woramat malasart | University of Otago (original) (raw)

After completing my bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand in 2015, I redirected my attention to the study of religion. My main research lies on Southeast Asian religions with a particular focus on Buddhism in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. I apply a multidisciplinary approach to my research which combines the analysis of text, paratext, and translation with enography. I am interested in many aspects of Buddhism, but my particular passion is for the study of Buddhist manuscripts from Southeast Asia, especially those written in Khom, Thai, and Dhamma scripts. I am particularly interested in the manuscripts that contain texts—including Buddhist discourses and narrative, traditional meditation, ritual, and pedagogy—and illuminations. I work closely with archives where these manuscripts have been preserved, and I made digital copies and collected metadata (date, material support, script, scribe, donor, colophon, and the summary of content) into online database. I transliterate, translate, and examine texts in manuscripts in order to understand how these texts form, develop, circulate and transmit through a broad range of Buddhist practices and material culture throughout the history of Southeast Asian Buddhism. In addition to the study of texts, I seek to understand their ethnographical life, looking at how they are contextualised during rituals and other Buddhist practices and how they are intervened by political exercise from a particular place and time.

I completed my MA (with distinction) in Buddhist Studies from the University of Otago in 2019. My MA thesis "The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā: A Trace of "Siam's Borān Buddhism" from the Reign of Rāmā I (1782-1809 CE)." In 2020, I received the ENITAS scholarship (100,000 THB) from the Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University, to prepare a manuscript for publication and in 2021, part of an MA thesis was published in The Journal of Siam Society, one of the most distinguished journals on topics connected to Southeast Asia.

I was awarded a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship during 2020-23 for my PhD thesis titled "The Dhammakāya Gāthā from Core Text to Commentary: Textual Circulation, Manuscript Transmission and Buddhist Practices in Traditional Buddhism in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia," under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Guthrie (Otago), Dr. Trent Walker (Michigan), and Professor Will Sweetman (Otago). Recently, I was awarded a Doctoral Publishing Bursary Grant from the University of Otago to prepare manuscripts for publication. I am currently a teaching fellow (lecturer) at the Religion Programme and will be teaching a paper “Buddhist Thought” in the second semester.

So far, I have contributed four published articles, four public talks, seven conference papers, and one academic poster to academic and public areas in Thailand, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, and India. My poster "Duang That 'Sphere of Elements' and Its Significance for Siam Traditional (Boran) Meditation," won the first prize for the academic poster presentation at the 3rd Seoul International Meditation Expo 2022, Korea. In addition to participating in several conferences, I was on a committee that organised a seminar on "Peace and Early Buddhism" at the University of Otago in 2019.

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Papers by woramat malasart

Religions, 2023

The Dhammakāya Gāthā is a Pāli Buddhist prose text that has been circulated within the cross-cult... more The Dhammakāya Gāthā is a Pāli Buddhist prose text that has been circulated within the cross-cultural/translocal sphere of Tai–Khmer Buddhism for over five centuries. Its earliest extant version appears on the “Braḥ Dhammakāya inscription”, an engraved stone slab from the Stūpa of Wat Suea, Phitsanulok, Thailand, dated to 1549 CE. The Dhammakāya text consists of three parts. The first part identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. The second part is the verses in praise of the Buddha’s resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section exhorts one in the yogāvacara lineage (a practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e., a meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya, in order to attain the state of Buddhahood. The Gāthā was well known in the Tai–Khmer cultural sphere during the pre-modern period, but today, it is little used in modern practices. In this paper, I will analyse textual and paratextual elements of the Dhammakāya Gāthā to uncover the doctrinal meanings underlying the Gāthā and reveal the unique and unusual meditation practice called the Dhammakāyānussati, “Recollection of the Dhammakāya”. I argue that the study of the Dhammakāya Gāthā enables us to understand the unique Buddhist practice: reciting [the Dhammakāya text], constructing [the image of the Buddha] and visualising [the dhammakāya embodied in the image], contributing to what we call “Buddhānussati” in the context of Tai–Khmer Buddhism.

