l 1 e e of theae

true fael'8

of

i ~

weare attached to'aU tharwe 'can gra.p with. our.Dc _ l e a

( the mind being the sixth

l 5 e n . ~ ) .

Heaee. the ceseation of

suffering is effected by conquering r be Threefold Cranag

which is the cause of attachmerit.

and of .n

euffering;by radic

al destruction of greed, hatred

and

dedu.ion.

and b)

destroying

ignorance by following the Noble F4*htfold

Path

of Ealighten

ment which leads to the cessation of all.ufferlng.

The

Fourth

Noble Truth conl1ists

of

the

Holy

Eithtfold

P ~ h .

namely:

Right Underatanding:

Richt

Mindedne

;

Right

Speech; Right

AdM&,

Right Living;

R.ight Effort:

Right

Attepti"ene

;

atkl

Right Concentration.

By following conscientiously .the Holy Path of rili.ght

enment one attains

to Nirvii.na. .

tt.

i. the

goal of perfection,

,he

consummation of the

p i r i t u a l . t r ' I 1 * ~

of

having dvdcome

the

'f

Ten Fetter.'o which b i n ~ Olen to the "Circle

of

Rebirth".

It

i the extinction of greed, hatred

aftd

cteI\urion; the

eetilft.tioft

of all individual life

and

of

an

sulferin&

This is in brief the Supreme Knowledge of which the

, Buddha became cognisant in his Englightenmerit under the

Holy Bodhi tree

2,500

years ago.

He

discovered the workinat

of

the Laws of Nature which form

the

'baais of

hi.

whole

Doctrine. They constitute the Absolute Trttth wlUch camrot

be tenoned but must be e z : p e r i e n e e d ~ eatb by' hiJneell and.

for

himself.

The

Eightfold Path of Enlightenment ~ p e r i e f t ~ e d by

the Buddha and taught to mankind i . the only way

to

attain

t'olialvation by oneself

and

, thour any external help.

AM

the

power inherent in his nature

to

seek

and

achieve !iw

0W1l

.salvation. That is the beauty of the Buddhist' Rebaion.

Buddhism

i

a

docrtril)e of Cogniti9D';

it

the

truth

tp:at. d ~

pon Man "whe1lthe tearathat.Roware n the

hea1l:"'1 . BIle

. . that ia not all.

.

Beinl aware ithe

t lU6'Mctl

f l i fe. :wW .

6

. ,

.

.
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9/39

I

; . ~ u _ u m d beasts

alike are brothers

iD the same boat

.UD he

high seas

of life, each' seeking happiness

and

peace

,

endtryiog

desperatel" to escape bom suffering f r ~ life to

~ e

until the

oommon

soal

t

Nirvana, is reached.

Thi.

sen.e of common

brotherhood

in suffering, the

ewarcDeU ()f each forming

an

integral

part

of the universe,

this

Oneness

with all there has been and

can ever

be,

becomes

the source

of

unlimited loving

kindness and compassjon

(

Metta-Kar ,na) and

toleranee

lowards

all beings.

And

this

universal. all-embracing loving kindness and

compassion

is

the

fundamental principle underlying the 'whole Doctrine of

the Buddha, unsurpassed

by

any

other

religion. The Buddha's

foremost

aim was to

encourage

man

to purify

his

heart from

all passion (Kilesa); to contemplate himself

ob

iectively in

, order to free himself fr.om the delusion

of

self; and, to attain

to supreme wisdom and insight by meditation a ~ d

by

leading

a

pure

life which is

to

!!void evil

and

to

do

good . The

Buddha's teachings must be experienced

by

oneself

in

order

to

be able

to

e m a n ~ i p a t e

oneself from

the

"Circle of

Rebirth

and of all suffering.

His

philosophy is difficult and hard to

understand

by

those who

love pleasure and

seek

it

.

But

the

greatest

and

irre.istable altraction Buddhism has had and still

has

for ordinary

men

and women is the all-embracing loving

kindness

and

compassion

of the

Buddha

for

the

sJliferings of

all sentient beings. No other religious teacher has laid so

much emphasis upon

suffering

as

the fundamental attribute .

of all life as

the

Buddha. ' Hi. Noble

Truth

of Suffering, its

origin, it cessation, and

too

Eightfold

Path that

leads to the

Cessation

of

Sufferins..,

are

the greatest gifts ever

made

to

mankind.

In

the

Holy Scripts

of

the

Pan Canon

of the

Theravada

School, there lives

the

Spirit of our Lord

Buddha

and of his

immediate Disciples.

unchanged

and

unspoiled

after 2,500

years. It haa stood the acid test of time and lives on in the

hearts

of the

Thai

people,

who ever

since HinaYIJNJ LlJnka

Buddhism

was

introduced in Thailand have

remained

faithful

to their reliKion.

For

this reason

t

the introduction of Lanka

HihaYlJna Buddhism

to this

~ u n t r y

is the

most important

period iQ the history of Buddhism in Thailand.

7

,

'


10/39

Opinion .as to w.hen Buddhism C4me to Thailand s st ll

divided. Some believe i t w s introduced

by

King A.oka: the

Great who sent .Earth Buddhist missionaries to numerous

countries in order to

spread

the Teachings of our Lord Btid

dha.

Others

think it.

came

at a much larerpel'iod, while some

. believe that Buddhism was introduced to Thailand as J'ecently ,

as at the Sukhodaya period.

From archaeological findings, nd

judging frorn his

torical records, we may

assume

that Buddhism spread to

Thailand at four qifferent periods:

I. As Hinayana Theravada Buddhism

.

2. As Mahayana Buddhism.

3.

As

Pukam Pagan) Hinayana B u d d h i m ~

4. As Lanka.-Hinayana B u d d h i s m ~

In the following pages, these four periods shall

be

deiilt

within

detail.

; .


11/39

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12/39

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13/39

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14/39

HIN Y N THER Y D BUDDHISM

r,t

Hinayana

Theravada

Buddhism was for the first time

. !

introduced into Thailand when this territory was still

inhabited

by

the

Laos

or

Lawa. Their Capital

was

Nagor

Pathom, which

is m e n l i o ~ e in the

Maha

Wongse hiltory of Lanka

as

Su-

varnabhumi,

and

figured in the Chinese chronicles

as

Davara

vati. As you all know; Buddhism originated in

India

and.

a

du:ough

the l ik

of

Lord Buddha.

never spread

outside

India. Therefore the

story that Lord Buddha visited

the

Isle

of Lanka Ceylon) and

even came

to Thailand, leaving a

footprint

on

Saccabhanda

hillside,

named

after a hermit

named

Saccabhanda to whom

it

is said the Buddha preached

a sermon, is only a legend believed l:ty some

Lanka

people.

