This conference is a part of the celebration of the auspicious 60th Birth Anniversary of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who is a scholar of Buddhism and supporter of Buddhist studies.

I would like to express a deep gratitude and recognition to the Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation for the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, B.Grimm Group, and Khunying Wanna Sirivadhanabhakdi for the generous support.

My sincere appreciation and greeting to all the scholars who have graciously accepted to share their wisdom in this venue. Your academic contribution is the success of this conference.

Prapod Assavavirulhakarn

Dean, Faculty of Arts

Chulalongkorn University

08.30-09.00

Registration

09.00-09.30

Opening Ceremony

09.30-10.30

Keynote Speech:
The Buddha’s Life in Art: Exploring Iconographic Transference
     Parul Pandya Dhar
     – University of Delhi (India)

10.30-11.00

Refreshments

11.00-12.00

Petchburi Wood-Panel Painting: Rare Moments in the Narrative of the Buddha’s Life
     Peter Skilling
     – French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), Bangkok

12.00-12.30

Rise of Chinese Buddhist Historiography: The Life and Lineage of Śākyamuni in Sengyou’s Shijiapu
     Chou Pokan
     – National Taiwan University (Taiwan)

12.30-14.00

Lunch break

14.00-14.30

Therefore, Now Ānanda – On the Preaching of Attasaraņa and Dhammasaraņa
     Venerable Takamichi Fukita 
     – Bukkyo University, Kyoto (Japan)

14.30-15.00

A Review of the Source of Twelve Deeds of the Buddha – A Life Story of the Buddha Written in Mongolian
     Yamaguchi Nariko 
     – The Nakamura Hajime Eastern Institute (Japan)

15.00-15.30

The Human Personality of the Śākyamuni Buddha
     Venerable Guang Xing
     – The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

15.30-16.00

Refreshments

16.00-16.30

The Development of Duskaracaryā Idea through the Context of Kāyabhāvanāsūtra in Dīrghāgama
     Zhen Liu
     – Fudan University, Shanghai (China)

16.30-17.00

Oh Māra, All Evil Deeds Are Your Fault!!: Misfortune Stories of the Buddha in Ratnaketuparivarta
     Chanwit Tudkeao
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

08.30-09.00

Registration

09.00-09.30

The Buddha and the Nāga
     Hwang Soonil
     – Dongguk University (Korea)

09.30-10.00

Bhūridatta: from Jātaka to Ballet-Opera by Somtow Sucharitkul
     Potprecha Cholvijarn
     – University of Bristol (UK)

10.00-10.30

Taming the Nāga: Significance of the Story of Nandopananda in Thai Buddhist Culture
     Assanee Poolrak
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

10.30-11.00

Refreshments

11.00-11.30

Searching for Lord Buddha in the Footprint of Jesus Christ: Late 17th Century Religious Transformation in the Sacred Mountains around Manila, Philippines
     Roderick Orlina
     – Murdoch University (Australia)

11.30-12.00

Khlong Lilit Dan Tamnan Phra Phuttha Bat: Reflection of a ‘Modern’ Concept of the Buddha’s Footprint in the Early 20th Century
     Wanwiwat Ruttanalum
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

12.00-12.30

Worshiping Phra Upakhut in Contemporary Thailand
     Watcharaporn Distapan
     – Thammasat University (Thailand)

12.30-14.00

Lunch break

14.00-14.30

Emphasis of the First Preaching Scene in Dvāravatī Art
     Chedha Tingsanchali 
     – Silpakorn University (Thailand)

14.30-15.00

Five Buddhas on Jing Mountain of Beijing: A Reflection of Emperor Qianlong's Buddhist and Political Thought    
     Achirat Chaiyapotpanit 
     – Silpakorn University (Thailand)

15.00-15.30

Buddhahood in the Buddha’s Life through Oral Tradition of Dhammavinaya: A Perspective from Orality    
     Sompornnuch Tansrisook 
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

