Dhammayuttika Nikāya
83-534: Mahā Nikāya The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from Pali : kammaṭṭhāna [kəmːəʈʈʰaːna] meaning "place of work" ), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition , is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism . The Thai Forest Tradition started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who wanted to practice Buddhist monasticism and its meditative practices, according to
166-412: A cultural modernization of the entire region. This modernization included an ongoing campaign to homogenize Buddhism among the villages. Chulalongkorn and Wachiraayan were taught by Western tutors and held distaste for the more mystical aspects of Buddhism. They abandoned Mongkut's search for the noble attainments , indirectly stating that the noble attainments were no longer possible. In an introduction to
249-616: A following of influential conservative-loyalist Bangkok elites. He was introduced to the Queen and King by Somdet Nyanasamvara Suvaddhano (Charoen Khachawat), instructing them how to meditate. In recent times, the Forest Tradition has undergone a crisis surrounding the destruction of forests in Thailand. Since the Forest Tradition had gained significant pull from the royal and elite support in Bangkok,
332-419: A hereditary local governor, and while independent, paid tribute to Bangkok, the most powerful central city-state in the region. Each region had its own religious customs according to local tradition, and substantially different forms of Buddhism existed between mueangs. Though all of these local flavors of regional Thai Buddhism evolved their own customary elements relating to local spirit lore, all were shaped by
415-501: A kingdom. Anouvong was imprisoned in an iron cage in front of the Suthaisawan Hall and died in 1829. In 1810, internal conflicts between Cambodian princes forced Ang Im and Ang Duong to flee to Bangkok. Otteyraja of Cambodia turned to Gia Long of Vietnam for support against the opposing princes. However, this was perceived by Siam as treacherous as the two countries had fought for centuries for control of Cambodia. In 1833,
498-453: A more rigorous practice for laypeople. Ten Precepts are the training-rules for sāmaṇeras and sāmaṇerīs (novitiate monks and nuns). The Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for bhikkhus and 311 for nuns bhikkhunis (nuns). Temporary or short-term ordination is so common in Thailand that men who have never been ordained are sometimes referred to as "unfinished." Long-term or lifetime ordination
581-487: A noble attainment was met with mixed reactions among the Thai clergy. The ecclesiastical official Ven. Chao Khun Upali held Ajahn Mun in high esteem, which would be a significant factor in the subsequent leeway that state authorities gave him and his students. Tisso Uan (1867–1956), who later rose to Thailand's highest ecclesiastical rank of somdet, thoroughly rejected the authenticity of Ajahn Mun's attainment. The tension between
664-672: A private audience in 1822, Crawfurd wrote of the Prince Krom-chiat that, "he seemed certainly to maintain the character assigned to him in public estimation, of being the most intelligent of all the princes and chiefs of the Siamese Court." The Portuguese Consul stated that the Prince had offered him a large sum of money, if he would translate from the French into the Portuguese language a history of
747-423: A revolt. Nangklao then sent Tat Bunnag down south to subjugate the rebellion quickly in 1838. Tat then suggested an autonomous government for Kedah Sultanate. In 1839, Kedah was divided into four autonomous parts. Nangklao was famous for his Buddhist faith. He fed the poor each day after becoming prince, and released animals every monastery day. More than 50 temples were built and repaired in his reign, including
830-547: A small number of monks, inspired by his contacts with Western intellectuals. He rejected the local customs and traditions, and instead turned to the Pali Canon, studying the texts and developing his own ideas on them. Doubting the validity of the existing lineages, Mongkut searched for a lineage of monks with an authentic practice, which he found among the Burmese Mon people in the region. He reordained among this group, which formed
913-484: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Nangklao Phra Bat Somdet Phra Nangklao Chaoyuhua ( Thai : พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว , RTGS : Phra Bat Somdet Phra Nangklao Chao Yu Hua ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), personal name Thap ( Thai : ทับ ), also styled Rama III , was the third king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty , ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. Nangklao
