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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAI BUDDHISM
1. General Introduction
Buddhism in Thailand is known as Theravada Buddhism, which can be traced back to the eighteen
schools of early Buddhism in the time of Asoka emperor, who supported the third Buddhist Council in
India.1 Thai Theravada Buddhism is close to the Early Buddhism in India at the time of the Buddha.2
Thailand, known in the past as Siam3 country, is a small country with an area of approximately 51,977
square miles and a population (2001) 61,466,178. It lies between 5º 27´-20º 27´ north latitude and 97º 21´
- 105º 37´ east longitude, sharing borders with four countries, to the north with Myanmar (formerly
Burma) and Laos, to the west with Myanmar to the east with Laos and Cambodia and to the south with
Malaysia. Its land frontier is 5,326 kilometers long. To the south on either side lies a sea: the Gulf of
Thailand and the Andaman Sea. The shoreline is 2,614.4 kilometers long.4 By 2001 A.D. Thailand had
31,111 Buddhist temples and 280,678 monks and novices.5 The King, although protector of all religions,
must be a Buddhist, and he is the ultimate reference in administrative matters pertaining to the Buddhist
Monastic Order. In 1956 His Majesty King Phumipol Adulyadet resided at Wat Bovoranives as a monk
for a period of two weeks, and by this action gave royal support to the observance of Buddhist jubilee year
2500. The Thai calendar dates from the death of Buddha fixed at 543 B.C. The official or state celebration
of Buddhist Era 2500 took place in Bangkok in May 1957, and was held at the Snam Luang or open
square in front of the Grand Palace, which is known officially as "Royal Ground". A pavilion was erected
seating 2500 people, and here a series of services were held attended by Buddhist delegated from abroad
and representatives of various departments of the Thai Government. There was a parade of nearly sixty
floats depicting sences from the life of Buddha, all government sponsored, and a procession of royal boats
or golden “barges” by river, with an impressive illumination of the flotilla and shoreline by night. A
special commemorative image as cast for the occasion, --a standing or walking figure of Buddha.
The first two kings of the present Chakri dynastry, who reigned from 1782 to 1824, are known by
the names Phra Buddha Yod Fa, and Phra Buddha, Loet La. While the third king, Phra Nang Klao, did not
possess the name “Buddha” he was known for his devotion to the Order and his aid in temple building and
scriptural revision. Regarding the fourth ruler, King Mongkut, more will be said later. His son Prince
Vajiranavaroros was virtually head of the Buddhist Monastic Order from 1892 to 1910; from 1910 until
his death in 1921 he was Prince Patriarch. Thereafter a grandson of Rama III became Prince Patriarch and
filled this high position until his death in 1937. It has been the custom of all kings to serve a novitiate in
1
Bapat, P.V. 2500 Years of Buddhism (Ist ed. 1956; 5th rpt. Delhi: Publication Division, 1987), p.
89. He believed that the earliest available teaching of the Buddha to be found in Pali literature belongs to
the school
of the Theravadins.
2
Singh, Nagendra Kr. International Encyclopaedia of Buddhism: Vol. 63 Thailand. (=IEBT). (New Delhi:
Anmol Publications
Pvt. Ltd., 1999), p. viii.
3
The word 'Thai' was brought into use later.
4
Foreign Office, the Public Relation Department. The Thai People and Culture. (Bangkok: The Public Relation
Department, Office of Prime minister, 1999), p.10.
5
Veerachart Nimanong, The Educational Inequality of Monks and Novices in Thailand. Bangkok: Research
Work Submitted to The National Council of Thailand, 2545/2002, pp. 361-364)
Chapter I: The Unique Characteristics of Thai Buddhism
2
the temple in their youth, thus the throne has been bound to the Order by ties of experience as well as by
personal interest.
Close cooperation between the Buddhist Monastic Order and the Thai Government is effected by
means of the Department of Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Education. In 1959 this Department had a
staff of about two hundred and a budget of 13,451,543 baht. At present, Buddhism has an independent
center for its operation and recognition known as Office of National Buddhism. The government
recognizes four Buddhist festivals as national holidays, namely the Visakha Puja Day, Magha Puja Day,
Asalha Puja Day, and Koa Pansa Day. Senior members of the Monastic Order take part in nearly all state
ceremonies and observances. In turn the government protects the lands and revenues of the Order, gives
financial support to the maintenance of temples, grants concessions to monks traveling on the State
Railway, promotes monastic education, and fosters Buddhist teaching in schools and by radio programs.
In 1932 the government was changed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. The Buddhist
Order seemed to suffer no shock as a result of this change, although the Patriarch was related to the
Throne by ties of blood. The cabinet of the new government recognized the stabilizing force of the
Buddhist Order in a time of political change and placed much emphasis upon the importance of religion.
The Oath of Allegiance Ceremony in which loyalty was pledged to the King was superseded by a
government-sponsored Constitution Day in which religious ceremonies had a prominent place.
2.
Historical Outline of Thai Buddhism
2.1.
How Buddhism Reached the Territories Later occupied by the Thai Nation
Second Half of the 3rd Century B.C.
