Arthid Sheravanichkul
Chulalongkorn University
The Buddhapāda, or impression of the Buddha’s footprint, at Saraburi province in central Thailand has been one of most prominent pilgrimage sites for Thai Buddhists for over four hundred years, since the reign of King Song Tham (r. 1611-1628) in the Ayutthaya period. The local legend of the hunter ‘Phran Boon’, who discovered the Buddhapāda by chance (or by karmic design), is one of the most popular Thai legends. The history, sacredness, and veneration of the Buddhapada are also recorded in the ‘official’ legend and the royal chronicles. The story inspired a pilgrimage tradition in which everyone, from the monarch to the common people, was encouraged to travel to pay homage to the Buddhapāda to ensure rebirth in heaven.
The Buddhapāda at Saraburi is an important pilgrimage site not only for Thai Buddhists but also for the Chinese of Siam. This development is reflected in two local Chinese legends that connect the Buddhapāda with Chinese Buddhist history –Xuanzang’s ‘Journey to the West’ and the record of a Chinese official’s journey to India to offer robes to the Buddha. This paper aims to study these two legends to consider their history, transmission and popularity, and their role in cherishing the belief in the Buddhapāda Saraburi as ‘the way to paradise’ or ‘paradise on earth’ among Chinese both in Thailand and beyond.
(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)