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#1732848833853996-520: Is countered by many historians who say Mo had no heroic role in the events at Tung Samrit, though a contemporary account did mention her action. As Bangkok gathered counterattacking troops, Anouvong withdrew to return to Vientiane. Nangklao sent his uncle Maha Sakdi Polsep the Front Palace and Sing Singhaseni (at the time styled Phraya Ratchasuphawadi) to defeat the armies of Anouvong in Isan . Anouvong
1079-479: Is deeply respected. The ordination process usually begins as an anagarika , in white robes. Maha Nikaya The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order ") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya , the other principal monastic order. The Maha Nikaya
1162-529: Is directed away from the body. While it leads to a state of calm-abiding , it also leads to visions and out-of-body experiences. He then turned to his keeping awareness of his body at all times, taking full sweeps of the body through a walking meditation practice, which leads to a more satisfactory state of calm-abiding. During this time, Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), the fifth monarch of the Rattanakosin Kingdom , and his brother Prince Wachirayan, initiated
1245-603: Is recognized as having authority over both the Maha Nikāya and the Dhammayuttika Nikāya. In recent years some Maha Nikāya monks have campaigned for the creation of a separate Maha Nikāya patriarch, as almost all recent Thai supreme patriarchs have invariably been drawn from the royalty-supported Dhammayuttika Nikāya, despite Dhammayuttika Nikāya monks making up only six percent of the monks in Thailand. [REDACTED] Cambodia portal This Thailand -related article
1328-527: Is sometimes referred to as the " Chanthaburi Line". An influential Western student in the line of Ajahn Lee is Thanissaro Bhikkhu . Forest monasteries in the South Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (May 27, 1906 - May 25, 1993) became a Buddhist monk at Wat Ubon, Chaiya, Surat Thani in Thailand on July 29, 1926, when he was twenty years old, in part to follow the tradition of the day and to fulfill his mother’s wishes. His preceptor gave him
1411-569: Is the largest order of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand and Cambodia, in Thailand taking up over 90% of the Buddhist monks in the country. After the founding of the Dhammayuttika Nikāya by the then-monk Prince Mongkut in 1833, decades later all recognized monks not ordained in the Dhammayuttika order were considered to be part of the maha nikāya , the "great collection" of those outside
1494-701: The Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Minh Mạng broke out in Vietnam. Lê Văn Khôi , the rebel leader, sought Siamese aid. Nangklao intended to take this opportunity to install a pro-Siamese monarch on the Cambodian throne. Phraya Ratchasuphawadi, who had been promoted to Chao Phraya Bodindecha, was ordered to capture Saigon . Dis Bunnag, the Minister of Kromma Tha , commanded a fleet to rendezvous with ground forces at Saigon. The two Cambodian princes, Ang Im and Ang Duong, also joined
1577-556: The Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam), was ordained as a Buddhist monk before rising to the throne later in his life. He traveled around the Siamese region and quickly became dissatisfied with the caliber of Buddhist practice he saw around him. He was also concerned about the authenticity of the ordination lineages, and the capacity of the monastic body to act as an agent that generates positive kamma (Pali: puññakkhettam , meaning "merit-field"). Mongkut started to introduce innovations and reforms to
1660-598: The Save Thai Nation campaign in the late 1990s. This led to Ajahn Maha Bua's striking back with heavy criticism, which is cited as a contributing factor to the ousting of Chuan Leekpai and the election of Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister in 2001. The Dhammayut hierarchy, teaming-up with the Mahanikaya hierarchy and seeing the political influence that Ajahn Maha Bua could wield, felt threatened and began to take action. In
1743-597: The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1831–34) , and the Siamese-Vietnamese War fought in Cambodia (1841–45) . King Nangklao was born as Prince Thap in 1788 to Prince Itsarasunthon and one of his royal wives Chao Chom Manda Riam , who came from a Muslim noble family from the south. Following Isarasundhorn's coronation (posthumously known as Phutthaloetla Naphalai, or Rama II) in 1809, Prince Kshatriyanuchit ( Mom Men ),