Among the first Buddhist missionaries sent abroad by the Indian Emperor Asoka were Phra Sona
and Phra Uttara from Magadha. They landed in Suvarnabhumi (Golden Territories ), which is
known as Nakornpathom province in Thailand at present.6 Over time they were followed by
immigrants from various points along the east coast of India, mainly from the Krsna River where
major Buddhist centres were located at Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati.
The 6th and 7th Century A.D.
The Mon of Southern Burma invaded the Central Valley of the Menam River and established their
Kingdom of Dvaravati. The Mon princess Chama Devi of Lopburi then went north to Lamphun
and converted the Lava and the Thai of the Chiengmai area to Theravada Buddhism.
The 8th to the 11th century
Central Thailand remained relatively free of Mahayana, traits which reached Southern Thailand
with the expansion of the Srivijaya Empire. (Srivijaya was, at times, ruled by kings residing in the
capital city of Palembang on Sumatra.) The Khmer, who were either Saivites or Buddhists or both,
also introduced Mahayana Buddhism to Eastern Thailand.
2.1.
Developments in Ceylon which Were To Influence Thai Buddhism
The Second Half of the 3rd Century B.C.
According to the Ceylonese Chronicle, the Mahavamsa, it was Prince Mahinda, a son of Emperor
Asoka, who introduced Theravada Buddhism to Ceylon.
He was supported by King
Devanampiyatissa who ruled at Anuradhapura.
The 25th Century B.C.
The Pālī Tripitaka was first put into writing by Singhalese monks of the Mahavihara during the
Fourth Council called by King Vattagāminī. Ceylon became then the centre of learning and
propagation of Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
6
Ruth-Inge Heinze said: “presumably Lower Burma, Sumatra, or Takuapa at the west coast of the
Malayan peninsula.” (1982, p. 110).
Chapter I: The Unique Characteristics of Thai Buddhism
3
A.D. 425
Buddhaghosa translated the Buddhist Canon from Singhalese back into Pali and tried to purify the
texts from Hindu, Mahayana, Tantric elements. He also wrote various commentaries, e.g., the
Visuddimagga (The Path of Purification).
1163 Because Buddhist practices had declined with the growing influence of the Tamil,
King Parakrama Bahu initiated a revival movement and mediated between the disputing three
nikayas (i.e., the Mahavihara, the Abhayagiri, and the Jetarama monks)
2.2.
Development of Thai Buddhism
A.D. 69
Chinese chronicles report that 533,711 Thai in Yunnan formally declared their adherence to
Buddhism, without indicating to which school. “More recent studies suggest that the principal
homeland of the Tai before the beginning of the Christian Era was in the region of the present
Chinese provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsi and Kweichow where there is still a large Tai-speaking
population.”
A.D. 650
Six Thai kingdoms consolidated in Nanchao and their rulers claimed to be descendants of Emperor
Asoka’s sons whom he had sent to Southern China for the propagation of Buddhism .
12th Century
Triggered by Mongol (Kublai Khan’s ) conquests, Thai tribes began to move southwards into the
territories of the Mon and the Khmer.
1287 A.D.
King Rama Kamheng secured the supremacy of the Kingdom of Sukhothai among the Thai princes
and declared Theravada Buddhism to be the state religion. The Dharmasastra of the neighboring
Mon served as the basis for the legal system in Thailand. Rama Kamheng also invited Ceylonese
monks to teach the good Law (Dhamma). The Mon monks were gamavasi (town dwellers) while
the Ceylonese monks preferred to be arannavasi (forest dwellers) to maintain their practices
which followed the Vinay rules more strictly than the Mon monks.
1335 Loe thai (grandson of Rama Kamheng), not only conversant with Vedic and Sanskrit traditions but
the Vinaya and the Abhidhamma as well, wrote the Traibhumikatha (Story of the Three Worlds).
This cosmological treaties has come down to us almost intact in its original version.
1347 Lue Thai (Dhammaraja I) invited another group of Ceylonese monks to live in
Thailand. Temporarily renouncing his kingship, he was ordained by them and
stayed in monkhood for several months.
1350 Rama Tibodi (former Prince of U-thong) founded the new Thai capital at Ayuthya. He and most
of the following thirty-two kings of Ayuthya were Buddhist scholars who also sponsored religious
writings.
1431 After repeated invasions of Cambodia, Thai armies took Angkor Wat. This led to a religious
entente. Cambodian monks studied Buddhism in the country of their conquerors and Thai monks
wrote the sacred texts down on palm leaves using Cambodian characters. Because the Khmer used
Sanskrit in most of their texts, we find many Sanskrit terms in Thai literature. Khmer brahmin
also began to participate in royal and national ceremonies (e.g., coronation, First Ploughing, etc.).
1448-88 King Boromatrailokanath (the “Supreme Lord of the Three Worlds”) spent
eight months in monkhood himself. Assuming his royal duties again, he promulgated the Thai
administrative system (sakdina “power of the fields”) and also ranked monks according to their
knowledge and influence.