15.30-16.00

Refreshments

16.00-16.30

Pathum Chadok Wa Duay Kon Haeng Sattri: Tales-within-Tales Technique and the Adaptation of the Mahāpaduma Jātaka
     Thosapol Sripum
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

16.30-17.00

Jātakas and Stories of the Buddha’s Past Lives in the Paṭhamasambodhikathā by the Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanujitjinoros
     Arthid Sheravanichkul
     – Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

17.00-17.15

Closing Remarks

Parul Pandya Dhar

University of Delhi (India)

Visual evocations of the Buddha’s life began to appear in Indian art from about the second century BCE. In the earliest sculptures, depictions of his past lives, embedded in the jātaka tradition, and portrayals of select scenes from Śākyamuni’s life are in evidence alongside each other. As the need for such visual renditions grew, the artists entrusted with the task of picturing the Buddha’s life evolved into refined suitable visual programmes. They achieved their objectives remarkably well by resourcefully drawing from the available verbal and visual imagery, while at the same time imaginatively fashioning newer iconographies and narrative devices.

Such fluid transactions in the visual sphere may, at least in part, have been linked to Buddhism’s ability to engage effectively with concurrent belief systems in India and across Asia, a recurrent theme throughout history. With time, even as newer visual modes and iconographic formulae for rendering the Buddha’s life in art were being perfected, canonized, and transformed, a vibrant dialogue appears to have continued between the artistic renditions of select themes and motifs found in Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and popular belief systems. Such processes of iconographic transference crossed many cultural boundaries, specifically region, religion, and time. This talk will highlight some significant visual motifs, iconographies, and narrative strategies adopted by the ancient sculptors and painters to portray the Buddha’s life, which reveal thematic and representational links across religious, regional, and temporal boundaries.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Peter Skilling

French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), Bangkok

The province of Phetchburi (ancient Bajrapuri) lies some 130 kilometres to the southwest of Bangkok and has been a centre of trade and culture since the Dvaravati period and earlier.  Today, the area is an old and relatively quiet town celebrated for its temples with woodcarving and stucco work. A special art form that is preserved in a number of Phetchburi temples is wood-panel painting (Thai: citrakam kho song). Buddhist narratives – commonly the life of the Buddha (pathomsomphot) or Jatakas – are painted on long panels of wood and suspended below the roof so that they can be read as a series. They are placed in sala kanparian (sermon/study halls) and sala rimnam (riverside pavilions). Most are recent or modern, dating from the reigns of King Rama V and later, and they represent an age of change and intersection, when artists were adopting Western techniques and principles.

The wood-panel paintings are generally well preserved in comparison to mural paintings, depicting a number of interesting episodes that are rare elsewhere. These include the encounter of Upagupta and Mara, Asoka’s auto-cremation as an offering to the Buddha, and the “Nibbana of the relics” at the end of Sakyamuni’s Sasana. The paper gives an overview of wood-panel painting with examples of unusual narratives. 

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Chou Pokan

National Taiwan University (Taiwan)

This paper concerns the Shijiapu, or the Vaṃsa of Śākyas, the first Chinese Buddhist historiographical work on the life and lineage of Śākyamuni, by a Vinaya monk Sengyou (445-518) in the early sixth century. Sengyou selected Buddhist legends from 55 translated Buddhist texts to create a book documenting Buddhist history. The book describes how Śākyamuni’s family was consanguineously linked with cakravattīns who brought world peace and order, his forefather’s study with a Brahmanin to have the lineage acquire religious sacredness, episodes in the life of Śākyamuni, the formation of the four assemblies initiating a new Śākyas’ lineage in Buddhism, the resurrection of the Dharma through Aśoka’s restoration of the Buddha’s relics, and the decline of the Dharma in India. At the end of the book, Sengyou rejects the view of his contemporary colleagues, who believed that the Dharma was about to decline in China.