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#17328488338531826-515: The de facto head of the Forest Tradition until his death in 1994. The relationship between the Thammayut ecclesia and the Kammaṭṭhāna monks changed in the 1950s when Tisso Uan become ill and Ajahn Lee went to teach meditation to him to help cope with his illness. Tisso Uan eventually recovered, and a friendship between Tisso Uan and Ajahn Lee began, that would cause Tisso Uan to reverse his opinion of
1909-594: The normative standards of pre-sectarian Buddhism , which Ajahn Mun termed "the customs of the noble ones". While ordained in the Dhammayut movement, Ajahn Sao (1861–1941) questioned the impossibility to attain nibbana. He rejected the textual orientation of the Dhammayut movement and set out to bring the dhamma into actual practice. In the late nineteenth century he was posted as abbot of Wat Liap, in Ubon. According to Phra Ajahn Phut Thaniyo, one of Ajahn Sao's students, Ajahn Sao
1992-576: The normative standards of pre-sectarian Buddhism . After studying with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and wandering through the northeast of Thailand, Ajahn Mun reportedly became a non-returner and started to teach in Northeast Thailand. He strove for a revival of the Early Buddhism , insisting on a strict observance of the Buddhist monastic code known as the Vinaya and teaching the practice of jhāna and
2075-502: The Bo Tree, Keys to Natural Truth, Me and Mine, Mindfulness of Breathing and The A, B, Cs of Buddhism etc. On October 20, 2005, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced praise to “Buddhadasa Bhikkhu”, an important person in the world and celebrated the 100th anniversary on May 27, 2006. They held an academic activity to disseminate the Buddhist principles that Ajahn Buddhadasa had taught people around
2158-608: The British. The British were frustrated at Phraya Chumporn's actions, and hostilities were heightened. Nangklao ordered the Siamese armies to leave to avoid further conflict. In 1825, Henry Burney arrived to negotiate peace agreements. The Burney Treaty was the first treaty with the West in the Rattanakosin period . Its purpose was to established free trade in Siam and to greatly reduce taxation on foreign trading ships. That it accomplished
2241-430: The Buddhist monastic code written by Wachirayan, he stated that the rule forbidding monks to make claims to superior attainments was no longer relevant. During this time, the Thai government enacted legislation to group these factions into official monastic fraternities. The monks ordained as part of the Dhammayut reform movement were now part of the Dhammayut order, and all remaining regional monks were grouped together as
2324-567: The Buddhist name “Inthapanyo” which means “The wise one”. He was a Mahanikaya monk and graduated at the third level of Dharma studies in his hometown and in Pali language studies at the third level in Bangkok. After he finished learning the Pali language, he realized that living in Bangkok was not suitable for him because monks and people there did not practice to achieve the heart and core of Buddhism. So he decided to go back to Surat Thani and practice rigorously and taught people to practice well according to
2407-500: The Dhammayut monks with a crisis of identity. In the tradition's beginning the founders famously neglected to record their teachings, instead wandering the Thai countryside offering individual instruction to dedicated pupils. However, detailed meditation manuals and treatises on Buddhist doctrine emerged in the late 20th century from Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Sao's first-generation students as the Forest tradition's teachings began to propagate among
2490-587: The Kammaṭṭhāna tradition, inviting Ajahn Lee to teach in the city. This event marked a turning point in relations between the Dhammayut administration and the Forest Tradition, and interest continued to grow as a friend of Ajahn Maha Bua's named Nyanasamvara rose to the level of somdet and later the Sangharaja of Thailand. Additionally, the clergy who had been drafted as teachers from the Fifth Reign onwards were now being displaced by civilian teaching staff, which left
2573-508: The Mahanikai order. After his stay at Wat Liap, Ajaan Mun wandered through the Northeast. Ajahn Mun still had visions, when his concentration and mindfulness were lost, but through trial and error he eventually found a method for taming his mind. As his mind gained more inner stability, he gradually headed towards Bangkok, consulting his childhood friend Chao Khun Upali on practices pertaining to