The truth is that Buddhism only

began

to spread out-

side India in

the

reign

of

King Asolea the Great, under whose

auspices

the thirdBuddhist Council

was

held in B.E. 303,

which i . a little more than 300 yeaflll after the Buddha attained

to

Nibbana

Sid.

Nirvana . After

the

Third

Council waS

held, King Asoka

invited the Rev.

Bhikkhu

MoggallipuUa-

tina-thera

to

select a

number

of

Arahants whom

he sent forth

to

various

countries as missionaries, the first missionaries sent

in world history.

In the Maha Wongse History

of

Lanka., the following

countries and Arahants are named.

I

Majjhantika.ihera

went

to

Kashmira

and

to

Gandha

rat the present Afghanistan.

f3

Mahadeva-thera went to the province

of

Mahisa,

south

of

river Kotavari. the present Mysore.

8.

Rakkhitathera went

t

Vanavarsi, a province north

of Gandhara.

4.

Dhammatakkhita-thera went to

Parantakayona,

the

province

of

the

northern

sea

border

of

Bombay,

.

6. Mahadhammarakkhita-thera went to Maharatha, the

country near the springs of the

Kotavari

river.

6. Mahar:.t1tkkhita-th ra went to Yonaloka,

the

country

cotIqueud

by the

Yonaka

Greek) people who liv.ed in

t ~

P.,. ban).


15/39


16/39

\

.

of the towns they founded in this country, for instance

Beira.

puri,

Rajpuri, Kanchanapuri and Ayodhya,

in

the

same

way

as

the

British

gave old

English

town names

to

their new

cities

in America,

such

as

New

York

and

New

London.

Further

,more, there were several

trade

routes used in those days

by

the

Indians'in their intercourse with

this

country.

Coming

,fr


17/39

Golden ,Land ). The town

of

U-The..g and

ot

S\W,WII.

bhumi are one and the same town.

The

reason

why the

people

of

Pukam

(Pagan)

claim

the town of Saterm

(Tllaton)

to be

Suvarnabhumi

is that, in

Burmese history, it

is stated

~ h a t about B.E.1600 King Anu

rutha

or

Anorata-Manchor ~ h o reigned

overPukam

wi.hed

to'

obtain

the Holy Pali Scripts as well as Buddhist monks

from Suvarnabhumi. which was refused by the Governor of

Suvarnabhumi on account of the Pukam people

being

non

believers

in

Buddhism.

This

so

much

aroused

the wrath

of

King Anurutha

that

he made war

against

the country of Su -

varnabhumi. In Burmese records it is claimed

that

the town

of Saterm (Thaton) was in the territory of Suyarnabhumi; but

there

isno

evidence

to substantiate

this claim. The

archaeo

logical

objects

said

to

have been

taken

as trophies by King

Anurutha at that

time, such

as

coins

and

votive tablets

or

types

of

stupas

built in

Pukam,

have

not

been

f.ound

in

the

town

of

term nor at any other place nearby, whereas they

have

been found in abundance in the province of N g ~ Pa

thorn. Furthermore.

Pukam

(or Pagan) and the t ~ w n of

Thaton

are

not far distant from one another .and King Anu

rutha's realm only reached that far. It is most probable that

he had already

annexed

the

town of Sa term (or Thaton) to

his

Kingdom

as

all K.ings of Burma who used to wage war g a i ~ t

the

Thai

people

had already

subdued the country of

the

Mons: The boundaries of Nagor Pathom were far eno},lgh

from the frontiers of

Pukam,

which makes it ut:l.der,standable.

why

the Governor

of Suvamabhumi. in ignorance of the

habits

and

customs of the

people

of Pukam believed the

Pukam

inhabitants

to

be

non-believers in the Buddhist religion, ani l

therefore refused to

send

the

Holy

Scripts

and

Buddhiat

monks from

Suvamabhumi

to

Pukam.

Nagor

Pathom

,was

much

more likely to be the capital

of

SuvarnabhJlmi than

Thaton.

It

is furthermore generallyacknowledge.d

that

Kjpa

Anurutha's realm at the time

extended

to ThaiterritOl lY:

and

there are many archaeological monuments pa:e serYc:d

this

day

which were built by King Anurutha:

f o t i n s t ~ e thie

Temple of the Seven Spires in

Chiensmai w h j ~ h ~ _

Anurutha

copied

from

Buddha

Gaya

and

f

wlUcll

he

Wit

b


18/39

. , _ ~ n ~ J . e p l i c a

in

PJl.ke.,m.

At that time

C h i ~ m a i

wa,

1I.oown

as Mehraming.

These are

,briefly' the facts recorded

in the hwtory

of

L.anka.

and

of

Pukam.

According

to Chinese records.

Dvaravati was

a

large

00llMrY between 'the country of Srikashetr

i.e.

Burma)

and

the

e a s t e r n c ~ u n . t r y

of

the Khmer people

and

received it. cuI.

ture

and it. arts

from India.

Part

of this territory included

southern

Thailand.

at the' time when the original Lawa

people still inhabited this country,

At that time. it

was divided

into three great territories.

The

8 0 ~ t h e r n

part was

called

Dvaravati.

the

northern

part was

named

Yang or yono},. the eastern part was called .. Kotra-

bur . That Dvaravati was actually

the name

of this country

may be

seen

from

the

fact that. when King Thong founded

his capital

of

Sri Ayudhya, its full name was .. Krungdeb

DvaravatiSri Ayudhya ", which indicates that Sri

Ayudhya

waS

the .capital of the

Kingdom of

Dvaravati. Krungdeb meaning

Capital.

Dvaravati

is the former

name

of

this country,

and

the name

of

Sri AyudhY l is

a

transformation of

Ayodhya.

The

reason why, according to Chinese records of B.E.

1150,

Nagor Pathom

was

believed to be the capital of

Dvara.

vati

is

because in Nagor Pathom there are many ruins of an

ancient

town larger

than any other

town in this country. In

th.e

prpvince of Nagor

Pathom and

in neighbouring

province.

many Buddha images

were

f i ) u n ~ .