1477 In northern Thailand, to purify the Pali Canon, King Tilokaraj called the eighth Buddhist Council
to convene at his capital, Chiengmai.
th
16
Monks in Chiengmai wrote chronicles and commentaries to Buddhist
century
scriptures which are still in use and widely quoted.
Chapter I: The Unique Characteristics of Thai Buddhism
4
A.D.
1568-83
War with Burma
1750 King Kirti Sri Rajasingha of Ceylon asked Thai monks to restore the lost succession of monks
(i.e., the necessary quorum qualified to perform a valid ordination). The Syam nikaya, founded by
Thai monks, was to become the most prestigious one on Ceylon.
1759 Luang Prabang and Chiengmai were conquered by the Burmese.
1766-67 Ayuthya was destroyed by the Burmese. During these invasions Thailand lost most of her
documents. Not one copy of the Tripitaka was left intact.
1776 General Taksin, of Chinese descent, defeated the Burmese and became King of Thailand.
Drawing on ancient sources, he compiled again a Traibhimikatha.
1782 Rama I ascended the throne. He was the founder of the Chakri Dynasty to which the present king
belongs. One of his main efforts was to revive Buddhism in the war-inflicted areas. He also
ordered Buddha statues to be sent to his new capital, Bangkok.
1788 Rama I called the Ninth Buddhist Council to Bangkok with the aim of compiling an authentic
version of the Tripitaka. Efforts to publish a critical edition of the Tripitaka have continued up to
the present time. Rama I also issued ten decrees to restore the discipline of the Sangha.
1809-24 Rama II standardized the education for monks.
1824-51 Rama III divided the Sangha into four sections: northern, central, southern, and
forest monks.
1851-68 After over twenty-six years spent in monkhood, Rama IV ascended the throne.
He improved the standard of scholarship among monks, revised the ordination procedure and
formed a new nikaya, the Thammayut Chapter. According to their name, “Those-Yoked-to-the
Dhamma” followed the rules of the Vinaya more closely than the other Thai school, the
Mahanikaya. Though the liberal Mahanikaya outnumbers the Thammayut by 35 to 1, members of
the royal family prefer to be ordained by Thammayut monks and Thammayut monasteries enjoy
royal patronage. Many Chakri princes (e.g., the present crown prince in 1978) and many kings
(before their coronation) spent some time in monkhood.
1868-1910 King Rama V revised the curricula of the Sangha and installed new ranks.
With the creation of the first Ministry of Education, public instruction which formerly had been
in the hands of monks, was secularized.
1893 With the help of his brother, the Sangharaja Vajirananavarorasa, Rama V founded the first
Buddhist university, Mahamakut, in Bangkok, on the premised of Wat Bovornivet where his
father had been monk for twenty-six years.
1893 The second Buddhist university, Mahachulalongkorn, was opened on the premises of Wat
Mahathat in Bangkok.
1993 The Tipitaka (Pali Canon) was published for the first time in history in its entire length, spinsored
by a Thai king.
1902 Rama V proclaimed the First Sangha Administration Act.
1932 An unbloody revolution triggered the change from an absolute to a constritutional monarchy.
1942 Prime Minister Phibul Songkram issued the Second Sangha Administration Act, organizing the
Sangha to resemble secular ministries.
1957 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha’s Parinibbana.
1962 The Third Sangha Act, issued by Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat, restored the previous
administrative structure but continued the attempts to centralize Sangha activities. He asked
monks to promote national policies.
1946 to date
Rama IX, Phumiphol Adulyadet, became monk for three weeks, in 1946 shortly before his
coronation. He is still regarded as the highest official in Thai Buddhism.
Chapter I: The Unique Characteristics of Thai Buddhism
5
1970
The Report of the Department of Religious Affairs lists 25,659 monasteries in Thailand, in which
194,561 fully ordained monks reside. Together with the number f novices, wat boys, and whiteclad laymen and women, 431,752 Thais were, at that time, living in a monastery, i.e.,
approximately 1.2 per cent of 38 million people.
N.B.: The First Council was called to Rajagrha in 543 B.C., shortly after the Buddha’s
death to codify the Pali Canon (Phra Upali recited the Vinaya and Phra Ananda the Suttas.
The Second Council at Vaisali in 443 B.C. settled ten controversial points.
At the Third Council at Pataliputra, around 250 B.C., the Abhidhamma was added.
At the Fourth Council on Ceylon in 25 B.C., the Pali Canon was first committed to writing by
monks of the Mahavihara. (They wrote the Canon down in Singhalese).
The Fifth to Seventh Councils also took place on Ceylon, though the Sixth and the Seventh
actually cannot be called councils.
Questions for Discussion
1. What are the unique characteristics of Buddhism in Thailand as different from Buddhism in
other countries in Southeast Asia, such as Sri Lanka, Myanma and Cambodia? Justify your
answer.
2. What are the most important events for you in the history of Thai Buddhism in accordance
with the historical outline mentioned above? How and why?
3. According to some, Theravada Buddhism is so much conservative that it becomes
fundamentalism and ideology? Do you agree with them? If yes, how and if not, why?
4. Is there Buddhism called Thai Buddhism? Comment.
(to be continued….)