SIAM[188]
1
The Buddhism of Siam does not differ materially from that of Burma and
Ceylon but merits separate mention, since it has features of its own
due in some measure to the fact that Siam is still an independent
kingdom ruled by a monarch who is also head of the Church. But whereas
for the last few centuries this kingdom may be regarded as a political
and religious unit, its condition in earlier times was different and
Siamese history tells us nothing of the introduction and first
diffusion of Indian religions in the countries between India and
China.
The people commonly known as Siamese call themselves Thăi which
(in the form Tai) appears to be the racial name of several tribes who
can be traced to the southern provinces of China. They spread thence,
in fanlike fashion, from Laos to Assam, and the middle section
ultimately descended the Menam to the sea. The Siamese claim to have
assumed the name Thăi (free) after they threw off the yoke of the
Cambojans, but this derivation is more acceptable to politics than to
ethnology. The territories which they inhabited were known as Siem,
Syâm or Syâma, which is commonly identified with the Sanskrit
Śyâma, dark or brown[189]. But the names Shan and A-hom seem to be
variants of the same word and Śyâma is possibly not its origin but
a learned and artificial distortion[190]. The Lao were another
division of the same race who occupied the country now called Laos
before the Tai had moved into Siam. This movement was gradual and
until the beginning of the twelfth century they merely established
small principalities, the principal of which was Lamphun[191], on the
western arm of the Mekong. They gradually penetrated into the kingdoms
of Svankalok, Sukhothai[192] and Lavo (Lophburi) which then were
vassals of Camboja, and they were reinforced by another body of Tais
which moved southwards early in the twelfth century. For some time the
Cambojan Empire made a successful effort to control these immigrants
but in the latter part of the thirteenth century the Siamese
definitely shook off its yoke and founded an independent state with
its capital at Sukhothai. There was probably some connection between
these events and the southern expeditions of Khubilai Khan who in 1254
conquered Talifu and set the Tai tribes in motion.
The history of their rule in Siam may be briefly described as a
succession of three kingdoms with capitals at Sukhothai, Ayuthia and
Bangkok respectively. Like the Burmese, the Siamese have annals or
chronicles. They fall into two divisions, the chronicles[193] of the
northern kingdom in three volumes which go down to the foundation of
Ayuthia and are admitted even by the Siamese to be mostly fabulous, and
the later annals in 40 volumes which were rearranged after the sack of
Ayuthia in 1767 but claim to begin with the foundation of the city.
Various opinions have been expressed as to their trustworthiness[194],
but it is allowed by all that they must be used with caution. More
authoritative but not very early are the inscriptions set up by various
kings, of which a considerable number have been published and
translated[195].
The early history of Sukhothai and its kings is not yet beyond dispute
but a monarch called Râmarâja or Râma Khomhëng played a considerable
part in it. His identity with Phăya Rùang, who is said to have
founded the dynasty and city, has been both affirmed and denied.
Sukhothai, at least as the designation of a kingdom, seems to be much
older than his reign[196]. It was undoubtedly understood as the
equivalent of the Sanskrit Sukhodaya, but like Śyâma it may be an
adaptation of some native word. In an important inscription found at
Sukhothai and now preserved at Bangkok[197], which was probably
composed about 1300 A.D., Râma Khomhëng gives an account of his
kingdom. On the east it extended to the banks of the Mekhong and
beyond it to Chavâ (perhaps a name of Luang-Prabang): on the south to
the sea, as far as Śrî Dharmarâja or Ligor: on the west to
Haṃsavatî or Pegu. This last statement is important for it enables
us to understand how at this period, and no doubt considerably
earlier, the Siamese were acquainted with Pali Buddhism. The king
states that hitherto his people had no alphabet but that he invented
one[198]. This script subsequently developed into the modern
Siamese writing which, though it presents many difficulties, is an
ingenious attempt to express a language with tones in an alphabet. The
vocabulary of Siamese is not homogeneous: it comprises (_a_) a
foundation of Thai, (_b_) a considerable admixture of Khmer words,
(_c_) an element borrowed from Malay and other languages, (_d_)
numerous ecclesiastical and learned terms taken from Pali and
Sanskrit. There are five tones which must be distinguished, if either
written or spoken speech is to be intelligible. This is done partly by
accents and partly by dividing the forty-four consonants (many of
which are superfluous for other purposes) into three groups, the high,
middle and deep.