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2656-460: The Mahanikaya who had more exposure to Ajahn Mun. His connection to the Forest Tradition was publicly recognized by Ajahn Maha Bua. The community that he founded is formally referred to as The Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah . In 1967, Ajahn Chah founded Wat Pah Pong . That same year, an American monk from another monastery, Venerable Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman, later Ajahn Sumedho ) came to stay with Ajahn Chah at Wat Pah Pong. He found out about
2739-449: The Mons, an ethnic minority, to be improper, and built a monastery on the outskirts of Bangkok. In 1836, Mongkut became the first abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara , which would become the administrative center of the Thammayut order until the present day. The early participants of the movement continued to devote themselves to a combination of textual study and meditations they had discovered from
2822-463: The Siamese forces in wars with Burma. In 1805, Anouvong returned to Vientiane to be crowned as the king. In 1824, Phutthaloetla Naphalai died and, in the following year, Siam was dragged into conflicts with the British Empire . Anouvong saw this as an opportunity to wield his power. In 1825, returning from the funeral of Phutthaloetla Naphalai in Bangkok, Anouvong assembled a large force and went on
2905-622: The Thai Forest Tradition's exposition, awareness of the deathless is boundless and unconditioned and cannot be conceptualized, and must be arrived at through mental training which includes states of meditative concentration (Pali: jhana ). Forest teachers thus directly challenge the notion of "dry insight" (insight without any development of concentration ), and teach that nibbāna must be arrived at through mental training which includes deep states of meditative concentration (Pali: jhāna ), and "exertion and striving" to "cut" or "clear
2988-581: The Thai Forestry Bureau decided to deed large tracts of forested land to Forest Monasteries, knowing that the forest monks would preserve the land as a habitat for Buddhist practice. The land surrounding these monasteries have been described as "forest islands" surrounded by barren clear-cut area. In the midst of the Thai Financial crisis in the late 1990s, Ajahn Maha Bua initiated Save Thai Nation —a campaign which aimed to raise capital to underwrite
3071-495: The Thai currency. By the year 2000, 3.097 tonnes of gold was collected. By the time of Ajahn Maha Bua's death in 2011, an estimated 12 tonnes of gold had been collected, valued at approximated US$ 500 million. 10.2 million dollars of foreign exchange was also donated to the campaign. All proceeds were handed over to the Thai central bank to back the Thai Baht. The Thai administration under Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai attempted to thwart
3154-414: The West. Underlying attitudes of the Thai Forest Tradition include an interest in the empirical effectiveness of practice, the individual's development, and the use of skill in their practice and living. Before authority was centralized in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region known today as Thailand was a kingdom of semi-autonomous city-states (Thai: mueang ). These kingdoms were all ruled by
3237-461: The accounts is like tying the necks of all Thais together and throwing them into the sea; the same as turning the land of the nation upside down." In addition to Ajahn Maha Bua's activism for Thailand's economy, his monastery is estimated to have donated some 600 million Baht (US$ 19 million) to charitable causes. Throughout the 2000s, Ajahn Maha Bua was accused of political leanings—first from Chuan Leekpai supporters, and then receiving criticism from
3320-435: The basis for the Dhammayut movement. Mongkut then searched for replacements for the classical Buddhist texts lost in the final siege of Ayutthaya. He eventually received copies of the Pali Canon as part of a missive to Sri Lanka. With these, Mongkut began a study group to promote understanding of Classical Buddhist principles. Mongkut's reforms were radical, imposing a scriptural orthodoxy on the varied forms of Thai Buddhism of
3403-464: The cave. Ajahn Mun returned to the Northeast to start teaching, which marked the effective beginning of the Kammatthana tradition. He insisted on a scrupulous observance of the Vinaya , the Buddhist monastic code, and of the protocols, the instructions for the daily activities of the monk. He taught that virtue was a matter of the mind, not of rituals, and that intention forms the essence of virtue, not
