Potprecha Cholvijarn
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Bristol
This presentation offers an analysis of an Ayutthaya meditation method found in Nangsue Phuttharangsi Thritsadiyan Wa Duai Samathawipatsana Kammathan Si Yuk (Book of samatha and vipassanā meditation of the Four Reigns) edited by Phra Mahajotipañño (Chai Yasothonrat) of Wat Boromniwat, Bangkok, published in 1935. The system consists of visualizing three diagrams, which look very similar to yantras, or protective diagrams. The diagrams consist of circles, each one containing a Khmer syllable and a number. The syllables are taken from the Buddha Vandana, Dhamma Vandana and Sangha Vandana verses describing the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. The text also refers to Vedic ideas and makes use of various bodily positions as points of visualization.
(Presented in the 2012 Chulalongkorn-EFEO International Conference on Buddhist Studies : Imagination, Narrative, and Localization, 6-7 January 2012, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, organized by Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University In conjunction with The Buddhist Studies Group, EFEO)