I think I have a copy of this edition of the
Gambhira-nyanodaya-Pakarana in my files. If not, I will check
with a couple friends and get back to you if I find it.
best,
jm
P.S. The Mangaladipani is one of the most well-known text
(1524 Chiang Mai) in Thailand and is the subject of the
highest Pali examinations. There are a number of good
vernacular Thai studies of this text. The text has been out on
CD Rom for these exams. It is largely an anthology of Pali
canonical verses. I have lots more on this text if anyone is
interested. To respond to Eisel's request (sorry, i enjoy the
debates on this site, but only chime in if I have something to
add, I am learning a lot from the group). In general, I work a
lot on the subject of "apocryphal" Pali and bi-lingual
(Pali-Thai, Pali-Lao, Pali-Khoen, Pali-Lue, Pali-Shan)
manuscripts in Laos and Thailand. We can see these texts as
corrupt or as creative depending on your perspective and the
way the text is used in liturgies, homiletics, rituals, drama.
Peter Skilling works on these subjects as well and has
published a few articles and a three volume manuscript
catalogue looking at these "new" texts in the region
(14th-20th centuries). I have pasted below my entry (only 1000
words) to the Encyclopedia of Buddhism on "Laos," it has some
short notes on texts in the region. I have a few other longer
pieces on the subject and can send some to interested parties
(subjects include: khoen adaptations of jatakas, nissaya,
naamasadda, and vohaara texts, oral adaptations of pali texts,
uses of the abhidhamma in funeral rituals, history of the EFEO
and the teaching of pali in laos, and the like).
History of Lao Buddhism
Justin McDaniel
(from the Encyclopedia of Buddhism)
Texts (palm-leaf and mulberry leaf manuscripts, stone and
metal inscriptions, travelers reports, and printed texts) are
our primary sources for the history of Buddhist practice in
Laos. These sources only provide information on Lao Buddhism
from the 14th century and many remain unexposed to scholarly
scrutiny in monastic, governmental and royal archives. A
survey of the information gleaned from these sources reveals a
fragmented and contested history of royal patronage and
governmental reform, as well as a creative engagement between
local, indigenous beliefs and a translocal religion. As the
various kingdoms of what now makes up Laos emerged as regional
centers of power and wealth Buddhism became constitutive of
Lao identity. In turn, royal reform, rituals, beliefs,
aspirations and vehicles of expression reconstituted Buddhism.
Textual sources and inscriptions reflect the fragmented and,
for lack of a better word, syncretic, nature of the early
history Lao Buddhism. Generally, the most common texts found
in Laos before the 20th century are nidans (folktales such as
Thao Hung Thao Chuang, Sin Xai, Om Lom Dang Kieo), the
anisamsas (blessings used in Buddhist ritual and magical
ceremonies), parittas (incantations for protection), xalongs
(ceremonial instructions for both lay and religious
ceremonies), aprocryphal jatakas (non-canonical birth-stories
of the Buddha), nissayas (creative translations and
commentaries of Pali texts) and tamnans (relic, image and
temple histories). Xalongs, anisamsas and parittas are used in
everyday house, buffalo, temple and bodily blessings or for
making love potions and protective tatoos. The tamnans are
histories that show the heavy Buddhist influence in the
governmental, economic, and military history of Laos.
Apocryphal jatakas, and nidans are intricate and entertaining
stories of heroism, romance and adventure that were (and are)
often requested to be narrated at religious events or
life-cycle rituals, such as funerals, the end of the rains
retreat, etc. or were the basis for monastic education and
public sermons. What should be emphasized is that Pali
canonical texts are often in the minority in these collections
and that translocal Buddhist narratives and philosophical
texts have been commented on and adapted by local Lao teachers
and these commentaries are much more popular in Laos than
their source texts from India and Sri Lanka.
Lao Buddhist inscriptions have yet to be fully surveyed, read
and catalogued; however, they generally provide evidence of
royal or wealthy lay patronage of certain monasteries (votive
inscriptions). They also reflect the great influence Northern
Thailand and (after 1560) Burma had on the practice of Lao
Buddhism. One inscription from Dansai (formerly part of the
Lao Kingdom of Lan Xang, but since the mid-19th century in
Thailand) tells of Buddhist monks accompanying the king to a
political meeting with the King of the Kingdom of Ayudhya.
Another from Vientiane (the present capital of Laos) suggests
that their were many monks from Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand)
in the region which would account for similarities in Lao and
Northern Thai Buddhist and secular literature composed from
1480 to 1620.
King Phothisalarat was probably the most active patron of
Buddhism and Buddhist literature in Laos. It is him and his
son Xetthathirat that we must thank for most of our sources of
Lao Buddhist history. He actively tried to purify Lao
Buddhism by banning magical practices and the worshipping of
phi (ghosts) and phabhum (local deities of trees, rocks,
waterfalls, etc.). However, modern rituals (like the riak
kwan, phuk heuan, bun bang fai, etc.) in various parts of Laos
show the limited success his reforms since the all of these
rituals combine the worship and propitiation of phi and
phabhum by Buddhist monks and the chanting of Buddhist
mantras. The practice of drawing magical yantras by monks and
lay experts has also been popular from at least the 15th
century and involve the mixing of Buddhist prayers with
aspirations to be lucky in love, finances and to avoid attacks
by knives, guns and poison. The documentation and
preservation of many of these artistic works and rituals by
the French and the fact that many of the ritual implements,
paintings, and statues sit in French libraries, museums, and
private homes speaks to the contested legacy of French
Colonial rule.