Their iconography

shows

much simi1aa:ity wi(h Indian craftsmanship of the period of the

G1lPtJl Dynasty (J3. E.

,863-1023,

) leav:ing ,no

doubt

that the art

of makin,gBlld,dha hna,ges

was

brought to this cO, IJntrY from

India. which

proves

the correctness of the Chine&e xecords.

~ h the history of

Suvarnabhumi

and of

Dvaravatiapea,k

of

one and

.the same country,

the

difference only being that in.

the

h ~ t o r y

of

Lanka

this

country

is

aUed

Suvarnabhutni

.

and

in. Chinese reoords pvaravati. Furthermore. the assumption

that the caPital of both countries

named

was Nagar Pathom

is mplyproved

by

the fact that ,in Nagar Pathol)l. many

alchaf,elogical findings b.ear both the name.s

of

S1;IvarnabhuJ;Qi

frnd,of Dvaravati. The

a r c h a e o l ~ g i e a l

objects bearing fhe

n ~ t Qf S vwnal;humi .consist :of a Dha.mmtlp :lkka

~ d ..

13


19/39

deer.

various seats

or pedestals;

stupas and

footprints

of

the

Buddha,

all

being

used

instead of actual Buddha

images for

wors hipping. The

Dhamm ICakka reminds the

worshipper

of

the

Buddha s

first

sermon,

and the

Deer

S an

allusion

to the

deer

park of lsipatana (or

Migatayavan)

near

Benares

where

the

Buddha preached his

first

sermon

to the Five Ascetics

PancaTJaggi).

The

pedestals

are symbolic of the

place

where

the Buddha attained to Enlightenment under the Holy Bodhi

tree at

Buddha Gaya, whereas the Stupas

often containing re-

lics of the Buddha

remind

the

worshipper of the

Buddha s

attainment

tO

I

Nibbana;

and the Buddha

footprints are wor-

lhipped

instead

of standing Buddha images.

These

archaeo-

logical findings were all reminders of

the Buddha and

were

the

only

objects of

worship used

before it

became the custom

to create

Buddha images.

Since

ancient

times. the

Indians

thought it

unseemly to make

Buddha

portraits

or

images;

and

whenever the

necessity arose to worship Lord

Buddha,

they

used objects

which were

o n l ~ symbolic

of

the Buddha. This

Indian custom

was

strictly followed until after the reign of

King

Asoka. Even in

the reign of

King hok

drawings

and

pictures

describing

the

Life

of the Buddha

always

used

sym-

bols

to signify

the Person of

the

Buddha or

the

design$ only

hinted

at the

Buddha.

For

example,

in

the

scene

describing

\ the

Buddha

leaving

his

royal

palace

to enter the ..

homeless

life" of a Bhikkhu,

one sees only his saddled

horse. but with

no Bhodisattva

sitting

on

horse.

back.

t

was

only after King

Asoka s

reign that

Buddha

images' were made for the purpose

of worship. And

it

was

not the Indians who created them. but

the

Greeks

who settled down in India

and

made Buddha images. They

were

not forbidden by

their religion to make

images

for

worshipping, but

on

the contrary had long been

making

images of the Gods

they

worshipped.

Thus

when

the

Greeks

in

India

adopted Buddhist religion they

began

to

create

many Buddha images

for themselves to

worship.

According

to history, the first Buddha image was m d ~

under the

auspices of

King Melinda

of

India between B.E.

363.387.

King

Melinda was a Greek, and the

Indians soon

followed

his e s a ~ p l e

The

various objects of

wd:rahip

4


20/39

, found in Nagor

Pathom,

such, as

the

hammacakka and a

deer

show

the

same

design and. craftsmanship

as those

art of making these objects of worship was r ~ u g h t and

taught

to

the

local

inhabitants

by

Buddhist

missionaries

who

came to this country in thQse ancient days. All these objects

'

o

worship were made at a time when it was not yet the cus

tom to

make

Buddha images.

They

are

found

abundantly in

the

province

of

Nagor

Pathom but not

in

the

town

of Saterm

nor

at

any other place. Furthermore, the Stupa of Nagor Pa

thorn and other stupas of the. same' period. when

the

upper

part

which was

added at

a later

period

is

taken

off, will

show

exactly the same construction and style

as

the Stupa of Sand

in

India.

It is therefore certain

that

the

Stupa

of Nagor Pa

thom

is

an

exact replica

of the one

erected

by

King

Asoka:

the

design

of which was brought to this country by Buddhist

misssionaries sent forth by King Asoka. Besides this, the

character in which for instance the Ye hamma Kalha is en

graved

are in

Magadha

language (PaIn, showing

that

the

Buddhist religion came from

the

land of Magadha.

From this short summary of archaeological evidence

given above, the Capital of

Suvarnabhumi

cannot

have

been

any other town but Nagor

Pathom.

t is also evident that

Buddhism

came

for the first time to thi$ country in B.E. 300

and

was' brought by

two missionaries, namely Sona-thera

and

Uttara-thella.

Another

thing worth mentioning and

f

whieh former

historians apparently had not thought

of, is the

common

be

lief that any

language

spoken

by

any race can be understood

by people of all races without ado. For example, it is stated

that when Sona-thera and Uttara-thera preached the Brahma

iala-Sutta to

the people

of Suvarnabhumi. those who listen

ed

at once

won

faith

in

the

Buddha's

Doctrine. which

if we

come

to think of

it today does

not seem as

easy

as that, as

told

in those historical records. The

only explanation

is that

many Indians

had

lived already

for a

long

time in

Suvarna

bhumi, who had come

to

settle down

as traders.

and it was

probably

to the.se Indians that

the

two missionaries first

t ught the Buddha.Dhamma or possibly the eher s used In

I


21/39


22/39

ly observed and no alterations

whatever

should be

made.

These

monks

were called the Theravada school. The other

8chool maintained that the Buddha in

his last days

had con-

sented

that

minor

and

less

important

rules

of

the

Vinayana

might be changed. They therc


23/39

MAHAYAJt _8U_QIlHISM

Long after

Buddhism

in IndIa

had been divided

into

two schools,

into

Hinayana

and

Mahayana Buddhism,

there

ruled over

India in,B.E. 6.13 a King named Kanishaka w o s ~

Capital was

the town

of

Burushbura. the present

Peshav8.