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3486-500: The core teachings of the Buddha. Then he established Suanmokkhabālārama (The Grove of the Power of Liberation) in 1932 which is the mountain and forest for 118.61 acres at Pum Riang, Chaiya district, Surat Thani Thailand. It is a forest Dhamma and Vipassana meditation center. In 1989, he founded The Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage for international Vipassana meditation practitioners around
3569-564: The development of insight (Pali: paññā , also meaning "wisdom" or "discernment"). He then left for an unspecified period, staying in caves in Lopburi, before returning to Bangkok one final time to consult with Chao Khun Upali, again pertaining to the practice of paññā. Feeling confident in his paññā practice he left for Sarika Cave. During his stay there, Ajahn Mun was critically ill for several days. After medicines failed to remedy his illness, Ajahn Mun ceased to take medication and resolved to rely on
3652-406: The directive was eventually dropped. In the late 1930s, Tisso Uan formally recognized the Kammaṭṭhāna monks as a faction. However, even after Ajahn Mun died in 1949, Tisso Uan continued to insist that Ajahn Mun had never been qualified to teach because he hadn't graduated from the government's formal Pali studies courses. With the passing of Ajahn Mun in 1949, Ajahn Thate Desaransi was designated
3735-490: The expedition. Bodindecha took Udongk and the fleet took Bantey Mas . The fleet proceeded to Saigon but was repelled. Bodindecha then took Phnom Penh and again invaded Vietnam by land in 1842. In 1845, the Vietnamese recaptured Phnom Penh, but Bodindecha was able to defend Udongk. In 1847, prompted by Emperor Thiệu Trị 's treatment of Christian missionaries, French forces invaded Vietnam. A cessation of hostilities with Siam
3818-571: The first Chinese style temple at Rajorasa , the highest stupa at Wat Arun , the Golden Mountain at Wat Saket, the metal temple at Wat Ratchanadda , and Chetupol Temple or Wat Pho . Wat Pho is the site of the first university in Thailand. Under his reign, King Rama III was also responsible for the writing of the Chindamanee textbook and also the revision of the Buddhist textbook the Tripitaka which
3901-414: The five "root meditation themes": the hair of the head, the hair of the body, the nails, the teeth, and the skin. One of the purposes of meditating on these externally visible aspects of the body is to counter the infatuation with the body, and to develop a sense of dispassion. Of the five, the skin is described as being especially significant. Ajahn Mun writes that "When we get infatuated with the human body,
3984-447: The forest tradition and the Thammayut administrative hierarchy escalated in 1926 when Tisso Uan attempted to drive a senior Forest Tradition monk named Ajahn Sing—along with his following of 50 monks and 100 nuns and laypeople—out of Ubon , which was under Tisso Uan's jurisdiction. Ajahn Sing refused, saying he and many of his supporters were born there, and they weren't doing anything to harm anyone. After arguments with district officials,
4067-558: The groundwork for a British request for Siamese support in the First Anglo-Burmese War , which broke out in 1824. Nangklao provided fleets and elephants and sent Siamese armies to participate in the invasion of Burma since the British promised Siam the conquered lands. Phraya Chumporn ordered the forced migration of Mergui (a common practice in Southeast Asia regarding the newly-conquered lands), which had been conquered by
4150-423: The infusion of Mahayana Buddhism and Indian Tantric traditions, which arrived in the area prior to the fourteenth century. Additionally, many of the monastics in the villages engaged in behavior inconsistent with the Buddhist monastic code (Pali: vinaya ), including playing board games , and participating in boat races and water fights. In the 1820s young Prince Mongkut (1804–1866), the future fourth king of
4233-427: The king 1 May 1832, leading to yet another succession crisis. He did not name his reign , but was posthumously awarded the name Nangklao by Mongkut, who had in the interim remained in ecclesiastic status to avoid the intrigues of royal politics. The reign of Nangklao (as he was posthumously known) saw the renewal of Western contacts. In 1822, British East India Company agent John Crawfurd's mission to Siam laid
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#17328488338534316-547: The king in Kromma Tha for years. Support came strongly from high-ranking nobility, including Chao Phraya Abhay Pudhorn, the Samuha Nayok , and Dis Bunnag then Minister of Kromma Tha , and other Bunnag family members. Chetsadabodin accepted the throne and was crowned in 1824. He raised his mother, Riam , to Princess Mother Sri Suralai. He appointed his uncle, Sakdiphonlasep , viceroy on 21 July 1824 – who predeceased
