University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1985 The Concept of 'Dhamma' in Thai Buddhism: A Study in the Thought of Vajiranana and Buddhadasa Pataraporn Sirikanchana University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Sirikanchana, Pataraporn, "The Concept of 'Dhamma' in Thai Buddhism: A Study in the Thought of Vajiranana and Buddhadasa" (1985). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 954. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/954 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/954 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Concept of 'Dhamma' in Thai Buddhism: A Study in the Thought of Vajiranana and Buddhadasa Abstract Dhamma is one of the most important and most difficult concepts in Pali Buddhism. Its significance lies in the fact that the term points to both the essence and the goal of Buddhism. Its ambiguity, however, results from the variety of the term's interpretations depending on its contexts. This dissertation analyzes the concept of dhamma in the writings of the two foremost interpreters of Thai Buddhism in the modern and contemporary periods, Vajiranana (1860-1921) and Buddhadasa (1906- ), who, in differing ways, attempt to recover the original teaching of the Buddha's dhamma. The study first describes the anger of meanings of the term in the Pali canonical materials, and selected western interpreters, before focusing on its normative and popular significance in Thai Buddhism. After discussing the historical context in which Vajiranana and Buddhadasa have worked, the dissertation then provides a detailed exposition of their interpretations of dhamma.