His

empire

extended ~ the.South. He was a great believer

in Mahayana Buddhism whkh

W8S

brought

to

his

country

by

Bhikkhus

of the Acariyavada school, wL; had Red to the

North

in

great

numbers

since the reign

of

King Asoka.

It

was

his greatest

ambition

,to become' 8S great 8 protector

and

supporter of Mahayana

Buddhism

as King Asoka had, sup ;.

ported Hinayana. He built numerous

Chedl

(Buddhist shrines)

'

and

temples

and thus contributed much to the prosperity of

the Holy Sangha

in the country of

Gandhara

in th e same

way

as King Asoka

had

fostered Hina'yana

Buddhism

in the land

of Magadha. King

KanJshaka's endeavour was

to unite the

two

schools

into a single great Nikaya, but was

unable

to

succeed

because

the

schism

between the two

schools had al-

ready

existed

t09 long, so he,

ordered

a Council to be

held

of

only Mahayana monks whose task it was to revise and

make

changes,

in tI:e

Dhamma

Vinaya.

This

Council

was held in

Peshava

in

B.E. 624, and the

Holy

Scripts (the Dhammavina

ya) were recited in Sanskrit

which

was

the cause

for the

Tri

pitakas to

become

widely different from the original Canon,

namely

the northern

school

believed in the Sanskrit Tripitakas

and

the southern school remained

faithful to the

Tripifaka

in Magadha

or

Pili language as

fixed

by

the

Third

Council

under the auspices

of King

A.oka.

The Acariyavada monks, who since the foundation of

their Order had

already

made minor changes to the

Buddha's

Doctrine, now

gradually undertook

more

radical

and greater

deviations from the original Doctrine. for inatance

as, regarp.

Nibbana Sltt.

Nirvltna).

According

to

the Hinayana

Doctrine, man is

able to

attain

to Nibbana

by becoming

a

Buddha,

a

Pacheka Buddha

or

an Arahant, and

therefore

Arahantship was

their goal.

But

the Mahayana Buddhists say that one should nol aim at be-

coming an Arahant.

becaus.e one would altain

t

NirvilOa

lone, which is

of

no

help

to others.

One

should,

op

the

e


24/39

_COftbaty,

endeavour

only to

become

a Bud.dhabhumi

~

Sod.hi

attve.

in

order

to be able to help others get a.cross the

Wheel

-of Rebirth, Suffering

and

Samsara first, after which one

would

: attain to Nirva,na.

To

support

their view, they cite

the example

of

t ~ e

Buddha himself, who in one of his previous incarna

tions

was

a hermit

named Sumedha

Dabot.

He was

then

.till

a

Bodhisattva

~ n d he

refused to

accept

the prediction of

a Brahmin

who

predicted

that

he would attain to Nirva.na in

this life.

but

made a wish to

be

r,eborn

as

a

Buddha in order

to

be able

to show

the Way

to Salvation to ait sentient

beings.

As

this

was

their

common

belief.

the Mahayana

monks

taught all

people

to

endeavour

to

become Bodhisattva.

instead of

striving to

achieve

the fruits of

the Holy

Eightfold

Path

of n J j g h t e n ~ e n t as was

practised

before.

Whoever

lives this high ideal

is an

Ariya, a potential Bodhisattva.

Hence the

worship of the Bodhisattva principles in

Mahayana

Buddhism.

As

there

also

existed a

strong

rivalry between the

B u d ~

dhist

religion

and Hindu

religion, the

Mahayana

school

made

further changes to their Doctrine to fall in line with

Hinduism.

For example they

changed the

oIiginal Buddhist teaching that

there

had been Buddhas in

the past before the

present one

and

here would oome a further t athagata (Buddha)

in the

distant

future, into quite a new doctrine.

They

said that there

exists universal

Buddha

called

A d i ~ B u d d h a

who came

into

existence

at ~ same

time

with the

world

and

rules eternally

over the 'universe;

tbatheaides this universal

Buddha

there

are

yet

five

Ohyani

Buddhas,

naniely: V a i r o c a n a ~ B u d d h a

Akahobhaya Buddha, Ratana Sambhava Buddha,

Amitabha

Buddha,

-

and Amoghasiddha

Buddha.

who

all came info

exifltence

by the

heavenly power

of AdiBuddha and under

,whose

rule they live in

the

higher Heavenfl.

t was

also Adi-

Buddha

who

caused

to Bodhisattva to

be

born

in

the world of

man

as

Manuahya Bodhisattva (or Human

Bodhisattva)

to

teach

the Ohamma to all Beings. Later the

Mahayana

Bud

dhists created a new

Buddha image

which they called

Bhaya

aajuguru , which some believe to

represent

the

Dhyani

Buddha,

while

others

believe it to be yet

a n o t h e ~

human

Buddha.

9
http:///reader/full/Nirva.nahttp:///reader/full/Nirva.na


25/39

Whereas accol i:Hng to the Hinayana Doctrine. Bodhi. ,

sattva

was the name given to Lord Buddha in .his former

existences before

his

attainment

of

Buddhahood,

and that

only

one more Bodhisattva will

be born

in the future,

namely

Maitreya Bodhisattva {the Buddha.to.be}. the Mahayana

s c ~ o o l bhanged this Doctrine into a new complicated

cosmo

logy.

They taught that

there

will

be many future Dhyani

Bodhisattvas, Manu

Bodhisattvas (human Bodhisattvas) with

the same characteristics of

the

Buddha. Besides

Bodhiaattvas.

they discerned more deities such as Nang Daras, the wives

of

Bodhisattvas,

aU

possessing heavenly powers, who'will

e

sent to the world of

man

to assist m ~ n k i n d in times

of

calamity.

The five most important Bodhisattvas in Mahayana

Buddhism

are:

1.

Samantabhadra

Bodhisattva,

the

g u a r d ~ ~ n ) f

the

religion of the Kakusandha Buddha.

2. Vajrapani Bodhisattva, guardian of t h e r e ~ i o n o f

,Konagama Buddha: .

3. Ratnapani Bodhisattva, the guardian . )f the religion

of

Kassapa

'Buddha.

4. 'Avalokitesavara BO dhisattva, t h ~ g u a r d i a n of the

r ~ H g i o r t o f Gotama

Buddha.

5.

Visvapani Bodhisattva, the guardian of the religion

of Maitreya Buddha

who will

be born in the future. ,

The belief in so many Bodhisattvas is most reassuring

to

believers,

in Mahayana Buddhism, ~ s they can be

invoked

w h e n e v ~ r

people are

indi'stress.