4399-401: The late 2000s bankers at the Thai central bank attempted to consolidate the bank's assets and move the proceeds from the Save Thai Nation campaign into the ordinary accounts which discretionary spending comes out of. The bankers received pressure from Ajahn Maha Bua's supporters which effectively prevented them from doing this. On the subject, Ajahn Maha Bua said that "it is clear that combining
4482-559: The monastery from one of Ajahn Chah's existing monks who happened to speak "a little bit of English". In 1975, Ajahn Chah and Sumedho founded Wat Pah Nanachat , an international forest monastery in Ubon Ratchatani which offers services in English. In the 1980s the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah expanded to the West with the founding of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK. Ajahn Chah stated that
4565-441: The new Dhammayuttika fraternity. As such, most monks in Thailand belong to the Maha Nikāya more or less by default; the order itself did not originally establish any particular practices or views that characterized those adhering to its creed. There were in reality hundreds of different Nikayas throughout the Thai areas that were lumped together as the "Maha Nikāya". In Cambodia , a similar situation exists. The Dhammayuttika Nikāya
4648-612: The objectives is disputed. In 1833, US President Andrew Jackson 's "special agent" and envoy Edmund Roberts , referring often to Crawfurd's account, concluded the Siamese–American Treaty of Amity and Commerce , signed at the Royal City of Sia-Yut'hia (Bangkok) on 20 March, the last of the fourth month of the year 1194 CS ( Chula Sakarat ). This treaty, with later modifications, is still in force. Dan Beach Bradley , an American physician and prominent Western personality of
4731-448: The offensive. After defeating Bangkok-vassal principalities along the way, Anouvong captured Korat , the main defensive stronghold of Siam in the northeast. He forced the city to be evacuated while marching to Saraburi , on approach to the capital, Bangkok. However, the Korat captives rebelled—said to have been at the instigation of Lady Mo , wife of a ruling noble of Korat—although this claim
4814-522: The old concept of Thai monarchy, however, a proper king must emulate Maha Sammata in that he must be "elected by the people." Ironically, Mongkut may have later contributed to this misconception, when he feared that his own accession might be perceived by foreign observers as a usurpation. During Nangklao's reign, the military hegemony of Siam was established by putting down the Laotian Rebellion (1826–1828, in what would come to be called Isan ),
4897-513: The other side after his vehement condemnations of Thaksin Shinawatra. Ajahn Maha Bua was the last of Ajahn Mun's prominent first-generation students. He died in 2011. In his will he requested that all of the donations from his funeral be converted to gold and donated to the Central Bank—an additional 330 million Baht and 78 kilograms of gold. The purpose of practice is to attain the deathless (Pali: amata-dhamma ), i.e. Nibbāna . According to
4980-454: The path" through the "tangle" of defilements, setting awareness free, and thus allowing one to see them clearly for what they are, eventually leading one to be released from these defilements. Kammaṭṭhāna , (Pali: meaning “place of work”) refers to the whole of the practice with the goal of ultimately eradicating defilement from the mind. The practice which monks in the tradition generally begin with are meditations on what Ajahn Mun called
5063-447: The power of his Buddhist practice. Ajahn Mun investigated the nature of the mind and this pain, until his illness disappeared, and successfully coped with visions featuring a club-wielding demon apparition who claimed he was the owner of the cave. According to forest tradition accounts, Ajahn Mun attained the noble level of non-returner (Pali: "anagami") after subduing this apparition and working through subsequent visions he encountered in
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#17328488338535146-494: The proper conduct of rituals. He asserted that meditative concentration was necessary on the Buddhist path and that the practice of jhana and the experience of Nirvana was still possible even in modern times. Ajahn Mun's approach met with resistance from the religious establishment. He challenged the text-based approach of the city-monks, opposing their claims about the non-attainability of jhāna and nibbāna with his own experience-based teachings. His report of having reached