JOURNAL OF THAI STUDIES, 2022

Today, a number of Buddha images have been constructed with multiple purposes depending on the ar... more Today, a number of Buddha images have been constructed with multiple purposes depending on the area and the wishes of donors. The processes and methods in the modern day are convenient, easy and fast. Some of the images are sold in markets without the element of religious
meaning. According to an analysis of manuscripts and interviews, Buddha image construction in Lanna consists of elaborated rituals and detail and each procedure contains doctrinal meaning and profound Dhamma puzzles.
The finding of this study reveals that the ancient ritual called “the installation of the Dhammakāya of the Buddha” has played a significant role in Lanna Buddha image construction, but has been neglected and is unknown by some modern practitioners. This reflects the idea that a Buddha image is not perceived as “a reminder of the passing one,” but rather “the Buddha himself” who exists in the world by means of the “dhammakāya.” The research for this article aimed to study the construction and installation of the Dhammakāya in order to identify the purposes and perspectives of experts and intellectuals
in the past associated with this issue. The study also found Buddhist religious doctrines underlined the performance.

The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Centra... more The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Texts belonging to this genre share the same core Pāli verses, and date back to the Ayutthaya period. In this thesis, I transliterate, translate, contextualise and analyse the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, "Words on the Recollection of the Body of Dhammas," which was part of the Suat Mon Plae, a collection of Buddhist chanting rituals compiled during the 1 st reign (1782-1809), using a historical-critical approach to the text. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā consists of verses composed in Pāli followed by the Thai translation, using a traditional method called yok sab. The first three parts of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā share the core Pāli verses of the Dhammakāya text genre, but the final section, which praises the Buddha"s physical body, is different. The Pāli verses describe the Buddha"s auspicious marks including radiance, hair, height, etc., verses that are also found in the Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya, a text that can be dated to the 1 st reign. Today, the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā is not well-known in Central Thailand, but its similar texts are still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka and the ritual of installing the Buddha"s heart into a Buddha statute and chedī. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā along with other texts belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre disappeared during the 5 th reign (1868-1910), when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880, and Siam"s Tipiṭaka was revised during the 10 th Saṇgāyanā in 1893. I conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussatikathā is evidence for the suppression of Siam"s "Borān" Buddhism during the 5 th reign in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

the Journal of Siam Society , 2021

The Dhammakāya text genre is a corpus of documents, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and printed... more The Dhammakāya text genre is a corpus of documents, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and printed books, that shares the same core Pāli passages called "Dhammakāya." The core Pāli Dhammakāya identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. The Dhammakāya text genre can be found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand and Cambodia, and played a significant role in a range of core Theravada practices, including meditation, Buddha-image consecration (buddhābhiṣeka) and individual recitation on the part of intellectuals and ordinary Buddhists in those regions. The earliest extant version of the Dhammakāya text genre can be dated back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767). Today, the Dhammakāya text genre is not well known in Central Thailand, but is still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka, as well as the ritual of installing the Buddha's heart into a Buddha statue or a chedī. The Dhammakāya text genre disappeared from Central Thai practice during the Fifth Reign of the Rattanakosin Era when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880. Around this time, Siam's Tipiṭaka was also revised in 1893. In this article, I examine a corpus of documents belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre and its different functions, revealing how a single genre can, in fact, fulfil functions that we may have thought would be at opposite ends of the practice spectrum: from meditation, on the one hand, to consecrations and protective chanting on the other. I then conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāya text genre from Central Thai practice is further evidence for the suppression of Siam's "boran", 2 or pre-reform, Buddhism in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