Thus. people feel themselv-

es

at no

disadvantage

to believers

in

Brahmanism.

Mahayana came to

Thailand

at two different

period.,

namely at the

time,when

the empire of Srivijaya was at its

height

and

for the second time when the Khmer were ,ruling

over this country, namely in ,the period of Lobpuri. When

Mahayana Buddhism

was

at its height

in

India. Indians

spread

this doctrine to

adjoining

countries. It first spread to

the Isle

f

Sumatra and

then to

Java

(the

present

Indonesia)

and to Kampuja. These Buddhist missionaries

were.northern

20
http:///reader/full/Buddha.to.behttp:///reader/full/Buddha.to.be


26/39

, ~ '

o I 4 ~

S ~ 1 . ~ . I 1

1

~ 10

n l I , . , I

. .

1

.

1

N

i 1 M

. .


27/39


28/39

ed over Kampu]a

( ea mbodia) between

B f 1545- t

725. they

probably extended

their sovereignty over

the

whole of pre8ent.

day

Thailand.

establishing capitals for administrative pur

poses

in Lobpuri. which wae the administrative centre for

Dvaravati.

and

in Srideb.

the

Centre of Pasak river valley; in

Bimai. which was the c ~ p i t l of the

highlands

in the South.

and in Sakol Nagor, which

was

the' ~ n t r e of adminiatration

of the highlands i ~ the North. Lobpuri was the most im

portant

Capital of all these vassal states of the Khmer empire.

Therefore

historians call this period the .. Lobpuri

period .

The

Khmer

Kings

and

their people were

Mahayana Bud.

dhists

whose

Doctrine

came

from Sumatra. But, for centuries

before, the Khmers

had

developed t h e i r o ~ n arts which were

different from that of India and ofSumatra. Thus arose another

separate

school of arts called Khmer craftsmanship. When

the

Khmers conquered this country, they built i large number of .

Wats and monuments for the worship

pfDevas(deities)which

are

commonly. called Prasat

in

(Stone Monuments). for

instance the

Prasat

Hin of Bimai and the Prasat Hin

on

the

hill of Banom Rang.

All u d ~ h i s t temples ,built in thie period

by

the Khmer.

are dedicated

to

Mahayana

Buddhism.. Besjdea the above

mentioned monuments, there are yet more archaeoloaical

findings

such

as

Buddlla

i m ~ g e s

Bodhisattva images

and'

Deva

images. But the original inhabitants

did not

all follow

the

Mahayana

Buddhism of the Khmers but still were faithful

to

Hinayana Buddhism

inherited from generation to genera

tion since

the

Dvaravati period.

And

a stoneinaciption

was

found in the

Hindu Temple

(fl1i 1Wum\,\,) of Lobpuri, written

in Khmer language, stating that in this town of Lobpuri there

are

monks of

the Sathaviranikaya , which

was

the first Bud

dhist

sect

that came

in the Dvaravati period.

u

well

as

Maha

yana monks who

only

prospered

since the Khmer became the

masters

of this town

and

since Mahayana began,080urish in

the country at that time; and

who

used the Sanskrit language

to preach the

Dhamma.Vinaya

instead of PAli language ae

was the custom before. That is all there i.-to be

said

about

the

spread

of

Mahayana

Buddhiam

in

Thailand

in

the period

of Srivijaya and of Lobpuri.

22


29/39

PUK M HIN Y N UDDHISM

IN B.E. 1600 King Anurutha, after having

conquered

all

.the country:

of

Raman

(Southern Burma), established

his

Capi

tal

in Pukam.

then pushed

his frontiers further north to

the Thai

country of

Lanna.

the

present

circle of Bayab. and southwards

down

to the

province

of Lobpuri.

spreading

at

the

same time

the Buddhist

religion

to all the

territories of his

realm, while

Buddhism in India was

rapidly

declining and almost became

extinguished by

the general adoption

of

Brahmanism and the

Mohammeda.n religon by

the peoples

of India.

Originally, the people

of

Pukam had

adopted

Hinayana

Theravada

Buddhism

which

had been brought

to

them

from

the counh:yof

Magadha

in

the same

way

as

ithad

been

brought

t

the territory of the Thai. But later

on.

when they lost more

and more contact

with India, their religion developed. into

the

so-called

Pukam

Hinayana

Buddhism;

and

when they

con-

quered the

country of

the Thai. their religion

~ p r e a d

to

the

Thai people living in the

circle

of Bayab, which has

been

proved

by

the fad

that

no a h ~ y a n a Bodhisattva images

are

found in northern

Siam,

while

they

are abundantly encountered

in

Southern Siam.

The

reason

for this

probably is that

the

Burmese only established themselves in northern Siam which

they

conquered and which was

wit \tin easy

reach

of

Burma;

whereas they

left

the South

to

be ruled by

the

Khmers 8S vassal

t a t e ~ c f Pukam in their capital

of

Lobpuri, which was also

the

realon

why Mahayana Buddhism

still continued to

exist

in the

South for a long time

.Thi,

period

coincides with the

era in

which many Thai

people

migrated

southwards

into

the

present Siam from

their

original homeland which today

lies within

Southern China,

which

consists ofthe provinces of

Hunnan,

Kiew Chiu, Kwan.

tung

aad Kwangsi.

Each

of

these provinces

had

their own in

.ciependent

rulers

( Chao

and

their

own realm. The reason

why these Thai people migrated from their original homeland

into

the

preMnt

.

Siam waa that they had been conatantly

hara

ctd

by the

Chineee

who

gradually

took. their

land.away,

3


30/39

a

process

which

began ever

since

before RE.

400; therefore

the Thai migrated in s t ~ ~ e s to

the

territory of Lanna

(Chieng-

mai)

and of Lanchang

Luang Phl abang).

These Thai

already

were Buddhists, but

of

the

Mahayana

school which had

been

brought to

them whim

they were still living in

their

original

homeland.

t was onlY when King Anurutha brought Hina,-

yana Pukam

Buddhism

to the territories of Lanna and

of

Lan-

chang

that

the Thai adopted the

Hinayana

religion in the

Pukam venion.

