i

Ayutthaya
Buddhism
in
Thailand
*
Published in commemoration of
the 4th General Meeting of the
World Buddhist University Council
at the Grand Blue Wave otel!
"hah Alam! "elangor! #$%$ Malaysia
on &'() #ecember B$%$ *+4+ ,*))*-$
Contents
Preface *
Part .ne/
Buddhism 0n The 1ingdom .f Thailand
Cha2ter .ne
Buddhism 0n 0ndia After The
Master3s #emise 4
Cha2ter T4o
Buddhism 0n Ancient Thailand (5
Cha2ter Three
Buddhism 0n The Thai 1ingdom *)
Cha2ter 6our
The *+th Buddhist Century Celebration
0n Thailand ,(&+7 A$#$- 48
Part T4o/
Buddhist %ducation 0n Thailand
0ntroduction +5
Cha2ter .ne
Ceylonese Buddhism 0n Thailand +8
Cha2ter T4o
1ing 9ithai ,B$%$ (8&)'(&(&- :8
Cha2ter Three
Buddhist %ducation 0n The
9anna 1ingdom 7+
Cha2ter 6our
Buddhist %ducation 0n The %arly
Ayutthaya Period 8(
Cha2ter 6ive
;eligious 9anguage < The
Writing "ystem 88
Cha2ter "i=
Buddhist %ducation .f The Middle
Ayutthaya Period ,B$%$ *)5('**7+
or (488'(75* A$#$- &+
Cha2ter "even
The 6inal Ayutthaya Period
,B$%$ **7+'*5() or (75*'(8:5 A$#$- ()5
Cha2ter %ight
;atana>osin Period ,B$%$ *5*+' or
(78*' A$#$- ((:
"ome 6acts And 6igures .n Buddhism0n Thailand (*5
Preface
This current volume! Buddhism in Thailand! is 2ublished
in commemoration of the 4th General Meeting of the
World Buddhist University Council ? held at the Grand
Blue Wave otel in "hah Alam! "elangor! Malaysia from
& to (( #ecember! *))* ? and is a revision and re'2ublication
of an earlier volume 2ublished under the same
title by the World 6ello4shi2 of Buddhists in B$%$ *+*4
,(&8) A$#$-$ This 4or> 2resents facts and figures about
the current condition of Buddhism in Thailand! historical
bac>ground s>etches of the establishment and gro4th of
the Buddhist community in Thailand and information on
Buddhist education in Thailand$
Buddha #hamma 4as first 2ursued and too> firm root in
ancient Thailand during the "u>hothai 2eriod! the first
Thai >ingdom$ Today there are thousands of Buddhist
structures! 2agodas and tem2les scattered about in every
corner of the country$ Buddhism is a religion of 2eace and
is the religion of Thailand$ Buddha #hamma has 2layed a
2rofound role in forging the 2eaceful and tolerant nature
of the Thai 2eo2le$ The Thai 2eo2les3 no4'famous smile!
friendliness and rela=ed attitude all attest to their underlying
commitment to the teachings of the Buddha$ The
effect of Buddhism in Thailand is not only to be found in
the 2ersonal and mental 2eace of its 2eo2le but can also
be seen in their 2ursuit of academia! careers! family life
and so forth$ The disci2line of Buddhism teaches s>ill
in loo>ing after one3s self and one3s community$ This is
4hat is 2ursued in Buddhist Thailand$
Than>s are due to $%$ Phan Wannamethee! President of
the World 6ello4shi2 of Buddhists! 4ho >indly granted
2ermission for 2ublishing this volume$ 0t is ho2ed that
the material 2resented in this boo> 4ill 2rovide the reader
4ith a clear vie4 of the role of Buddhism in Thailand$
@oranit "etabutr
;ector! World Buddhist University
PA;T .@%/
BU##0"M 0@ T% 10@G#.M .6 TA09A@#
Cha2ter .ne
Buddhism 0n 0ndia
After The Master3s #emise
With res2ect to the Buddha3s instruction to the bhi>>hus
before his 2assing a4ay! informing them that his doctrine!
that is to say the @orm and the 9a4! shall be their
teacher 4hen he is gone! it is 4ell to have at least a bird3s
eye vie4 of the history of the #hamma or his #octrine
from the time of his Parinibbana ,2assing a4ay- u2 to
the 2resent time$ This may give a better understanding
and a firm foundation for reasonable belief for those intellectuals
4ho 4ish to >no4 something of the historical
facts in addition to the Message itself$
0t is generally believed that during the Master3s lifetime
there 4as no systematic classification of the #octrine as
is >no4n in the 2resent$ 9i>e a variety of scattered flo4ers
blooming here and there in the garden! the teaching
of the Master must have been maintained orally and
individuallyA that is to say! according to the tendency of
individual disci2les$ These instructions and admonitions
given by the Master 4ere systematically arranged! li>e
the arranging of flo4ers in a vase! by 4ise and holy disci2les
after the Master3s 2assing a4ay$
We learn from historical facts that shortly after the
Buddha3s 2assing a4ay there 4as 4hat could be called a
bad omen for those 4ho 4ere 4ell'4ishers of Buddhism$
The tears of his mourners had not yet dried 4hen a follo4er
of the devoted %lder 1assa2a! an old bhi>>hu called
"ubhadda! suddenly sur2rised ? or rather shoc>ed ? the
mourners by the bold declaration that no4 the Master
had 2assed a4ay it 4ould be better! in that there 4ould
no longer be anyone to force them or forbid them to do
this and to do that$
This! to the Benerable 1assa2a! foreshado4ed the deter'
ioration of the Buddha3s doctrine if left unchec>ed$ "o he
e=2ressed his concern to the other devoted %lders! 4ho
4ere Arahats! or "aints$ They 4ere unanimous in their
su22ort of his 2lan ? that there should be held a Council
of %lders or Arahats for the sa>e of reciting the Message
of the Master! so that it could be memorised and handed
do4n in its 2ristine 2urity to the younger generations$
With such an agreement! the 2lace and the 2ersons 4ho
4ere to 2artici2ate in this great underta>ing had been
2ro2osed and carefully selected$ The cave of "atta2anna!
of Bebhara mountain in the to4n of ;aCagaha! 4as finally
chosen and the 2artici2ants! according to general agreement!
4ere to be the Buddha3s contem2orary Arahats$
This 4as the first "angDyanD! or Buddhist Council! 4hich
lasted seven months! during 4hich 1ing ACatasattu of
Magadha 4as the 2rime su22orter and host and contributed
the financial hel2 for e=2editing this great tas>$
This "angDyanD! attended by +)) Arahat contem2oraries
of the Buddha! 4as underta>en for the 2ur2ose
of settling u2on the contents of the Buddhist Canon by
revising! classifying and standardiEing the various teachings
of the Buddha during the 4+ years of his 2reaching$
.bviously it 4as a great enter2rise as 4ell as a huge
underta>ing$ 0t is not an overestimate! therefore! to say
that much! or rather most of the success 4as due to the
Benerable Ananda! 4ho 4as the Master3s 2ersonal attendant
bhi>>hu ,Buddhist mon>- and 4ho had heard and
committed to memory almost all of the "uttas and the
Abhidhamma! these being the second and third of the
three Bas>ets ,Tri2iFa>a- of the Buddhist Canon$ Wor>
on the first of the Bas>ets ? concerning the Binaya! or
Monastic 9a4 ? 4as accom2lished through the memory
of the Benerable U2Dli! 4ho had al4ays distinguished
himself in that field$ After the 2rocess of Guestioning
and ans4ering in detail! all other attending Arahats! or
"aints including the Benerable 1assa2a! 4ho 2resided
over the Council! recited those 2assages re2eatedly until
they 4ere 4ord'2erfect$ Hust ho4 great and difficult this
tas> 4as may be seen from the fact that the Council continued
for seven months before the entire teachings 4ere
satisfactorily revised$
When the meeting 4as closed the 2artici2ating Arahats
then 4ent forth on their missionary 4or>! 2reaching to
their o4n follo4ers the #hamma! or Message! that had
been studied during the Council$ We cannot ho2e to
adeGuately e=2ress the de2th of our gratitude for those
2ioneers! Benerable 1assa2a$ Ananda and U2Dli! 4ithout
4hom 4e ? 4ho 4ere born so long after the Master3s
Parinibbana ,absolute 2assing a4ay- ? 4ould be lost in
unimaginable ignorance$
T% "%C.@# C.U@C09
.ne hundred years after the first Council 4as 2resided
over by the Benerable 1assa2a a sad incident occurred
in the to4n of Besali$ A large grou2 of bhi>>hus! called
BaCCi2utta! 4as formed and they caused a great sensation
throughout Buddhist circles through their heretical beliefs$
These beliefs numbered ten and included the drin>ing
of the Cuice e=tracted from 2almyra date! or cocoa
2alm! and the receiving or hoarding of money$ These and
many other acts 2rohibited in the Binaya ,Monastic 9a4-
4ere then 2roclaimed by the grou2 of BaCCi2utta bhi>>hus
to have been allo4ed$ This caused a great discordance
and a great sensation among Buddhists ? the laity as 4ell
as bhi>>hus$ The situation threatened to become increasingly
4orse as time 4ent on and according to history
Iasa 1a>anda>a2utta! the chief bhi>>hu of the orthodo=
members! 4as even bribed by the heretics$ o4ever! being
no less holy than 4ise he turned a4ay the heretic
messengers and! 4ith his clever instruction and e=2lanations!
4as later successful in gathering a large number of
follo4ers! both bhi>>hus and laity! against the BaCCi2utta
bhi>>hus! 4ho had by then been successful in 4inning
over 1ing 1alaso>a of Magadha to their side$ Under their
vened and finally convinced her brother of his mista>e$
"eeing no4 4hat 4as right and 4hat 4as 4rong in the
Buddha3s doctrine! the >ing revo>ed his former orders!
begged forgiveness of his holy sister and gave his su22ort
to the Benerable Iasa3s grou2 of bhi>>hus and laity$ The
devoted bhi>>hus and had a formal discussion regarding
beliefs$ After a 2rocess of thorough Guestioning! ans4er
ing! reasoning and debate! the meeting came to its final
resolution ? that the heretics3 claims 4ere all 4rong$ 0n
addition to this! all three Bas>ets of the Buddhist Canon
4ere com2rehensively discussed and carefully consid
bly of the first Council! one hundred years before$ o4
great the tas> 4as can be seen in that it lasted for eight
Council$
instigation the befooled >ing set about o22ressing! by
various means! those bhi>>hus under the leadershi2 of
Benerable Iasa$ But no sooner had the sovereign order
been carried out than the 1ing3s sister! 4ho 4as a bhi>>huni
,the female form of bhi>>hu-! called @andD! interBenerable
Iasa then held a general meeting of all the
the 4rongfulness of the BaCCi2utta bhi>>hus3 ten heretical
ered!
in such a manner as had been done in the assemmonthsA
that is to say! for one month longer than the first
The venue for this second Council 4as the to4n of Besali$
The Arahats! or "aints! 2artici2ating 4ere about seven
hundred in number$
T% T0;# C.U@C09
"o far as the second Council is concerned the Benerable
Iasa and 1ing 1alaso>a may have been successful in
maintaining the Message of the Buddha in its 2ristine
2urity! but the heretic BaCCi2utta bhi>>hus 4ere in no
4ay defeated$ @or 4ere they discouraged from 2ro2agating
their heretical beliefs to their follo4ers as a counter'
attac> to the Benerable Iasa$ Their com2etition 2roved to
be successful! for there gre4 more and more discordance
among Buddhists bhi>>hus and the laity$ "ince there
are al4ays those 4ho 2refer 4hatever is convenient for
themselves! and others 4ho res2ect 4hat is good and
right over that 4hich is merely convenient! the Guarrels
bet4een the t4o grou2s became more and more
bitter$ "o much so! in fact! that the bhi>>hus of the one
grou2 4ould refuse to 2erform religious rites and functions
4ith those of the other grou2$ This 4as eGuivalent
to asserting that the Bhi>>bus of the other grou2 4ere
no longer bhi>>hus in the ecclesiastical sense and 4ere!
conseGuently! as good as laymen$ Thus! Buddhism 4as
at this time! i$e$ *(8 years after the Buddha3s death! rent
by discord in t4o hostile schools! viE$ the TheravDda and
the AcDriyavDda$ The former re2resented those 4ho still
res2ected the 4ords of the Theras! or %lders! such as the
Benerable Iasa of the second Council! 4hereas the latter
re2resented those 4ho still clung to the teachings of the
BaCCi2utta bhi>>hus$ We also learn more of this unha22y
incident from some historians! 4ho say that each of the
t4o schools 4ere further subdivided into several different
and antagonistic sects! numbering altogether eight'
almost beyond ho2e for any 4ell'4isher to im2rove the
situation of Buddhism$ 0n this critical moment! the need
4as >eenly felt for the a22earance of a strong figure$
een$ This sho4s that at that time it 4ould have been
0n a Buddhist te=t called MahDvamsa! ho4ever! it 4as
4ritten that the heretics! being de2rived of the usual offerings
and honour of the 1ing3s devotion to Buddhism!
had masGueraded as Buddhist bhi>>hus and then ta>en
the o22ortunity to 2reach and 2ractise their former doctrines$
.f course! there 4as no surer 4ay of destroying
a doctrine than by doing so and in the course of time!
4hen this infidel movement became >no4n to the righteous
grou2 of bhi>>hus! it inevitably gave birth to bitter
contem2t on the 2art of the 2ious Buddhists 4ho 4ere not
so befooled$ When this became >no4n to 1ing Aso>a a
general meeting of bhi>>hus 4as formally held in 4hich
there 4as a close scrutiny of the behaviour and ideals
of the individual bhi>>hu$ This Council! held under the
aus2ices of the great and 2ious 1ing Aso>a! 4as 2resided
over by the oly Thera Tissa Moggalli2utta! 4ho 4as
4ell versed in the Master3s doctrine$ Any bhi>>hus 4ho
4ere found to be holding to heretical beliefs and 2ractising
infidel methods 4ere disrobed! until it 4as reasonably
believed that there 4ere no more of any such defilements
left in the doctrine$
After this monastic 2urgation the holy Tissa 4as then
invited to once again call a meeting of the righteous
and 4ell versed bhi>>hus! for the sa>e of revie4ing and
restandardiEing it ? as in the 2revious Councils of the
Master3s doctrine ? so that it could be correctly handed
do4n in all its sim2licity and nobility$ 6or this 2ur2ose
the Arama ,or monastery- of Aso>a! in the to4n of
Patali2utta! 4as 2resented to the holy ones as the 2lace
of choice$ About one thousand bhi>>hus 4ere summoned
to 2artici2ate in this Council! 4hich lasted nine months!
during 4hich 1ing Aso>a! as had the 2revious >ings of
the first and second Councils! al4ays 2rovided great su22ort$
This event too> 2lace in the t4o hundred and eight'
eenth year after the Buddha3s 2assing a4ay$
0t has been rightly said that those 4ho undertoo> to carry
on the third Council must have been more or less encouraged
by the 4or> of the 2revious Councils! and its success
4as therefore undoubtedly ins2ired by the 2revious
achievements of their devoted 2redecessors$ But a uniGue
as2ect of the success of the third Council! 4hich seems to
sur2ass the 2revious t4o! is that its missionary 4or> 4as
carried out on a far 4ider scale$ Being an ardent missionary
himself! after the Council 1ing Aso>a! through
his o4n initiative! sent forth grou2s of self'sacrificing
bhi>>hus to various lands! carrying the torch of 0ndia3s
greatest son to illumine the four corners of the earth$ .f
these grou2s! one sent to Ceylon 4as conducted by the
great >ing3s son and daughter! 4ho had been res2ectively
ordained as bhi>>hu and bhi>>huni$ .thers 4ere sent
abroad and overseas to various remote countries$ The
grou2 4hich reached Thailand 4as >no4n to have been
conducted by the Benerables "ona and Uttara$
6rom the historians3 vie42oint these three Councils! convened
in 0ndia! 4ere acce2ted as 2erfectly and rightly
carried out$ "ubseGuently there 4ere several Councils
held in various lands at different times! but all of these
4ere local and sectarian Councils and not as universally
regarded as being acce2table$
Cha2ter T4o
Buddhism 0n Ancient Thailand
As has already been 2ointed out! a grou2 of missionary
bhi>>hus 4as sent by 1ing Aso>a to the remote countries
of the 0ndo'China Peninsula$ This grou2 4as conducted
by the Benerables "ona and Uttara$ 0n the course of their
Courney by land from 0ndia they must have first 2assed
Burma before going on to other south'eastern countries$
0n Thailand! the antiGuities at the to4n of @a>hon
Pathom! +) >ilometres 4est of Bang>o>! seem to give
2ractical evidence as to 4here Buddhism first settled
do4n$ These include stone inscri2tions! Buddha images!
the Buddha3s 6oot2rints and the great Pagoda itself
4hich! if stri22ed of its later'constructed to2! 4ould be of
the same design as the stu2as of the great 1ing Aso>a at
the to4n of "anchi! in 0ndia$
0t 4as at first doubtful as to ho4 the missionary bhi>>hus
4ould have managed to ma>e themselves understood by
the 2eo2le of the 2laces they landed at or reached$ But
in the case of the t4o holy ones 4ho arrived in Thailand
that time! it 4as rather fortunate for them that there had
been 0ndian traders and refugees living all along the
Malay and 0ndo'China Peninsulas$ "ome of these 0ndian
tribes 4ere >no4n to have fled from Aso>a3s invasion
before he 4as converted to Buddhism by the horrors of
4ar$ Therefore it is not 4ithout reason to say that the
first 2reaching of the Message 4ould at first have been
among the 0ndian themselves and then! through these
0ndian inter2reters! to the 2eo2le of the country! 4ho
at that time are su22osed to have been a racial stoc> of
2eo2le >no4n as the Mon'1hmers and 9a4as$
T% 6U'@A@ P%;0.#
We have learnt ho4 Buddhism 2ros2ered in the 0ndo'
China Peninsula! 4hich to some e=tent may rightly be
called "uvannabhumi ,lit$ the Golden 9and-$ The inhabitants
of this region at the time! ho4ever! 4ere su22osed
to be the Mon'1hmers and J9a4a3! 4hose su2eriors! or
rulers! 4ere either the 0ndians themselves or of 0ndian
blood or lineage by marriage$ 6rom this fact it 4as certain
that 0ndian culture and civiliEation 4ere 2revailing
all over the land$ Thus! 4ith the e=clusion of the
north'east! 4hich is no4 the northern 2art of Bietnam!