Academia Letters, 2021

using a variety of approaches, such as textual analysis, historical analysis, ethnography, and tr... more using a variety of approaches, such as textual analysis, historical analysis, ethnography, and translation. The text has three parts. The first part identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues(guṇa) of the Buddha with the physical attributes of his body. The second part is followed by verses in praise of the Buddha's resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section exhorts one in the yogāvacara lineage (a practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e. a meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya.The Dhammakāya text can be found in manuscripts from central Thailand, northern Thailand, and Cambodia. The earliest extant version of this genre discovered to date appears in an inscription that can be dated 1549 CE (Urkasame 2013) and which was found in the stūpa of Wat Suea in Phitsanulok. The many versions of this text in manuscript and inscriptional form are evidence of its popularity and may be due to its ritual usage during the consecration of Buddha images and stūpas, something that still occursin northern Thailand and Cambodia. In this paper, I wish to present how the Dhammakāya text has been used in the consecration ceremonies in Cambodia and northern Thailand respectively. The way Buddhists in

Woramat Malasart, 2019

The ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been known throughout Lanna region. I... more The ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been known throughout Lanna region. Its evidence and practice appear on manuscripts, the Manual of Construction a Buddha Image from Wat Chiang Man and the Manual of Installing a Buddha’s Heart into a Buddha image and Cetiya Written by Venerable Kong. These two manuscripts suggest Buddhists to inscribe “Dhammakāya proses” on stones, metals or other optional materials available in curtain places, and then put them inside a Cetiya and Buddha image so as to make the Buddha present. Although to date the ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been studied by many scholars, mostly using anthropological approach, the history of this ritual is still unclear. Discovering the Dhammakāya inscription inside Wat Sue’s Cetiya, Phitsanulok has made the historical figure of the ritual clearer. In this article, I argue that the Dhammakāya inscription is a trace of the ritual of installing the Cetiya’s heart during the 21st century B.E.
Keywords: Dhammakāya, Cetiya, Buddha image, Buddhābhiṣeka

Thesis Chapters by woramat malasart

In this thesis, I analyse a group of texts which all share the same core Pāli text, called the "D... more In this thesis, I analyse a group of texts which all share the same core Pāli text, called the "Dhammakāya Gāthā" but have different writing styles and textual structure. I argue that these texts are best understood as forming a single textual family, which I call the Dhammakāya corpus. They appear on various documents including palm-leaf manuscripts, leporellos, inscriptions, and printed books. The Dhammakāya Gāthā has three parts. The first part ("personification") identifies the knowledge and qualities or virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. This part, importantly, resembles the Thai Manorathapūraṇī located in the Sāgatatheravatthu. The second part ("glorification") consists of verses in praise of the Buddha's resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section ("summarising") exhorts those in the yogāvacara lineage-practitioners of spiritual discipline, i.e., meditators-to recollect the dhammakāya. A number of documents containing the Dhammakāya Gāthā, recorded in Khom, Tham and Mūl and Thai scripts, have been found in Central Thailand, Southern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand (Isan), Northern Thailand (Lanna) and Cambodia. Many of these are identified for the first time in this thesis. The Dhammakāya corpus contains a wide range of content including the Dhammakāya core and its paratexts (i.e., the commentarial exegesis, annotations, and ritual instructions), using a broad range of languages such as Pāli, Thai, Lao, Lanna, and Khmer. The earliest datable version of the Dhammakāya Gāthā is the "Braḥ Dhammakāya inscription," an engraved stone slab from the Stūpa of Wat Suea, Phitsanulok, Thailand, dated to 1549 CE. In this PhD thesis, I transliterate, translate, and examine the texts in the Dhammakāya corpus in order to understand the doctrinal meanings underlying the Dhammakāya Gāthā and demonstrate how the text circulates, forms, develops, transmits, and functions to fulfil parts of the core practices of Theravāda adherents within the cross-cultural sphere of Tai-Khmer Buddhism, including meditation, consecration rites for Buddha images and Stūpas, commentarial exegesis, and protective chanting. I also use an ethnographic approach to determine the social life of the Dhammakāya texts, which are used during the ritual consecration of Buddha images and Stūpas in Central Thailand, Isan, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. I argue that close analysis of the texts as a single corpus enables us to identify the intertextuality that links the Dhammakāya text, other Buddhist texts, and Buddhists together. It also helps us to understand the formation, development, circulation, and transmission of the text through a broad range of Buddhist practices and manuscript culture within the more limited historical context from the Ayutthaya to the present.