The king also speaks of religion. The court and the inhabitants of
Sukhothai were devout Buddhists: they observed the season of Vassa and
celebrated the festival of Kaṭhina with processions, concerts and
reading of the scriptures. In the city were to be seen statues of the
Buddha and scenes carved in relief, as well as large monasteries. To
the west of the city was the Forest Monastery, presented to a
distinguished elder who came from Śri Dharmarâja and had studied
the whole Tripitaka. The mention of this official and others suggests
that there was a regular hierarchy and the king relates how he exhumed
certain sacred relics and built a pagoda over them. Though there is no
direct allusion to Brahmanism, stress is laid on the worship of
spirits and devas on which the prosperity of the kingdom depends.
The form of Buddhism described seems to have differed little from the
Hinayanism found in Siam to-day. Whence did the Siamese obtain it? For
some centuries before they were known as a nation, they probably
professed some form of Indian religion. They came from the border
lands, if not from the actual territory of China, and must have been
acquainted with Chinese Buddhism. Also Burmese influence probably
reached Yünnan in the eighth century[199], but it is not easy to say
what form of religion it brought with it. Still when the Thai entered
what is now Siam, it is likely that their religion was some form of
Buddhism. While they were subject to Camboja they must have felt the
influence of Śivaism and possibly of Mahayanist Sanskrit
Buddhism but no Pali Buddhism can have come from this quarter[200].
Southern Siam was however to some extent affected by another wave of
Buddhism. From early times the eastern coast of India (and perhaps
Ceylon) had intercourse not only with Burma but with the Malay
Peninsula. It is proved by inscriptions that the region of Ligor,
formerly known as Śrî Dharmarâja, was occupied by Hindus (who were
probably Buddhists) at least as early as the fourth century A.D.[201],
and Buddhist inscriptions have been found on the mainland opposite
Penang. The Chinese annals allude to a change in the customs of
Camboja and I-Ching says plainly that Buddhism once nourished there
but was exterminated by a wicked king, which may mean that Hinayanist
Buddhism had spread thither from Ligor but was suppressed by a dynasty
of Śivaites. He also says that at the end of the seventh century
Hinayanism was prevalent in the islands of the Southern Sea. An
inscription of about the fourth century found in Kedah and another of
the seventh or eighth from Phra Pathom both contain the formula _Ye
dharmâ_, etc. The latter inscription and also one from Mergui ascribed
to the eleventh century seem to be in mixed Sanskrit and Pali. The
Sukhothai inscription summarized above tells how a learned monk was
brought thither from Ligor and clearly the Pali Buddhism of northern
Siam may have followed the same route. But it probably had also
another more important if not exclusive source, namely Burma. After
the reign of Anawrata Pali Buddhism was accepted in Burma and in what
we now call the Shan States as the religion of civilized mankind and
this conviction found its way to the not very distant kingdom of
Sukhothai. Subsequently the Siamese recognized the seniority and
authority of the Sinhalese Church by inviting an instructor to come
from Ceylon, but in earlier times they can hardly have had direct
relation with the island.
We have another picture of religious life in a Khmer
inscription[202] of Lidaiya or Śrî Sûryavaṃsa Râma composed in
1361 or a little later. This monarch, who is also known by many
lengthy titles, appears to have been a man of learning who had
studied the Tipiṭaka, the Vedas, the Śâstrâgama and Dharmañâya
and erected images of Maheśvara and Vishnu as well as of the
Buddha. In 1361 he sent a messenger to Ceylon charged with the task of
bringing back a Metropolitan or head of the Saṇgha learned in the
Pitakas. This ecclesiastic, who is known only by his title, was duly
sent and on arriving in Siam was received with the greatest honour and
made a triumphal progress to Sukhothai. He is not represented as
introducing a new religion: the impression left by the inscription is
rather that the king and his people being already well-instructed in
Buddhism desired ampler edification from an authentic source. The
arrival of the Saṇgharâja coincided with the beginning of Vassa and
at the end of the sacred season the king dedicated a golden image of
the Buddha, which stood in the midst of the city, and then entered the
order. In doing so he solemnly declared his hope that the merit thus
acquired might make him in future lives not an Emperor, an Indra or a
Brahmâ but a Buddha able to save mankind. He pursued his religious
career with a gratifying accompaniment of miracles and many of the
nobility and learned professions followed his example. But after a
while a deputation waited on his Majesty begging him to return to the
business of his kingdom[203]. An edifying contest ensued. The monks
besought him to stay as their preceptor and guide: the laity pointed
out that government was at an end and claimed his attention. The
matter was referred to the Saṇgharâja who decided that the king
ought to return to his secular duties. He appears to have found little
difficulty in resuming lay habits for he proceeded to chastise the
people of Luang-Prabang.