TheravDda Buddhism had s2read all over the 0ndo'China
Peninsula and 4hen! in course of time! the Burmese and
the Thais evacuated from Tibet and Iunnan! they 4ere
also im2ressed 4ith Buddhism and later on ado2ted it as
their religion$
With the rise of the MahDyDna school in 0ndia in the si=th
century B$%$! missionaries 4ere sent abroad both by sea
and by land$ Travelling by land they made their Courney
through Bengal and Burma! 4hile on their sea voyages
they first landed on the Malay Peninsula and in "umatra!
from 4hence they made the second 2art of their voyage
to Cambodia$ Also during this time there arose a J6u'@an3
or Phanom 1ingdom! covering the land of Cambodia and
also the north'eastern and central areas of Thailand$ The
2eo2le of this 6u'@an 1ingdom are >no4n to have 2rofessed
the t4o schools of Buddhism! viE$ TheravDda and
MahDyDna$ "o much so that in the tenth century B$%$ some
6u'@an bhi>>hus 4ere recorded as having gone forth to
China for the 2ur2ose of studying and translating the
Buddhist te=ts there$ .f these courageous bhi>>hus! the
most 4ell'>no4n 4ere "angha2Dla and Mandarasena$
But the 6u'@an >ingdom 4as! in the eleventh century
B$%$! on the decline and 4as eventually overrun and defeated
by one of her o4n colonies! the Hen'9a 1ingdom$
This also brought about a halt! if not a deterioration! in
the 2rogress of Buddhism in this land$
T% #BK;ABATL P%;0.#
#uring the eleventh century B$%$! 4hen Buddhism
4as more or less affected by the decline of the 6u'@an
1ingdom the Mons! 4ho lived in the territory of Chao
Phya ;iver! too> the o22ortunity to declare themselves
inde2endent and build u2 the J#vDravatM3 >ingdom$ #ue
to its once having been a seat of culture and civiliEation!
the ne4 >ingdom made ra2id 2rogress in the arts and
religion$ 0t 4as also uniGue in maintaining and strictly
observing the doctrine of TheravDda Buddhism learned
from one of Aso>a3s missionary grou2s$ "ince it had close
contact 4ith the 0ndians of the Ganges! Buddhist art of
this 2eriod 4as very much li>e that of the 1u2ta dynasty
Pathom u2 to 9o2 Buri and 9am2hun$
of 0ndia$ The ca2ital! or centre of the #vDravatM 1ingdom
must have been in the 2resent to4n of @a>hon Pathom$
But in the follo4ing! i$e$ the t4elfth! century B$%$ the
>ingdom e=tended u24ards ? firstly to the to4n of 9o2
Buri and then to the northern 2rovinces of Thailand$ .ne
evidence of this fact 4as that Nueen CDmadevM! 4ho 4as
a Mon of the #vDravatM 2eriod! became the ruler of the
to4n of aribhunCaya! or the 2resent to4n of 9am2hun
,some 7)) >ilometres north of Bang>o>- and had invited
+)) bhi>>hus! all 4ell'versed in the Canon! to 2reach
their doctrine to her 2eo2le$ This 4as one reason 4hy the
TheravDda Buddhism of #vDravatM had gained ground in
the northern 2rovinces of Thailand at that time$ ,0t 4as
also then in the 2ossession of the Thais evacuating from
Iunnan$- The Mons3 domination over the northern region
lasted for many centuries and inscri2tions in ancient
Mon characters can be found from the to4n of @a>hon
0n the fourteenth century B$%$ the Hen'9a >ingdom 4as
re2laced by the ancient 1hmer ,Cambodian- >ingdom!
4hich also e=2anded its territory into some 2arts of the
#vDravatM 1ingdom! 4ith the e=clusion of the latter3s
north and north'eastern 2rovinces$
T% ";LB0HAIA P%;0.#
#uring the time the #vDravatM >ingdom 4as still flourishing
there 4ere in the south of Thailand several states! t4o
of 4hich! as mentioned in the Chinese record! 4ere "iah'
Tho ,;ed %arth- and Phan Phan$ The former 4as situat
years$ %vidence of this may be found in that in the to4n
Bara'9in>! there is a roc> inscri2tion in "ans>rit characters
dated as far bac> as B$%$ (5(8 ,7(+ A$#$-! mentioning the
suEerainty of a "rMviCaya >ing$ Also! in the fifteenth cen
ed some4here near the state of "ai Buri! in the 6ederated
Malay "tates ,some archaeologists also confirm that this
state 4as some4here near the to4n of Madrid in Burma-$
0ts 2eo2le 2rofessed Buddhism$ The latter to4n 4as 4hat
is no4 "urat Thani in Thailand ,some :+) >ilometres
south of Bang>o>-$ 0ts 2eo2le 4ere said to have acce2ted
TheravDda Buddhism as their faith$ These states used to
have close communications 4ith the #vDravatM$ 0n the
t4elfth century B$%$ there arose in "umatra a "rMviCaya
>ingdom! 4hose dominating 2o4er and territory! e=tending
to the Malay Peninsula! 4as bordered by that
of the #vDravatM >ingdom$ 0n these states during this
time! ho4ever! "Dva>ayana Buddhism! according to the
Chinese missionary %'Ching3s record! 4as still flourishing!
since their rulers and 2eo2le firmly adhered to the
rules and the 2ractices of the doctrine$ But 4hen the
Pala dynasty of Magadha'Bengal began its rise to 2o4er!
MahDyDna Buddhism! es2ecially the MantarayDna sect!
4as energetically 2atroniEed! and since the country also
came into contact 4ith the eGually mighty >ingdom of
"rMviCaya! no4 in control of the southern seas and the
Malay Peninsula! the MahDyDna sect 4as acce2ted by the
"rMviCaya >ingdom as their faith for the ne=t five hundred
of @a>hon "i Thammarat! 4hich 4as then >no4n as Tam'
tury
B$%$! there 4as mentioned a great religious teacher
of Tibet! called #M2an>ara Atisa! 4ho for (* years had his
residence at the #hamma'1irti in "umatra$ @e=t to these
can be seen the Bihara of Borobudur in Hava! of 4hich
there is no4 no further Guestion regarding the greatness
of its constructor$ %s2ecially in Thailand! several 2laces
of 4orshi2! such as the 2agoda or Chedi enshrining the
Buddha relics at the to4n of Chaiya and the innermost
Chedi 4ithin the Ceylonese style Chedi at the to4n of
@a>hon "i Thammarat are! among many others! un'
deniable evidences of "rMviCaya influence accom2anied
by the MahDyDna Buddhism of those days$
These evidences! along 4ith several others! tell us that
there 4ere t4o 2eriods 4hen "rMviCaya influence 4as
s2read overseas to the land of 1am'Bhoo'Ha ,Cambodia-
and to her colonies in the 2resent Chao Phya ;iver territory$
The first 2eriod 4as in the thirteenth century B$%$!
4hereas the second one 4as in the middle of the si=teenth
century$ 1ing "uriya Baraman the 6irst ,B$%$ (+4:'(+&*-
of Cambodia 4as also of "rMviCaya lineage and this 4as
the reason 4hy MahDyDna culture once flourished in the
countries of Thailand and Cambodia from the thirteenth
century B$%$
T% 9.P BU;0 P%;0.#
The 2eriod of the fifteenth to the eighteenth century
B$%$! 4hen Cambodian influence 4as 2redominant in
Thailand! 4as called the 9o2 Buri 2eriod$ "ome of these
Cambodian >ings! ho4ever! 4ere Buddhists 4hile others
4ere Brahmanists$ As for the Buddhism then 2revailing!
there 4ere mentioned both TheravDda and MahDyDna/
the former not so ardently su22orted as the latter! since
north of Bang>o>-$ These 4ere all made according to the
belief of MantarayDna Buddhism! 4hich 4as later on the
breeding ground of a sort of Jblac>3 magic that 4as added
to the cor2us of Buddhism in neighbouring countries as
4ell as in Thailand$
most 1ings 4ere ins2ired by MahDyDna Buddhism! 4hich
had struc> firm roots in this soil since the 6u'@an 2eriod$
Though it 4as on the decline for some time during
the #vDravatM 2eriod! it 4as subseGuent to the decline
of the #vDravatM >ingdom that the MantarayDna sect of
the MahDyDna "chool 4as ado2ted from "rMviCaya and
Guic>ly became the dominating 2o4er in Cambodia and
in some 2arts of Thailand! such as in the central 2lains
and the north'eastern tableland$ The 4ell'>no4n roc>
tem2le at the to4n of Phimai ,on the north'eastern
tableland- bears evidence of the dominating 2o4er of
this MahDyDna sect$ This is su22osed to have been built
in the si=teenth century B$%$! 4hile the tri2le J2rang3 ,a
>ind of 2agoda- at 9o2 Buri 4as also >no4n to be dedicated
to MahDyDna Buddhism$ Besides! a countless number
of Buddha amulets 4ere found in several to4ns of
Thailand! such as in the to4n of @a>hon "i Thammarat
,some 8)) >ilometres south of Bang>o>-! 9o2 Buri!
"u2han Buri and "a4an>halo> ,some +)) >ilometres
Cha2ter Three
Buddhism 0n The Thai 1ingdom
Buddhism as a movement in Thailand had al4ays undergone
develo2ment and dealt 4ith various obstacles
according to the situation of the country that 2atroniEed
it$ Generally s2ea>ing! 4hen a country is 2eaceful and
safe from outside enemies! the Buddha light is aglo4 and
the study and 2ractice of Buddhism is al4ays encouraged
by the 2ublic as 4ell as by the >ing or rulers$ But 4hen
a country is in decline! although the s2irit of Buddhism
? the Buddha light 4ithin ? may still be shining in the
hearts of the 2eo2le! Buddhism as a movement is inevitably
more or less affected$ The teaching of the history of
Buddhism in Thailand therefore! is not 2ossible 4ithout
referring to the 2eriods 4hen each dynasty ruled over
the country and 4hen the ca2ital 4as moved generally
south4ard! for the sa>e of security and in search of a better!
more 2roductive land$
T% A0'9A. P%;0.#
The JAi'9ao3 >ingdom of the Thais! in the 2rovince of
Iunnan! so far as 4e learn from history! 4as founded in the
fifth century B$%$ and in the follo4ing century Buddhism
4as believed to have reached China$ Mean4hile! one of
the Thai >ings of the Ai'9ao! called 1hun 9uang Mao!
,there 4ere at that time several inde2endent tribes of the
Thais- 4as >no4n to have formally declared himself as
a Buddhist$ This 4as the first Thai ruler to ma>e himself
>no4n as an u2holder of Buddhism! 4hich 4as 2resumably
"Dva>ayDna rather than MahDyDnaA but 4hether or
not it 4as really the TheravDda school is still an unsettled
Guestion$ ,The "Dva>ayDna 4as ? according to its history
in PDli and "ans>rit te=ts ? subdivided into eighteen
smaller grou2s$-
T% @A@'CA. P%;0.#
To4ards the close of the seventh century B$%$ the Thais!
in constant conflict 4ith the Chinese! chose to migrate
south4ards to the 0ndo'China Peninsula$ Then there
arose a Thai 1ing 4hose name 4as Pi'lo>! 4ho founded
the @an'Chao 1ingdom! 4hich lasted five centuries! 4ith
its ca2ital at the to4n of Ta'9i'6oo$ 0t 4as during this time
that MahDyDna Buddhism! u2held by the Tang dynasty of
China! 4as also believed to have flourished in Thailand$
.ne of the tributes 2aid to a >ing of the "ung dynasty
4as >no4n to be a te=t of the BaCra PraCna'Paramita sutra
4hich! of course! 4as definitively of MahDyDna origin$
But in the follo4ing century ,the eighteenth- the @an'
Chao 1ingdom 4as overrun by 1ublai>han3s army$ This
4as the cause of further migration south4ard of the
free's2irited Thais and they conseGuently came into contact
4ith those of their com2atriots 4ho had 2reviously
settled in the 0ndo'China Peninsula$
T% C0A@G "A%@ P%;0.#
The Chiang "aen or Io'@o> ,(:th'*(st century B$%$- 4as
founded in the si=teenth century B$%$ by Thais migrating
from their Ai'9ao >ingdom$ They seemed! ho4ever! to
have at this time a more cosmo2olitan outloo> in their
religious beliefs! for 4hile some 4ere >no4n still to be
ardent su22orters of the Buddhism of their former >ingdom
,Ai'9ao-! others adhered strongly to the TheravDda
of the Mons! others to the MahDyDna of Cambodia and
still others to the MahDyDna of the @an'Chao >ingdom$
But in the course of time! some 2arts of the >ingdom
4ere under the suEerainty of the Burmese! 4ho had been
used to ado2ting and re'ado2ting the various faiths that
reached their land$ They! as 4ell as the Thais! first 2rofessed
the TheravDda Buddhism of the Mons and then
changed to the MantarayDna sect of the MahDyDna school!
4hich reached Burma from Bengal in 0ndia$ Then! in the
si=teenth century B$%$! 4hen 1ing Anoradha of Burma
re'ado2ted the former TheravDda as his faith! the seat of
Buddhism 4as at the to4n of Phu'1am ,or Pagan-! 4here
TheravDda Buddhism had had its golden days$ This led to
a misunderstanding by some historians! 4ho concluded
that the Buddhism then belonged to another system of
thought and 2ractice and therefore incorrectly named it
JTheravDda of the Pagan "tyle3$ 0n fact! it 4as none other
than the former "chool of the Mons! 4hich had once
been on the decline and 4as after4ards revived during
the great 1ing Anoradha3s reign$
#ue to the efforts of his mighty forces the north'4estern
2art of Thailand and some of the to4ns on the Chao
Phya ;iver 4ere also under his 2o4er$ The to4n of
@a>hon Pathom 4as also overrun during his reign$ Thus!
TheravDda Buddhism also gained ground in these 2arts
of the land! but o4ing to their being so accustomed to
their former 2ractices! MahDyDna Buddhism 4as still
firmly adhered to by those 4ho had once been under
Cambodian 2o4er$
T% 9A@1ABAM"A ,C%I9.@- P%;0.#
0n the seventeenth century B$%$ there reigned in Ceylon
a great >ing! 4hose name 4as Para>>amabahu$ Being
himself a devoted follo4er of the Buddha! he had dedicated
much of his 2ersonal 2ro2erty and his o4n ha22iness
to the 2romotion of Buddhism in his land$ is
uniGue achievement 4as that he had managed to unite
the bhi>>hus of various sects 4ho had some minor doctrinal
differences and also had them convene a Council of
4ell'versed Theras ,or %lders- for the sa>e of settling on
the contents of the three Bas>ets of the Buddhist Canon!
as had been done 2reviously in Ceylon and 0ndia$ #ue to
the success of this Council! the PDli language 4as once
again revised and 2roclaimed as the formal language for
the research and study of Buddhism$ is fame having
s2read far and 4ide to foreign lands! several Buddhist
countries! such as Burma and Thailand! then sent out
grou2s of bhi>>hus to further their study of Buddhism in
Ceylon$ "eeing 4ith their o4n eyes ho4 the Ceylonese
bhi>>hus 4ere 4ell'behaved and 4ell'grounded in their
as2ects of Ceylonese culture 4hich made no less an
im2ression u2on their 2eo2le than it had on themselves$
More young men left their homes for the homeless life of
time too> root in various countries! such as Burma! 9aos!
doctrinal beliefs! most of these bhi>>hus 4ere strongly
im2ressed and too> the o22ortunity to remain in Ceylon
to thoroughly study the Master3s teachings$ 6or this 2ur2ose
these foreign bhi>>hus 4ere re'ordained in accordance
4ith the rules and regulations of the Ceylonese
bhi>>hus$ .n their return! they brought to their homeland
those refined manners! 4ell'grounded beliefs and
a bhi>>hu and the Ceylonese religious culture from that
Cambodia and Thailand$
0n Thailand it 4as about the time of the "u>hothai Period
,B$%$ (8))- that the Ceylonese culture 4as ado2ted$ 0t is
believed that there 4ere also some Ceylonese bhi>>hus
accom2anying the Thai bhi>>hus on their home4ard Courney$
They must have landed first at the to4n of @a>hon
"i Thammarat ,some 8)) >m south of Bang>o>- and
heralded the ne4 culture there$ When! as before! their
fame 4as >no4n far and near! it later reached the to4n
of "u>hothai ,some +)) >m north of Bang>o>-! then the
ca2ital of Thailand$ The great 1ing ;am>amhaeng! being
himself a devout Buddhist! 4as delighted at the ne4s
and sent messengers to invite the grou2 of J9an>avamsa3
bhi>>hus to 2reach their doctrine at "u>hothai! 2romising
them every hel2 and convenience$ We learn from
inscri2tions that through these Ceylonese bhi>>hus from
@a>hon "i Thammarat he 4as also 4ell'versed in the
Buddhist Canon and 4hatever lessons in morality he
taught his 2eo2le! they 4ere al4ays bac>ed by his o4n
e=am2le$
Thus! 4ith the rise of Ceylonese Buddhist culture under
the devoted >ing3s 2atronage came the decline of the once
flourishing school of MahDyDna$ This 4as undoubtedly
due to doctrinal as 4ell as disci2linary differences in the
several maCor 2ractices and ideals$ The former TheravDda
school! not differing 4idely in s2irit and modes of 2ractice
held its ground for the time being! but finally had to
give 4ay and assimilate itself 4ith the more influential
9an>avamsa 2arty$
.bviously this movement bears a 2aramount and lasting
influence u2on the Buddhist disci2linary 2ractice
from then to the 2resent time$ .ne 2ractical evidence to
be seen even today is that around the U2osatha! or the
main shrine of several Aramas or tem2les! both in the
"u>hothai and the Cha>ri ,the 2resent dynasty- 2eriod
there can be found sets of t4o! or even three! boundary
stones set u2 4ithin an arched stone cano2y$ This 4as 2ossibly
because of an aversion on the 2art of the Ceylonese
bhi>>hus to 2erforming religious rites 4ithin the former
boundary stone 4hich! to them! might not have been correctly
built or formally erected in strict accordance 4ith
the disci2linary rules$ Therefore they had one! or even
t4o more! built and formally erected according to their
o4n standard of belief$ That most of the royal Aramas
or tem2les in Bang>o> today can be seen 4ith t4o or
three bloc>s of boundary stones is evidence of ho4 dee2'
rooted 4ere the establishment of 9an>avamsa ideals in
Thailand$
T% "U1.TA0 P%;0.#
The eighteenth century B$%$ sa4 the decline of
Cambodian 2o4er! 4hich 2aved the 4ay firstly for the
inde2endence of the Thais and then to the establishment
of the "u>hothai >ingdom by the free Thais under the
leadershi2 of Poh'1hun ,9ord or chief- 0ntrathit and Ban
Muang$ The 2eo2le of "u>hothai 2rofessed Buddhism!
both MahDyDna and TheravDda! 4hile those of the north'
east and of @a>hon "i Thammarat in the south! being inde2endent
of "u>hothai! adhered firmly to TheravDda$ 0n
the reign of the great 1ing ;am>amhaeng! third >ing of
the "u>hothai lineage! the >ingdom 4as greatly e=tended
as far north as the to4n of 9uang Phra Bang and as far
south as the Malay Peninsula$ 0n the %ast it 4as bordered
by the river Mae 1hong and in the 4est it anne=ed the
4hole of the Mon >ingdom$ The flood of "rMviCaya 2o4er
4as no4 ebbing! due to the do4n4ard 2ress of the Thais
together 4ith the u24ard 2ress of Hava$ And! Cust as
before! 4ith the ebbing a4ay of military 2o4er came the
decline of its acce2ted faith$ Thus! it 4as no4 the turn
of TheravDda to gain s2iritual 2o4er over the 2eo2le!