The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Centra... more The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Texts belonging to this genre share the same core Pāli verses, and date back to the Ayutthaya period. In this thesis, I transliterate, translate, contextualise and analyse the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, "Words on the Recollection of the Body of Dhammas," which was part of the Suat Mon Plae, a collection of Buddhist chanting rituals compiled during the 1 st reign (1782-1809), using a historical-critical approach to the text. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā consists of verses composed in Pāli followed by the Thai translation, using a traditional method called yok sab. The first three parts of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā share the core Pāli verses of the Dhammakāya text genre, but the final section, which praises the Buddha"s physical body, is different. The Pāli verses describe the Buddha"s auspicious marks including radiance, hair, height, etc., verses that are also found in the Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya, a text that can be dated to the 1 st reign. Today, the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā is not well-known in Central Thailand, but its similar texts are still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka and the ritual of installing the Buddha"s heart into a Buddha statute and chedī. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā along with other texts belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre disappeared during the 5 th reign (1868-1910), when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880, and Siam"s Tipiṭaka was revised during the 10 th Saṇgāyanā in 1893. I conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussatikathā is evidence for the suppression of Siam"s "Borān" Buddhism during the 5 th reign in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

Conference Presentations by woramat malasart

the 3rd Seoul International Meditation Expo , 2022

A meditation system that was dominant in Central Siam (nowadays Central Thailand) before Buddhist... more A meditation system that was dominant in Central Siam (nowadays Central Thailand) before Buddhist reformation took place during the fourth reign of Rattanakosin dynasty of Thailand (1851-1868), i.e., that of King Mongkut is called "Yogāvacara" or "Boran Kammaṭṭhāna" by scholars such as Rhys Davids, Bizot, Bernon, Crosby, Skilton, Choompolpaisal and others. This meditation system is far removed from the rationalistic monolithic Theravāda presented in many secondary sources. What makes this practice distinct from other forms of meditation is its unique approach to the body, contemplation, visualisation and serological paths. Crosby (2000, pp. 141-42) listed distinctive features of the Yogāvacara tradition or Boran Kammaṭṭhāna and I summarise some detail as following. 1. The creation of the Buddha within via the performance of ritual by implanting the Buddha's attributes and qualities into the body of a practitioner. The physical body of the practitioner then is replaced with the Buddha. 2. The use of sacred syllables or phrases to represent a larger entity such as NA (น) representing the fire element 3. Exoteric interpretations of words, objects, and myths 4. The necessity of invitation before the meditation or ritual is proceeded 5. Foetal development and the spiritual recreation thereof. 6. The importance of Abhidhamma categories and the books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. 7. The importance of performing samatha and vipassanā meditationalthough these are not interpreted as they are written in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga. 8. Expertise in the Yogāvacara tradition is not restricted to monks. Lay people, including women, may be practitioners, and may even be teachers to monks.

Religions, 2023

The Dhammakāya Gāthā is a Pāli Buddhist prose text that has been circulated within the cross-cult... more The Dhammakāya Gāthā is a Pāli Buddhist prose text that has been circulated within the cross-cultural/translocal sphere of Tai–Khmer Buddhism for over five centuries. Its earliest extant version appears on the “Braḥ Dhammakāya inscription”, an engraved stone slab from the Stūpa of Wat Suea, Phitsanulok, Thailand, dated to 1549 CE. The Dhammakāya text consists of three parts. The first part identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. The second part is the verses in praise of the Buddha’s resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section exhorts one in the yogāvacara lineage (a practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e., a meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya, in order to attain the state of Buddhahood. The Gāthā was well known in the Tai–Khmer cultural sphere during the pre-modern period, but today, it is little used in modern practices. In this paper, I will analyse textual and paratextual elements of the Dhammakāya Gāthā to uncover the doctrinal meanings underlying the Gāthā and reveal the unique and unusual meditation practice called the Dhammakāyānussati, “Recollection of the Dhammakāya”. I argue that the study of the Dhammakāya Gāthā enables us to understand the unique Buddhist practice: reciting [the Dhammakāya text], constructing [the image of the Buddha] and visualising [the dhammakāya embodied in the image], contributing to what we call “Buddhānussati” in the context of Tai–Khmer Buddhism.