Two other inscriptions[204], apparently dating from this epoch,
relate that a cutting of the Bo-tree was brought from Ceylon and
that certain relics (perhaps from Patna) were also installed with
great solemnity. To the same time are referred a series of engravings
on stone (not reliefs) found in the Vat-si-jum at Sukhothai. They
illustrate about 100 Jatakas, arranged for the most part according to
the order followed in the Pali Canon.
The facts that King Śrî Sûryavaṃsa sent to Ceylon for his
Metropolitan and that some of the inscriptions which extol his merits
are in Pali[205] make it probable that the religion which he professed
differed little from the Pali Buddhism which flourishes in Siam to-day
and this supposition is confirmed by the general tone of his
inscriptions. But still several phrases in them have a Mahayanist
flavour. He takes as his model the conduct of the Bodhisattvas,
described as ten headed by Metteyya, and his vow to become a Buddha
and save all creatures is at least twice mentioned. The Buddhas are
said to be innumerable and the feet of Bhikkhus are called Buddha
feet[206]. There is no difficulty in accounting for the presence of
such ideas: the only question is from what quarter this Mahayanist
influence came. The king is said to have been a student of Indian
literature: his country, like Burma, was in touch with China and his
use of the Khmer language indicates contact with Camboja.
Another inscription engraved by order of Dharmâsokarâja[207] and
apparently dating from the fourteenth century is remarkable for its
clear statement of the doctrine (generally considered as Mahayanist)
that merit acquired by devotion to the Buddha can be transferred. The
king states that a woman called Bunrak has transferred all her merit
to the Queen and that he himself makes over all his merit to his
teacher, to his relations and to all beings in unhappy states of
existence.
At some time in this period the centre of the Thai empire changed
but divergent views have been held as to the date[208] and character
of this event. It would appear that in 1350 a Siamese subsequently
known as King Râmâdhipati, a descendant of an ancient line of Thai
princes, founded Ayuthia as a rival to Sukhothai. The site was not
new, for it had long been known as Dvâravatî and seems to be mentioned
under that name by I-Ching (_c._ 680), but a new city was apparently
constructed. The evidence of inscriptions indicates that Sukhothai was
not immediately subdued by the new kingdom and did not cease to be a
royal residence for some time. But still Ayuthia gradually became
predominant and in the fifteenth century merited the title of capital
of Siam.
Its rise did not affect the esteem in which Buddhism was held, and it
must have contained many great religious monuments. The jungles which
now cover the site of the city surround the remnants of the Wăt
Somarokot, in which is a gigantic bronze Buddha facing with scornful
calm the ruin which threatens him. The Wăt Chern, which lies at
some distance, contains another gigantic image. A curious
inscription[209] engraved on an image of Śiva found at Sukhothai
and dated 1510 A.D. asserts the identity of Buddhism and Brahmanism,
but the popular feeling was in favour of the former. At Ayuthia the
temples appear to be exclusively Buddhist and at Lophburi ancient
buildings originally constructed for the Brahmanic cult have been
adapted to Buddhist uses. It was in 1602 that the mark known as the
footprint of Buddha was discovered at the place now called Phra-bat.
Ayuthia was captured by the Burmese in 1568 and the king was carried
into captivity but the disaster was not permanent, for at the end of
the century the power of the Siamese reached its highest point and
their foreign relations were extensive. We hear that five hundred
Japanese assisted them to repulse a Burmese attack and that there was
a large Japanese colony in Ayuthia. On the other hand when Hideyoshi
invaded Korea in 1592, the Siamese offered to assist the Chinese.