4hereas the MahDyDna sects of Cambodia and "rMviCaya!
having once risen to 2o4er together! 4ould no4 share
eGually their declining days$
@o4 that the 9an>avamsa Buddhism 4as 4ell 2atroniEed
by 1ing ;am>amhaeng of the "u>hothai dynasty! it
finally dominated the e=isting beliefs of the TheravDda
and MahDyDna$ "ans>rit! the language held sacred by the
MahDyanists! 4as accordingly re2laced by PDli! the sacred
language of the TheravDdins and the 9an>avamsa$ The
study of PDli 4as certainly at that time greatly enhanced
? so much so that one of the later >ings of the "u>hothai
dynasty! called Phya 9ithai! 4as counted among 4ell'
>no4n PDli "cholars as one 4ho 4as 4idely famed for
his e=2erience in Buddhist study and devotion to its 4ay
of life$ e had also crystalliEed his research into the form
of a boo> called! in Thai! Tri2hoom Phra ;uang! 4hich is
considered to be the earliest manuscri2t of Thailand$ 0ts
inde= and bibliogra2hy tell us ho4 e=tensive his research
4as and ho4 4ell'>no4n he 4as among Buddhist scholars
of that time$ 6rom a boo> by a lady called @o2hamas!
2resumably one of the lesser Gueens of the "u>hothai
>ings! there 4ere am2le evidences of ho4 Buddhism 4as
at that time flourishing ? both in study and in 2ractice$
.ne of the stone inscri2tions ,B$%$ (85+- from the reign
of the great 1ing ;am>amhaeng tells us further that
the Buddhist hierarchy of Ceylon 4as also ado2ted in
Thailand$ 0n another inscri2tion ,B$%$ (&)4- from the
reign of the later 1ing 9ithai of "u>hothai there 4as
mentioned a 2artriarch of Ceylon! MahD "4DmM! being
invited to be the 2artiarch MahD "angha ;DCa of Thailand$
Also in his reign it 4as recorded that the bhi>>hus 4ere
divided into t4o grou2s! viE$ the GDmavDsM ? those living
together 4ithin the to4ns ,or villages- and the
AraOOavDsM ? those living alone in the forest$ This system
must have originated from the t4o as2ects of the study of
Buddhism in the scri2tures! viE$ Ganthadhura ? the business
of learning ,or boo>'studying- and Bi2assanDdhura
? the business of 2ractising or meditating for the develo2ment
of 0nsight$ These t4o categories of bhi>>hus!
though not formally divided! may actually still be seen!
even in the 2resent time$
Throughout the "u>hothai 2eriod Buddhism had 2layed
a very im2ortant role as the foundation of culture! architecture
and Buddha image construction! some evidences
of 4hich may be seen in the e=Guisite 4or>smanshi2
dis2layed in the images of the Buddha! called HinaraC! in
the grand tem2le of Phitsanulo>! 4)) >ilometres north
of Bang>o> and Hinasri! in the tem2le of Pavaranivesa
in Bang>o>$ The star of the "u>hothai! ho4ever! had by
then risen for one hundred and t4enty years and from
that time it began to gradually fall! until the >ingdom
4as finally anne=ed to Ayutthaya$
T% C0A@G MA0 P%;0.#
While one of the Thai tribes of the Chao Phya ;iver 4as
founding the "u>hothai >ingdom! another tribe in the
north'4estern tableland! called 9annD! 4as also successful
in driving out the Mon influence from the river Ping$
0n the nineteenth century B$%$ 1ing Meng';ai! of the ancient
Chiang "an dynasty! 4as >no4n to have defeated
1ing Ie'Ba! the Mon >ing of the to4n of 9am2hun! and
later built his ca2ital at Chiang Mai$ #uring this time the
TheravDda Buddhism of Ceylon had been brought from
its flourishing states in the Mon country and in "u>hothai
to the north'4estern tableland! but 4as not able to ta>e
firm root there$ 0n the t4entieth century B$%$! through
the royal order of 1ing 1ue'@a! several 9an>avamsa
bhi>>hus! both from Moulmein ,Mau'Ta'Ma- and from
"u>hothai! 4ere invited to Chiang Mai ,7+) >m north
of Bang>o>- to 2reach their doctrine$ .f these bhi>>hus!
along 4ith their follo4ers one! named Ananda! 4as from
the to4n of Mau'Ta'Ma in the Mon country and the other!
called "umana! 4as from "u>hothai$
0n the follo4ing century ,B$%$ *)*)- under the aus2ices of
1ing Tilo>araC the Thirteenth of the Chiang Mai dynasty
and under the leadershi2 of #harmadinna Thera! a general
Council of Bhi>>hus! 4hich lasted one year! 4as convened
at the MahD Bodhivamsa BihDra$ Practically! this
4as the first Council held in Thailand and reflected the
intensive study of Buddhism during that time$ A collection
of PDli te=ts com2iled by the Theras of that glorious
age 4ere no4 2riEed by those 4ho 4ished to further their
research of Buddhism in the PDli language$ "ome of these
te=ts 4ere/ AbhidhammayoCanD! MPla>accDyanayoCanD!
BinayayoCanD! BessantaradM2anM and MangalatthadM2anM$
0n the follo4ing ,t4enty'second- century Chiang Mai 4as
ta>en by the Burmese and from that time on it became an
unha22y to4n! alternately torn by t4o su2erior 2o4ers!
i$e$ Burma to her north and the >ingdom of Ayutthaya to
her south$
T% AIUTTAIA P%;0.#
To4ards the close of the nineteenth century B$%$! 4hich
4itnessed the decline of the "u>hothai >ingdom! 1ing
U'thong of "u2hanna2hum! once under "u>hothai
domination! 2roclaimed his state as inde2endent of
"u>hothai 2o4er and built u2 his ca2ital at a to4n called
"i Ayutthaya! south of "u>hothai$ This >ingdom! 4hich
lasted for 4(( years! 4as ruled over by 55 >ings$
After more than four centuries com2rising the age of the
Ayutthaya >ingdom! TheravDda Buddhism in Thailand
seemed to have reached its Eenith of 2o2ularity$ Within
and 4ithout the city of Ayutthaya there 4ere scattered innumerable
tem2les and 2agodas! 4hich served as 2laces
of education! hos2itals and general meeting 2laces! thereby
e=erting a great influence on the s2iritual life of the
2eo2le$ Buddhist art! both in the field of architecture and
in Buddha image construction! flourished$ An illustrative
e=am2le of this fact may be seen today in the Tem2le
of the 6oot2rints at "araburi$ There 4as also a tradition!
4hich is still in 2ractice today! for every young Thai man
to be ordained at least once as a bhi>>hu$ "everal >ings!
including Phra Borom Trai 9o>anatha! the eighth >ing! in
follo4ing the e=am2le set by 1ing 9ithai of the "u>hothai
2eriod! tem2orarily renounced the throne to be ordained
as bhi>>hus$
#uring the reign of Phra Borom'1ote! the thirty'first >ing
of the Ayutthaya >ingdom! there reigned in Ceylon a >ing
named 1itti'"iri';aC'"ingha 4ho! being discouraged by
the decline of Buddhism in his island country and learning
that the Buddhism of Thailand 4as 2urer than that
of any other country! sent forth his religious embassy to
the Thai >ing as>ing! as a favour! for some Thai bhi>>hus
to revive the s2irit of TheravDda Buddhism! 4hich
had almost died out in his land$ This 4as a good occasion!
enabling Thailand to re2ay her debt to Ceylon and
the Benerable U2ali! together 4ith his follo4ers! 4as sent
to Ceylon$ Thus! the community of Ceylonese bhi>>hus
ordained then by the Thai bhi>>hus has ever since been
called U2ali'Bamsa or "iam'Bamsa$ 0t is a 4ell'>no4n
and highly revered sect in Ceylon$
The religious literature of Ayutthaya abounded in both
PDli and Thai languages! but most of it 4as most regrettably
destroyed 4hen the >ingdom 4as ruthlessly overrun
by the enemy in B$%$ *5() ,(7:7 A$#$-$
T% T.@ BU;0 P%;0.#
There is not much to say about Buddhism in the short'
lived Thon Buri 2eriod ,B$%$ *5()'*5*+ or (7:7'(78*
A$#$-$ #uring the 2relude of fifteen years! a greater 2art
of 4hich 4as occu2ied in driving out the enemy and
restoring the 2eaceful situation of the country! 4hat
could be done 4as merely a general revival of Buddhism
and the com2iling of ne4 te=ts and other measures for
the 2ro2agation of Buddhism$ #uring his reign 1ing
Thon Buri had several tem2les re2aired! monastic rules
settled! religious te=ts collected and the study and 2ractice
of Buddhism revived to some degree$ With regard
to such te=ts as the Tri2iFa>a! the Commentaries and
"ub'commentaries! 4hich had been destroyed by fire! he
had them borro4ed or co2ied from those of neighbouring
countries! such as Cambodia$ o4ever! it is safe to
say that TheravDda Buddhism ? in the form of that of
the Ayutthaya 2eriod ? still 2revailed in the Thon Buri
2eriod$
T% ;ATA@A1."0@ ,.; BA@G1.1- P%;0.#
1ing ;ama 0
The reign of 1ing ;ama 0 of the Cha>ri dynasty began
in the year B$%$ *5*+! 4ith the to4n of Bang>o> as its
ca2ital$ Although there 4ere some 4ars 4ith out4ard
enemies! he often managed to find time to encourage
the study and 2ractice of Buddhism$ @umerous tem2les!
both inside and outside the ca2ital! 4ere re2aired$ .f
these tem2les! the Hetuvana Bihara ,or Wat Pho! in the
vernacular-! 4hich ran>s among the most im2ortant!
had undergone seven years of re2air and the 4ell'>no4n
Wat'Phra'1eo ,Tem2le of the %merald Buddha-! 4hich is
regarded as the most im2ortant tem2le in Thailand! 4as
also built during his reign$ 6rom the deserted northern
2rovinces! such as from "u>hothai! a number of Buddha
images ,about t4o thousand in all- 4ere brought in order
to be 2reserved and enshrined in the U2osatha of various
tem2les in Bang>o>$
0n B$%$ *55( a Council of Bhi>>hus 4as convened for
the sa>e of ? as before ? settling on the contents of
the Tri2iFa>a and having those chosen 2assages 4ritten
do4n 4ith styluses in boo>s made of cory2ha 2alm
leaves$ "uch boo>s 4ere numbered 54+ in all! i$e$ 8) for
the Binaya! (:) for the "uttas! :( for the Abhidhamma
and +5 for the "addavisesa te=ts$ The Council! held at
the 2resent Wat Mahadhat under the chairmanshi2 of
a "u2reme Patriarch ,4hose name 4as "ri-! lasted five
months$ The 2artici2ants 4ere *(8 bhi>>hus! together
4ith 5* lay scholars$ This 4as the second council held in
Thailand$
;eligious literature during 1ing ;ama 03s reign 4as com2iled
both in PDli and in Thai$ .f these! one 4or> ? a PDli
treatise called "angitiyavamsa ? 4as 4ritten by "omdech
Phra Banarat of Hetuvana Tem2le$
1ing ;ama 00
1ing ;ama 00! formerly called Phra Buddha 9ert 9ah!
came to the throne in B$%$ *5+*$ Buddhist activities during
his time 4ere notable in sending a religious good4ill
mission grou2 to Ceylon and organiEing the research
and study of Buddhism$ 0t 4as during this time that
the course for studying Buddhism in PDli language 4as
divided into nine grades! such as had once been done
in the Ayutthaya 2eriod$ .ther activities included the
re2airing of e=isting tem2les and the building of ne4
ones$ The latter included the Prang of Wat Arun ,Tem2le
of the #a4n-! symbolic of Thailand for all foreigners$
1ing ;ama 000
Phra @ang 1lao! the third of the Cha>ri dynasty! succeeded
his father in B$%$ *5:7$ aving a natural bent for
architecture! besides being a 2ious >ing himself! he had
more tem2les built! both inside and outside Bang>o>$ The
tem2le of Hetuvana! in the reign of 1ing ;ama 0! became
a treasury of religious >no4ledge for Buddhist scholars
and the symbolic JPrang3 of Bang>o> 4as com2leted to
2erfection in his reign$ Also! t4o grou2s of good4ill
missionary bhi>>hus! one after the other! 4ere sent to
Ceylon$ is 2iety in Buddhism may be seen in his 2ioneer
underta>ing to translate the PDli Tri2iFa>a and some other
PDli te=ts into Thai$ o4ever! his reign came to an end
before this 4as com2leted$
0n B$%$ *57* there 4as a religious movement 4hich
mar>ed a cornerstone for the study and 2ractice of
Buddhism in Thailand ? the birth of the #hammayutta
grou2 of bhi>>hus$ This 4as due to Prince Mon>ut! the
1ing3s younger brother! 4ho had been ordained as a bhi>>hu
for *7 years$ Through this long 2eriod of seclusion he
4as endo4ed 4ith a thorough >no4ledge of the Buddhist
scri2tures! including the Tri2iFa>a! its commentaries! sub'
commentaries and other PDli te=ts as 4ell$ With such a
4ealth of >no4ledge! gained and digested as a result of
long and 2rofound thin>ing! he 4as able to distinguish
more clearly bet4een 4hat 4as right and 4hat 4as
4rong in the Master3s doctrine$ e then set about 2utting
into 2ractise 4hat 4as mentioned and regarded as
righteous in the Tri2iFa>a$ By doing so! he un4ittingly
Thammarat ,some 8)) >ilometres south of Bang>o>-$
made a great im2ression on those 4ho! ins2ired by his
conduct! too> it u2on themselves to follo4 his 4ay of
life$ This grou2 of 2eo2le! in course of time! gre4 bigger
and more 2o2ular! eventually becoming a se2arate
gathering of bhi>>hus called the #hammayutta grou2!
as distinct from the former grou2! 4hich 4as called the
MahDni>Dya$ Thus! since that time there have been t4o
grou2s of bhi>>hus in Thailand$ Besides being 2roficient
in religious >no4ledge! Prince Mon>ut also had a good
command of "ans>rit and %nglish! and his act of establishing
the #hammayutta grou2 of bhi>>hus might be
com2ared 4ith that of the Benerable ;ahula Thera 4ho!
through his e=em2lary mode of 2ractice! had founded the
9an>avamsa grou2 of bhi>>hus at the to4n of @a>hon "i
.ne e=am2le of Thai religious literature 4as the Pathom'
"om'Bodhi'1athD ,9ife of Buddha-! com2iled by the
"u2reme Patriarch Prince ParamanuCit Hinorasa of Hetu'
vana Tem2le$ .f the 4or>s in PDli one! called "imD
BicarDna ,Treatise on the "MmD! or boundary! of a main
shrine- and com2iled by Prince Mon>ut himself! has 4on
high res2ect in Ceylon$
1ing ;ama 0B
1ing ;ama 0B! or Prince Mon>ut! 4ho 4as obliged to disrobe
after his brother3s 2assing a4ay! came to the throne
in B$%$ *5&4$ e 4as formally >no4n as Phra Chom 1lao$
#uring his reign! bhi>>hus 4ere greatly encouraged in
their study and 2ractice of Buddhism! so that they 4ere
4ell'behaved as 4ell as 4ell'educated in the Buddha3s
doctrine$ "ome rules and regulations for the betterment
of the administration of the community of bhi>>hus as
a 4hole 4ere laid do4nA a number of religious good4ill
missions 4as sent forth to CeylonA and the community
of #hammayutta bhi>>hus 4as also established in
Cambodia$
@ever 4as the construction 4or> neglected$ The ;aC'Pra'
#it Tem2le! one of the most im2ortant tem2les in Bang>o>!
is evidence of this fact$ The greatest and highest chedi! or
2agoda! of @a>hon Pathom! called the Pathom Chedi ?
second to none in its design and decorations ? also bears
4itness to his constructive genius and serves to remind
the Thai 2eo2le of its historical im2ortance$
As a result of much earnest study in Buddhism there
4ere no4 more boo>s in the Thai language e=2ounding
the tenets of the Buddha3s doctrine$ This movement
o2ened u2 a ne4 trend of modern thought in its dissemination
of the #hamma to the 2eo2le on a broader scale!
instead of ? as formerly ? seeming more to mono2olise
it for the realiEation of a minority Jintelligentsia3$ .f the
PDli literature! a volume by the "u2reme Patriarch Prince
Pavares Bariyalong>orn! named "ugatavidatthividhDna
is the most im2ortant of its time$
1ing ;ama B
The reign of 1ing ;ama B! formerly called Phra Chula
Chom 1lao! began in the year B$%$ *4(( and lasted 4*
years$ e 4as also one of the fe4 monarchs 4ho tem2orarily
renounced his throne after his coronation in order
to be ordained as a bhi>>hu$ This 4as because most of
the Thai >ings since the Ayutthaya 2eriod 4ere customarily
ordained before the coronation day$
Being no less devoted to Buddhism than his 2redecessors!
he managed to found t4o Buddhist Universities 4ith the
aim of increasing the 2rogress and stability of Buddhist
education$
These t4o 4ere MahDma>uta ;DCa BidyDlaya and
Mahaculalong>orn ;aCa Bidyalaya! each of 4hich have
2layed a very im2ortant role in the field of Buddhist
study$ e also enacted a la4 concerning the administrative
system of the community of bhi>>hus! declaring that
the Buddhist Church should be a self'governing! holy
community! 4hile the state 4ould be the 2atron under
the direction and for the 4elfare of the Church$ Another
of the maCor construction 4or>s 4as Wat BenCamabo2hit!
4hich is 4ell'>no4n among foreigners for its im2ressive
Buddha image in the U2osatha$
0n B$%$ *45( a Council of Bhi>>hus! under the chairmanshi2
of the "u2reme Patriarch Prince Pavares
Bariyalong>orn! 4as held for the 2ur2ose of transliterating
the e=isting Tri2iFa>a from the 2alm'leaf boo>s
4ith their Cambodian characters to 2rinted boo>s using
Thai characters$ This reGuired 5& 2rinted volumes for
each set of the entire Tri2iFa>a$ Besides the Message
itself! some Commentaries and other PDli te=ts 4ere also
transliterated from Cambodian to Thai characters and
then 2rinted in the form of 2a2er boo>s$
.ne of the >ing3s elements of religious success! ho4ever!
undoubtedly comes from the Eealous efforts of one of his
great hel2ers$ This 4as none other than his o4n half'
brother! the "u2reme Patriarch Prince BaCiraODnavarorasa!