A close examination of his optimistic conviction reveals that such confidence was founded upon the following doctrines: (1) the One Vehicle (ekayāna) described in the Lotus Sūtra, in which all of the Buddha’s teachings are in Oneness, and their differentiations, if labeled doctrinally as one of the Three Vehicles, are merely expedient, enabling conveyance of teachings to people with various learning capacities and for particular salvific visions; (2) Docetism, reflected in the Buddhist tales cited from various texts as evidence of the trans-spatiotemporal omnipresence of the Buddha’s numinous manifestations; (3) pietism, according to which the stupa was regarded as a sacred container for the Buddha’s relics and a focal point of the Dharma; and (4) the emphasis on kingship – Dharma symbiosis maintained in the Mahāparinirvaņa Sūtra.

Sengyou’s work not only systematized accounts of Śākyamuni’s life and lineage from Buddhist texts in the Northern Tradition, but also initiated a new Buddhist historiographical narration in the Chinese world. The Shijiapu is distinct from the current narration of Buddhist history initially constructed by British Orientalists on the basis of Pāli materials.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Venerable Takamichi Fukita

Bukkyo University, Kyoto (Japan)

Sakyamuni’s exhortation “Attasaraṇa, Dhammasaraṇa” (self as a refuge, Dhamma as a refuge) in the Mahāparinibbānasuttanta is traditionally seen as his final admonition to Ānanda and is esteemed as one of the most important teachings of his later years.

However, a close reading of the Pali text indicates little logical connection between the passage containing this famous exhortation and the preceding passages that lead up to it. In particular, certain terms in the Pāli version of the episode remain unclear despite much scholarly research, and some uncertainty exists regarding its logical development. Even after consulting translations by modern scholars, I have my doubts about attempts to clarify the meaning of this preaching based solely on the Pāli literature, attempts that have led to little but confusion.

In this paper, I reconsider this preaching on the basis of some fragmental Sanskrit manuscripts of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra from the northern tradition to see if further light can be shed on these passages.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Yamaguchi Nariko

The Nakamura Hajime Eastern Institute (Japan)

There is a Mongolian sacred book of Buddhism, titled Burqan-u Arban Qoyar Jokiyangγui (The Twelve Deeds of the Buddha; hereinafter BJ). This was created in the 14th CE, in the Yuan era. Most of Buddhist canons translated into Mongolian in that era have been scattered and lost; therefore, BJ can be said to be one of the rare and precious materials.

It is estimated that BJ originally consisted of three volumes. However, the 1st and 3rd volumes have been lost. According to the colophon of the 2nd volume, this text was translated from Tibetan (this original text also has been lost) into Mongolian in the 14th CE by She rab seng ge, a priest who belonged to the Sa skya school, one of the main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

The first and main previous research on BJ is a book with the title of The Twelve Deed of Buddha, written by N. Poppe, published in 1967. In this book, Poppe pointed out that BJ is an abridged version of the Lalitavistara, which is one of stories of the Buddha’s life and maintained in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In other words, he regarded the Lalitavistara as the source of BJ.

However, I think that his opinion is still questionable. Certainly, these two texts have something in common, but they have several distinct differences, too. For example, the birth of Rāhula, the son of the Buddha, is described in BJ. On the other hand, his birth is not mentioned at all in the Lalitavistara. Furthermore, in the Lalitavistara, a girl called Sujātā was an almsgiver who offered a bowl of milk-rice to the Bodhisattva. However, two girls, Nandā and Nandabalā, were the almsgivers in BJ. It can be said that these differences indicate that BJ is not a plain abridged version of the Lalitavistara and that there should be other sources. 

As a convincing candidate, I will pick up a life story of the Buddha in the Mūlasarvāstivāda-Vinaya. In this story, we can find the topics of the birth of Rāhula as well as the almsgivers, Nandā and Nandabalā. Of course, the Mūlasarvāstivāda-Vinaya is just a candidate for another source of BJ. However, it is certain that BJ is not just an abridged text of the Lalitavistara, but a remodel story made by combining several stories of the Buddha’s life.

