{"id":7309,"date":"2024-03-21T03:06:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T03:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agencms.cluster030.hosting.ovh.net\/?p=7309"},"modified":"2024-03-21T03:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T03:17:30","slug":"la-petite-histoire-de-larrive-du-bouddhisme-sur-le-territoire-thailandais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/la-petite-histoire-de-larrive-du-bouddhisme-sur-le-territoire-thailandais\/","title":{"rendered":"A brief history of the arrival of Buddhism in Thailand."},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7309\" class=\"elementor elementor-7309\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-c07bfad e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c07bfad\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d6fe5b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9d6fe5b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-caf2e12 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"caf2e12\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.19.0 - 28-02-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">A brief history of the arrival of Buddhism in Thailand.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-304c496 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"304c496\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e89d06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1e89d06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.19.0 - 28-02-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">A brief history of the arrival of Buddhism in Thailand.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">1. The Origins of Buddhism: Therav\u0101da<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">The territory now known as Thailand has known Buddhism since the 3rd century BCE. Ancient Ceylonese chronicles relate that the Indian Emperor Ashoka (269\u2013237 BCE) sent Theras (\u201csenior monks\u201d) to nine regions to spread the Buddha\u2019s teachings. Two of them, named Sona and Uttara, arrived in the land of Suvarnabhumi (\u201cthe Golden Land\u201d), a fertile and prosperous region corresponding to present-day central Thailand and western Myanmar. The Phra Pathom Chedi in the city of Nakhon Pathom was likely the first pagoda built in Thailand. Its name (Pathama Cetiya meaning \u201cfirst pagoda\u201d in Pali) and its striking resemblance to the famous Sanchi stupa, built by Ashoka in India, attest to this. Moreover, many Buddha statues in the Indian Gupta style have been found in the ruins of Nakhon Pathom and neighboring cities, confirming the arrival of missionaries from the Indian city of Magadha (Bihar state).<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">The first form of Buddhism introduced to Thailand was the Therav\u0101da doctrine (or H\u012bnay\u0101na). Pali stanzas from the Tipitaka were found in the Pyu kingdom of Sri Ksetra (6th to 11th century CE) in central present-day Myanmar and in the Mon kingdoms of Dv\u0101ravat\u012b and Haripunchai (6th to 13th century CE) in central and northern present-day Thailand.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">2. The Expansion of Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">The second phase of Buddhism\u2019s expansion in Thailand (called the Mah\u0101y\u0101na period) is better known thanks to inscriptions written in Siamese found in Sukhothai and through records in some monasteries such as the Mulasasana (1).<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism (\u201cGreat Vehicle\u201d) appeared in northern India under King Kanishka\u2019s reign (second half of the 1st century CE). Missionaries quickly spread it to Sumatra, Java, Cambodia, Pegu (Burma), and the Dv\u0101ravat\u012b kingdom (Nakhon Pathom region in Thailand).<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">From the 5th century, Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhist monks from Kashmir established monasteries in Sumatra. By the mid-8th century, the Srivijaya city-state, which controlled southern Sumatra, extended its influence to the Malay Peninsula and southern Thailand and encouraged the propagation of Mah\u0101y\u0101na doctrine in these new territories.<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Khmer rulers of the Angkor kingdom conquered almost all of today\u2019s Thailand. They founded a provincial capital in Lopburi and facilitated the expansion of Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism and Brahmanism, which they adhered to, throughout the region. In a few decades, Lopburi became a major religious center, with Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism and Brahmanism mixing gradually with the well-established Therav\u0101da Buddhist base. Sanskrit, the sacred Indian language, spread as well. Even today, elements of these religions appear in some Thai religious and royal ceremonies.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">3. The Arrival of the Thais: Influence of Burmese and Mon Buddhism<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">In 1057, a king of Pagan (central Burma) named Anuruddha (or Anawratha) expanded his kingdom by conquering part of northern present-day Thailand. He promoted Therav\u0101da Buddhism (\u201cLittle Vehicle\u201d) by sending missionaries to the region and building many monasteries.<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">At that time, the Tai Yai (also called Shan), who had left China during the fall of the Tai Ai-Lao kingdom (1st century BCE) and settled in eastern Burma and northwestern Thailand, likely saw Mah\u0101y\u0101na Buddhism (2) and animist practices strongly influenced by Burmese Therav\u0101da Buddhism.<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">However, it was from the 12th and 13th centuries that most of the Thais (Thai Noi), who had gradually settled throughout northern and central present-day Thailand, began to adopt Therav\u0101da doctrine en masse after assimilating part of Mon civilization. Chronicles report that the Mons of Lavo (Lopburi), who practiced Therav\u0101da Buddhism, founded in the 8th century a kingdom named Haripunchai (Haripunjaya) on the site of today\u2019s Lamphun city. Their queen, Chamadevi, settled there with a large retinue including five hundred monks. In 1292, when the city was conquered by King Mangrai\u2019s Thais, the Buddhist institutions and traditions established under Chamadevi\u2019s reign remained intact. Most monasteries built in Mon cities, as well as those belonging to forest monk communities (arannavasin), were preserved.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">4. Ceylonese Buddhism (Lankavamsa Buddhism)<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">In 1153, Parakramabahu the Great ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Ceylon, known then as Lanka. A powerful monarch and defender of Therav\u0101da Buddhism, he convened the seventh Buddhist council to revise and reinforce the Dharma (Buddhist laws) and Vinaya (Buddhist practices). Thai, Burmese, and Laotian kingdoms then sent many monks to Ceylon to study Buddhist teachings and receive ordination. Upon their return, they founded monasteries, notably in Nakhon Sri Thammarat in southern Thailand, in the Lan Na kingdom of the north, and in Sukhothai, where King Ramkhamhaeng offered them protection.<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">In the 14th and 15th centuries, Ceylonese Buddhism became popular throughout the country. Kings Maha Dharmaraja Lithai of Sukhothai and Ramathibodi I of Ayutthaya invited Maha Sami Sangharaja Sumana, patriarch of the Ceylon Sangha, to preside over ordination ceremonies in their respective kingdoms. Numerous monasteries, chedis (stupas) inspired by Ceylon, and Buddha statues were erected throughout central Thailand. Lankavamsa Buddhism gradually merged with other existing Buddhist forms and progressively imposed Therav\u0101da and its rites on nearly the entire population. Today, this form of Buddhism remains the majority practice in Thailand.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">(1) The Mulasasana is a chronicle written in the Thai Yuan dialect starting in 1425 by Buddhayan, the fourth patriarch of Wat Suan Dok in Chiang Mai, and then by Buddhapukam, another monk of the same monastery. It recounts the history of Buddhism in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">(2) According to Chinese chronicles, Thai Ai-Lao was a Thai kingdom located south of China in the 1st century BCE, ruled by Khun Muang, \u201ca powerful sovereign with a formidable army,\u201d known for its great prosperity. It is probable that during this period, Thais began adopting Buddhism as a religion.<\/div><\/div><div class=\"x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/div><div dir=\"auto\">Excerpt from Answers to All Your Questions on Thailand \u2013 Emmanuel Perv\u00e9 \u2013 2015<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buddhism has been practiced in Thailand since the 3rd century BC. Indeed, ancient Ceylonese chronicles record that the Indian emperor Ashoka (269-237 BC) sent Thera (\"elder monks\") to nine lands to spread the word of the Buddha.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7309"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7321,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309\/revisions\/7321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}