JOURNAL OF THAI STUDIES, 2022

Today, a number of Buddha images have been constructed with multiple purposes depending on the ar... more Today, a number of Buddha images have been constructed with multiple purposes depending on the area and the wishes of donors. The processes and methods in the modern day are convenient, easy and fast. Some of the images are sold in markets without the element of religious
meaning. According to an analysis of manuscripts and interviews, Buddha image construction in Lanna consists of elaborated rituals and detail and each procedure contains doctrinal meaning and profound Dhamma puzzles.
The finding of this study reveals that the ancient ritual called “the installation of the Dhammakāya of the Buddha” has played a significant role in Lanna Buddha image construction, but has been neglected and is unknown by some modern practitioners. This reflects the idea that a Buddha image is not perceived as “a reminder of the passing one,” but rather “the Buddha himself” who exists in the world by means of the “dhammakāya.” The research for this article aimed to study the construction and installation of the Dhammakāya in order to identify the purposes and perspectives of experts and intellectuals
in the past associated with this issue. The study also found Buddhist religious doctrines underlined the performance.

The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Centra... more The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Texts belonging to this genre share the same core Pāli verses, and date back to the Ayutthaya period. In this thesis, I transliterate, translate, contextualise and analyse the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, "Words on the Recollection of the Body of Dhammas," which was part of the Suat Mon Plae, a collection of Buddhist chanting rituals compiled during the 1 st reign (1782-1809), using a historical-critical approach to the text. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā consists of verses composed in Pāli followed by the Thai translation, using a traditional method called yok sab. The first three parts of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā share the core Pāli verses of the Dhammakāya text genre, but the final section, which praises the Buddha"s physical body, is different. The Pāli verses describe the Buddha"s auspicious marks including radiance, hair, height, etc., verses that are also found in the Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya, a text that can be dated to the 1 st reign. Today, the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā is not well-known in Central Thailand, but its similar texts are still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka and the ritual of installing the Buddha"s heart into a Buddha statute and chedī. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā along with other texts belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre disappeared during the 5 th reign (1868-1910), when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880, and Siam"s Tipiṭaka was revised during the 10 th Saṇgāyanā in 1893. I conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussatikathā is evidence for the suppression of Siam"s "Borān" Buddhism during the 5 th reign in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

the Journal of Siam Society , 2021

The Dhammakāya text genre is a corpus of documents, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and printed... more The Dhammakāya text genre is a corpus of documents, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and printed books, that shares the same core Pāli passages called "Dhammakāya." The core Pāli Dhammakāya identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. The Dhammakāya text genre can be found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand and Cambodia, and played a significant role in a range of core Theravada practices, including meditation, Buddha-image consecration (buddhābhiṣeka) and individual recitation on the part of intellectuals and ordinary Buddhists in those regions. The earliest extant version of the Dhammakāya text genre can be dated back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767). Today, the Dhammakāya text genre is not well known in Central Thailand, but is still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka, as well as the ritual of installing the Buddha's heart into a Buddha statue or a chedī. The Dhammakāya text genre disappeared from Central Thai practice during the Fifth Reign of the Rattanakosin Era when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880. Around this time, Siam's Tipiṭaka was also revised in 1893. In this article, I examine a corpus of documents belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre and its different functions, revealing how a single genre can, in fact, fulfil functions that we may have thought would be at opposite ends of the practice spectrum: from meditation, on the one hand, to consecrations and protective chanting on the other. I then conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāya text genre from Central Thai practice is further evidence for the suppression of Siam's "boran", 2 or pre-reform, Buddhism in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