There has been a traditional and familiar concept of the life of the Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism, which is also called “Twelve Deeds of the Buddha (mdzad pa bcu gnyis, in Tibetan)”. It summarizes the Buddha’s life into the twelve famous events such as the “descendant from Tuṣita heaven” and the “Nirvāna”. BJ was probably a remodeled work based on this concept.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Venerable Guang Xing

The University of Hong Kong, (Hong Kong)

There are numerous biographies of the Buddha written by ancient and modern Buddhists and scholars in which we find many miracles and legends that make Śākyamuni Buddha a superhuman being. However, when we read the Pāli Nikāyas and Chinese Āgams, the Buddha is depicted as a human being with human emotions. In this short paper, I will discuss four characteristics of the Buddha’s human personality: (1) the Buddha as a practical teacher; (2) the Buddha as a confident and tolerant teacher; (3) the emotions and indignations of the Buddha; and (4) the humours of the Buddha.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Zhen Liu

Fudan University, Shanghai (China)

This study focuses on the 20th sūtra of Dīrghāgama – Kāyabhāvanā, “Development of the Body”. The sūtra is mainly about a debate between the Buddha and a Jaina disciple, Sātyaki, about kāyabhāvanā, “development of the body”, and cittabhāvanā, “development of the mind”. In the second part of the sūtra, which is essential, part of the Buddha’s vita is inserted. This part concerns his asceticism, a kind of kāyabhāvanā, before he acquired enlightenment. This part also corresponds to the theme of the Sanskrit text. This story, being told by the Buddha himself in first-person narration, includes his unsuccessful praxis following Ārāḍa Kālāma and Udraka Rāmaputra, his solitary meditation, fasting and the way to attain enlightenment after abandoning asceticism.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Chanwit Tudkeao

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

During Gautama Buddha’s life time, various misfortunes happened to him, such as his foot being bruised by a stone rolled from a cliff by Devadatta or being attacked by Māra and his attendants. These misfortune stories of the Buddha are narrated separately in various versions of the Buddha’s biography, canonical texts, jātakas, avadānas or some other Buddhist texts. Ratnaketuparivarta, an important Mahāyana Sutra, borrows these stories and relates briefly in verses when the Buddha is reproaching Māra because of his bad deeds. The sources, motives and development of these misfortune stories in Ratnaketuparivarta are analyzed in this paper, in order to comprehend the significance of the Buddha’s biography and Buddhist legends in Buddhist literature of other genres.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Hwang Soonil

Dongguk University, (Korea)

The nāga can be regarded as a great snake, such as a king cobra, a water snake, or a mythical dragon. Within Buddhist narratives, including the life story of the Buddha, the nāga appears frequently with its overwhelming power. Poisonous and dreadful nāgas tend to be controlled and tamed by the power of the Buddha. Such a case can be seen in the story of a fire serpent in the Uruvela Kassapa episode.

In most cases, the fierce and negative nāga becomes a well-ordered and positive figure within Buddhism. Indeed, this kind of nāga can be treated as the protector not only of the Buddha’s body, in the case of Mucalinda nāga, but also of the relics of the Buddha in the case of Rāmagāma nāga.

The Buddhist way of dealing with the nāga gives some clues to understand how Buddhism peacefully localized into the new area with different religious cults. Buddhism provides order to the uncontrollable and chaotic power of local religious objects by adding Buddhist values and roles. Once well-disciplined and controllable, such local objects can remain harmoniously with Buddhism without being destroyed by Buddhism.