5229-420: The realization of nibbāna . Initially, Ajahn Mun's teachings were met with fierce opposition, but in the 1930s his group was acknowledged as a formal faction of Thai Buddhism, and in the 1950s the relationship with the royal and religious establishment improved. In the 1960s, Western students started to be attracted to the movement, and in the 1970s branch monasteries of the tradition began to be established in
5312-410: The skin is what we are infatuated with. When we conceive of the body as being beautiful and attractive, and develop love, desire, and longing for it, it's because of what we conceive of the skin." Advanced meditations include the classical themes of contemplation and mindfulness of breathing: Mindfulness immersed in the body and mindfulness of in-and-out breathing (ānāpānasati) are both part of
5395-488: The spread of Communism in Southeast Asia motivated him to establish the Forest Tradition in the West. The Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah has since expanded to cover Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Brazil, and the United States. With the passing of Ajahn Thate in 1994, Ajahn Maha Bua was designated the new Ajahn Yai . By this time, the Forest Tradition's authority had been fully routinized, and Ajahn Maha Bua had grown
5478-620: The surviving son of Taksin, revolted as pretender to the throne. Prince Thap was assigned to suppress the rebellion, which he did. Praised by his father for his competence, Prince Thap was given the Sanskrit -derived title Chetsadabodin , raised to the bureaucratic rank of Kromma Muen , and served his father as Kromma Tha (minister of trade and foreign affairs.) As Kromma Tha, he developed proficiency in foreign trade, and developed an affection for Chinese goods and culture. Temples he later had constructed were characterized by Chinese influence. After
5561-516: The ten recollections and the four satipatthana, and are commonly given special attention as primary themes for a meditator to focus on. There are several precept levels: Five Precepts , Eight Precepts , Ten Precepts and the patimokkha . The Five Precepts ( Pañcaśīla in Sanskrit and Pañcasīla in Pāli) are practiced by laypeople, either for a given period of time or for a lifetime. The Eight Precepts are
5644-619: The texts they had received. However, Thanissaro notes that none of the monks could make any claims of having successfully entered meditative concentration (Pali: samadhi ), much less having reached a noble level. The Dhammayut reform movement maintained a strong footing as Mongkut later rose to the throne. Over the next several decades the Dhammayut monks would continue with their study and practice. The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who studied with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo , and wanted to practice Buddhist monasticism, and its meditative practices, according to
5727-553: The threats of the Westerners was left to us. We should study their innovations for our own benefits but not to the degree of obsession or worship." This vision coincided with Western intervention in Siam in the reign of Mongkut. He was able to predict, but not live to see the neighboring kingdoms of Burma and Vietnam fall to European colonial rule. During his reign, trade between Siam and China became lucrative. The king kept his profits in red purses beside his bed, subsequently this money
5810-417: The time, "trying to establish a national identity through religious reform." A controversial point was Mongkut's belief that nibbana can't be reached in our degenerated times and that the aim of the Buddhist order is to promote a moral way of life and preserve the Buddhist traditions. Mongkut's brother Nangklao , King Rama III, the third king of the Rattanakosin Kingdom , considered Mongkut's involvement with
5893-458: The time, introduced printing and vaccination . The three Laotian kingdoms ( Lan Xang in Vientiane , Luang Prabang , and Champasak ) became Siamese tributary states after Chao Phraya Maha Kshatriyaseuk (King Rama I, Nangklao's grandfather) had conquered them in 1778. Anouvong , the son of the king of Vientiene, was taken to Bangkok as a captive. He spent nearly thirty years in Siam and joined
5976-432: The urbanities in Bangkok and subsequently take root in the West. Ajahn Lee , one of Ajahn Mun's students, was instrumental in disseminating Mun's teachings to a wider Thai lay audience. Ajahn Lee wrote several books which recorded the doctrinal positions of the forest tradition and explained broader Buddhist concepts in the Forest Tradition's terms. Ajahn Lee and his students are considered a distinguishable sub-lineage that