Laos did not have a printing press until the French Colonial
Period (approx. 1893 to 1954) and only recently has there been
a regular printing of religious books in Lao. These books
cover a wide range of subjects, but generally are like their
palm and mulberry leaf manuscript predecessors. Still,
whether it be printed books, inscriptions or manuscripts, the
textual sources resist easy classifcation and cannot be used
to provide a clear, linear history of Buddhism in Laos.
However, this should not suggest that Lao scholars from the
14th century to the present day did not attempt to write (or
perhaps initially orally record) these types of positivist
historical chronicles. There are several extant royal and
religious chronicles, the most famous being the Nidan Khun
Borom. These chronicles tell of the introduction of Buddhism
into Laos under King Fa Ngum in the mid-14th century, the
growth and reform and of Buddhism under Kings Xetthathirat in
the late 15th century, the movement of monks, scribes,
artisans, etc. from Chiang Mai to Laos after the Burmese
invasion of the former in the 1560s, the patronage and
building of numerous monasteries under King Surinyavong from
1638 to 1695, the burning of the Sisaket Monastery and the
theft of the Emerald Buddha by the Siamese in the late 18th
century, and the building of numerous monasteries, the
re-unification of the three kingdoms of Laos (Luang Pabang,
Vientiane and Xampasak) by King Anuwong and the subsequent
burning of the Vientiane by the forces of Siam in 1827.
Still, these chronicles, like Western and local modern
historical reconstructions written in the twentieth century,
generally sacrifice accuracy to clarity, covering the variety
of the of Buddhist beliefs and practices with a sheen of unity
and linearity.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, travelers reports provide
information about the history of Buddhist practice among the
general population that is lacking in royal chronicles,
protective chants, philosophy and relic and temple histories,
and confirm the validity of some of the rituals described in
folktales and epic poems. The six volume collection by
members of the Mission Pavie (1879-1895) and the work of Karl
Izikowitz in the 1930s discusses how local animistic
practices of the Hmong, Sedang, Moi and other Lao hill-tribes
became mixed with Buddhist practices and how monks took on the
role of magician, appeaser of local deities, doctor and
secular and religious teacher in Lao villages. Still, besides
these reports and many others, a comprehensive study of how
Buddhism and indigenous Lao religions have constituted each
other remains a desideratum.
At the end of almost 100 years of war and foreign occupation,
the independent Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos emerged
in 1975 and despite its being Marxist the government has
allowed the practice of Buddhism to flourish and even used
Buddhist monks as political advocates who hold up the
communist ideals of equality among the classes, generosity,
and community cooperation. However, the government have
encouraged more involvement of monks in community development
and secular education by sponsoring the Union of Lao Buddhists
and other Buddhist/Communist organizations, while discouraging
monks practice of traditional healing rituals, exorcism and
prophecy, or from using the monkhood to avoid military and
government service. They also have made attempts to limit lay
donations (in order to gain merit for a favourable re-birth)
to monasteries, which has been the foundation of lay/monk
interaction for the entire history of Lao Buddhism. Still,
like the efforts of King Phothisalarat and King Anuvong to
reform Buddhism, these government policies have largely been
quietly ignored and although monks have played a greater role
in secular education since 1975, the unique and syncretic
practices of Lao Buddhists that our sources evince persist and
even flourish in among the urban and rural population.
---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2005 13:02:57 +0100
>From: "Ole Holten Pind" <oleholtenpind@...>
>Subject: SV: [palistudy] Nyanodayapakarana
>To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
>
>
>Dear Bhante,
>
><Regarding the ~Naanodayappakara.nam. You mention a recently
published Thai
>edition, however, Dr Filliozat mentions in relation to a MS
of this text
>found in the Vat Po MSS collection that there is an edition
published
>already in 1962: ''Gambhiira~naanodaya published in homage to
Phra
>Supharnabat Somdet Phra Sangkharat ~Naa.nodaya mahaathera,
22-23 mithunaayon
>2506 [June 1962].A copy of this printed edition has been
offered to EFEO
>library in Paris.''
>Is this an editon of the text or maybe some kind of
commemoration volume in
>honour of Phra Somdet ~Naa.nodaya?
>
>Thank you very much for this imformation. I was completely
unaware of the
>edition you mention. Do you think that Dr. Filliozat would
have it copied
>and mailed to me? Unfortunately I am unable to read the Thai
preface of the
>modern edition that was presented to me in 2004. It contains
a lot of
>photos, some in colour. I wonder if anyone has ever studied
it. It is a kind
>of saasanava.msa. It contains quotations from Mahaava.msa and
the poraa.na,
>some of which are identical with Diipava.msa verses. Whoever
wrote it must
>have had access to the material on which both Diipava.msa amd
Mahaava.msa
>are based.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Ole
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
>
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______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
909-827-4530
justinm@...