This presentation will explore the stories of various nāgas in the Buddhist narratives to show how the protective image of nāgas became established by controlling, or taming, the chaotic power of nāgas with peaceful Buddhist treatment.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Potprecha Cholvijarn

University of Bristol (UK)

This paper examines the Bhūridatta Jātaka, one of the most well-known jātakas in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, and widely regarded as the sixth of the Buddha’s last ten lives (dasajātaka). This jātaka tells the story of the Bodhisatta born as a nāga prince named Bhūridatta. Wishing to be reborn in the heaven realm, Bhūridatta made a vow to keep the moral precepts and observe the uposatha on an anthill by the Yamunā River. When he was betrayed by an evil brāhmin and captured by a snake-charmer, Bhūridatta displayed his perfection of morality in showing no anger, not harming his betrayer and capturer, allowed himself to be tortured by the snake-charmer, and made to dance in the village squares.

This story was adapted into a ballet-opera by Somtow Sucharitkul, which was premiered on 22 May 2015 at Thailand Cultural Centre. “Bhuridat: The Dragon Lord” is the third episode of Somtow’s Das Jati project, a cycle of ten music drama based on the dasajātaka. The paper will focus on how the jātaka and the ballet-opera interpret the practice of keeping the moral precepts and observing the uposatha, the values of silence and submission, and their views on human cruelty towards animals.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Assanee Poolrak

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

Recounting how the Buddha converts Nandopananda, the Serpent King, this story, though less popular than the Vessantara Jātaka and Phra Malai, has enjoyed a presence in many literary works in Thai society since the Ayutthaya period. The existence of the story in many literary versions is evidence of its significance in Thai Buddhist culture. This paper aims to study the literary works inspired by the story and discuss their significance in Thai society.

It is found that the Nandopananda story inspired the creation of literary pieces, both in Pāli and Thai. In the Ayutthaya period, there was a piece of Pāli literature named Nandopanandavatthu, likely by a Thai poet. This Pāli literary work, in turn, contributed to Nanthopananthasut Khamluang, a corresponding Thai translation in 1736 by Prince Dharmadhibes. In the Rattanakosin period, King Rama VI also rendered into Thai the Pāli Nandopananda verse from the Buddhajayamaṅgalagāthā (also known in Thai as Gāthā Bāhuṃ). Despite being derived from the same story, its significance varies. The story of Nandopananda in the Visuddhimagga, and the Apadāna and Theragāthā’s commentaries, is used to explain the Iddhi-power of Moggallāna Thera and exemplify his great deed, which is a part of his biography. The theme of Nandopanandavatthu, (similar to Buddhajayamaṅgalagāthā) is to eulogise the Buddha’s victory over the nāga and simultaneously deepen faith in the Three Jewels. As for Nanthopananthasut Khamluang, not only the significance in Nandopanandavatthu remains, but there is also the juxtaposition of the translation with the translator’s life. In case of King Rama VI, the story of Nandopananda is used to encourage the Royal Navy officers by means of chanting his Thai-rendered gāthā.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Roderick Orlina

Murdoch University (Australia)

The Philippines has remained a black hole for Buddhist studies because little material evidence of its existence remains. However, the archival record informs us that this was not due to the absence of Indic religion (subsumed under the general heading idolatrias, ‘idolatries’) or its lack of adherents (infieles, ‘infidels’), but rather to the zealous actions of the Catholic orders given permission directly from the Spanish monarch to spread the Christian Doctrine by whatever means necessary.

Beyond the bells of the Catholic churches in towns established by Spanish authorities to collectivize and facilitate the instruction of the local populations, mountains and caves provided a safe haven for such worship and remained undiscovered by ecclesiastics until well over a hundred years after Spain captured Manila from its Muslim rulers. The steps taken to rein in the activities that took place in these sacred mountains have been well documented, providing an intimate look into the changing material, social and religious world of the people who resisted conversion to Catholicism.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Wanwiwat Ruttanalum