4ho had a 2rofound >no4ledge of %nglish as 4ell as PDli
and "ans>rit$ Thus! by virtue of his ability and his high
2osition ,as the >ing3s brother and as chief of the 4hole
community of bhi>>hus- the theoretical and 2ractical
sides of Buddhism under the far'sighted and able 2atriarch
4ere greatly encouraged$ Most of his noble 4or>s
are even no4 studied by the 2ublic as 4ell as by students!
and it is no overstatement to say that he blaEed a trail for
modern thought in the study and 2ractice of Buddhism$
0n B$%$ *45( ,(8&4- the MahDma>uta ;DCa BidyDlaya!
one of the t4o Buddhist Universities! 2ublished a religious
2eriodical! called #harma Ca>shu! 4hich has no4
reached its 8:th anniversary and is! therefore! the oldest
and most long'lived religious 2eriodical in Thailand$
1ing ;ama B0
1ing ;ama B0! the 2oet and 2hiloso2her formally >no4n
as Phra Mon>ut 1lao! ascended the throne in B$%$ *4+5
,(&()-$ 0n order to imbue the s2irit of Buddhism into the
minds of his citiEens 4ithout any distinction of 2osition!
2rofession or se=! he organiEed a ne4 branch of Buddhist
studies in the Thai language$ This 4as successfully done
because there had been several te=ts on Buddhism com2iled
in the reign of his royal father! together 4ith many
4riters during his o4n reign ,mostly by the "u2reme
Patriarch Prince BaCiraODnavarorasa-$ e himself never
neglected to do so! and thus there 4ere 4ritten many
religious boo>s 4hich 4ere both instructive and understandable
by all$ is 4ealth of religious literature
included such boo>s as Addresses to "couts and What did
the Buddha ;ealiEeQ "o it could be said that the study of
Buddhism 4as no4 accessible to all! 4hether they >ne4
PDli or not! 4hether they 4anted to study it for a long time
or 4ithin a limited 2eriod of time and 4hether they 4ere
male or female$ 6or those 4ith a limited time for studying!
it 4as advised that they should study Buddhism from the
te=ts 4ritten in Thai$ 0f they 4ere ordained as a bhi>>hu
or sDmanera ,novice-! they 4ere called J@a> #hamma3
,#ham'mi>o ? the #hamma student-$ The ,almost- same
course for lay men or 4omen 4as called J#hamma'"u>sa3
? ,#hamma'"i>>ha ? #hamma student-$
As regards the transliteration 4or> done in the reign of
1ing ;ama B! more commentaries! sub'commentaries!
TM>D! and other PDli 4or>s 4ere transliterated during his
reign$
1ing ;ama B00
Phra Po> 1lao! or 1ing ;ama B00! came to the throne
in B$%$ *4:8 ,(&*5-$ Besides 2reserving all the movements
for the 2romotion of Buddhism as 1ing ;ama B0
had done! he also had a Council of Bhi>>hus convened
under the chairmanshi2 of the "u2reme Patriarch Prince
Hinavara "irivatthana! for the sa>e of revising and chec>ing
the contents of the 5& Tri2iFa>a volumes 2rinted
in the reign of 1ing ;ama B 4ith the Tri2iFa>as from
Ceylon! Burma! %uro2e and Cambodia$ Then a re2rint
4as done$ This time the contents 4ere divided into 4+
volumes! of 4hich 8 4ere the Binaya! *+ the "uttanta
and (* 4ere Abhidhamma$ All these 4ere 2rinted in B$%$
*4() ,(&*7-$ This ne4 set of Tri2iFa>a 4as called the
"iam';ath %dition$
1ing ;ama B000
1ing ;ama B000! or 1ing Ananda Mahidol! succeeded 1ing
;ama B00 in the year B$%$ *477 ,(&54-$ The administrative
system for the community of bhi>>hus 4as altered
during this time in com2liance 4ith that for the "tate!
so that there 4ere ecclesiastical ministers and a 2rime
minister$ More of this alteration 4ill be dealt 4ith under
the heading JAdministrative "ystem for the Community
of Thai Bhi>>hus3 in the follo4ing 2ages$
.f the events 4orth mentioning! one 4as the construction
of Wat Phra "ri Mahadhat by the Government and
another 4as the study of Buddhism! 4hich became more
2o2ular in neighbouring lands! such as in the 6ederated
Malay "tates and "inga2ore$
1ing ;ama 0R
The reign of 1ing ;ama 0R! formally called 1ing Bhumibol!
began in B$%$ *48& ,(&4:-$
A s2ecial hos2ital for bhi>>hus 4as built and t4o Buddhist
universities! in the real sense of university! 4ere established$
These t4o are Mahama>uta University! situated
in the tem2le of Bovaranives! o2ened in B$%$ *48& ,(&4:-!
and Mahachulalong>orn University! situated in the tem2le
of Mahadhat! o2ened in B$%$ *4&) ,(&47-$ These t4o
Buddhist universities are actually managed by bhi>>hus!
4ith a subsidy from the Government and contributions
from the 2ublic$ Also studying in these universities are
bhi>>hus from neighbouring countries such as 9aos and
Cambodia$ U2 to the 2resent day there have been several
grou2s of graduated students$ This is a good omen for
Buddhism in this age of trouble and turmoil$
0n B$%$ *4&& ,(&+:- 1ing Bhumibol tem2orarily renounced
the throne for the 2ur2ose of ordination$ #uring
this 2eriod as a bhi>>hu he attentively studied Buddhism
in its theoretical and 2ractical sides$ This moved the 2eo2le
to a general a22reciation and reCoicing and on this
occasion there 4as also an amnesty of many 2risoners$
The "u2reme Patriarch 4as the Prece2tor ,U2aCCDya- in
this royal ceremony of ordination$
MAKIK@A BU##0"M 0@ T%
;ATA@A1."0@ ,.; BA@G1.1- P%;0.#
MahDyDna Buddhism might have theoretically or nominally
been lost from Thailand in the eighteenth century
B$%$! but all through this time some of its ideals have
been adhered to 2ractically and 4ith some degree of
sincerity by the general 2ublic$ The general belief that
everybody is or can be a Buddha and that the >ing is a
Boddhisatva ,or future Buddha- ? including the efficacy
of charms and amulets that ma>e a believer invulnerable
to 4ea2ons and dangers and misfortunes ? are evidence
that the s2irit of MahDyDna still has some influence on
the minds of the 2eo2le$
MahDyDna Buddhism came into Thailand for the first
time 4ith the MantrayDna sect$ Then! for the second
time! MahDyDna 4as introduced during the reign of
1ing Thon Buri in the ;atana>osin 2eriod by refugees
from Bietnam or Annam$ .4ing to a state of revolution
in their country there 4ere many noblemen and 2eo2le
4ho 4ere immigrants from Annam$ They later built a
tem2le of their o4n$ With a second 4ave of immigrants!
t4o more Annam tem2les 4ere built in Bang>o>$ 0n the
reign of 1ing ;ama 000! three more tem2les of Annam
Buddhism! one in Bang>o> and t4o in the country! 4ere
built by a third grou2 of immigrants$
0n the reign of 1ing ;ama B there came from China a
Chinese bhi>>hu 4ho later became very 2o2ular among
Thailand3s ethnic Chinese$ e built t4o Chinese tem2les!
one in the countryside and the other in Bang>o>! 4hich
4as called! in Chinese! 9eng @ei Iee! or Wat Mang 1on
1amalavas! 4hich is the biggest MahDyDna tem2le in
Thailand$ When ecclesiastical titles 4ere given to the
Chinese and Annam bhi>>hus! he 4as one of those 4ho
4as offered an honourable title$ 0t should be noted! ho4ever!
that MahDyDna Buddhism in Thailand! introduced
by the Chinese and the Annam bhi>>hus! belonged to
the "u>hDvati sect$
Another 2rogressive ste2 of Chinese Buddhists during
this reign 4as the building of another tem2le of their
o4n ? the first tem2le in Thailand that! due to the 2resence
of "MmD ,formal boundary mar>s as 2rescibed in
the Binaya or Boo> of #isci2line-! can be used as a 2lace
4herein to 2erform the religious rite of ordination$ This
eliminated one of the 2revious 2roblems of the reGuirement
for a Chinese bhi>>hu to be ordained from China$
0n addition to this there 4ere also many Buddhist associations
founded by the Chinese Buddhists for the 2ur2ose
of 2ro2agating their MahDyDna doctrine$ @evertheless!
their 2ro2agation 4as 2ractically restricted to their fello4'
countrymen$ This 4as 2ossibly because the MahDyDna
bhi>>hus are generally more rela=ed in their behaviour
and less educated in their study$
".M% P;.PAGAT0.@ ACT0B0T0%"
0t has been traditional for every 4at or tem2le in Thailand
to arrange for the delivery of a sermon four times a month$
This is done on the Buddhist holy days called! in Thai!
Wan Phra 4hich! calculated from the lunar calendar! fall
on full'moon day! the half'moon days ,of the 4a=ing
moon and the 4aning moon- and the day before ne4
moon day$ 0n addition to this there 4as later arranged a
sermon on "unday 4hich! li>e those on the four holy days!
4as broadcast from various radio stations$ The days of
the Buddhist events! such as Bisa>ha #ay! MDgha or All
"aints3 day and the day of ;ains ;etreat! are 2roclaimed
official holidays$ .n these days there is no >illing 4hatsoever
in any slaughter'house$ There is also a de2artment
of religious affairs 4hich is res2onsible for the 4elfare of
bhi>>hus and for the u2holding of Buddhism ,and other
religions-! for 4hich 2ur2ose an annual subsidy from the
Government is given$ Bhi>>hus 4ho are 4ell versed in
the study and 2ractice of Buddhism are offered a noble
title by the >ing! according to their ability! and are also
given some financial hel2 by the government$
Practically every as2ect of life reGuires a Buddhist cere'
mony or observance in one 4ay or another$ Birth! marriage!
death and many other occasions in an individual3s
life! as 4ell as state ceremonies! often reGuire the 2artici2ation
of bhi>>hus by chanting! delivering a sermon or
in some other 4ay$ 0n every school! before beginning the
morning lessons the 2u2ils say their 2rayer to the Tri2le
Gem ,i$e$ the Buddha! the #hamma and the "angha-! and
the life of Buddha and his doctrine are among the com2ulsory
subCects in the school curriculum$ Also! for a long
time there has been a tradition that every Thai youth
must be ordained once as a bhi>>hu for a Bassa ,a rainy
season! i$e$ three months-$ 0t is all the better for him if he
can remain a bhi>>hu for longer than that ? even for the
rest of his life$
At 2resent there are several Buddhist associations under
the management of devoted lay adherents$ "ome of these
are the Buddhist Association and the Ioung Buddhist
Association of Thailand! both 4ith affliated societies in
almost every to4n in the country$ By the efforts of these
associations 2rogrammes for a lecture! tal> or discussion
on the #hamma are arranged for the 2ublic at regular
intervals! in addition to the 2ublication of their o4n
2eriodical$
Thus it is an undeniable fact that the everyday life of a
Thai! from the cradle to the grave! so to s2ea>! together
4ith his arts and crafts! literature! culture and other elements
of his life! are all based u2on and moulded by one
common factor ? the s2irit of Buddhism$
A#M0@0"T;AT0.@ .6 T% BU##0"T CU;C
0n Thailand! before (&:* the head of the Buddhist Church
4as the "u2reme Patriarch$ The e=ecutive 2o4er 4as
vested in the Council of %cclesiastical Ministers! 4hich
to a great e=tent corres2onded to the Cabinet Council of
the "tate$ 6or this Council there 4ere () %cclesiastical
Ministers! including the "angha @aya>a ,%cclesiastical
Premier-! four %cclesiastical Ministers for Administration!
Pro2agation! %ducation and Public Welfare! and four
%cclesiastical #e2uty Ministers$ The rest 4ere %cclesiast'
ical Ministers 4ithout 2ortfolio$ This %cclesiastical Coun'
cil 4as com2osed of 4+ bhi>>hu members$
The "tate! so far as the administration of the Church 4as
concerned! 4as divided into nine main regions! each
4ith its o4n %cclesiastical igh Commissioner and his
assistantA something li>e the "tate igh Commissioner
or Governor'general$ %ach region 4as further sub'
divided into 2rovinces! each 4ith its o4n leading bhi>>hu!
%cclesiastical Commissioner or Governor 4ith his
assistant$ Then there 4as a board of 2rovincial committees!
along 4ith the board of 2rovincial Cudges$ %ach
2rovince 4as divided into several Am2hoe ,or districts-!
4hich in turn 4ere subdivided into several Tam'bon
Communes$ 6or each Am2hoe and Tam'bon there 4as
again a chief! together 4ith his assistant and board of
the Am2hoe or Tam'bon committee$ These administrative
agents 4ere all bhi>>hus$
"ince (&:*! ho4ever! they have been under the administration
of the Council of %lders! 2resided over by the
"u2reme Patriarch$
There 4ere several grades of ecclesiastical titles or ran>$
0n all of Thailand the estimated number of Buddhist
Tem2les ,of the TheravDda "chool- 4as *)!&44A 4hereas
that of students of Buddhism! laity as 4ell as bhi>>hus!
4as (84!45:$ Bhi>>hus ,including sDmaneras! or novices-
numbered some *))!)))$ There 4ere (* MahDyDna
tem2les in B$%$ *+)) ,(&+7-$
T% TW%@TI'606T BU##0"T C%@TU;I
.n the aus2icious occasion of the t4enty'fifth century
B$%$! Thailand has organiEed a nation'4ide celebration
from (*th'(8th May in commemoration of
one of greatest events for all Buddhists$ Thus! for the
glory of the longevity of Buddhism in s2ite of undermining
influences! and for the sa>e of sho4ing the
4orld ho4 Thailand has firmly u2held Buddhism
and ho4 much the Thai 2eo2le are im2ressed by
the Master3s teaching! there has been allocated as
a sanctuary a 2iece of land! to be called Buddha'
Monthon ,Buddha3s domain-! 4herein is erected a
standing Buddha image *!+)) in$ in height$ 0n addition
to this! the 4hole Tri2iFa>a! or Three Bas>ets! of
the Buddhist Canon has been translated into ThaiA
tem2les and 2laces of 4orshi2 all over the land are
being re2airedA *!+)) 2ersons are to be ordained
as bhi>>hus! and an Amnesty Act has been 2assedA
Buddhist activities! both on the 2art of bhi>>hus and
laity! such as those of the various Buddhist societies!
are also being e=hibited to the 2ublicA Buddhist literature
and 2ieces of art 4ill be dis2layed! and 4ithin
the tem2orary 2avillion in the midst of the Phra
Meru Grounds! sermons are to be delivered! Parittas
,instructive 2assages from the "acred Boo>s- chanted
and food 2resented to *!+)) bhi>>hus each day
throughout the seven'day celebration$ These are to
be 2resided over by their MaCesties the 1ing and the
Nueen$
,from the boo>let 2ublished by the Mahama>ut Buddhist
University in commemoration of the *!+))th anniversary
of Buddhism$-
Cha2ter 6our
The *+th Buddhist Century Celebration 0n
Thailand ,(&+7 A$#$-
The follo4ing are the details of the celebration of the
*+th Buddhist Century! announced by the .rganiEing
Committee/
The Celebration 4ill be held for seven days from "unday!
May (* to "aturday! May (8! B$%$ *+)) at Phra Meru
Grounds$
The festival consists of t4o categories of activities as
follo4s/
0 Ceremonies and ;ites$
a A nation'4ide decoration and illumination of tem2les
and government offices$ Commercial firms
and 2rivate individuals are also invited to 2artici2ate
in by dec>ing out their 2remises and houses
for the 4hole 2eriod of the celebration$
b .bservance of the five or eight Buddhist Prece2ts
for the 4hole 2eriod of the celebration$ The 4hole
Buddhist 2o2ulation is urged to strictly observe
either the five or the eight Buddhist Prece2ts
throughout the oly 4ee>$ Before this 2eriod the
festival boo>lets containing an e=2lanation of
the meaning and im2ortance of the "ila 4ill be
distributed$
c Mass .rdination of *!+)) men on May (* and celebration
of the ordination on May (8$
d Com2etition of dra4ings bearing on 9ord Buddha3s
life story$
e 6lo4er arrangement and Buddhist altar arrangement
contest$
f Buddhist Art and literature dis2lay$
g #is2lay of various versions of the Tri2iFa>a and
commentaries$
h Barious forms of entertainment lasting for seven
days$ "2ecial ;adio Broadcasting and television
2rogrammes devoted to religious events$
i Before'noon food offering to *!+)) mon>s for three
consecutive days$
C 0ssue of a commemorative medal$
> 0ssue of a commemorative 2ostage stam2$
l Casting of Buddha images re2resenting the re2licas
of the Wal>ing Buddha to be installed at the
Buddhist Precinct$ These images 4ill be distributed
to various 2rovinces and am2hoes$
m 0nvitation to re2resentatives of all the Buddhist
countries! organiEations and associations to 2artici2ate
in the celebration$ The invitations 4ere sent
out four months earlier$
;eGuest of massages from the heads of Buddhist
countries and from the heads of the "angha in
such countries$
n A nation'4ide flourish of drums! gongs! bells! sirens
and gun salute at :$)) hours on the Bisa>ha #ay!
May (5$ This is to be follo4ed by a mass ta>ing
of the vo4 to observe the eight Prece2ts! chanting!
and dedication of the merits to all$ All these rites
4ill also be broadcast$
0n the afternoon there is to be a motorcar 2rocession
of floats de2icting the various e2isodes
of 9ord Buddha3s life story$ The 2rocession starts
from the Ministry of Culture and end at Phra Meru
Ground$
Mean4hile ;oyal Thai Air 6orce aircraft 4ill dro2
2o22ed'rice and flo4ers$
At Phra Meru Ground a re2lica of the Wal>ing
Buddha at the Buddhist Precinct is to be installed
for 2ublic 4orshi2 and a ceremonial 2avillion set
u2 4ith seating ca2acity for ()!)))$
After the 2rocession has arrived at the ceremonial
2avillion there is to be a recital of religious stanEas
follo4ed by the reading of messages from the
various heads of states and the "anghas of various
Buddhist countries$
o A 4ater 2rocession on May (4$
2 #aily administering of the Buddhist Prece2ts and
recital of religious stanEas in 4hich *!+)) servicemen
from the three armed forces! 2olicemen! government
officials! students and members of the
2ublic 4ill daily 2artici2ate$
At night there is to be a ceremony of circumambulation
4ith candles around the 2residing image
and a fire4or>s dis2lay$
G ;oyal 2ardon to 2risoners$
r Promulgation of the Act fi=ing certain forests as
4ild animal sanctuaries and 2rohibiting shooting
of game and fishing on tem2le grounds$
s @ation'4ide abstinence! and abstention from the
ta>ing of animals3 lives! from May (* to May (4$
t .fficial holidays from May (* to (4$
00 Construction and ;estoration "chemes$
a ;estoration of (+ Buddhist monuments! viE$ The
Great "tu2a at @a>hon Pathom! the stu2as at
@a>hon "i Thammarat! 9am2hun! #oisuthe2
Chiang Mai! @a>hon Phanom! "a>on @a>hon!