Europeans appeared first in 1511 when the Portuguese took Malacca.
But on the whole the dealings of Siam with Europe were peaceful
and both traders and missionaries were welcomed. The most singular
episode in this international intercourse was the career of the Greek
adventurer Constantine Phaulcon who in the reign of King Nărai was
practically Foreign Minister. In concert with the French missionaries
he arranged an exchange of embassies (1682 and 1685) between Nărai
and Louis XIV, the latter having been led to suppose that the king and
people of Siam were ready to embrace Christianity. But when the French
envoys broached the subject of conversion, the king replied that he
saw no reason to change the religion which his countrymen had
professed for two thousand years, a chronological statement which it
might be hard to substantiate. Still, great facilities were given to
missionaries and further negotiations ensued, in the course of which
the French received almost a monopoly of foreign trade and the right
to maintain garrisons. But the death of Nărai was followed by a
reaction. Phaulcon died in prison and the French garrisons were
expelled. Buddhism probably flourished at this period for the
Mahâvaṃsa tells us that the king of Ceylon sent to Ayuthia for
monks in 1750 because religion there was pure and undefiled.
Ayuthia continued to be the capital until 1767 when it was laid in
ruins by the Burmese who, though Buddhists, did not scruple to destroy
or deface the temples and statues with which it was ornamented. But
the collapse of the Siamese was only local and temporary. A leader of
Chinese origin named Phăya Täk Sin rallied their forces, cleared
the Burmese out of the country and made Bangkok, officially described
as the Capital of the Angels, the seat of Government. But he was
deposed in 1782 and one of the reasons for his fall seems to have been
a too zealous reformation of Buddhism. In the troublous times
following the collapse of Ayuthia the Church had become disorganized
and corrupt, but even those who desired improvement would not assent
to the powers which the king claimed over monks. A new dynasty (of
which the sixth monarch is now on the throne) was founded in 1782 by
Chao Phăya Chakkri. One of his first acts was to convoke a council
for the revision of the Tipiṭaka and to build a special hall in
which the text thus agreed on was preserved. His successor Phra:
Buddha Löt La is considered the best poet that Siam has produced and
it is probably the only country in the world where this
distinction has fallen to the lot of a sovereign. The poet king had
two sons, Phra: Nang: Klao, who ascended the throne after his death,
and Mongkut, who during his brother's reign remained in a monastery
strictly observing the duties of a monk. He then became king and
during his reign (1851-1868) Siam "may be said to have passed from the
middle ages to modern times[210]." It is a tribute to the excellence
of Buddhist discipline that a prince who spent twenty-six years as a
monk should have emerged as neither a bigot nor an impractical mystic
but as an active, enlightened and progressive monarch. The equality
and simplicity of monastic life disposed him to come into direct touch
with his subjects and to adopt straightforward measures which might
not have occurred to one who had always been surrounded by a wall of
ministers. While still a monk he founded a stricter sect which aimed
at reviving the practice of the Buddha, but at the same time he
studied foreign creeds and took pleasure in conversing with
missionaries. He wrote several historical pamphlets and an English
Grammar, and was so good a mathematician that he could calculate the
occurrence of an eclipse. When he became king he regulated the
international position of Siam by concluding treaties of friendship
and commerce with the principal European powers, thus showing the
broad and liberal spirit in which he regarded politics, though a
better acquaintance with the ways of Europeans might have made him
refuse them extraterritorial privileges. He abolished the custom which
obliged everyone to keep indoors when the king went out and he
publicly received petitions on every Uposatha day. He legislated
against slavery[211], gambling, drinking spirits and smoking opium and
considerably improved the status of women. He also published edicts
ordering the laity to inform the ecclesiastical authorities if they
noticed any abuses in the monasteries. He caused the annals of Siam to
be edited and issued numerous orders on archaeological and literary
questions, in which, though a good Pali scholar, he deprecated the
affected use of Pali words and enjoined the use of a terse and simple
Siamese style, which he certainly wrote himself. He appears to
have died of scientific zeal for he caught a fatal fever on a trip
which he took to witness a total eclipse of the sun.
He was succeeded by his son Chulalongkorn[212] (1868-1911), a liberal
and enlightened ruler, who had the misfortune to lose much territory
to the French on one side and the English on the other. For religion,
his chief interest is that he published an edition of the Tipiṭaka.