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

The significance of the Saraburi Buddha’s footprint in Thai culture can be seen in many literary texts, for example, Punnowat Khamchan by Phra Maha Nak in the Ayutthaya period, and Nirat Phra Bat by Sunthorn Phu in the early Rattanakosin period. They show the belief and the popularity of the pilgrimage to the Saraburi Buddhapāda Temple. Later in 1913 (the reign of King Rama VI), Prince Narathip Praphanphong composed Khlong Lilit Dan Tamnan Phra Phuttha Bat [The Legend of the Saraburi Buddha’s Footprint] which tells the legend of the Saraburi Buddha’s footprint, the royal patronage to the Temple and the popularity of the pilgrimage tradition to the site from the Ayutthaya period to the Rattanakosin period. This text, unlike previous literary texts on Phra Phuttha Bat, reflects the change of beliefs in the Saraburi Buddha’s footprint – from a footprint truly imprinted by the Buddha himself, to be only a representation of the Buddha and his teachings. This Thai ‘modern’ religious worldview seems to be influenced by Western education and academic disciplines such as history, geography, and science. However, although the footprint is not a ‘real’ one, the author still emphasizes its significance as a sacred place to promote faith in Buddhism and encourage people to follow the teachings of the Buddha.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Watcharaporn Distapan

Thammasat University (Thailand)

Belief, legend and ritual concerning Phra Upakhut (Upagutta), one of the Buddhist legendary figures, has long been transmitted in traditional Thai society. As a magical monk who has protective power and who can “subdue Mara,” Phra Upakhut tends to be invited to protect the ritual space whenever a ritual is going to be performed, particularly in northern and northeastern Thailand. Interestingly, it is found that, in present day Thailand, such belief, legend and ritual not only persists in a traditional context, but is also being reproduced in modern media and in new social contexts. Previously, perception of Phra Upakhut legends can be categorized in six various tale types, but nowadays, new versions and new tale types have been found resulting from mixing the old tale types or combining the legends from the old sources with new sources.

Rituals concerning Phra Upakhut, which traditionally tend to be practiced in northern and northeastern Thailand, are also found to be culturally reproduced in central Thailand with new purposes. Accordingly, Phra Upakhut belief, legend and ritual has expanded in terms of ritual space, ritual practice and ritual context. It will be argued that the world of capitalism, materialism and Buddhist commercialism are the factors impacting the dynamism of the perception and the worshiping of Phra Upakhut.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Chedha Tingsanchali

Silpakorn University (Thailand)

The most prominent scene from the Buddha’s life frequently depicted in Dvāravatī art is the “First Preaching Scene”. The emphasis of the scene in Dvāravatī art is noticeable in three cases: the narrative, the Cakrastambha and the architectural copy of Mūlagandhakuti at Sārnāth. At least, this indicates the special impression of Dvāravatī people have for the scene of the first preaching. Furthermore, this may indicate the attempt by the rulers of Dvāravatī to claim themselves as the emperor and the Master who is exalted as the emperor of the cosmos.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Achirat Chaiyapotpanit

Silpakorn University (Thailand)

According to an historical account, Emperor Qianlong had the five pavilions on Jing Mountain, which was in the center of Beijing, built in order to enshrine the Buddha images of five cardinal directions. Considering the location of Jing Mountain and five Buddha images, the author thought that Emperor Qianlong possibly had a special purpose. Although there is no literary evidence indicating why the emperor chose this set of Buddha images and this place, studying the meaning of these five Buddha images in Mahayana belief, as well as contemporary related historical events, could help us reach the answer.

The set of Buddha images presenting the five cardinal directions is a concept of Vajra Mandala, a popular cosmological idea in Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. Therefore, Emperor Qianlong had these images constructed on Jing Mountain, the center of the capital, possibly because he intended to raise his capital not only as the center of the kingdom, but also as that of the universe. As Qianlong had to rule the minorities in the western area, in which Tibetan Mahayana was more popular, he chose some concepts of this religious school to propagate among the minorities that the Qing court was an important patron of Tibetan Buddhism and that Beijing was the center in accordance with the religious belief of those minorities.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Sompornnuch Tansrisook