Later on. after

the

reign

of

King

Anurutha. when the

. mighty Kingdom of Pukam and the Empire of the

Khmers

declined,

the

Thai became

more and. more

powerful,

both

in

the north as well as in the

~ o u t h but

whereas the Thai in the

north still had their

own

customs and original culture, the

Thai

in the

south

who

had

been

dominated

by the

Khmers

for a long time and to whom Mahayana Buddhism

had

been

brought by

their former masters,

forcing

them

to

use

the

,Khmer alphabet

and language. still commonly used

Khmer

customs

even

after they had liberated

themselves

and were

now free people ruling themselves. But as the Thai have a

born

ability

to. discern what is good or bad

in

foreign

customs,

, they adopted

w h t e ~ e r

seemed useful to them

or

improved

upon

them. For example they changed and improved

the

Khmer

a l p h a b ~ t

to a

Thai alphabet.

As

regards the

Buddhist

religion. the Thai in this period

were

divided; the Thai

of

Lanna and of Lanchang were

Hina.

yana

Buddhists,

which

doctrine

had been brought to

them

from Pukam ( Burma , whereas the Thai

South

of

Sukhodaya

still ~ h e r e to

Mahayana

Buddhism as taught to them by the

Khmer

in this third

period.

. I may

now

be

allowed

to say a few words about the

Thai alphabet invented by King Ramkamhaeng. Formerly

the alphabet used

in

this cO untry was of Grintha

characters

of

Southern India which later

on

were

changed

into

MOn

and

Khom letters.

When

the

Khmer ruled over this country, Khom

letters (or

Khmer)

were used in official

correspondence.

But

the Khom alphabet could

only

be used

for

writing

Pali

and

Sanskrit or Khmer

words:

but could not be used to write Thai

24


31/39

~ 8. 46' Ji I . I

ho

1

01 810

, .1 . .

I. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . .

.

,.,41 I

. .

. .

010


32/39

, , .

language,

because

the alphabet had

not

sufficient vowels nor

,had it any accents to

express

the low and high tones

of

the

Thai

language,

and

the

characters themselves

were too ornate

and

could not

be

written quickly. So King Ramkamhaeng

alten=d and improved

upon

the existing

characters

so

as

to

render

them more

suitable for writing

Thai words

easily. He

invented

additional vowels and accents for expressing

the

right tones.

The

introduction

of

this first Thai

l p h ~ b e t

in-

v ~ r i t e by King

Ramkamhaeng,

besides being most useful for

writing

Thai. was

a brilliant

beacon

to

demonstrate

that

the

Thai

had

shaken

off their Khmer

yoke

under

which they had

been suffering for many centuries. and that they now were free

people

(Thai)

in every respect

and

even possessed their own

l p h b e t ~

\ aroused their patriotism. But the alphabet

invented by King a m k a m h a ~ n g differs from the one

used

today as in his alphabet the vowels

as

well

as

the consonants

are written all in one row. All vowels are

placed

in front of

t h ~ eonsonants except

0 :;

which follow the consonants. Np

vowels were placed above and below the

consonants

as in

the untidy Khom alphabet. But King Ramkamhaen g s

alphabet was only

used

as long as he lived, and in later

reign.

the vowels were

placed

partly in front, partly , behind

r

above

or

below

the consonants as practised

today. Thus.

ill ,the end, we only inherited from King Ramkamhaenghis

vowela.but

not

the way

of

writing; the

reason

for

which

is

that generations after King ~ m k a m h a e n g

we have

become

le.s patriotic.

We

do

not

r,ea:lise the neces,sity

nor t h ~

pride

of

pOl8essinK

something of

our

own

as King Ramkamhaeng

and

his people

did. Otherwise the

way

of writing our own

language might

have

been

as

advanced

and

modern

as

all

other

foreign languages.


33/39

L NK BUDDHISM

The

fourth

period is

of

great

importance

as

it

marks

the period in which all Siamese a ~ o p t e d

Hinayana

Buddhism

as their

only Buddhist Faith and ever

since t h e ~

have

faith.

fully kept it to this day.

In

RE.

1696

King

Para Kama Phahu

the Great of

Lanka

brought about a revival of Buddhism on the isle of

Lanka by

inviting

Maha

Kassapa-thera

to

preside

over

a

council, the object of which was to revise the Buddha

Dham

ma

Vinaya.

t

was the 7th Council held

by

Southern Bud-

dhists. News of this great Council held under the auspices of

King

Para Kama Phahu

reached

aU eastern

countries

of

Buddhist Faith, and delegations of monks from Pukam, M6n,

Siam

and Kambuja (Cambodia)

were

sent

to the isle

of Lanka

to

study

the

newly

revised

Buddhist Holy

Scripts

in

order

to

bring

back home

what

they had learned.

But

the

Holy

Sangha

of Ceylon would not accept

these

foreign Bhikkhus into their

Order unless they consented to

be

reordinated in the Lanka

Nikaya

(sect). All

the

monks.

who

had

seen for themselves

the practice of the Dhamma Vinaya of this new monk

Order

6f Lanka,

agreed to be reordinated

in

the Lanka Sangha.

Since that time, the

revised procedure

of

ordination

as laid

down

at this Council

appears ip

the

Canon of Southern Buq

dhism. After studying the

revised.Canon,

the foreign mission-

aries returned to their respective home countries. Some of

them invited Lanka monks to accompany them

back

to their

country to

teach

the revised Dhamma Vinaya to the local ~ n

habitants,

who became much

impressed

by

the

Lanka monk.,

and allowed their sons and grandsons to be ordained in this

Lanka Monk

Order

in

increasing

numbers. Thus, Lanka

Bud-

dhism spread rapidly to

Burma.

the M6n country, Thailand

and as far

as

Kambuja.

In

Thailand these Lanka monkssettled nrstin

NagorSri.

dharmaraj about

B.E. 1800.

as evidenced by

archaeological

nndioss

discovered when the

Phra Maha Dhatu of Nasor .

~ Q


34/39

..

.

Sridharmarai

was repaired. and. changed. Irom its original Sri.

vijaya

style into a

Lanka

type

of Stupa which

still exists

t o ~

day.

In Wat

Phra Mahadhatu.

a

Buddha image made of

iade

was

also found which

shows Lanka craftsmanlhip of that

~ e t i o d As

further evidence, a stone inscription

dated

B.E.

1630) was found with the following inscription:

King

Ramkamhaeng gave alms (Dana)

to

the 'Holy

Th,ras (Elders) who had completed the study of the Tripitaka

and were appointed to higher ranks than any other

monks

residing in this country.

