BUDDHISM / SOUTHEAST ASIA VEIDLINGER (Continued from front flap) by forest-dwelling monastic orders in- “There is really nothing like this book. It addresses issues of current How did early Buddhists actually troduced from Sri Lanka in the develop- interest in Buddhist and cultural studies such as textual community, SPREADING encounter the seminal texts of their ment of Lan Na’s written Pali heritage. It literary and material culture, and the relationship between oral religion? What were the attitudes held SPREADING also considers the rivalry between those and written texts. It also brings to scholarly and public attention —— —— by monks and laypeople toward the monks who wished to preserve the older a period and area of the world that has been understudied and is THE written and oral Pali traditions? In this oral tradition and monks, rulers, and deserving of more attention.” pioneering work, Daniel Veidlinger laypeople who supported the expansion explores these questions in the context of the new medium of writing. DONALD K. SWEARER, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University of the northern Thai kingdom of Lan DHAMMA Na. Drawing on a vast array of sources, Throughout the book, Veidlinger empha- including indigenous chronicles, reports sizes the influence of changing modes of “Spreading the Dhamma is an ambitious and stimulating contribution by foreign visitors, inscriptions, and communication on social and intellectual to the study of Buddhist textual practices in southern Asia. It Writing, Orality, and Textual palm-leaf manuscripts, he traces the role life. The medium, he argues, is deeply in- should provoke further comparative research on the history of of written Buddhist texts in the predomi- volved in the assimilation of the content, writing technologies and attitudes towards writing within the Transmission in Buddhist nantly oral milieu of northern Thailand and therefore the vessels by which texts from the fifteenth to the nineteenth Pali-using Buddhist world.” have been transmitted in the Buddhist Northern Thailand centuries. world should not be ignored. Spreading ANNE M. BLACKBURN, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University the Dhamma constitutes an important Veidlinger examines how the written addition to the fields of Southeast Asian word was assimilated into existing Bud- studies, Buddhist studies, and the history THE dhist and monastic practice in the region, of communications and sets up a model considering the use of manuscripts for of textual transmission that has impli- textual study and recitation as well as the cations for the study of Buddhism and place of writing in the cultic and ritual religion in traditional societies in general. life of the faithful. He shows how manu- DHAMMA scripts fit into the economy, describes Jacket illustration: Early twentieth century Pali Kammava¯ca¯ manuscript how they were made and stored, and from northern Thailand. (From the collection of Justin McDaniel; highlights the understudied issue of the DANIEL VEIDLINGER is assistant professor photo by Catherine Blackmore) “cult of the book” in Therava¯da Bud- in the Department of Religious Studies at dhism. Looking at the wider Therava¯da California State University, Chico. Jacket design by Santos Barbasa Jr. world, Veidlinger argues that manuscripts in Burma and Sri Lanka played a more central role in the preservation and dis- DANIEL M. VEIDLINGER semination of Buddhist texts. By offering a detailed examination of UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I PRESS the motivations driving those who spon- sored manuscript production, this study Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-1888 draws attention to the vital role played (Continued on back flap) Spreading the Dhamma Southeast Asia politics, meaning, and memory David Chandler and Rita Smith Kipp series editors OTHER VOLUMES IN THE SERIES Hard Bargaining in Sumatra: Western Travelers and Toba Bataks in the Marketplace of Souvenirs Andrew Causey Print and Power: Confucianism, Communism, and Buddhism in the Making of Modern Vietnam Shawn Frederick McHale Investing in Miracles: El Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines Katherine L. Wiegele Toms and Dees: Transgender Identity and Female Same-Sex Relationships in Thailand Megan J. Sinnott In the Name of Civil Society: From Free Election Movements to People Power in the Philippines Eva-Lotta E. Hedman Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860–1945 Penny Edwards The Tây S°n Uprising: Society and Rebellion in Eighteenth-Century Vietnam George Dutton Art as Politics: Re-Crafting Identities, Tourism, and Power in Tana Toraja, Indonesia Kathleen M. Adams Spreading the Dhamma Writing, Orality, and Textual Transmission in Buddhist Northern Thailand daniel m. veidlinger university of hawai‘i press Honolulu © 2007 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 12 11 10 09 08 07 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Veidlinger, Daniel M. Spreading the Dhamma : writing, orality, and textual transmission in Buddhist Northern Thailand / Daniel M. Veidlinger. p. cm.