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

Dhammavinaya is the most important part among the materials collected in the Buddhist canon and is accompanied by stories, well-structured with an exact theme and formulaic language. This presentation stresses that the stories in the Vinaya and Suttanta transmitted as oral literature helped develop Buddhahood on the Gotama Buddha’s life in Buddhist traditions. The stories, when recited thoroughly, reveal his great effort to establish the Sangha and to carry out missionary work for the benefit and happiness of the people. Along these lines, the Buddhahood known in Buddhist traditions is the great compassion to the world in the effort and finally was raised as a Buddhist goal, not only in Mahāyāna.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Thosapol Sripum

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

This paper aims to study Pathum Chadok Waduay Kon Haeng Sattri, a Thai didactic literary work published by the Royal Printing House in 1871 (2414 B.E.) in order to consider the significance of tales-within-tales and other literary techniques used to convey the theme of the story. The study finds that the text is adapted from the Mahāpaduma Jātaka in the Jātaka-aṭṭhavaṇṇanā by deriving the plot from the original jātaka and adding twenty-two tales about vicious women into the story. The twenty-two tales emphasize the danger of “femme fatale” by repeating stories about women’s deception to her husband and illustrating examples of men’s misfortune. The fifty-two deceits in the sub-tales imply that the text is not only to demonstrate feminine peril, but also to elaborate a practical instruction for men to avoid marital misery.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

Arthid Sheravanichkul

Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

This paper aims to study the significance of jātakas and stories of the Buddha’s past lives in the Paṭhamasambodhikathā by the Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanujitjinoros, the most important and well-known life text of the Buddha in Thai culture. The paper finds that the jātakas and the stories of the Buddha’s past lives are told and mentioned, firstly, by the narrator in order to show the biography of the Buddha in terms of his genealogy, his past deeds, and his bodhisattva career which concerns the concept of Thirty Pāramīs; secondly, by the Buddha himself in order to parallel the deeds of the people in the time of the Buddha to the characters in the past stories, namely, Uruvelakassapa, King Suddhodana, Bimbā, Ānanda, and Devadatta. This clearly demonstrates how the text conceptualise the biography of the Buddha and how it is influenced by the previous texts of the Buddha’s life, such as the Nidānakathā.

In addition, this reflects the functions of jātaka stories and the relation between the genres of jātakas and of the Life of the Buddha. The jātaka stories in the text are mainly from the Jātaka-aṭṭhavaṇṇanā, except the story of Vyāghrī in which the bodhisattva sacrifices his body to a starving tigress. This story is told in other traditions as a jātaka, for example, in Āryaśūra’s Jātakamālā, while it does not enjoy such status in Thai Pali textual tradition as shown in the Paṭhamasambodhikathā and the Jinakālamālinī.

(Presented in the International Conference on Buddhist Studies: Buddha's Biography – Buddhist Legends, 18-19 July 2015, Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, The Pali and Sanskrit Section, Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts and Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University)

CHAIR

Asst. Prof. Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, Ph.D.
     Dean, Faculty of Arts, 
     Chulalongkorn University

DEPUTY CHAIR

Assoc. Prof. Suchitra Chongstitvatana, Ph.D.
     Director, Institute of Thai Studies, 
     Chulalongkorn University

COMMITTEE

Assoc. Prof. Natthaporn Panpothong, Ph.D.
     Head, Department of Thai,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Suree Choonharuangdej, Ph.D.
     Head, Department of Eastern Languages,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Tasanee Sinsakul
     Head, Pali-Sanskrit Section,
     Department of Eastern Languages,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Arthit Thongtak, Ph.D.
     Deputy Director of Administrative Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Ritirong Jiwakanon
     Deputy Director of International Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

Pram Sounsamut, Ph.D.
     Deputy Director of Research Affairs
     Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University

Chanwit Tudkeao, Ph.D.
     Lecturer, Pali-Sanskrit Section,
     Department of Eastern Languages,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

Asst. Prof. Arthid Sheravanichkul, Ph.D.
     Lecturer, Department of Thai,
     Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University