"amut Pra>an! at Pra2rang tem2le and Am2hoe
Muang! "u>hothai! the 6oot2rint "araburi! the
Buddha HinaraC image at Phitsanulo>! the Mong>on
Bo2it image at Ayutthaya! the Tem2le of the
%merald Buddha and the Bhu>ho4 Tong ,Golden
Mount- in Bang>o>$
b Construction of a Buddhist Precinct$
c .2ening of 2ublic utilities and services such as
dams! bridges! 2o4er and 4ater su22ly 2lants! hos2ital
and schools$
PA;T TW./
BU##0"T %#UCAT0.@ 0@ TA09A@#
0ntroduction
The follo4ing history of Buddhism sho4s the evolution
of Buddhist education on the 2art of bhi>>hus in
Thailand! from the "u>hothai 2eriod ,B$%$ (8)) or (*+(
A$#$- to the 2resent time$ 0t is meant also to include other
outstanding activities dedicated to the s2reading of the
Buddha3s doctrine or conducive to its study and 2ractice$
The earlier historical accounts 4ill! e=ce2t 4hen closely
related to those occurring here! be omitted! as there have
been already a number of volumes com2iled for this
2ur2ose$
As a matter of fact! the Buddha realiEed that education is
an indis2ensable adCunct to the 2rogress both of the state
and the religious grou2! being the only element by 4hich
a 2erson3s talent may be develo2ed and his 4or> more
effectively accom2lished$ Within the .rder of "angha
he a22lauded the Benerable ;ahula for the latter3s dee2
yearning for study$ To 4hat e=tent he em2hasiEed the
im2ortance of learning may be seen in the follo4ing
stanEa/
@o ce assa sa>D buddhi vinayo vD susi>>hito vane
andhamahiso va careyya bahu>o Cano$
Without Sthe 2rinci2les ofT learning and disci2line!
4ell'digested! many 2eo2le 4ould be li>e a blind bull
4andering Shel2lesslyT in the forest$
6rom various sources of documentary evidence in the
PDli Canon it may be assumed that Buddhist education
in the time of the Buddha 4as sim2ly the immediate embodiment
of the Buddha3s instruction into the daily life of
a disci2le! 4hether he be a bhi>>hu or a layman$
9ater! 4ith the com2ilations of sub'commentaries and
several other additional te=ts! the boo>'study! as o22osed
to the 2ractice! 4as inevitably 4idened in sco2e
and volume$ We therefore often find in later com2ilations
such sentences as JBhi>>hus generally study the PDli
,original Message- together 4ith the Commentaries$3 0n
another sense! the study of Buddhism comes under t4o
distinct courses! viE$ the duty of boo>'learning! called in
PDli Ganthadhura! and the duty of 0nsight'2ractice! or
Bi2assanadhura in the PDli$
6ollo4ing are e=tracts from "ection .ne of the ;eadings!
by $;$$ Prince #amrong ;aCanubhab! ,2ages 48*'48&-
4hich tell of the above'mentioned facts and give other
useful information about Buddhist education in ancient
times$
UThe bhi>>hus3 and novices3 ty2e of learning has
from the beginning been divided into t4o >inds! viE$
Ganthadhura! 4hich means the memoriEing of the
Buddha3s doctrine! including both the disci2linary
2arts and those of the "ermons! 4hich 4ere meant
for individual! secluded 2ractice$ After the 2assing
a4ay of the Buddha the oly #isci2les called a general
meeting ,"ynod-! 4herein the su22osed 48!)))
units ,#hamma>handha- of the Buddha3s teachings
4ere classified under three headings or Bas>ets
,Pita>a- namely Binaya2ita>a ? the Bas>et or collection
of #isci2line! "uttanta2ita>a ? the Bas>et or collection
of #iscourses and Abhidhamma2ita>a ? the
Bas>et or collection of Meta2hysics$ These three are
called Tri2iFa>a ,the Three Bas>ets- and are henceforth
the fundamentals of Buddhist te=ts$
UThis Tri2iFa>a 4as originally in PDli! the vernacular
language of the central 2rovinces! 4herein the ,first-
Council ,"ynod- too> 2lace$ But 4hen Buddhism
4as later introduced into foreign lands! the Guestion
of language 2osed a difficulty in understanding
and memoriEing$ The northern countries! such as
Tibet and China! 2referring conveniency managed
to translate PDli into their o4n language to attract
more 2eo2le and did not bother to refer to the original
again$ This resulted in the gradual decline in! and
finally the total disa22earance of the im2ortance of
the PDli "cri2tures$ ence the various modifications
and additions in northern Buddhism$ The southern
countries! ho4ever! such as Ceylon! Burma! Mons!
Thailand! 9aos and 1hmer! being more conservative!
tried to 2reserve the Message in its original form and
too> 2ains to study the PDli language for the sa>e
of acGuiring a first'hand >no4ledge of the Buddha3s
doctrine$ ence the 2ristine 2urity of the Message in
the "outhern "chool$
U;ealiEing ho4 indis2ensable the study of PDli is for
the first'hand >no4ledge of the Message! 4ith conseGuent
right understanding! right 2ractice and an unbro>en
2rogress of Buddhism! Thai monarchs have
from the olden days! as the im2erial u2holders of
the faith! given full su22ort to Buddhist education by
a22ointing 4ell'versed bhi>>hus to high offices and
graciously acce2ting them under royal 2atronage$
This gave rise to a system of e=amination by 4hich to
test the level of >no4ledge of each bhi>>hu$ 0f a student
successfully 2assed a test he 4as given the title
of Parien or! in informal language! a MahD$ When
he later reached the 2rescribed 2eriod to become an
%lder he 4ould be besto4ed an ecclesiastical title
and ran> according to his ability and a2titude$
UBut in the early stages the study of the PDli Message
4as not yet systematically organiEed$ Generally! the
contents of the Tri2iFa>a 4ere committed to memory
and then revised and e=amined se2arately by each
teacher$ This resulted in a lac> of uniformity and
standardiEation in Buddhist education$ %ach teacher
in each tem2le being free to 2rovide education for
his disci2les in his o4n 4ay and according to his
o4n li>ing meant that some 2laces might s2ecialiEe
in some Bas>ets or collections! 4hereas others could
also concentrate in other collections and still others
might ta>e 2ains to study the 4hole contents$ "uch
4as the situation of Buddhist education in "u>hothai
until the arrival of Ceylonese Buddhism in the (8th
century B$%$V
Cha2ter .ne
Ceylonese Buddhism 0n Thailand
The 1ingdom of Thailand is a 2lace 4here Buddhism of
various schools and sects arrived in successive 2eriods$
This began 4ith the time of Aso>a 4ho! after the third
Council at the to4n of PDtali2utta sent forth his religious
missions to various lands$ .f the nine 2ioneering
grou2s of that time! the one that came to Thailand 4as
led by the Benerables "ona and Uttara$ 6rom that time
on Buddhism! together 4ith the 2olitical situation of the
country 4ith 4hich it 4as closely connected! under4ent
several u2heavals and ordeals! sometimes succumbing to
them and at other times successfully overcoming them$
6ollo4ing are the vie4s of some scholars concerning the
state of affairs before the influ= of Ceylonese Buddhism
into "u>hothai$
,(- 6rom "ummary of the istory of Thai Culture! an
article by $;$$ Prince Phidyalabha a22earing in
the monthly magaEine "ila2a>orn ,The 6ine Arts-!
Bolume 8! @o$ (! 4e have learned that the "iamese
are 2art of the greater Thai race! 4hose habitat covered
the territory e=tending from the river Iangtse
to the south'eastern sea of Asia$ %=ce2t in Burma!
1hmer and in some scattered grou2s of the aborigi
nal inhabitants of the land! the maCority of the 2eo2le
4ere geneologically of the Thai race 4ith se2arate rulers
and different 4ays of administration$ The culture
of these grou2s had in the course of time evolved into
at least three different systems$ 0n south China and
in Bietnam they acce2ted the culture of MahDyDna
Buddhism and ConfucianismA the "iamese grou2 and
9aos! together 4ith the Burmese! Mon and 1hmer!
4ere influenced by TheravDda cultureA 4hereas their
"iamese brethren in the south of the 2eninsula too>
to the 0slamic 4ay of life$
UThe original Thai race had its land in the >ingdom
of @an'Chao ? 4hich is no4 in China ? 4ith the
ca2ital at the to4n of Talifoo$ The >ingdom thrived
from the (*th to the (4th centuries B$%$ With more
contact 4ith the Chinese and the conseGuent intermarriage
4ith the reigning Tang dynasty! it 4as
finally assimilated by the @guan dynasty of China
to4ards the end of the eighteenth Buddhist century$
This! ho4ever! did not ta>e 2lace before a series of
voluntary migrations by the Thai to the south$ These
2eo2le 4ere the ancestors of the Thai Iai ,Great Thai-
nation! the 9ao and the "iamese$ The land into 4hich
they migrated south4ards 4as mostly the d4elling'
2lace of the Mon and 1hmer$ The oldest reliable
source of information concerning this fact dates bac>
to the eighteenth century B$%$ 6rom this 4e learn
that 1ing Meng ;ai! having crossed the river 1hong!
established several sites as 2art of his >ingdom! the
most im2ortant of 4hich 4as the to4n of Chiang Mai
timate terms 4ith one another$
on one of the tributaries of the Chao Phya$ 6urther
north there 4as another 2lace! called Phayao! built
by 1ing @gam Muang$ Also! further south from
Chiang Mai! on the Iom tributary! 4hen the 1hmer
influence 4as driven out there arose another Thai
state founded by 1ing "ri 0ntharathit! 4hose mighty
son! ;am>amhaeng! made it >no4n far and 4ide for
centuries$ This 4as called "risaCCanalaya "u>hothai!
or sim2ly "u>hothai in general usage$ These three
inde2endent states! 4ith similar culture and faith! i$e$
TheravDda Buddhism! are >no4n to have been on in
U0t is not definitely >no4n! ho4ever! 4hat 4as the
basis of Thai culture before the founding of the three
>ingdoms$ As far as can be traced bac>! they most
li>ely 2rofessed Buddhism! 4ith! of course! the remnants
of the aboriginal faith of animism$ With the later
influ= of Ceylonese TheravDda Buddhism in addition
to the inherited Buddhism of 1ing Bhu>am! the former
4as firmly established by 1ing ;am>amhaeng
in B$%$ (8)) in the "u>hothai 1ingdom! from 4hich
it after4ards s2read to Chiang Mai$V
,*- 6rom Phra ;uang! a boo> by $;$$ Prince
#amrong ;aCDnubhab! a 2assage reads/
U#uring the 1hmer domination the Thais 2rofessed
MahDyDna Buddhism! 4hich had e=tended from the
to4n of "ri BiCai in "umatra$ Then! 4ith the restor'
ation of TheravDda Buddhism in Ceylon by 1ing
Para>>amabahu! the to4n of @a>hon "i Thammarat
in the south 4as the first to acce2t it after the Mon$
0t 4as 4hen the "u>hothai 1ingdom 4as e=tended
to that city that 1ing ;am>amhaeng learned of
this ha22ening and! being im2ressed by its 4ay of
life! brought it to "u>hothai$ This mar>s the decline
of MahDyDna! 4hich finally gave 4ay and 4as lost
altogether from the >ingdom$V
T% CAU"% .6 T% ;0"%
.6 9A@1KBAM"A BU##0"M
9an>Dvamsa Buddhism! also >no4n by its general name
of Ceylonese Buddhism! 4as introduced into Ceylon about
B$%$ (:&:! 4hen the 2ious 1ing Para>>amabDhu initiated
an ecclesiastic rehabilitation in his country$ Under his
2atronage he invited the %lders to call a general meeting
of learned bhi>>hus for the sa>e of revising! classifying
and standardiEing the Buddha3s teachings$ As a result
of this! the rules and regulations of administration and
2ractice 4ere thoroughly investigated! im2artially scrutiniEed
and finally laid do4n to the satisfaction of all
concerned$ As an honour for this memorial underta>ing
conceived by a Ceylonese >ing! it 4as called 9an>Dvamsa
TheravDda Buddhism after the term J9an>D3! or Ceylon in
the vernacular$
This monastic restoration 4as >no4n and hailed far and
4ide in the Buddhist 4orld! and attracted many bhi>>hus
of eastern countries! such as Thailand! Burma!
Mons and 1hmer! 4ho ventured to Ceylon in an attem2t
to study more of Buddhism there$ The Ceylonese bhi>>hus!
ho4ever! treated those bhi>>hus as their inferiors
and reGuired that they be once again ordained under
the ne4 system so as to be their eGuals as far as the
#isci2line 4as concerned$ "eeing ho4 the 9an>D system
4as 2urified in line 4ith the original Message! they 4illingly
acce2ted the condition and thus became members
of the 9an>Dvamsa TheravDda Buddhism$
aving studied and 2ractised the 9an>D system to their
hearts3 content! the eastern bhi>>hus returned home to
inform their 2eo2le of the good ne4s and so4 the seeds
of Ceylonese Buddhism in their homelands$ "ome even
invited their Ceylonese brethren to accom2any them on
their home4ard Courney$ The 2eo2les of the eastern countries
4ere also im2ressed by the >no4ledge and manners
of the bhi>>hus of Ceylonese Buddhism and conseGuently
gave more and more of their children to be ordained$
This resulted in the firm establishment of Ceylonese
TheravDda Buddhism in Mons! Burma! Thailand and
Cambodia to this day$
The fact that Ceylonese Buddhism arrived in @a>hon
"i Thammarat in the eighteenth century B$%$ is >no4n
from the Great Pagoda in that to4n! during the 2rocess
of re2airs of 4hich it 4as revealed that the former! i$e$
inner side of this 9an>a'styled 2agoda 4as built after the
manner of "rMviCaya! one of the seats of MahDyDna$ This
sho4s that it 4as later re2aired and re'modelled into
the sha2e and style as seen no4adays by the Ceylonese
bhi>>hus$ Among other archaeological evidence is the
%merald Buddha image in that tem2le! 4hich 4as also
scul2tured after the Ceylonese fashion$ Also! in Buddha
0mages of #ifferent Periods in Thailand! a boo> by 9uang
Boriban Buri2han ,Puan 0nthu4ongsa-! the same fact is
mentioned in the cha2ter concerning Buddha images of
the "u>hothai 2eriod$
With regard to the Ceylonese bhi>>hus invited from
the to4n of @a>hon "i Thammarat! 4e learn from an
inscri2tion that 1ing ;am>amhaeng allo4ed them to
stay in accordance 4ith their 2reference for a secluded
2lace in a forest monastery$ There! he 4ould go t4ice a
month! i$e$ on the full moon and the ne4 moon days! in
an ele2hant 2rocession to 2ay homage to them and also
to ma>e merit on the occasion$
To 4hat e=tent the 1ing3s conduct and character had been
moulded by Buddhism may be seen from his re2utation
as a 2ious! scholastic monarch of the time$ Besides being
>no4n far and 4ide for his erudition in the Tri2iFa>a!
his 4ay of life matched fla4lessly 4ith his >no4ledge!
for he 4as >no4n to have erected! in the midst of a
2almyra grove! a stone 2latform u2on 4hich a bhi>>hu
4as invited to deliver sermons on the Buddhist holy
days 4hile he himself too> it as a rule to sit there on the
other days addressing the 2eo2le and discussing 2olitical
affairs 4ith his officers$
Another 2art of a stone inscri2tion tells us ho4 the 1ing
and his subCects embodied the Buddhist 2rinci2les into
their daily lives$ 0t reads ,from Coedes/ 0nscri2tionsW! 22$
4+?4:-/
UThe 2eo2le of this state of "u>hothai are inclined
to4ards charity and to observing the 2rece2ts$ 1ing
;am>amhaeng of "u>hothai! as 4ell as his household
and his court W men or 4omen! they all have
faith in the religion of the BuddhaA they observe the
2rece2ts throughout the duration of the rains! after
4hich they 2resent the 1athina during the sti2ulated
month thereafter$ 0n this ceremony they 2resent!
by 4ay of offerings! mounds of co4ries! of betels!
of flo4ers! also cushion seats and beds! as 4ell as
the usual accessories of the 1athina amounting to
t4o millions each year$ 6or this 2resentation of the
J1athin3 they go ,far- out to the 2ar> ,on the hill-A and
on their return to the city the cortege stretches from
the 2ar> right u2 to the edge of the 2lain! 4hich becomes
resonant 4ith the sound of music and chariots$
%verybody is free to 2lay! to laugh and to sing$V
0t is evident that the bhi>>hus of the 9an>avamsa 4ere
highly venerated! both because of their 2rofound >no4'
ledge in the "cri2tures and for devotion and austerity in
their mode of 2ractice$ ;eason of this fact may be seen
in Colonel 9uang Bichit Bada>arn3s ;am 1amhaeng3s
0nscri2tions as follo4s/
U0t is true that the bhi>>hus from @a>hon "i
Thammarat 4ere more learned than those of "u>ho'
thai and therefore 4ere more venerated than the
latter$ This is because the southern cities 4ere in all
res2ects more advanced than! and had been so before!
the northern 2art$ Their 2ros2erity 4as brought
about through the t4o channels of civiliEation! one
of 4hich! that concerning arts and other branches of
>no4ledge! came south4ard from "riviCaya 1ingdom!
and the other! that of religious culture! 4as received
from the north! i$e$ from the to4n of @a>hon Pathom$
0t is 4ell'>no4n that the s2read of Buddhism south4ard
too> 2lace a thousand years before its north4ard
movementA hence the su2eriority of >no4ledge
and conduct of the "i Thammarat bhi>>hus over their
"u>hothai contem2oraries$
Ceylonese TheravDda Buddhism is said to have reached
its 2ea> of 2rogress in the reign of the fifth monarch of
the "u>hothai dynasty! grandson of 1ing ;am>amhaeng!