—(Southeast Asia—politics, meaning, memory) Based on the author’s dissertation (University of Chicago). Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8248-3024-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8248-3024-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Buddhism—Thailand, Northern—History. 2. Communication—Religious aspects— Buddhism. 3. Pali literature—Thailand, Northern—History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. BQ568.N675V45 2006 294.309593—dc22 2006008330 University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Series design by Richard Hendel Printed by The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group contents Acknowledgments vii Note on Transliteration and Translation ix Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1. Monks and Memory: The Oral World 21 2. Early Thai Encounters with Orality and Literacy 42 3. Golden Age, Golden Images, and Golden Leaves 63 4. The Text in the World: Scribes, Sponsors, and Manuscript Culture 103 5. Turning Over a New Leaf: The Advance of Writing 133 6. Overlooked or Looked Over? The Meaning and Uses of Written Pali Texts 164 Conclusion 204 Notes 213 Bibliography 233 Index 249 acknowledgments This book developed around my dissertation, which was prepared for the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, where I had the good fortune to have Steven Collins as my ad- viser. He saw the project through from a nebulous complex of ideas years ago to the dissertation and beyond. Without his interest, encouragement, and discerning criticism, this book never could have been completed. My sincerest thanks are also extended to the other members of my dissertation committee, Frank Reynolds and Matthew Kapstein, whose insightful com- ments and clear direction always kept me on track. Much of the information in this book was collected while I was a re- search associate at the Social Research Institute at Chiang Mai University in 1999. There were many people in Thailand who offered their time and wis- dom to aid me in my research. In particular I would like to thank Justus Neuser, to whom I owe my deepest gratitude. One of the few people with the language skills required for a project of this nature, he happily offered to as- sist me in any way he could. He helped me struggle through many of my ¤rst Thai colophons and inscriptions. Endowed with a true thirst for knowledge, the more I requested of him, the more satis¤ed he was. Bali Buddharaksa, who was curator of the manuscript project at the SRI, encouraged me to look at as many manuscripts as possible, and, what is more, helped me to do so. Samli Mulkæo taught me how to read the Lan Na script and was very patient during the many occasions when I was confronted with letters that seemed to me, though thankfully not to him, to be indecipherable. The rest of the fac- ulty and staff at the SRI made the research and my time in Chiang Mai pleas- ant and fruitful. I have had the pleasure of meeting or otherwise being in contact with numerous people in the ¤eld to whom thanks are due for answering my often obscure questions. Louis Gabaude, Oskar von Hinüber, Michael Rhum, Donald Swearer, and Hans Penth deserve particular mention in this regard. Peter Skilling was not only an endless fount of information, but also a gra- cious host, and I thank him for welcoming me to Thailand. I also owe many thanks to series editor David Chandler and an anony- mous reader as well as Justin McDaniel, who graciously read the entire manuscript with a ¤ne-toothed comb and responded with amazingly viii : acknowledgments detailed and helpful comments. Copy editor Margaret Black’s suggestions and corrections were always spot on, and any mistakes that I have managed to sneak past these able scholars are thanks only to my own deviousness. Pamela Kelley at University of Hawai‘i Press patiently answered my many queries and ensured that the whole process ran smoothly. Financial support for the research was generously provided by the Com- mittee on Southern Asian Studies at the University of Chicago, whose orga- nized and friendly staff made the task of supporting this endeavor much easier than it might have been. The transformation of the dissertation into this book was supported by the Research Foundation at California State University, Chico, through two Summer Scholars grants. My father, Otto Veidlinger, and brother, Jeffrey Veidlinger, read much of the manuscript and greatly helped improve my writing. My beloved Saman provided enormous emotional support and believed in me even when I did not. And ¤nally, I happily acknowledge my colleagues at the Depart- ment of Religious Studies CSU, Chico, for creating the perfect environment in which to work each day. note on transliteration and translation All isolated names of people, places, and things that are derived from Pali or Sanskrit are written according to their Indic pronunciations, which gener- ally accords with their Thai spellings, but not pronunciation.