They all c me from Nagor Sridharmaraj.

Thus.

it

is certain that

the Lanka monks

firlt

came to

Nagor Sridharmarai. and

when their

f a ~ e reached the

town

of

Sukhodaya which at that

time was the

capital

of King

Ramkamhaeng, the

King invited these Theras to come and

\

settle

down in

his Capital.

At

the

same time, the King ordered

the

Governor of

Sridharmaraj

to

negotiate the transfer of

the

Phra

Buddha

Sihing image from

Lanka

to Siam.

Mahayana Buddhism; which had

been

adopted when

the

Khmer ruled

over the

country. declined and finally dis-

appeared.

Nevertheless.

at

the

beginning of

this

fourth period,

the Holy Sangha in

Siam

was still

divided

into two sects.

namely

those monks

who belonged to the original Nikaya

and

those who were ordained according to the Lanka religion.

Even

in Burma,

the

M6n country

and Cambodia, the monks

in

the

beginning were still

divided into the

two

above-mention

ed

Nikayas.

but

finally

joined

together in

one

single sect. In

the

M6n country,

the

unification

had

to

be

enforced

by

the

King, as

stated on

a stone inscription, whereas in Siam the

unification took place by

m u t ~ a

consent, for

which

there is

evidence found today, namely, the formalities of an ordination

used

in former days or practised even at the present day

in

some

rural districts

was

to let the novice repeat twice

the CfTlu ee Refuges" (Trisaranagama), once in Pali and for

the second

time

in

Sanskrit,

which

shows

the

Lanka

.

that

Buq.?hilts uSed

Pali

according,

to Hinayana Buddhism


35/39

whlle thelormet monks Used

S a n 8 k ~ i d n

accordance

Mahayana religion which had

been.

introduced to this

~ o u n t r y

by.the

Khmers.

Furthermore, the

rOYBf

wats

(monasteries) in

Su-

khodaya. Lanna and

Lanchang.

erect 2

Sema,

(Skt. BU. .

b o u n ~ a r y stones around the most

holy part

o f t h , e t e i n p l e ~

~ r in

~ o m e

w ts 3 '4

Bemas,

which probably i . d u ~

to

the

fact

that when

the

L a ~ k a monks came to this country they

objected to the local .monks, because

they

were' pS:rtly

Mahayana and

partly

Hinayana monks

mixed t o . t h e t ~

and

would

not

consent to

ordain.

their.

disciples..

witbinthe

precincts. of the Semas

erected

by

Mahayana m o n k ~ . T h i .

was

most

embaraasing to parents who wished to have their

sons

ordained

by Lanka monks in

the village

or townwatJ,

as the

Lanka

monks lived in

forest

wats far outside the vil-

Jages ot towns. On the

other

hand, the wats near their

hOJ;lles

belonged to the local monks.

1n order to make it

more

convenient

for his people.

the King

allowed

the Lanka

monks

to add the new Semf#

to

the

old ones in

the

.town and village wats, so thattney

could be

used y both the

former monks and

the new monkia

for

ordination purposes.

Some

Wilts had 3 or 4 SemtfS, because Lanka monk.

who

c a m ~ later objected to the

old

ones and therefore added'

new

ones of their

own,

considering it of great

importance.

The

main

reason why

the

unification of

the

l\vo .Becta wall

posaible

was the fact.

that

the majority

of p e o p l e ~ ~ ~ t e a

Lanka.

Buddhism,

and in

increasing

numbers

h ~ i t h e i r .cl.il-

dren

ordained by monks

of

this

sect.

The

former

monkalo

..

more and more disciples and finally

had

to join with the

Lanka monks.

Since Lanka

Buddhiam

began to

prosper

undeJ'the

Phra

Ruane J}ynalty. all Chedis were built in Lanka t y l ~ n d

according

to

Lanka

doctrine. For instance. diey b4nev.4. that

i twal

po.sible to find

retli

e

of the. Biaddha (PM4 StJril iJ...:

dn , :), and

it

became the .custom to build Stupae for

a..dd1.

renal.

The.G JuP

wefe

:built.in Lanka .ty , '- ' .e,
http:///reader/full/built.inhttp:///reader/full/built.in


36/39

< .

~ w ' 1 W . . W ' t ~ i 6 r . . .

nCe

the

&uPS

at Wat 'Chang

Llml i n s Y ~ J . t . k ; v '

Lifo

erect a Parihhoga Chedi (a. sbrim.

tontaiaibif ~ i n e o l i ; e _ l ~ behind: by the Buddha,

luch

al

Buddha.

f o o t p r i n ~ ) ,

they

went

to

Lanka

to

eopy the

Buc:ldha f u Q t ~ n t .aid to

have been 'actually made by the

Buddha at t bc niounwn of Sumanakut

and

built an esact

r ~ l i c a o f t ~ ~ ioqtprint at the hill of Phrabat and changed

the Deane

Ql

the hill to Sumanakut, giving

it

the same n a m ~

as the

"e in Lanl$a. '

Forprejithiag tbe .Dhamma (doctrine), Pali was Wled

u

the

fUD4a.eatallanguage

of

the Buddhist religion. and the

aludy of PallbecatQe c ~ t o t n a r y and spread widely, whereas

S a n a k r i ~ was used to triln.lf,te Pali into Thai. Sanakrit is

uaed

..:

i t i t were a c t u ~ 1 i y the Thai, language. For instanc;e.

. ,

,

Auho

is espressed

in

1fhai as

Artha SfUtha i.

e;xprelled

a

Sasda and

meenl teacher or master;

Satlnam is

eapreed

. . S4Ira.-mcains weapon.' Pali is raised to aholy laQsuage,

.,;hile Sanskrit is used ~ s a Colloquial or ordinary

laquase

.

.

Wl1en

Ud


37/39

I

Qoftmology, called the 44:Tri Bhumi

K.adaa.

( Tehbhumikaluunii.)

of 'phra 'Ruang". It is the oldest work of

Thai

literature

apart

from the stone inscriptions,

much older

than

any

other

, Thai books.

, After their unification into one single sect, the Thai.

Buddhist

monks

divided theniselves into: two groups. One

group of

monks made

it their

task

to study the

Palitexts and

the Doctrine. They were called

\

Gamavasi Bhikkhus or

Ganthadhuram,

meaning U occupied with study" and lived in

the

wats

of the towns where they inaugurated Buddhist schools.