Academia Letters, 2021

using a variety of approaches, such as textual analysis, historical analysis, ethnography, and tr... more using a variety of approaches, such as textual analysis, historical analysis, ethnography, and translation. The text has three parts. The first part identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues(guṇa) of the Buddha with the physical attributes of his body. The second part is followed by verses in praise of the Buddha's resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section exhorts one in the yogāvacara lineage (a practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e. a meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya.The Dhammakāya text can be found in manuscripts from central Thailand, northern Thailand, and Cambodia. The earliest extant version of this genre discovered to date appears in an inscription that can be dated 1549 CE (Urkasame 2013) and which was found in the stūpa of Wat Suea in Phitsanulok. The many versions of this text in manuscript and inscriptional form are evidence of its popularity and may be due to its ritual usage during the consecration of Buddha images and stūpas, something that still occursin northern Thailand and Cambodia. In this paper, I wish to present how the Dhammakāya text has been used in the consecration ceremonies in Cambodia and northern Thailand respectively. The way Buddhists in

Woramat Malasart, 2019

The ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been known throughout Lanna region. I... more The ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been known throughout Lanna region. Its evidence and practice appear on manuscripts, the Manual of Construction a Buddha Image from Wat Chiang Man and the Manual of Installing a Buddha’s Heart into a Buddha image and Cetiya Written by Venerable Kong. These two manuscripts suggest Buddhists to inscribe “Dhammakāya proses” on stones, metals or other optional materials available in curtain places, and then put them inside a Cetiya and Buddha image so as to make the Buddha present. Although to date the ritual of installing the heart of Cetiya and Buddha has been studied by many scholars, mostly using anthropological approach, the history of this ritual is still unclear. Discovering the Dhammakāya inscription inside Wat Sue’s Cetiya, Phitsanulok has made the historical figure of the ritual clearer. In this article, I argue that the Dhammakāya inscription is a trace of the ritual of installing the Cetiya’s heart during the 21st century B.E.
Keywords: Dhammakāya, Cetiya, Buddha image, Buddhābhiṣeka

In this thesis, I analyse a group of texts which all share the same core Pāli text, called the "D... more In this thesis, I analyse a group of texts which all share the same core Pāli text, called the "Dhammakāya Gāthā" but have different writing styles and textual structure. I argue that these texts are best understood as forming a single textual family, which I call the Dhammakāya corpus. They appear on various documents including palm-leaf manuscripts, leporellos, inscriptions, and printed books. The Dhammakāya Gāthā has three parts. The first part ("personification") identifies the knowledge and qualities or virtues of the Buddha with physical attributes of his body. This part, importantly, resembles the Thai Manorathapūraṇī located in the Sāgatatheravatthu. The second part ("glorification") consists of verses in praise of the Buddha's resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section ("summarising") exhorts those in the yogāvacara lineage-practitioners of spiritual discipline, i.e., meditators-to recollect the dhammakāya. A number of documents containing the Dhammakāya Gāthā, recorded in Khom, Tham and Mūl and Thai scripts, have been found in Central Thailand, Southern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand (Isan), Northern Thailand (Lanna) and Cambodia. Many of these are identified for the first time in this thesis. The Dhammakāya corpus contains a wide range of content including the Dhammakāya core and its paratexts (i.e., the commentarial exegesis, annotations, and ritual instructions), using a broad range of languages such as Pāli, Thai, Lao, Lanna, and Khmer. The earliest datable version of the Dhammakāya Gāthā is the "Braḥ Dhammakāya inscription," an engraved stone slab from the Stūpa of Wat Suea, Phitsanulok, Thailand, dated to 1549 CE. In this PhD thesis, I transliterate, translate, and examine the texts in the Dhammakāya corpus in order to understand the doctrinal meanings underlying the Dhammakāya Gāthā and demonstrate how the text circulates, forms, develops, transmits, and functions to fulfil parts of the core practices of Theravāda adherents within the cross-cultural sphere of Tai-Khmer Buddhism, including meditation, consecration rites for Buddha images and Stūpas, commentarial exegesis, and protective chanting. I also use an ethnographic approach to determine the social life of the Dhammakāya texts, which are used during the ritual consecration of Buddha images and Stūpas in Central Thailand, Isan, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. I argue that close analysis of the texts as a single corpus enables us to identify the intertextuality that links the Dhammakāya text, other Buddhist texts, and Buddhists together. It also helps us to understand the formation, development, circulation, and transmission of the text through a broad range of Buddhist practices and manuscript culture within the more limited historical context from the Ayutthaya to the present.