4hose name 4as 9euthai or 9ithai$ $;$$ Prince
#amrong ;aCDnubhab! in his Phra ;uang! says/
U9urthai3s son! called 9euthai or 9ithai in PDli 2ronunciation!
came to the throne as the fifth monarch
of the "u>hothai dynasty$ is official coronation
name 4as "ri "uriya2honsa ;am MahDdhammarDCD'
dhiraC! the first 2art of 4hich 4as 2artly the combination
of the names of his great'grandfather and his
grandfather! 4hereas the second 2art! meaning JThe
;ighteous3! serves to distinguish him from others and
also to sho4 the trend of his character and his reign$
This 4as the first time such an e2ithet had been
besto4ed u2on a Thai >ing and it might have been so
because of his erudition in religious >no4ledge 2rior
to his accession to the throne$ e is >no4n to have
been an enthusiastic student of a Ceylonese %lder
and 4as thus im2ressed by the fact that the highest
titles to be earned by a >ing 4ere Ca>>avattirDCD W
the %m2eror or the Universal 1ing and #hammarDCD
W the ;ighteous .ne$ The Great 1ing Aso>a of 0ndia
4as a 2erfect e=am2le of the t4o$ e first resorted
to 4ars and bloodshed ? until his mighty forces and
horrible fame 4ere acce2ted every4here ? before he
4as revolted by the horrors of 4ar and finally turned
to a non'violent! 2hilanthro2hic course in accordance
4ith Buddhist 2rinci2les$ 0t 4as because of his conversion
to Buddhism! thereby earnestly embodying the
Buddhist Path in his life! that he rightfully earned the
title of "ridhammaso>araC! or Aso>a the ;ighteous
.ne$
UBut 1ing 9ithai might have realiEed that his
"u>hothai 1ingdom had been on the decline and
that should he choose to earn the former title of an
%m2eror or a Universal 1ing! he 4ould certainly
have to 4al> the long! bloody 2ath of 4ars and
aggression! 4hich! in s2ite of all such sacrifices! 4as
still in doubt as to its 2ossibility of 4inning him
the title that most >ings coveted$ This 4as 4hy he
2referred to follo4 the second as2ect of 1ing Aso>a
and accordingly became an enthusiastic u2holder of
Buddhism$ Thus! from the inscri2tion 4e >no4 that
he dedicated a large sum of money to the 4elfare of
bhi>>hus and the construction of tem2les and their
2alace$ The second stage of ordination! by 4hich he
4ould be ordained as a bhi>>hu! 4as to be 2erformed
in the forest tem2le of Mango Grove$ And an earth
Gua>e too> 2lace again as soon as he ste22ed do4n
from the royal chamber to 2roceed to that 2lace$ This
being a miraculous ha22ening un2recedented in his
tory! the 2eo2le had it inscribed in Thai! 1hmer and
PDli languages on the stone tablet in honour of their
1ing 9ithai the ;ighteous .ne$V
d4elling'2laces$ Buddhist education at this time 4as
e=tensively encouraged and even ,2art of- the royal
2alace 4as offered as an educational institution for
bhi>>hus! W an e=am2le 4hich 4as follo4ed until
the ;atana>osin 2eriod of the 2resent dynasty$ The
1ing also too> 2ains to include giving 2ublic instruction
into his regular service for the 4elfare of his
2eo2le$ 0n B$%$ (&)+ he clima=ed his religious faith
by inviting the MahDsDmi! the Patriarch of Ceylon!
to be his Prece2tor in the royal ordination ceremony!
after 4hich he s2ent a 2eriod as an earnest bhi>>hu
li>e the great >ing Aso>a$ .n the day of his ordination!
so says the inscri2tion! there 4as an earthGua>e
4hen he ceremonially acce2ted the Tri2le Gem as his
;efuges in the 2rocess of the first stage of ordination
as a novice! 4hich 4as conducted 4ithin the royal
Cha2ter T4o
1ing 9ithai ,B$%$ (8&)'(&(&-
1ing 9ithai! also >no4n as 9euthai! 4as the grandson of
the great 1ing ;am>amhaeng ,B$%$ (8*)'(8:)-$ Being
4ell'versed in religious >no4ledge he 4as the im2erial
2atron of Buddhist faith in the land$ e also established
a ne4 system of administration for the Buddhist order
in accordance 4ith the Ceylonese structure in order
to fortify the stronghold of Buddhism in this area$ 6or
this 2ur2ose he invited an elder from Ceylon to be the
2atriarch of "u>hothai and divided the bhi>>hus into
t4o grou2s! called the GDmavDsM and the AraOOavDsM! i$e$
the to4n'd4ellers and the forest'd4ellers$ The former
>ind had the duty of studying the doctrine from the
"cri2tures! 4hereas the latter concentrated on the develo2ment
of the mind and insight and! as its name im2lies!
s2ent most of the time in forests or secluded 2laces$ e
also built many Buddha images! t4o of 4hich re2resent
e=Guisite 4or>manshi2 and are unsur2assed even to this
day$ These are Phra BuddhaCinaraC and Phra BuddhaCi'
nasih! the former being enshrined in Mahadhat tem2le
in the to4n of Phitsanulo>! 4hereas the latter sanctifies
the convocation hall of Bovoranives monastery in
Bang>o>$ Both are held in great veneration throughout
the country$
0n addition to constructing many shrines and other holy
2laces! in B$%$ (&)+ 1ing 9ithai renounced his throne
to be ordained for some time in the Mango Grove forest
monastery! an e=am2le 4hich has become a tradition for
Thai monarchs from that day to this$
e also 2roduced a 2iece of Buddhist literature called
Tebhumi>atha or! in informal language! Traibhoom Phra
;uang! dealing 4ith the various 2lanes of e=istence in
the universe$ This is! e=ce2t for the stone inscri2tions of
1ing ;am>amhaeng! the oldest Thai religious literature$
0t a22arently too> him more than thirty scri2tures to
com2lete his 4or>$ The fame of his scholarshi2 s2read
far and 4ide! in neighbouring lands as 4ell as 4ithin the
country! thus bringing him the e2ithet JThe ;ighteous3!
called! in Thai! Phra MahDdhamma ;DCD or Phra "ri
#hamma Tri2iFa>a$
With regard to Buddhist education! it is certain that many
bhi>>hus 4ere 2roficient in their religious >no4ledge!
both from the Tri2iFa>a itself and from later scri2tures
such as the commentaries! sub'commentaries and later
te=ts$ The 1ing himself even allo4ed 2art of his royal 2alace
to be used as a 2lace for Buddhist education or had a
monastery built 4ithin the royal 2recincts$ 0n his search
for an e=2erienced teacher he once organiEed a religious
mission to be sent to the court of Phra MahD "4DmM! in
Mons! as>ing for a 4ell'versed elder to hel2 conduct the
ecclesiastical activities in his country$ 0n res2onse to the
royal reGuest an elder named "umana! together 4ith
some other bhi>>hus! 4as then sent to "u>hothai$
Besides studying in their o4n country! some bhi>>hus
elected to ta>e an adventurous Courney to foreign lands!
such as Ceylon! Burma and Mons$ The Benerable "umana!
mentioned in the 2revious 2aragra2h! 4as in fact a
"u>hothai bhi>>hu 4ho had gone to the Mons country to
acGuire more >no4ledge and had settled there for some
time$ Thus! it 4as to his o4n motherland he returned in
res2onse to 1ing 9ithai3s command$
0n s2ite of the lac> of a definite course of study and e=amination
2rocesses! as there are no4! it is clear that
Buddhist education during this 2eriod reached a very
high degree of develo2ment$ All >inds of religious documents!
from the original PDli Tri2iFa>a do4n to the latest
te=ts! 4ere e=tensively studied$ And even the intelligent
lay disci2les! such as the 1ing3s courtiers! 4ere no less
interested in religious study$ The bibliogra2hy at the end
of the boo>! com2iled by the >ing himself! sho4ed clearly
ho4 thoroughly he had conducted his research for the
2ur2ose$
But the forest'd4elling bhi>>hus 4ere by no means
neglected$ 0t is true that they 2referred a secluded life to
one of 2ublicity ? 4hich 4ould have more or less ham2ered
their 2rogress in meditation and insight$ Convinced
of this fact! ho4ever! the 2eo2le as 4ell as their >ing
readily allo4ed them to have their o4n 4ay! but never
failed to give them every hel2 and 2rotection 4henever
an occasion arose$ To honour the name and memory of
this righteous >ing! some 2assages 4ill be Guoted directly
from A istory of Buddhism in "iam ,%nglish Bersion-!
4ritten by is ighness Prince #haninivat! 1romameun
Bidyalabh! ,2age :- as follo4s/
UA further influ= of "inhalese TheravDdin Buddhism
too> 2lace later in (5:(! 4hen 1ing 9ithai! grandson
of ;am>amhaeng! delegated learned men to go and
invite from the Mon country the UMahDsDmi "angharaC!
the one 2ossessed of a high code of morality! learned
in all the Three Bas>ets ,of the Canon of Buddhism-!
a native of 9an>D! 4ith conduct li>e unto that of the
Purified "aints ,1hM nDsava- of old$V The advent of
this venerable mon>! 4hose name 4as "umana! 4as
the trium2hant entry into the 1ing3s land! for it is
thus described ,in Coedes3 ;ecueil des 0nscri2tions du
"iam! Bol$ (! 22$ 4* < 485/
UAt the time 4hen the venerable mon> had reached
half of the 4ay to the city from @a>on Pan! the 1ing
instructed builders to erect monastic Guarters in
the Mango Grove to the 4est of "u>hodaya$ ;oads
4ere levelled and stre4n 4ith sand and loo>ed fine
from all sides! as if they had been constructed by
Bisva>arm! the celestial artificer$ U2on their arrival
fruits! floral offerings! candles! incense and J2lants of
2lenty3 embellished their 4ay of a22roach$V
%CC9%"0A"T0CA9 T0T9%" 0@ TA09A@#
The hierarchy of the Buddhist Church is closely connected
4ith its educational system$ We learn some of its history
from $;$$ Prince #amrong ;aCDnu2hab3s istory of
the Buddhist Church! to the effect that there 4ere in the
"u>hothai 2eriod t4o >inds of ecclesiastical titles! the
former directly belonging to the .rder and having to
be gained through Gualifications as determined in the
Monastic Code of #isci2line! the latter being s2ecially
besto4ed by the >ing himself$ The titles of Thera ,%lder-
and MahDthera ,Greater or "enior %lder- are e=am2les
of the former >ind! 4hile those of "angharaC ,Patriarch-
and Poo 1roo ,Guru Grandfather- belong to the latter$
But it should be noted that the "angharaC or Patriarch
4as then by no means "u2reme! in the real sense of the
4ord ;aC or 1ing$ "o there must have been more than
one "angharaC! each being a regional one! ruling over
that 2art of the country under his administration$ .f
course! the ones governing the ca2ital or cities 4ere
su2erior in ran> to those in charge of smaller to4ns$
0n remote districts! ho4ever! the ruling bhi>>hu 4as
only a Phra 1roo! later variation of Poo 1roo or Guru
Grandfather$ This can be confirmed by a later ecclesiastical
directory! in 4hich several 2rovincial ,ecclesiastical-
governors are mentioned also as "angharDCa$ 0t 4as only
in the reign of 1ing ;ama 0B that this title 4as changed
into "angha2Dmo>ha$
%CC9%"0A"T0CA9 T0T9%" 0@ C%I9.@
According to the above'mentioned boo>! the Ceylonese
hierarchy! though nominally different! corres2onded to
a great e=tent 4ith that of "u>hothai$ er ecclesiastical
titles 4ere of also t4o categories! the higher one being
called MahDs4Dmi 4hereas the lesser one 4as sim2ly
"4Dmi$ A stone inscri2tion from the reign of 1ing 9ithai!
grandson of 1ing ;am>amhaeng! mentioned that in
B$%$ (&)4 he delegated a mission to invite the "4Dmi
"angharaC from Ceylon$ The combination of both titles
of the t4o countries no doubt suggested their eGuality to
some e=tent$
More ecclesiastical titles in "u>hothai 4ere mentioned in
@orthern istory! revealing that the administration of the
Buddhist Church there 4as carried on se2arately by t4o
2arties of bhi>>hus! viE$ the right'4ing and the left'4ing!
4ith such nominations conferred u2on them by the >ing
as Phra "angharaCa! Phra 1roo #hamatrailo>a and others
for the former grou2! and such titles as Phra 1roo
#hammaraCa for the latter$
The above'mentioned facts! as seen also from both the
Mon istory and the @orthern istory! mar>ed a ne4
era in the ecclesiastical administration in the reign of
1ing 9ithai! the vestiges of 4hich may be seen to this day$
These 4ere the classification of bhi>>hus into t4o grou2s
and the ecclesiastical titles besto4ed by the >ing$
.ne reason for the division of the "u>hothai bhi>>hus
into t4o grou2s! according to the author of the above'
mentioned boo>! might be that there already e=isted there
t4o sects of bhi>>hus! viE$ the ne4 Ceylonese sect! including
the Ceylonese bhi>>hus and those Thai bhi>>hus
4ho 4ere once again ordained in CeylonA and the former
bhi>>hus of "u>hothai belonging to the older TheravDda
"chool$ "ince the former 2referred a life of seclusion for
mind'develo2ment to one of activities 4ithin the city! the
>ing arranged for them to stay in the forest monastery
of Mango Grove$ Thus! it might be based on the function
of each that the t4o grou2s of bhi>>hus 4ere so calledA
the one 4hich concentrated on boo>'studying and lived
4ithin the to4ns com2rised mostly of the former residents
of "u>hothai and the other! 4hich chose the 2ractical
side and lived in secluded 2laces 4ould be generally
the Ceylonese bhi>>hus$ The former grou2 4as called
GDmavDsM! the to4n'd4ellers! 4ho attended to the duty of
learning! or Ganthadhura! 4hereas the latter 4as called
AraOOavDsM or forest'd4ellers! 4ho 2ledged themselves
to the duty of mind'develo2ment or Bi2assanD'dhura$
Cha2ter Three
Buddhist %ducation
0n The 9anna 1ingdom
The 9annD 1ingdom! north'4est of "u>hothai! had a
close relationshi2 4ith "u>hothai even before the establishment
of Chiang Mai as the ca2ital of 1ing Meng ;ai$
#uring the reign of 1ing ;am>amhaeng! there 4ere t4o
famous heroes in the 9annD area! viE$ Meng ;ai in the
region of @gern Iang and @gam Muang in the region of
Phayao$ 0t is said that these t4o and 1ing ;am>amhaeng
4ere! in their school days! under the same teacher and
that this 4as the reason for their ties of amity and friendshi2
until the do4nfall of "u>hothai to the 2o4er of
Ayutthaya in B$%$ (&*($
At the time "u>hothai flo4ered 4ith Buddhism! Buddhist
education 4as no less 2o2ular in this north'4estern
region$ 9annD bhi>>hus 4ere no less enthusiastic in furthering
their education in foreign lands and the >ing also
invited the MahD "4DmM into his country$ Thus! PDli 4as
e=tensively studied in Buddhist circles! 4hich resulted
in many 9annD bhi>>hus being so accom2lished in the
language that several scholastic 4or>s in PDli 4ere 2roduced
during this 2eriod$ Among them are the follo4ing
si=teen! no4adays 2reserved in the @ational 9ibrary$
($ IoCanD BinayaA e=2laining the Binaya ,Code of
%cclesiastic #isci2line-! both in meaning and grammar!
es2ecially in some as2ects 4hich 4ere not
yet clearly e=2lained in the commentaries and sub'
commentaries$
*$ "addhamma'sangaha/ dealing 4ith various Buddhist
Councils or rehearsals ,"angDyanD- and miscellaneous
doctrines$
5$ Adhidhamma'IoCanD/ e=2laining the seven boo>s
on Abhidhamma in some as2ects 4hich 4ere not
yet clearly e=2lained by commentators and sub'
commentators$
4$ Abhidhammatthasangahati>D'IoCanD/ e=2laining
the Ti>a ,sub'commentary- on the Abhidhammattha'
sangaha$
+$ MPla'1accDyana'IoCanD/ e=2laining the MPla'1accD'
yana grammatical boo>$
:$ GanthMdi2anM Bhi>>hu2DFM mo>>ha/ sim2lifying the
Bhi>>hu2DFM mo>>ha! or the 2rinci2al disci2lines! of
Buddhist mon>s$
The above si= items 4ere com2osed by the Ben$ Phra
Xana>itti of Chiang Mai in the (:th century A$#$
7$ Hina>DlamDlM/ dealing 4ith the life of the 9ord
Buddha chronologically! and the history of
Buddhism in 0ndia! Ceylon and the northern country
of Thailand! com2osed in B$%$ *):) ,(+(7 A$#$- by
the Ben$ ;atana'2aOODthera of Chiang ;ai! another
northern 2rovince of Thailand$
8$ BessantaradM2anM/ e=2laining the Bessantara HDta>a!
the Buddha3s birth story! both in meanings and in
grammar$ B$%$ *):) ,(+(7 A$#$-$
&$ Ca>>avDladM2anM/ dealing 4ith the universe and
its surroundings! including the destruction of the
4orld ,9o>avinasa- and the sha2e of the 4orld
,9o>asanFhana-$ B$%$ *):5 ,(+*) A$#$-$
()$ "an>hyD2a>Dsa>D TM>a/ dealing 4ith si= >inds of
measurement$ B$%$ *):5 ,(+*) A$#$-$
(($ Mangalattha'dM2anM/ e=2laining in detail the
Mangalasutta$ This is full of references 4hich sho4
that the author 4as a >een collector and thorough
reader of all PDli scri2tures$ B$%$ *):7 ,(+*4 A$#$-$
The above four boo>s 4ere com2osed by Ben$ Phra
"irimangalDcDrya of Chiang Mai! a northern 2rovince of
Thailand$
(*$ "Dratthasangaha/ dealing 4ith 4: items of essential
doctrines beginning 4ith the miracles of the 9ord
Buddha$ This volume 4as com2osed by the Ben$
Phra @andDcDrya of Chiang Mai$
(5$ Pada>>hama'"addabhedacinta'IoCanD/ a commentary
on the "addabhedacinta! a PDli te=t on grammar
dealing 4ith the divisions of 4ords and their
meanings! com2osed by Ben$ Phra #harmasenD2ati
of Chiang Mai$
(4$ CamadevMvamsa/ dealing 4ith the dynasty of Nueen
CamadevM! 4ho reigned over northern Thailand!
and the history of Buddhism$ Written by Ben$ Phra
BodhiramsM$
(+$ "MmDsan>ara'Binicchaya! or comments on the theme
of the consecrated boundary! 4ithin 4hich are 2erformed
activities of the "angha$
(:$ Abhidhammasangaha2Dli'IoCanD/ or grammatical
notes and meanings based on a later te=t called the
Abhidhamma'"angaha$
Perha2s there 4ere more boo>s of this category! such
as the PaOOasa HDta>a! 4hich is believed to have been
com2iled in this >ingdom$ The doubt! ho4ever! arises
because the fact is not mentioned in its 2reface! as are
the others$
The above'mentioned 4or>s in PDli may be divided into
t4o categories! viE$ the one e=2laining the @orm and
#isci2line! 4ith grammatical notes and meanings in
accordance 4ith the manners ado2ted in the commentaries!
sub'commentaries and later sub'commentaries
of CeylonA and the other dealing 4ith the historical
accounts! follo4ing the trends of such Ceylonese 4or>s
as the #M2avamsa and MahDvamsa$ .f the latter >ind!
com2iled in the north'4estern region! the four outstanding
ones are/
($ ;atana Bimbevamsa/ dealing 4ith the historical
accounts of the %merald Buddha image! com2iled by
Phra ;DCa PaOOD! 2ossibly in B$%$ (&(* ,(4*& A$#$-$
*$ "ihinga @idDna/ dealing 4ith the historical accounts
of the Buddha "ihinga image ,no4 enshrined in
Buddhai "a4an all! 4ithin the 2recincts of the
@ational Museum-! com2iled by Phra Bodhi ;amsi$
The date of com2ilation! ho4ever! is not e=actly
>no4n$
5$ CDmadevM Bamsa/ or history of the to4n of arib'
hunCaya! com2iled by Phra Bodhi ;amsM$
4$ Hina>DlamDli ,or HinD>alamD'li2a>arana-/ the history
of Buddhism in the 9annD 1ingdom$ The first 2art
4as 4ritten by Phra ;atana2aOOD in B$%$ *)+& ,(+(:
A$#$-! 4hereas the second 2art! dealing 4ith the history
of Chiang Mai do4n to B$%$ *)() ,(+*( A$#$- is
su22osed to have been 4ritten by another scholar$
Although most of these scholastic 4or>s 4ere com2iled in
later years! they 4ere no doubt the blossoms of seeds so4n
in an earlier 2eriod in that land and they bore an undeniable
evidence of ho4 Buddhism had reached its Eenith of
develo2ment in those northern >ingdoms of Thailand$
Cha2ter 6our
Buddhist %ducation 0n
The %arly Ayutthaya Period
0t is generally agreed that! as far as Thailand is concerned!
the Buddhism of the Ceylonese TheravDda "chool reached
the Eenith of its 2rogress in the "u>hothai 2eriod$ 6rom
inscri2tions 4e >no4 that from the eighteenth century
B$%$ the >ingdom 4as >no4n far and 4ide as a stronghold
of Buddhism! both in material as2ects! such as in
its architectural style! craftsmanshi2 or literal ca2acities
and in the immaterial ones! such as an earnestness in the
2ractice of meditation and insight$
But the >ingdom remained inde2endent for (** years!