The volumes are of European style and printed in Siamese type, whereas
Cambojan characters were previously employed for religious works.
2
As I have already observed, there is not much difference between
Buddhism in Burma and Siam. In mediæval times a mixed form of religion
prevailed in both countries and Siam was influenced by the Brahmanism
and Mahayanism of Camboja. Both seem to have derived a purer form of
the faith from Pegu, which was conquered by Anawrata in the eleventh
century and was the neighbour of Sukhothai so long as that kingdom
lasted. Both had relations with Ceylon and while venerating her as the
metropolis of the faith also sent monks to her in the days of her
spiritual decadence. But even in externals some differences are
visible. The gold and vermilion of Burma are replaced in Siam by more
sober but artistic tints--olive, dull purple and dark orange--and the
change in the colour scheme is accompanied by other changes in the
buildings.
A religious establishment in Siam consists of several edifices and is
generally known as Wăt[213], followed by some special designation
such as Wăt Chang. Bangkok is full of such establishments mostly
constructed on the banks of the river or canals. The entrance is
usually guarded by gigantic and grotesque figures which are often
lions, but at the Wăt Phô in Bangkok the tutelary demons are
represented by curious caricatures of Europeans wearing tall hats. The
gate leads into several courts opening out of one another and not
arranged on any fixed plan. The first is sometimes surrounded by a
colonnade in which are set a long line of the Buddha's eighty
disciples. The most important building in a Wăt is known as
Bỗt[214]. It has a colonnade of pillars outside and is surmounted
by three or four roofs, not much raised one above the other, and
bearing finials of a curious shape, said to represent a snake's
head[215]. It is also marked off by a circuit of eight stones, cut in
the shape of Bo-tree leaves, which constitute a sîmâ or boundary. It
is in the Bỗt that ordinations and other acts of the Sangha are
performed. Internally it is a hall: the walls are often covered with
paintings and at the end there is always a sitting figure of the
Buddha[216] forming the apex of a pyramid, the lower steps of which
are decorated with smaller images and curious ornaments, such as
clocks under glass cases.
Siamese images of the Buddha generally represent him as crowned by a
long flame-like ornament called Sĩrô rồt[217], probably
representing the light supposed to issue from the prominence on his
head. But the ornament sometimes becomes a veritable crown terminating
in a spire, as do those worn by the kings of Camboja and Siam. On the
left and right of the Buddha often stand figures of Phra: Môkha: la
(Moggalâna) and Phra: Sárĩbŭt (Sâriputta). It is stated that the
Siamese pray to them as saints and that the former is invoked to heal
broken limbs[218]. The Buddha when represented in frescoes is robed in
red but his face and hands are of gold. Besides the Bỗt a Wăt
contains one or more wĩháns. The word is derived from _Vihâra_ but
has come to mean an image-house. The wĩháns are halls not unlike
the Bỗts but smaller. In a large Wăt there is usually one
containing a gigantic recumbent image of the Buddha and they sometimes
shelter Indian deities such as Yama.
In most if not in all Wăt there are structures known as Phra: chedi
and Phra: prang. The former are simply the ancient cetiyas, called
dagobas in Ceylon and zedis in Burma. They do not depart materially
from the shape usual in other countries and sometimes, for
instance in the gigantic chedi at Pra Pratom, the part below the spire
is a solid bell-shaped dome. But Siamese taste tends to make such
buildings slender and elongate and they generally consist of stone
discs of decreasing size, set one on the other in a pile, which
assumes in its upper parts the proportions of a flagstaff rather than
of a stone building. The Phra: prangs though often larger than the
Phra: chedis are proportionally thicker and less elongate. They appear
to be derived from the Brahmanic temple towers of Camboja which
consist of a shrine crowned by a dome. But in Siam the shrine is often
at some height above the ground and is reduced to small dimensions,
sometimes becoming a mere niche. In large Phra: prangs it is
approached by a flight of steps outside and above it rises the tower,
terminating in a metal spire. But whereas in the Phra: chedis these
spires are simple, in the Phra: prangs they bear three crescents
representing the trident of Śiva and appear like barbed arrows. A
large Wat is sure to contain a number of these structures and may also
comprise halls for preaching, a pavilion covering a model of Buddha's
foot print, tanks for ablution and a bell tower. It is said that only
royal Wats contain libraries and buildings called chẵtta mŭkh,
which shelter a four-faced image of Brahmâ[219].
