Fhe HIUORY of HUOOHUH in Thalia
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fHE HIUORY OF HUOOHUH IN THAliA S 8Q 552 867 C.3 .' '., . • , . นกั หอสมุดกลาง สำ BUD,DH1SM IN THA ILA NO ' ItJ ',WAIIG BORIBAL BURIBANDH translated by , 'Or. Luall SurlyalteDls, M.D. , ' • . " ,Pre/ace ':N 'former d8Y~. 88y50 years ago, Thai1a~d :was mostly only ".. , .ll, known from boo'ksand colourful deSCrIptions made by a :few privileged persons who had ventured to visit this country. It was ktlown as "~h~ Land of White Elephants t •• of gilded temples apd pag()das. as ci the Land of Yellow Robes" and .,' the Landof SmilesII. It was described as an island of peace and tral)quility, a haven far away from the high seas ,of up~ heaval and pOlitical unrest. ,Today, particularly since สtheม armed conflict in Korea, where, the free nationsน ofกั theห worldอ struggledุดกลา to contain the disruptive fo,rcesof ำCommun~sm. the eyes of งthe world are ส focussed upon Thailand as a possible future victim of Com munistaggressio~. , It is receiving the attention of both sides, precisely because of its privileged position. It is still an island of peace and relative prosperity, where there are class dis.. tinctiQns y~t no class hatred. Where rich and poor live peace~ fully togetl,1er because of their Buddhist tolerance 'and because ~here.is abundant food,for all. Where foreigners of every race and coUntry are met with a smile. And where the subtle tactics ~nd s'L\bversive activities of Communism have not as yet met with succesa worth speaking of, because of the peo~ ple'\i deep faith in their Religion and because of their inborn love of personal freedom, and their loyalty. to their Rulers who ~nce .ancient times have cared for their peoples as a Father would look after his children. Today. most peoples of the world have become air~, minded. ' And because of the ease and comfort and speed with which .it i. possible to travel by air, hundreds of people from all corners of the earth and of every description now come to see for themselves the wonders of this country, of whlchtney'have read in oldbooks and in magazines or which they saw in the 'picture.. They come into personal contact widl ordinary folk, they learn to laugh and play, with them. Withthelr own eye. they see how the Buddhist religion is be iDg faithfully ,prae~d ~y monks'and laymen alike; and, at the aame ti~e.,how people enjoy the many amenities of mo deln,ci~tiOn,imported from the West. ThOle who have I 1 • ~ .' visited Thailand before. SaY 20 or 30';years ago. ,1so notice the sad decline of our highly spiritual Culture which once had gained the respect of foreign countries and which in the process of rapid sectilarisation has become less apparent in the larger cities. but still lives on in the hearts of the ordinary Thai in rural areas and in the ,older generations." The great attractions of Thailand alld her people fot 'foreigners are stjU the fairylike beauty of our temples and ch,dis; the picturesque sight of ancient cuitUTaI monuments and modem buildings standing side by side in complete har mony; the highly spiritual culture of the ordinary Thai their. traditional hospitalityกั andห theirอส extremeมุดก ลtoleranceา toward. all fO'feigneH and สtheirำน creeds. In short. betterง communications have brought Westernera into clOH contact with our people and have effected a better mutual understanding. 1 he only barriers. besides tlle inoon'V,enience of paeaporta and v~as. fo'!! a still greater knowledge of each other. are those imposed by the limited knowledge of foreign languages. The eultitree and religious beliefs of Eastern peoples. their cuatoms and habits. are an enisma to most and are not 'Yet well known enGugh eVen to higher educated people in the West. The1'e is slill a wide gap to be bridged. and as long as this PP Cit••• tha:e is bound to be misunderstanding and mutual di.truet among the peoples of the world. Therefore there is a great need for more books on the various aspects of the Eastern Way of Life; books that are baaed on facts aDd ligurea and written with thorough knowledge of the subject at hand• .' 