6059-433: The viceroy or uparaja was heir presumptive . If there were none, then an ad hoc senabodi consisting of senior officials present at the death of a king, would elect a successor. Foreign observers accustomed to the concept of an heir apparent expected Prince Mongkut, as a son of the queen, to ascend to the throne. However, the assembled Senabodi considered Prince Chetsadabodin a more competent choice as he had served
6142-482: The wars of Napoleon , for the purpose of being rendered into Siamese through the Christian interpreters. As the prince administered trade affairs, his half-brother Prince Mongkut pursued the way of religion, becoming a monk in 1824. In that year, Phutthaloetla Naphalai died suddenly without having named a successor to viceroy Maha Senanurak , who had died 16 July 1817. According to the traditions of royal succession,
6225-462: The world. So, he was the practitioner of a great Thai Forest Tradition who practiced well and spread Dhammas for people around the world to realize the core and heart of Buddhism. Ajahn Chah (1918–1992) was a central person in the popularisation of the Thai Forest Tradition in the west. In contrast to most members of the Forest Tradition he was not a Dhammayut monk, but a Mahanikaya monk. He only spent one weekend with Ajahn Mun, but had teachers within
6308-469: The world. There is a 10-day silent meditation retreat that starts on the 1st of each month for the whole year which is free, of no charge for international practitioners who are interested in practicing meditation. He was a central monk in the popularization of the Thai Forest Tradition in the South of Thailand. He was a great Dhamma author who wrote many well-known Dhamma books: Handbook for Mankind, Heart-wood from
6391-399: Was "not a preacher or a speaker, but a doer," who said very little when teaching his students. He taught his students to "Meditate on the word 'Buddho,'" which would aid in developing concentration and mindfulness of meditation objects. Ajahn Mun (1870–1949) went to Wat Liap monastery immediately after being ordained in 1893, where he started to practice kasina -meditation, in which awareness
6474-451: Was defeated and fled to Vietnam. The Siamese captured Vientiane and ordered the evacuation of the city. In 1827, Nangklao ordered the total destruction of Vientiane. Anouvong returned to Laos with Vietnamese forces. Ratchasuphawadi led the Siamese to fight and the engagements occurred at Nong Khai . Anouvong was defeated again and, after an attempt to flee, was captured. Vientiane was razed, extinguishing her 200 year reign, and ceased to be
6557-414: Was known as "red purse money". Nangklao stipulated that the red purse money that he had earned through his business acumen should be set aside as the state's emergency fund for the future "so that Siam would be able to buy the land back" if it fell into a squabble with a foreign power. In the reign of his nephew Chulalongkorn , Siam indeed had to pay reparations to France for the 1893 Paknam incident during
6640-456: Was negotiated. Ang Duong was installed as the Cambodian monarch under the equal patronage of both Siam and Vietnam, thus ending the war. In 1837, Krom Somdet Phra Sri Suralai, mother of Nangklao, died. All officials throughout the kingdom went to Bangkok to attend the funeral. At Syburi ( Kedah of Malaysia now), without the presence of Siamese governors, a nephew of the Sultan of Kedah then staged
6723-489: Was supposedly imported from Thailand in 1855, and those monks remaining outside the Dhammayuttika order were recognized as being members of the Maha Nikāya ( Khmer : មហានិកាយ Mohanikay ). A separate supreme patriarch for the Dhammayuttika Nikāya was appointed by King Norodom . The previous national supreme patriarch then became the titular head of the Cambodian Maha Nikāya. In Thailand, a single supreme patriarch
6806-469: Was the eldest surviving son of King Rama II . His mother Sri Sulalai was one of Rama II's secondary wives. Nangklao was likely designated as heir by his father. His accession was uncontested and smoothly confirmed by the grand council. Foreign observers, however, falsely perceived him as having usurped the prior claim of his younger half-brother Prince Mongkut , who was born to Queen Sri Suriyendra and thus " legitimate " according to Western customs. Under
6889-449: Was to be distributed throughout the kingdom. In addition to that Rama III also allowed monks to use castles as classrooms for the teaching of Buddhism. Nangklao died on 2 April 1851 without having named a successor. He had 51 children including sons, but had raised none of his consorts to the queen. The throne passed to his half-brother, Prince Mongkut . Nangklao stated on his deathbed that "Our wars with Burma and Vietnam were over, only
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