The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Centra... more The Dhammakāya text genre appears in manuscripts, inscriptions, and printed texts found in Central Thailand, Northern Thailand, and Cambodia. Texts belonging to this genre share the same core Pāli verses, and date back to the Ayutthaya period. In this thesis, I transliterate, translate, contextualise and analyse the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā, "Words on the Recollection of the Body of Dhammas," which was part of the Suat Mon Plae, a collection of Buddhist chanting rituals compiled during the 1 st reign (1782-1809), using a historical-critical approach to the text. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā consists of verses composed in Pāli followed by the Thai translation, using a traditional method called yok sab. The first three parts of the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā share the core Pāli verses of the Dhammakāya text genre, but the final section, which praises the Buddha"s physical body, is different. The Pāli verses describe the Buddha"s auspicious marks including radiance, hair, height, etc., verses that are also found in the Golden Manuscript Braḥ Dhammakāya, a text that can be dated to the 1 st reign. Today, the Dhammakāyānussati-kathā is not well-known in Central Thailand, but its similar texts are still used in Northern Thailand and Cambodia during buddhābhiṣeka and the ritual of installing the Buddha"s heart into a Buddha statute and chedī. The Dhammakāyānussati-kathā along with other texts belonging to the Dhammakāya text genre disappeared during the 5 th reign (1868-1910), when the royal chanting curriculum was reformed under Supreme Patriarch Sā in 1880, and Siam"s Tipiṭaka was revised during the 10 th Saṇgāyanā in 1893. I conclude that the disappearance of the Dhammakāyānussatikathā is evidence for the suppression of Siam"s "Borān" Buddhism during the 5 th reign in response to modernist concerns about canonicity and textual authenticity.

the 3rd Seoul International Meditation Expo , 2022

A meditation system that was dominant in Central Siam (nowadays Central Thailand) before Buddhist... more A meditation system that was dominant in Central Siam (nowadays Central Thailand) before Buddhist reformation took place during the fourth reign of Rattanakosin dynasty of Thailand (1851-1868), i.e., that of King Mongkut is called "Yogāvacara" or "Boran Kammaṭṭhāna" by scholars such as Rhys Davids, Bizot, Bernon, Crosby, Skilton, Choompolpaisal and others. This meditation system is far removed from the rationalistic monolithic Theravāda presented in many secondary sources. What makes this practice distinct from other forms of meditation is its unique approach to the body, contemplation, visualisation and serological paths. Crosby (2000, pp. 141-42) listed distinctive features of the Yogāvacara tradition or Boran Kammaṭṭhāna and I summarise some detail as following. 1. The creation of the Buddha within via the performance of ritual by implanting the Buddha's attributes and qualities into the body of a practitioner. The physical body of the practitioner then is replaced with the Buddha. 2. The use of sacred syllables or phrases to represent a larger entity such as NA (น) representing the fire element 3. Exoteric interpretations of words, objects, and myths 4. The necessity of invitation before the meditation or ritual is proceeded 5. Foetal development and the spiritual recreation thereof. 6. The importance of Abhidhamma categories and the books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. 7. The importance of performing samatha and vipassanā meditationalthough these are not interpreted as they are written in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga. 8. Expertise in the Yogāvacara tradition is not restricted to monks. Lay people, including women, may be practitioners, and may even be teachers to monks.