'In consideration of this very acute need fo, mOl'e books to fill the gap between Weat and East, ,tllia Hiatory of the Buddhist Religion in Siam. written by an eminent Siamese 8cl10Ial'. ha. been translated into English for the conw::e~eoce '; " oJ the m$ny fri~nds of Thailand. And to make it more readily, under.tood. a .hol't introduction to the Buddha'. Doctrine hn been added which t!:>gether will. it i, hoped, enluUlce gC',)04, under.landin'S between East and West, so much deeded'.in th~.e pre.eot days of fru$trati!:>n. of fear andof mutual dlstnlat and ant"'lomam be~een the people. of the: world•. Peace ttl all BeingsJ ' 1 ~s~·1: ;: BUDDHISM 'IN THAILAND 11' _ The, Buddha's Doctrine The toun4e of the BGddhiat Religion was Gotama the Buddha., who lived. .bout 60(} years before the Christian era. He wae botnm6.22 B.C. (80 year. before the BuddhistEraHn Lumbini Park, near Kappillavatthu, as the son of King Sud~ dhodana.. and Queen Maya who reigned over an Indo-Aryan tribe caI~d Saldya, in the North of India at the foot of the Himalaya'mountains and at the border of Nepal. When he wae horn; it had been predictedกั หอ thatส มheุด wouldกล าeither become the Ruler of ,tLeWorldำ นor a Buddha. As his parentsง did not ส wi.h him to become a Buddha, they sUfleJunded him only with YOWlg 'folk and tried to keep 'him in ~omplete ignorance of the aiUferinga of man; but they did not succeed. The sight of a decrepit old man, a sick man, a dead man and a mendi cant monk-'lhese "F~ur Signs" left such a deep impression uPOn hi. tnirtd that, atfheage of 29, he decided to leave his home and to enter"the homeless life u' of a monk to seek the Truth and fO 'titl a we., to Sal-vatisn fer aU Sentient Beings, an ••cape fi.,. .. the;WhM of Rebirth" aud bom all Suffering , In hi. aeareh for Salvation, he first went to Alara Kala. ma and la~t oh to Uddaka Mt advice; but he found that all tL~ doctrine'S of his teache~8 were ., insufficient, n,ot leading to A.wllkenitlg, to Extinction and to Enlightenment and Insight", .a he himself laid. Not satisfied with their teachings, he ~al'1deted up and down in the hind of Ml1ghadha from place to'l'lace and arrived ne'ar the town of Uruvela, the present Btiddha Gaya. Here he saw .. a delightful piece of country , with abea~tiful foreat and a dear river most suitable 'for Lathiftg; I!l l<"'el, place surrounded by meadows and fields then came to me the thought, ye Brethren. this il.'l, indeed, Ii delightful .pot on eatth; this plaee will ,suffice for ascetic \ ~dee8.·' H.ne. in Uruvela; he met the Five Ascetics (Panca VtIg'ji) whb offeltd their services 10 him. With greatest :zeal • 'Repraetiaeic:l aelf-.orti6catioft fOtmany years, and the, Five' AKetiee followed kim tn evtrytLing'hedid, but w,de unable ..,\bathimmrheit ~erei.et., " 3 " t: . ~ , , ;', Finally the Buddha rea~i$ed that these Ascetic.eiercillles Were not the right way to attain to Salvation. He·had pr~ctis ed self-mortification to the limit of his endurance and felt much weakened without a.chieving anything. So he 'partook of food and having gained stren~th again he began topractise meditation which finally led to his Enlightenm~nt under the Holy Bodhi tree near the river Naranya by 'U~vela when he was 35 years old. The Supreme Knowledge he attained through his intui tive insight in his Enlightenment under. the Holy Bodhi tree' were: (J) The Doctrine of Anatta,อส namelyมุด that everything is transient, miserable, andน กั notห self.containedกล (Anicca·Dukkhaาง Anatta ). All phenomena.สำ nay the whole universe, is subject' to change. It is a fleeting process of arising and disappearing, without any perceivable break in it. t There is no primary ,. cause apparent, but all things arise and cease in dependence of each other in a long chain of cause and effect. All is ,. Be,: coming" without permanent substance; "put together. unatable and changeable", says the Buddha. (J 1) The Doctrine of Karma and Rebirth, namelythat all sentient beings. including tIlen. are born according to their, good and evil deeds, each merely consisting of wLat he has thought, sPoken and done before. and only differs from others by his own self·created Karma ( will-actions) which none can escape. All beings exist because of their individual Karma. ~nd as long as his will actions are misguided byignorance of the'true facts of life. by Greed. UI.will. and Delusion of,Self. he is bound to create new Karma. whi~h 'causes c~ntinaed, Suffering and Rebirth. In man there is no abiding principle" he has no eternal Soul, as all the Five Aggregates ofwhich lJ,is .. personality" consists are subject .to constant change and' at the moment of death are completely extingui~hed. No . soul! not even consciousness, passes over to the new Being, but only that part of Karma whic'll has not yet been e~hau.ted ill th~ pre.en~ life is reborn in anot)ter form. in another bodY. and either in this realm of existence or in any otherl'ealtQ. such as in hea\l'en or in hell, depending upon' the Kan::na <:r~ated in the ~ast:' This re~idual Karm.a i.