4ith five successive monarchs ? from its founder! 1ing "ri
0ndradit! to 9ithai the ;ighteous or #evoted .ne$ 0t then
became a vassal state of its southern rival! Ayutthaya!
in the reign of the si=th 1ing "aileuthai in B$%$ (&*(!
4hen the ca2ital city of the Thai >ingdom 4as moved
to Ayutthaya$ This! ho4ever! 4as true only as far as the
administrative centre 4as concerned$ 6or the s2iritual
glory and advancement 4as still firmly established there
until the reign of 1ing Borom Trai 9o>anath! at least 7)
years after its 2olitical do4nfall$
T% TA0 M.#% .6 90B0@G
The centre of the Thai community in the Ayutthaya
2eriod 4as the monastery! and Buddhism 4as the main
theme of life$ The Thai tradition of building a monastery
4as intended to serve t4o 2ur2oses! the one being for
the sa>e of religious 2rogress and the other being that
such a sanctified area 4ould be a living memorial of the
family3s ancestors to their descendants$
6or these reasons numerous monasteries have been found
in the ancient to4ns of Thailand! such as "u>hothai!
Phitsanulo> and Ayutthaya$ 0n thic>ly 2o2ulated areas
there 4ere often monasteries Cointly constructed by
2eo2le 4ho considered it an act of great merit to build
them$ This! ho4ever! is not far from the fact! both from
the material and immaterial as2ects$ The first and most
evident fact is that monasteries are a source of harmony
and unity as 4ell as the symbol of Buddhism$ They are
2laces 4herein bhi>>hus can have their 2rivate Guarters!
a2art from those of the laymenA 4herein the study of the
Buddha3s doctrine is earnestly 2ursued and the grounds
are al4ays >e2t hallo4ed through their distinctive atmos'
2here$ But that is not all that can be e=2ected of monasteries$
0n those days they 2layed a highly im2ortant
role in education! as the 2eo2le 2referred to have their
children educated in the monasteries! >no4ing that their
young ones 4ould be 4ell educated both morally and
intellectually$ Moreover! as the centre of social activities!
Thai monasteries are 2ublic 2laces 4here 2eo2le can
meet! both to discuss common 2roblems or for decent
"ri "an2heC Monastery of Ayutthaya$ 0ndeed! one can
hardly 4itness such a magnificent 2iece of art 4ithout
recalling the 2ast days of greatness and glory$
entertainment during festival times$ 0n the field of the
arts! Thai monasteries have been the source and seat of
fine arts 4hich distinctly reflect the highly develo2ed!
artistic tem2erament of Thai craftsmanshi2 in their elaborately
carved or 2ainted doors! 4indo4s! beams! 2illars
and the li>e$ This can be seen to this day ? even in the
ruins of the MahDdhat Monastery of "u>hothai and the
BU##0"M 0@ T% %A;9I P%;0.#
This 2eriod! s2anning (5& years! began in the reign of
1ing ;amadhi2ati 0 and ended 4ith that of 1ing Barom
Trai 9o>anath$ 0t should be noted that since Ayutthaya
4as situated bet4een "u>hothai and 1hmer! the salient
features of its arts! culture and religion 4ere evidently
a blend of both surrounding elements! 4hich 4ere in
turn inherited from 0ndia$ ence the conglomeration in
Ayutthaya of religious beliefs and 2ractices made u2 of
Brahmanism! MahDyDna Buddhism! 1hmer style! and the
"u>hothai Ceylonese TheravDda! each of 4hich seemed
to be inse2arably associated 4ith the rites! ceremonies
and traditions$ Thus! court 2recedure and the ceremony
for vo4ing allegiance 4ere e=am2les of Brahmanic influence!
4hereas the architectural style of monastery
construction 4as mainly after the 1hmer style! 4hich
4as archaeologically included in the 9o2 Buri 2eriod$
The model of the Buddha image! although basically of
the 1hmer'influenced 9o2 Buri 2eriod! under4ent some
modifications and 4as develo2ed into a ne4 class called
U'thong Muang "an 2eriod! 4hich 4as regarded as one
of su2erior 4or>manshi2$
.f the religious develo2ments during the early Ayutthaya
2eriod! one 4as the 2eaceful blend of the former
"u>hothai TheravDda Buddhism and the Ceylonese
TheravDda$ This resulted from the ada2tation of the latter
to the conditions of Ayutthaya and the modification
of the former to suit the circumstances$ But 1ing Borom
Trailo>anath must have been greatly im2ressed by the
Buddhism of his northern state of "u>hothai! for he 4as
>no4n to have been ordained in the Culamani monastery
in Phitsanulo> for eight months! and it has since become
a tradition for every young Thai to be ordained once in
their lifetime$ This tradition 4as immediately follo4ed
by the young members of his o4n family and also by his
courtiers! 4ith conseGuent re2lacement of the 9o2 Buri
or 1hmer arts and traditions by those of "u>hothai$
BU##0"T %#UCAT0.@
#uring the early Ayutthaya! 4hich began in the reign
of 1ing U'Thong or ;amadhi2ati 0 to 1ing Borom
Trailo>anath ,B$%$ (8&5'*)5( or (5+)'(488 A$#$-! the
trend of Buddhist education 4as not definitely >no4n
for lac> of adeGuate evidence in historical accounts and
archaeological remains$ The follo4ing! therefore! is 4hat
can be gained from scant sources of information$
According to The Thai Buddhist Pagodas! a boo> by
$;$$ Prince #amrong ;aCDnubhab! Uthe site 4here
Ayutthaya 4as situated used to be the seat both of
TheravDda Buddhism! 4hich had flourished in the time
of #vDravatM! and of MahDyDna Buddhism! 4hich had
gained ascendency during the 1hmer domination in 9o2
Buri$ The country of "iam! as far as may be assumed
from e=isting archaeological remains! lay bet4een Mons
and 1hmer$ The 2eo2le formerly 2rofessed TheravDda!
then follo4ed 1hmer3s e=am2le by acce2ting MahDyDna$
Thus! their Tri2iFa>a might be both of PDli and "ans>rit$V
But it might also be that during the Ayutthaya 2eriod
the influence of MahDyDna Buddhism! if any! 4ould be
almost negligible$
0t 4ill be seen that as far as religious develo2ment 4as
concerned! the early 2art of the Ayutthaya 2eriod overla22ed
to some e=tent the latter 2art of "u>hothai$ This
4as es2ecially so in the reign of 1ing Borom Trailo>anath!
4ho acce2ted! of course 4ith some slight modifications as
2reviously mentioned! "u>hothai Buddhism as Ayutthaya
Buddhism$ And some Ayutthaya bhi>>hus also made their
Courney to Ceylon for further education$ Thus! Ceylonese
Buddhism came to Ayutthaya by t4o 4ays! viE$ the
second'hand element brought from "u>hothai and the
first'hand! 4hich 4as im2orted directly from a Ceylonese
%lder named Banarata$ These three! according to some
scholars! are collectively called J"iam Bamsa3$ 0t might be
because of this fact that 4e >no4 from later records that
there 4ere in Ayutthaya three grou2s of bhi>>hus! t4o
of 4hom! the GDmavDsM to4n'd4ellers and AraOOavDsM
forest'd4ellers! 4ere of "u>hothai origin and the other
one 4as the Banarata grou2 brought over directly from
Ceylon$ 0t 4as this latter grou2 that 4as called the right'
4ing GDmavDsM$ "uch evidence is obtained from $;$$
Prince #amrong3s istory of the Buddhist Church$
6rom 1ing Borom Trailo>anath3s ordination into the
Buddhist Church one might say he 4as more or less
ins2ired by the e=am2le of 1ing 9ithai of "u>hothai$ 0t
a22eared that! as far as religious activities 4ere concerned!
he had tried continuously to follo4 in the foot2rints
of that 2ious monarch of "u>hothai$ As 1ing 9ithai
had been >no4n far and 4ide through his com2ilation of
Tebhumi>athD! he again too> 2ains to 4rite another 2iece
of religious literature! called MahDCDti ,the Great Birth-!
de2icting the last birth of the Buddha before he 4as born
as "iddhattha and attained to %nlightenment ,i$e$ 4hen
he 4as born as Prince Bessantara-$ Moreover! he did not
neglect to imitate his religious idol even in construction$
We >no4 that he had several monasteries built both in
Ayutthaya and Phitsanulo>$
1ing Borom Trailo>anath3s ordination and other religious
activities might have in turn ins2ired the >ings of
neighbouring lands 4ith fresh courage and enthusiasm
in Buddhism$ 6rom an inscri2tion of the CulDmanM monastery
4e learn that the 1ings of Chiang Mai! angsavati
and "ri "atnDganahut! sent forth their religious missions
to 1ing Borom Trailo>anath! bringing 4ith them various
bhi>>hu reGuisites for use in the ordination ceremony
as a to>en of their cordial a22reciation$ Mean4hile!
1ing ;amadhi2ati ,Pita>adhara- of angsavati! according
to ;ecords of Mon %cclesiastical Activities ,;DmaOYa
"amanavamsa-! also! in B$%$ *)(8! sent some bhi>>hus to
Ceylon to be ordained there once again$ They then came
bac> and established the Ceylonese sect in their o4n
country and by royal command all other bhi>>hus in the
land 4ere to acce2t and follo4 the Ceylonese tradition and
4ay of life as their o4n$ Also! in Chiang Mai t4o years
later! 1ing Tilo>araC initiated a religious Council ,"ynod-
for the sa>e of revising and settling on the contents of
the PDli Canon$ This is! in a 4ay! the eighth Council in
the history of Buddhism$ All these! ho4ever! seemed to
be more or less ins2ired by Ayutthaya3s initiative$
Cha2ter 6ive
;eligious 9anguage
< The Writing "ystem
9A@GUAG%
0t is 4ell'>no4n in Thailand that the Buddhist religious
languages are PDli and "ans>rit$ But the 2oint to be
made clear is 4hich language 4as used in 4hich 2eriod$
What should be considered! first of all! is the evidence
to 2rove that the t4o languages 4ere in fact used in
religious circles$ After that it may be as 4ell to consider
the facts individually in both cases$ 6ollo4ing is the evidence
sho4ing ho4 the t4o languages 4ere used in the
Ayutthaya 2eriod$
A boo> called "iam Buddha Cetiya ,Buddhist Pagodas in
Thailand- mentions as follo4s/ U"ince Thailand is situated
bet4een Mons and 1hmer! it first acce2ted TheravDda
Buddhism as its faith and later follo4ed 1hmer3s e=am2le
by turning to MahDyDna$ Thus! it might be that the
PDli Tri2iFa>a used in Thailand 4as in both the PDli and
"ans>rit languagesWV and in another 2lace! UWthe site
of Ayutthaya used to be the seat of the t4o "chools of
Buddhism! that is to say! both of the TheravDda! 4hich
flourished in the #vDravatM 2eriod and of the MahDyDna!
4hich 2redominated during the 1hmer sovereignty in
9o2 Buri$V
The above evidence may be acce2ted as a basis for assuming
that the t4o religious languages 4ere used in Thailand
and that PDli 4as traditionally used for TheravDda and
"ans>rit for the MahDyDna$ 0t seems reasonable to assume
that the characteristic language of each grou2 4as used
during its 2eriod of domination$ But it is 2ossible that the
decline of each 4as gradual or unconscious rather than
immediate and absolute$ And there might have been an
overla22ing 2eriod during 4hich! although the one rising
to 2o4er 4as gaining influence! the other 4as still to
some! although lesser e=tent! used in scholastic circles$
0n The Collection of Thai 0nscri2tions! "ection *! by
Professor George Coedes! there is a 2assage to the effect
that one of the stone inscri2tions obtained from 9o2 Buri
is dated B$%$ (+:+'(+:8 ,()**'()*+ A$#$-! and sho4s
that during the reign of 1ing "uriyavaraman there 4ere
d4elling in the to4n of 9ava a number of bhi>>hus of
the "thavMra or "Dva>ayDna "chool! together 4ith other
mon>s! recluses and Brahmans$ This gives us a 4ider
2icture of the religious conditions in the 9o2 Buri 2eriod!
correcting to some e=tent the old belief that Buddhism in
the said 2eriod 4as e=clusively MahDyDna and confirming
the 2ossibility of an overla22ing 2eriod$ 0t follo4s!
ho4ever! that the t4o com2eting languages might have
been simultaneously used and studied! but only in different
2laces$
6rom The Beginning .f The U'thong Period
To The %nd .f The ;eign .f 1ing Trailo>anatha
To determine the facts about this 2eriod! more 2assages
from the boo> Thai Buddhist Pagodas 4ill have to be
referred to$ ere 4e are told that during the Ayutthaya
2eriod the >no4ledge of TheravDda 4as almost negligible
and that! according to a stone inscri2tion! there 4ere
in the to4n of 9o2 Buri bhi>>hus of both the "thavMra
,TheravDda- and MahDyDna "chools$ 0t is therefore
assumed! as 4as 4ritten on that inscri2tion! that the
original "thavMra ,TheravDda- "chool 4hich came from
MDgadha in 0ndia must have flourished there before it
met its rival! i$e$ the MahDyDna! 4hich had 4on 2o2ularity
in 1hmer and later e=tended its doctrinal territory
into Thailand! thereby re2lacing PDli as the inscri2tion
language$
"uch facts lead to a 2ossible conclusion that the early
Ayutthaya! being the immediate continuation of 9o2
Buri! may have had "ans>rit as its standard language
in religious circles$ Another reason is that it 4as not
until late in the reign of 1ing Trailo>anatha that the
9an>Dvamsa ,of Ceylon Buddhism-! including the one
that came directly from its mother country and the other
that e=tended its influence from "u>hothai! 4ere firmly
established in Ayutthaya$ Thus! 4ith the gradual decline
of MahDyDna here its traditional language! "ans>rit! 4as
slo4ly but steadily re2laced by PDli! 4hich came 4ith
the TheravDdins$ A similar ha22ening can be seen in the
"u>hothai >ingdom! 4here "ans>rit had 2revailed dur
ing the 1hnmer domination but later receded into the
bac>ground 4ith the arrival and general acce2tance of
the 9an>Dvamsa or Ceylon Buddhism! the then 2o4erful
sect of TheravDda$
T;A@"C;0PT0.@ CA;ACT%;"
This necessitates more historical facts concerning
Ayutthaya and some 2assages from The Ancient 0ndo'
China Peninsula! a boo> 4ritten by "athien>oses! 4ill
be Guoted ,from the cha2ter concerning the >ingdoms of
#vDravatM and 9o2 Buri- as follo4s/
UWith the do4nfall of the 6u'@an >ingdom in B$%$
()&5 ,++) A$#$- the Mon! 4ho had then gained more
2o4er! too> advantage of this to declare their inde2endence
and establish the #vDravatM >ingdom$ Most
of the 2eo2le! ho4ever! 4ere Thais 4ho 4ere still
inferior to the Mon in their level of civiliEation$ The
1ingdom steadily 2ros2ered 2eacefully! 2ossibly because
the country of Hen'9a! or former 1hmer! 4as
then too 2reoccu2ied 4ith its o4n 2roblems in the
territory of 6u'@an itself to direct more attention
to other occu2ied territories$ Thus! the >ingdom of
#vDravatM! 4ith 2art of its boundary encircling the
Gulf of Thailand! reached the Eenith of its 2ros2erity
late in the :th century A$#$ and lasted t4o hundred
years after that! 4hen its 2o4er gradually declined$
o4ever! it managed to remain inde2endent until
about B$%$ (++) ,())( A$#$-! 4hich mar>ed its defeat
at the hands of the 1hmer$V
The historical accounts Guoted above may serve to lead
us to the truth about its religious language$ 0t 4ill be seen
that before its declaration of inde2endence the #vDravatM
had been under Mon domination and 4as later! after its
do4nfall! in the hands of the 1hmer and that its territory
embraced that of Ayutthaya$ 0t can be reasonably
su22osed here that during the rise of the TheravDda ,i$e$
before and during its inde2endence- the characters used
for transliterating might have been the J1rin3 or J1rone3!