The

other group of

monks

practised meditation (Vipal ana

Dhara land endeavoured to attain to Vimutti or emancipation

from suffering an d rebirth. They lived in forest wats an(.l i).

These

forest dwellers were called in Lanka Aranyavasi.

The

isle of Lanka being'mountainous and the mountain. forests

beii:lg within

easy reach

of towns, the

monks

in town

wats

called the other monks Vanavasi. They still use'their forest

wats

in

Lanka

today.

In

the

Ayudhya period, Buddhism in

Thailand

remained

much the same as it was in the Sukhodaya period, which was

. Lanka

Buddhism, except that

in' the

beginning

the

Stupas

'were buUt in Khmer stYle. t was only after the reign of King

Parama

TraUokanat that

Chedis

were built in

Sukhodaya

style. King Parama

Trailokanat

followed the example of

King Dharmaraja Llthai of Sukhodaya ~ i \ d invited ?hra Ma-

Lasami, the P a t r i ~ r c h of Lanka, to

be his

Upajjhaya(ordinat-

~ i n g thera} for his ol'dinatlon

at

Wat

Chulamani

in Bisnulok. '

He dedicated

i ~ royal palace to be used

as

a Buddhist Chapel,

and

in the reigns of later Kings

stupas

and

Buddha

1majites

were added to this place which now is the present Wat Phra

'Sri Sanbejra,

which was

a t:eplica ,of

Wat

Mahadhatu' in

Su.

khodaya; they made Stupas more beautiful

than

the

u k h o ~

daya stupa.

For instance, they chanjited

the

square type of

the Sukhodaya Stupa into a duodecahedral stupa

( n ~ m J ~ 6 1 1

f t f ) ~ ) ; Examples ale' the Phrachedi Sri Suriyodaya and the

Phrachedi at WatJumbor Nikayaram. They f u r l ~ r l'eceived

. luggestions diree: tly from Lank,. for

the

r e ~ ~ o n o Bl.idd\l_t

,


38/39

s h r i n e ~ . : F Q r x a m p l e , whereas the Buddha footprint which in

this country

was

originally believed to

be

only a

Uddesika

Chedi was in Lanka regarded as a Paribhoga Chedi. a real

relic belonging to

the

Buddha, meaning that the Buddha

actually left behind

his

footprint and the footprint was not

man-made. It was further learned that there

was

another

footprint of the Buddha,

namely

at the foot of the hill of Sac-

cabandha near Saraburi.

The

Buddha is said to

have

left a

footprint at this

place

when he delivered a sermon to the her-

mit

Saccabhanda. This

story was told to the Thai monks

when they visited the u d d h a ~ s sacred foot p r i n t ~ a t the hill of

Sumanakut in the isle

of Lanka.

On their return from Lanka,

these

Thai

monks reported this story to King Songdharm.

Whereupon

a

search

was

ordered by

the King

and

they

found

the Buddha's footprint on the hillside of Saccabhandhakiri

which is the present

Phrabat.

near Saraburi. Since

'that

time,

Phrabat

on 'Saccabhandakiri hill

has

been

regarded

as

a sa-

Cred Paribhoga Chedi, a shrine of g r e ~ t importance. Many

laymen

and m9nks go yearly to

Phiabat

to worship the

Buddha's footprint.

. Towards the end of the Ayudhya period, a great revolu-

tion

broke out

on

the

isle

of Lanka

in the course of which the

Lanka menkhood was wiped out. The King of Lanka there-

fore asked

the

King of Thailand to send a delegation of Thai

monks to Lanka and to preach

the

Dhamma Vinaya. King

B o r 5 1 ~ a k o t sent Phra UPali and Phra

Aryamuni as

leaders of

the Thai delegation of monks to Lanka. Ever since then

the

Lanka

Thai has

continued to exist

under the

name

of

onpe pa

1 to t

IS

.S

ay ,m

W

r

I

W

ongse

.h' d

ay.

Th

e mIs-

sion

of

Thai monks

was

of

great importance,

as

it

gave

us the opportunity to return

the

services once rendered to our

country by the Lanka Sangha

and

to

show our

gratitude to

them.At the same time, it greatly enhanced the prestige and

.the high esteem of our Sangha in the eyes of the people o

Lanka; in fact. to lIIuchan extent that a book

was

written in

Ceylon .entitled

uA

Textbook on the Ordination of Thai

Monk

.

( S a ~ a m u p a m p a f l a t ) which still exists today.

U


39/39

In the Ratana'k.o i.ndra period. 1 a D \ a B ~ d d h i . ~ a.a

practised durina the Ayudhya period,

still

~ o n t i n u e d

in.the

meW4ly.The making of Buddha Chedis,theobservanpe.of

the

Dhamma

Vinaylt-

rules and tbe

.tudy

of

the

Buddha

D o ~ :

trine conlinued to be p r ~ c t i s e d as in the Ayudhya period.

For instance, the Temple of the Emerald.

u d d h a

in the GI'Uld

Palace was built in the aame style aa that. of the Ayudhy.

period. Although many

minions

were exchanged be.tween

Lanka

and Thailand

during those

day.,

no

ne

idea. were

brought to Thailand in regard to the Buddhist relision. The

Lanka miasionarie. brought

o01y

Buddha Relics to Thailand

and the Thai' mis.joltaries . sent 0 Lanka took no further

Improvements of the Doctrine except that they hrought back

with them a sapling of the Holy. Bhodi tree, said robe

from the original Bhodi tree in Buddha-gaya

hom

the: time

when Mabinda-thera brought

the

Buddha aTeaching to

the isle of Lanka

and

w hleh

i.

worahiprled

a.

~

Parlhhoja

Chedi, a relic used by the Buddha

himaelf,to

this day.

The practice of the Buddhist reltaion in

Thail.nd

since

the Sukhodaya period should

t h e r e f o r ~ be considered as

p e c i f i c a l l ~ Thai in the same way as wall the Hinayana

Buddhism of King Anurutha. And, for this reason, the

~ n t r o d u c t i o n

of Lanka Buddhipm should be regarded.a the

most important period of Buddhism in Thailand.

it

was

the

period:

ef

unification of all Buddhists in Thailand under one

single Faith. in Hinayana Buddhism. and ever since t h ~ n

the Thai people have been Hinayana Buddhists.
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