Re: pa.tipatti

Dear Tadao, Num and friends,

Another amendment on Buddhism in Thailand:  Jim has sent me this
reference material, (I hope you don't mind my quoting you, Jim); 'I'm
hardly familiar with the spread of Buddhism into Southeast Asia. King
Asoka (3rd cent. BCE) is said to have sent two missionary monks to a
country called Suvannabhumi which some say is Burma, others Thailand,
and others a larger region. Just from a quick glance through one of my
books, it is proven by archaeological finds at Pong Tuk and Phra
Pathom just to the west of BKK that Buddhism was flourishing in
Thailand as far back as the first or second cent. CE. or earlier. The
Sasanavamsa might have more to say about the two missionaries, Sona &
Uttara, that Asoka sent.'

In Thailand we call our country 'Laem Tong' the "golden peninsula"
from way back when, as well as 'Suvannabhumi' and there are cities
like Ang tong "golden basin" and Uu Tong "home or source of gold" and
other places such as the recent land scam by the Dhammakaya leader
that had 'bought' land with gold on it, in his own name out of
contributions to his temple. 

In any case there were no 'Buddha rupa' or images prior to the
Dvaravati period, which is introduced by the Mon, according to the
Siam Society studies, before that there were only footprints and
chedis and other styles of temples.  Actually I've never seen any
Buddha image in any tradition that could equal the description of the
Buddha's great good looks, so I wonder if it was such a good idea to
make Buddha images, much less worship house poles, although the high
roof is a beautiful structure.  Not that I don't love my family's
great Dvaravati image dearly, having seen him since I opened my eyes,
but that is for other reasons entirely.

According to the Atthagatha Vinaya Pitaka, Mahavibhanga, Pathama
Samantapasadika, Sending the Thera to Proclaim the Sasana in Foreign
Lands. After the 3rd council, supported by Asoka, 234-235 years after
the Buddha's parinibbana, a number of Thera were sent to different
countries, at the head of a group of five monks each (since to perform
ordination there needed to be at least 5 bhikkhu), two groups of which
was sent to Suvannabhumi, with Sona & Uttara at their heads. 
Interestingly to all the other countries there were only one group of
monks, but the Suvannabhumi, was the only case where two groups were
sent.  Perhaps in their infinite jhana powers of the selfless arahanta
they were able to predict that two major countries will remain
Buddhists until long after the sasana died down in India, in this
area.

Thank you Tadao for raising the subject, and Jim for pointing me to
the right sources to expand the study, and of course dear Betty for
the Mon notes, I learned a lot personally!

Amara



--- In palistudy@..., "Amara" <joychay@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Tadao,
>
> Are you ever going to love this!!!  This is from Betty, just now. 
> Some great things I didn't know about myself!  And to think that I
am
> a member of the Siam Society (though I haven't been there for a long
> time), as my father had been! (he probably would have known all
this!)
>
> Thanks for the question which gave me the opportunity to learn with
> you,
>
> Amara
>
> *********************
> *********************
>
>
> Hi, Amara,
> OK, here's a bit about the Mons, the progenitors of SEAsian culture,
> especially Thai and Burmese.
> 
> They are a rather old people who lived in the central area between
> Pegu, Burma (I refuse to call it Myanmar) and Nakorn Pathom in
> Thailand. Today, most of them live in Thailand, having escaped from
> the perennial persecution they have always received from Burma. Many
> Mon communities can be found in Pakkret, Ratburi and Kanchanaburi,
> among others. And, if one visits their excellent museum in Ratburi,
> you will see lots of evidence of Mon culture and the efforts to keep
> it alive. Most Mon still speak their language at home, keep their
> customs and pass on the spoken and written languages to their
> children, even though they are "Thai."
> 
> When we visited the village, it was situated just next to the
village
> with the Mon museum. Monks in the temple there chanted in Mon
instead
> of Pali and each house had a special shrine with flowers and baskets
> placed around the most important "house pole" or piling. I was given
> the honor of sleeping in the room which shared that same pole and
was
> thus considered the best room in the house. The food was Thai
although
> they also had Mon names for most of the dishes. But, other than that
> they spoke the language at home, studied Mon writing, and respected
> the "house pole", there were few Mon customs to distinguish them
from
> the Thais. Most of the children are so well assimilated that many of
> their old customs are dying out, except for the efforts to keep the
> spoken language alive.
> 
> It is believed that in the 6th c. AD they had a flourishing
> civilization, called Dvaravati, that probably centered in Nakorn
> Pathom and included most of modern day Thailand and southern Burma.
> All the artifacts found from that long lost civilization point to
that
> conclusion. A few of their contributions:
> 
> Theirs was the first Theravada Buddhist civilization in the area.
> Artifacts found include numerous "Wheels of the Law" in which the
> Buddha set in motion the path of purification, the Dhamma, through
> which one would gain increasing wisdom that would help dispel
> defilements: lobha, dhosa and moha.  It is believed that the firm
> foundation they established for Buddhism may have been a major
factor
> in keeping northern SEAsia Buddhist after the coming of Islam to
> "island" SEAsia (Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.) Their architectural
style
> is evident in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia: the distinctive
> tiered roofs are their gift to us. A host of words in the Thai
> language are of Mon origin, e.g., kanom jeen, with jeen having first
> thought to have meant Chinese, is actually from Mon (sorry, I can't
> find the source and the original meaning of that word).
> 
> The Siam Society published an excellent book on them, called The
Mons,
> which gives their history, culture, customs, etc. Right now my copy
is
> packed away awaiting finishing the construction of "my room", but if
> you call up the Siam Society, you can probably order a copy from
them.
> 
> Hope this is at least a beginning for your friend who is interested
in
> this fascinating civilization and people.
> 
> With metta,
> Betty
> 
> 
> 
> __________________________
> Mom Bongkojpriya (Betty) Yugala
> 38 Soi 41 Phaholyothin Road
> Bangkok 10900, Thailand
> tel: 662-579-1050; 661-826-7160
> beyugala@...