4hich! according to 2rofessor George Coedes in his boo>
istory of Thai Characters! 4ere then used in south 0ndia$
%vidence to su22ort this may be seen in a stone tablet
found in @a>hon Pathom! on 4hich 4as inscribed the
verse JIe #hammD hetu22abhavD3$ When! ho4ever! the
>ingdom of #vDravatM! later under the suEerainty of
1hmer and the TheravDda! became more 2o2ular! the
1hmer characters must have been used instead$ This
might be true even during the time 4hen the t4o schools
com2eted 4ith each other for 2ublic acce2tance! such as
in the reign of 1ing "uriyavaraman$ The stone inscri2tions
? @os$ (8! (& and *) ? bear evidence of this fact$
9ater on! 4hen #vDravatM 4as included 4ithin the
Thai >ingdom by 1ing U'Thong until 1ing Borom
Trailo>anatha! 4hose reign mar>s the end of the early
Ayutthaya 2eriod! the transliterated characters 4ere
entirely in 1hmer$ .ne 4or> of religious literature in
the latter3s reign! the Ti>a! or sub'commentary of the
MahDvamsa! 4as also inscribed in 1hmer characters$ "o
said Prince #amrong! U0n the early Ayutthaya 2eriod! the
Thais! being more familiar 4ith the 1hmers than their
brethren of "u>hothai! 4ere inclined to follo4 the tradition
and language of their neighbourV$
The historical accounts described above tell of one
strange fact as far as religious language is concerned$
0t 4ill be seen that in s2ite of the invention of the Thai
characters by 1ing ;am>amhaeng himself! 4hen it came
to transliterating the Ceylonese Tri2iFa>a into Thai! he
4as someho4 led to use 1hmer characters instead of
those of his o4n invention$ %ven in the reign of 1ing
Borom Trailo>anatha! during 4hich the Thai characters
should have been 4idely acce2ted! the 1hmer characters
still 2ersisted as the higher language of religious circles$
This 4as 2ossibly due to the confirmed habit of most
2eo2le of ta>ing the beaten trac> rather than venturing
on a 2ioneering attem2t$ Thus! sanctity 4as traditionally
attributed to 1hmer characters! 4hich 4ere conseGuently
ta>en by the masses as the inse2arable symbol of
religion$
0"T.;I .6 T% 1M%; CA;ACT%;"
The inscribed 1hmer characters! both in "ans>rit and
1hmer language! at the time 4hen 1hmer 2o4ers e=tended
to the Chao Phya ;iver! differed from original
characters in three as2ects! as follo4s/
($ The 1hmer court secretaries! being more 2articular
than their 0ndian colleagues! had more artistic and
elegant hand4riting$
*$ The finer lines on the to2s of the original 0ndian
characters 4ere changed into bolder ones$ The
sha2e! 4hich 4as formerly straight! became in most
cases li>e a double'gabled roof or a t4in 6rench circumfle=
accent$
5$ The original curvature 4as re'modelled! becoming
2olyangular in its features$
These are the characteristics of the ancient 1hmer al2habet
as seen in all 1hmer inscri2tions$
T4o 1inds .f 1hmer Characters
There are t4o >inds of ancient 1hmer characters! one!
the calligra2hic style! being used generally for stone inscribing!
and the other! a manuscri2t or Guic>'4riting
style! for other boo>s$ This is >no4n from some of the
stone inscri2tions! 4hich 4ere 4ritten in the latter >ind!
in s2ite of the fact that the 2almyra'leaf boo>s! 4hich
4ere stylus'4ritten! 4ere all lost$
More about the ancient scribbling 1hmer characters 4ill
be dealt 4ith in the 2aragra2hs concerning Jistory of the
Central Thai characters3$ 0t should be noticed! ho4ever!
that the former >ind became the forerunner of the 2resent
1hmer characters! used for religious literature both
in Cambodia and Thailand ,B$%$ *4:8 or (&*+ A$#$-$
Cha2ter "i=
Buddhist %ducation .f
The Middle Ayutthaya Period
,B$%$ *)5('**7+ or (488'(75* A$#$-
This 2eriod lasts more than t4o centuries and 4ill be
sub'divided into another t4o smaller sections for the
sa>e of the 2articular distinction of each$
The earlier 2art of the Middle Ayutthaya began in the
reign of 1ing BoromrDCD the Third ,B$%$ *)5(- to the end
of 1ing Kthityavongsa ,B$%$ *(75-$ #uring this 2eriod!
4hich 4as ruled by eighteen successive monarchs! an e=am2le
of internal relations 4hich might affect Buddhist
education 4as in the reign of 1ing "ong #hamma ,the
;ighteous 1ing- as mentioned in a boo> called The
Buddha3s 6oot2rints! as follo4s/
UW is MaCesty has 4itnessed the oly 6oot2rints!
4hich! besides being furnished 4ith the ()8 sacred as2ects
in com2lete accordance 4ith the PDli "cri2tures!
corres2ond again 4ith the Ceylonese re2ort confirming
that there e=ist such things in ThailandWV
More evidence of this! ho4ever! may be seen from Prince
#amrong3s PunnovDda Poems! 4hich read/
UW #uring the reign of 1ing "ong #hamma ,B$%$
*(:5?*(((- a grou2 of Thai bhi>>hus 4ent to Ceylon
in order to 4orshi2 the Buddha3s 6oot2rints at Mount
"umana>uta$ As>ed by the Ceylonese bhi>>hus 4hy
they should ta>e 2ains to do so 4hen there had been
already in Thailand five such 6oot2rints! together
4ith the "uvanna2abbata ,the Golden Mount-! the
Thai bhi>>hus then told all they >ne4 to the 1ing!
4ho then ordered a thorough search throughout the
country$ After some time there reached the governor
of "araburi a re2ort of a hunter named Boon! 4ho!
4hile he 4as out hunting one day! shot at a deer and
chased it u2 a hill$ The animal! he said! 4as a22arently
4ounded and struggled 2ainfully into a shrub$
But a moment later it came out in the most normal
condition and li>e a flash darted a4ay as if nothing
had ever ha22ened$ Astonished at 4hat seemed to be
a miracle before his eyes! he 4ent into the shrub and
sa4 4hat loo>ed li>e stone foot2rints! about a metre
in length! in 4hich there 4as some 4ater$ Assuming
that the 4ater therein must have a healing 2o4er! by
4hich the 4ounded deer had been saved! he a22lied
it to the 2arts of his body 4hich had been affected
by ring4orm and ecEema for a long time$ The 4ater
2roved to have a real miraculous 2o4er! for his s>in
diseases 4ere all immediately cured$ earing this!
the governor 4ent out to see these things for himself
and re2orted to the 1ing! 4ho hurried to the 2lace
and 4as also convinced of the fact as told by the
Ceylonese bhi>>husWV
The above accounts tell us at least one thing/ that there
did e=ist religious relations bet4een Thailand and Ceylon
at that time$ As a matter of fact! it 4as not directly mentioned
4hat 4ere the results of the Thai bhi>>hus3 venturous
efforts to a foreign! far'off land! but it can be
reasonably assumed that the venture must have at least
4idened the mental horiEon of some religious grou2s
and might have resulted in the ado2tion and ada2tation
of some activities and 2rocedures for the sa>e of im2rovement
and 2rogress$ 6urthermore! the name of this >ing
tends to suggest something s2ecial in his religious >no4'
ledge and conduct! 4hich is confirmed by the story of his
life before he came to the throne$ 6or it 4as recorded that
he had been a 4ell'versed bhi>>hu 4ith the holy title of
JBimala #hamma3! one of the senior ecclesiastical names
besto4ed u2on bhi>>hus 2roficient in religious study$
;eligious 9anguage < Characters 6or Transliteration
Hudging from the steady 2rogress of TheravDda Ceylonese
Buddhism since the "u>hothai 2eriod! as 4ell as the
friendly relations bet4een Thailand and Ceylon! the religious
language must have been none other than PDli!
4hich is the traditional language of this school$ %ven the
characters used for transliteration 4ere still the 1hmer'
li>e "u>hothai$ As mentioned earlier! the difficulty of this
change lies in the fact that once an im2ression is firmly
established in the 2eo2le3s minds! it is very difficult! if
not im2ossible! to distract the 2ublic from its su22osed
value$ This 4as 2ossibly more so in Ayutthaya! 4hich
had for a long time been the cradle of 1hmer influence
in this field$
Buddhist %ducation
0t is not definitely >no4n ho4 Buddhist education in
ecclesiastical grou2s 4as 2rovided in this 2eriod but! considering
the fact that 1ing Trailo>anatha had follo4ed
constantly in the footste2s of 1ing 9ithai! it is 2robable
that the "u>hothai system of religious education 4as to
a great e=tent ado2ted in AyutthayaA the difference! if
any! 4ould have been in the modification of some details
rather than in the 2rinci2les$ %ven in the reign of
1ing "ong #harma! 4hich is about the end of this 2eriod!
some accounts confirming this fact may be seen in the
boo> called istory ? ;oyal %dition! to the effect that the
;oyal Palace 4as also used as a 2lace for Buddhist education$
.f course! this 4as only an additional institution of
education a2art from the usual instruction carried on in
various monasteries$ This is also related in "tatus of the
Wats Si$e$ tem2lesT 0n The .lden #ays! a boo> by 9uang
Bichit Batha>arn! as follo4s/
U"ince the olden days the tem2les have been the source
and seat of enter2rise and virtue$ They 4ere schools!
since there 4ere no other educational institutionsA
they 4ere hos2itals! the bhi>>hus giving free service
to 2atients in all 4al>s of lifeA they 4ere again clubs
and meeting'2laces for all 4ho cared to go and discuss
their 2roblems and e=change their ideas there$
But they 4ere also 2laces of entertainment 4here! on
festival occasions 2eo2le! young and old ali>e met to
2lay games and enCoy themselves 4ith sho4s and ceremonies
and they 4ere! above all! the source of mental
2o4er W those in trouble or des2air 4ould often
be ins2ired 4ith courage and enthusiasm as soon
as they entered the sacred 2recincts$ With cheerful
encouragement from the bhi>>hus! they 4ould be
refreshed 4ith ne4 ho2e and energy$ Thus! a tem2le
4as everything to the 2eo2le in those days$V
"econd Part .f The Middle Ayutthaya Period
This began from the reign of 1ing Prasart Thong ,B$%$
*((5'*(&8 or (:5)'(:++ A$#$- and lasted to that of 1ing
Thai "ra ,B$%$ **+('**(+ or (()8'(75* A$#$-! during
4hich 2eriod there 4as no outstanding religious movement
as far as foreign relations 4ere concerned! e=ce2t
for that of Christianity! 4hich 4as introduced in the
reign of 1ing @arai and 4hich is beyond the sco2e of this
4or>$
;eligious 2rogress during this 2eriod 4as achieved
through the construction and re2aration of tem2les
rather than through the im2rovement of administrative
2rinci2les$ The ecclesiastical body under the "u2reme
Patriarch 4as! as before! divided into three main sections!
4ith "omdet Phra Banarat as head of the right'4ing to4n'
d4elling bhi>>hus! "omdet Phra BuddhaghosDcDriya as
head of the left'4ing to4n'd4ellers and "omdet Phra
BuddhDcDriya as head of the forest'd4elling bhi>>hus$
.ther details! concerning the functions of smaller units
of the ecclesiastical body also remained the same as before$
Buddhist %ducation
0n the reign of 1ing @arai! there 4as 4hat 4as called a
Buddhist e=amination! as mentioned in Prince #amrong3s
istory of the Buddhist .rder! as follo4s/
U0n s2ite of the lac> of information about the JParien3
,title for those 4ho 2ass the Buddhist e=amination in
PDli language- in the %cclesiastical Titles #irectory!
there has doubtless been such an e=amination since
Ayutthaya$ The oldest information about this fact!
ho4ever! is found in a boo> 4ritten by Monsieur
9a 9ubere! the 6rench Ambassador! 4hich tells ho4!
through the >ing3s generous offerings to the bhi>>hus!
many of his indolent citiEens found a shortcut road to
4ealth and fame$ A great number of them thus entered
the .rder 4ith only a material! selfish goal$ 1no4ing
this! the 1ing suddenly ordered 9uang "orasa>di
,4ho later became the Tiger'1ing- to e=amine the
bhi>>hus in their >no4ledge of Buddhism$ The to4n'
d4elling bhi>>hus readily submitted themselves to
the e=amination! but the forest'd4ellers refused to
co'o2erate! arguing that they should be e=amined
by their o4n chief bhi>>hu instead$ o4ever! this
e=amination resulted in a great number of 2rofligate
bhi>>hus being forced to disrobe through their lac>
of religious >no4ledge$
There is a discre2ancy here bet4een 9a 9ubere3s account
and that of istory ? ;oyal %dition concerning
the event mentioned above$ 0n the former it 4as
9uang "orasa>di 4ho carried out this religious 2urge!
4hereas in the latter! 9ord ,or Chao Phya- BiCayendr
4as mentioned as the 2erson 4ho forced the bhi>>hus
to disrobe$ 0n either case! ho4ever! an undeniable
fact remains that there really 4as an e=amination
in Buddhist >no4ledge by 4hich a successful
student 4as to be called a JParien3 or a JMahD3 in
informal language$ But in 4hat 4ay the e=amination
4as carried on in those days is still un>no4n$V
Another item of documentary evidence confirming this
fact can be seen in Prince #amrong3s letter to Prince
@arisranuvattivongse! dated &th #ecember B$%$ *4&)
,(&4( A$#$-! 2art of 4hich reads/
UW #uring the 2eriod of 1ing ;ama 0 there 4ere still
three grades of a JParien3! li>e those of Ayutthaya!
Thus! a JParien3 4as called Cunior or third grade 4hen
he 2assed the test on the "uttanta2ita>a ,Bas>et or
Collection of #iscourses-A he 4as called an intermediate
or second'class Parien 4hen he succeeded
in his e=amination on the Binaya2ita>a ,Bas>et!
or Collection! of #isci2line- together 4ith the
"uttanta2ita>a of the third'class! it 4as only 4hen
he had successfully undergone the test on all three
Bas>ets ,i$e$ the Abhidhamma2ita>a or Collection of
Meta2hysics in addition to the t4o mentioned 2reviously-
that he 4ould be 2romoted to the first'class or
senior Parien$ Then! in the reign of 1ing ;ama 00! the
"u2reme Patriarch ,Mee- invented a ne4 system of
studying Buddhism! by 4hich the Parien 4as divided
into nine ste2s$ 6rom that time on a Parien ,or
MahD in informal language- has been distinguished
according to the numerical ste2s he has successfully
2assed$V
Cha2ter "even
The 6inal Ayutthaya Period
,B$%$ **7+'*5() or (75*'(8:5 A$#$-
This 2eriod began 4ith the reign of 1ing Borom 1ote
and lasted to the end of 1ing %>athas! a 2eriod of only
5+ years$ This 4as the last stage in 4hich Ayutthaya 4as
the ca2ital of Thailand$
0t 4as in this short 2eriod! during 4hich there 4ere no
significant religious movements 4ithin the country! that
Thailand had an o22ortunity to return Ceylon3s >indness
and 2roudly 2ay her debt of honour in full$ According to
The istory of the Buddhist Church! in B$%$ **&: ,(7+5
A$#$- the island of Ceylon 4as laid 4aste by heretics!
4ho brutally eradicated the Buddhist Church as 4ell as
the sovereignty of the unfortunate land$ When! after4ards!
1ing 1itti "iri ;aCasri liberated the country from
the enemy3s yo>e and established his ca2ital at the to4n
of "ingha 1handha! 4hich is today >no4n as Candy! he
made u2 his mind to restore the Buddhist Church and thus
revive Buddhism in his homeland$ earing of the fame of
Ayutthaya as the land of 2ure TheravDda Buddhism! he
sent a religious mission to Thailand! as>ing for an elder
together 4ith a number of bhi>>hus to go to his country
and ordain his 2eo2le there$ aving learned of 4hat had
ha22ened in Ceylon! 1ing Borom 1ote had t4o elders! viE$
of Thailand 4as indeed a remar>able event in the his
tory of Buddhism and although it is casually mentioned
in the records of Thai history! the Ceylonese 2eo2le felt
they o4ed Thailand a great deal for this restoration of
the Buddhist Church in their homeland$ To symboliEe
this gratitude a boo> 4as 4ritten in Ceylon in honour
and memory of this ha22y incident$ 0t 4as named "iamP
! and deals 4ith Thailand3s contribu
tion and activities on this occasion$
Benerables U2Dli and AriyamunM! together 4ith t4elve
bhi>>hus! sent to Ceylon in res2onse to 1ing 1itti "iri3s
reGuest$ "i= years later ,i$e$ in B$%$ *5)* or (7+& A$#$-!
in the reign of 1ing %>athas! t4o other elders! named
BisuddhDacDriya and BaraODnamunM! together 4ith three
bhi>>hus! 4ere sent to Ceylon in order to re2lace the first
grou2$ This religious contribution to Ceylon on the 2art
Pasam2a
#D2avatti
The .rdination Tradition
0t should be noted here that formerly the ordination of
a 2erson generally resulted from his o4n voluntary intention
4ithout any e=ternal bac>ground 4hatever$ 0t
4as only in the reign of 1ing Borom 1ote that a 2erson3s
ordination into the Buddhist Church 4as reGuired as a
branch of education for the cultured society of the time$
0t 4as said that none of his courtiers could be a22ointed
to high ran>s unless they had been bhi>>hus for some
time$ Members of his royal household 4ere no e=ce2tion
to this rule$ 0t 4as because of this su22lement of Buddhist
education as a 2rereGuisite for higher office that 4hen the
>ing himself 2assed a4ay! in B$%$ *5)( ,((+8 A$#$-! the
Cro4n Prince Uthoom2horn also entered the Buddhist
.rder three months after his coronation ,i$e$ 4hen he
4as old enough! according to the rules of monastic disci2line!
to become a bhi>>hu-$
%=amination Procedure in Buddhist %ducation
Unfortunately! details of this are not definitely >no4n
no4adays! as statistical records and documents 4ere
mostly destroyed 4ith the do4nfall of Ayutthaya$ 0t is
only from later records that 4e learn that a third grade
of Parien ,or certificate- 4as a4arded to bhi>>hus 4ho
could translate the "uttanta2ita>a ,Bas>et or Collection
of #iscourses-! a second grade of Parien ,or di2loma-
4as given to those 4ho could translate the Binaya2ita>a
,Bas>et or Collection of #isci2line- in addition to that of
the third class! and a first grade ,or degree- 4as to be
conferred to those 4ho could translate all three Bas>ets
of the PDli Canon$ There 4as! ho4ever! no mention of
any 2art or section of any Bas>et 4hich 4ould be used
es2ecially for the 2ur2ose of e=amination$
T% T.@ BU;0 P%;0.#
,B$%$ *5()'*5*+ or ((:7'((8( A$#$-
The heroic and self'sacrificial attem2t to liberate the
country from Burmese hands began in the very year of
the do4nfall of Ayutthaya ,B$%$ *5() or ((:( A$#$-! but
it too> 1ing Thon Buri about three years before he and
his com2atriots could gather sufficient forces to drive
out the enemy and thus declare the inde2endence of the
country$ After that the ca2ital 4as moved south4ards to
Thon Buri$
After the country 4as brought bac> to a state of normalcy!
1ing Thon Buri at once began his 4or> on the restoration
of Buddhism$ The Buddhist Church of that time having
suffered the same 2light as the "tate! he sent out his men
to see> virtuous and 4ell'behaved bhi>>hus and invited
them bac> in order to re'establish the Buddhist .rder in
the ne4 city$ 0n addition to this! he had several monasteries
built and devoted much of his time to the study and
2ractice of Buddhism himself$
With regard to Buddhist education during this short
2eriod! it can generally be said that since the country
must al4ays have been on the alert for any indication
of the enemy3s attac>! develo2ment in this field 4as still
more or less ham2ered$ But due to the Eealous efforts
of the >ing himself! 4ho al4ays managed to find time
for Buddhism in addition to his 2er2etual burden of fort'
ifying the country against further aggression! the e=amination
of bhi>>hus in their Buddhist >no4ledge 4as
carried on more or less as in Ayutthaya$ We can ascertain
this fact from various names of the Parien ,or those
4ho have successfully 2assed the e=amination in PDli
language- listed in the old documents referring to the
ha22enings in this 2eriod$ These names included MahD
Mee ,MahD is the informal form of Parien-! the first'class
,or degree grade- Parien of 9ieb Monastery ,this bhi>>hu
4as later! in the time of 1ing ;ama 00 of Cha>ri #ynasty!
the "u2reme Patriarch-A MahD @ar>! first'class Parien of