The monks are often housed in single chambers arranged round the
courts of a Wat but sometimes in larger buildings outside it. The
number of monks and novices living in one monastery is larger than in
Burma, and according to the Bangkok Directory (1907) works out at an
average of about 12. In the larger Wats this figure is considerably
exceeded. Altogether there were 50,764 monks and 10,411 novices in
1907[220], the province of Ayuthia being decidedly the best provided
with clergy. As in Burma, it is customary for every male to spend some
time in a monastery, usually at the age of about 20, and two months is
considered the minimum which is respectable. It is also common to
enter a monastery for a short stay on the day when a parent is
cremated. During the season of Vassa all monks go out to collect
alms but at other seasons only a few make the daily round and the food
collected, as in Burma and Ceylon, is generally not eaten. But during
the dry season it is considered meritorious for monks to make a
pilgrimage to Phra Bât and while on the way to live on charity. They
engage to some extent in manual work and occupy themselves with
carpentering[221]. As in Burma, education is in their hands, and they
also act as doctors, though their treatment has more to do with charms
and faith cures than with medicine.
As in Burma there are two sects, the ordinary unreformed body, and the
rigorous and select communion founded by Mongkut and called Dhammayut.
It aims at a more austere and useful life but in outward observances
the only distinction seems to be that the Dhammayuts hold the
alms-bowl in front of them in both hands, whereas the others hold it
against the left hip with the left hand only. The hierarchy is well
developed but somewhat secularized, though probably not more so than
it was in India under Asoka. In the official directory where the
departments of the Ministry of Public Instruction are enumerated, the
Ecclesiastical Department comes immediately after the Bacteriological,
the two being clearly regarded as different methods of expelling evil
spirits. The higher clerical appointments are made by the king. He
names four Primates[222], one of whom is selected as chief. The
Primates with nineteen superior monks form the highest governing body
of the Church. Below them are twelve dignitaries called Gurus, who are
often heads of large Wats. There are also prelates who bear the
Cambojan title of Burien equivalent to Mahâcârya. They must have
passed an examination in Pali and are chiefly consulted on matters of
ceremonial.
It will thus be seen that the differences between the churches of
Burma, Ceylon and Siam are slight; hardly more than the local
peculiarities which mark the Roman church in Italy, Spain, and
England. Different opinions have been expressed as to the moral tone
and conduct of Siamese monks and most critics state that they are
somewhat inferior to their Burmese brethren. The system by which
a village undertakes to support a monk, provided that he is a
reasonably competent school-master and of good character, works well.
But in the larger monasteries it is admitted that there are inmates
who have entered in the hope of leading a lazy life and even fugitives
from justice. Still the penalty for any grave offence is immediate
expulsion by the ecclesiastical authorities and the offender is
treated with extreme severity by the civil courts to which he then
becomes amenable.
The religious festivals of Siam are numerous and characteristic. Many
are Buddhist, some are Brahmanic, and some are royal. Uposatha days (wăn
phra:) are observed much as in Burma. The birth, enlightenment and death
of the Buddha (which are all supposed to have taken place on the 15th
day of the 6th waxing moon) are celebrated during a three days festival.
These three days are of peculiar solemnity and are spent in the
discharge of religious duties, such as hearing sermons and giving alms.
But at most festivals religious observances are mingled with much
picturesque but secular gaiety. In the morning the monks do not go their
usual round[223] and the alms-bowls are arranged in a line within the
temple grounds. The laity (mostly women) arrive bearing wicker trays on
which are vessels containing rice and delicacies. They place a selection
of these in each bowl and then proceed to the Bỗt where they hear the
commandments recited and often vow to observe for that day some which
are usually binding only on monks. While the monks are eating their meal
the people repair to a river, which is rarely far distant in Siam, and
pour water drop by drop saying "May the food which we have given for the
use of the holy ones be of benefit to our fathers and mothers and to all
of our relatives who have passed away." This rite is curiously in
harmony with the injunctions of the Tirokuḍḍasuttam in the
Khuddakapâtha, which is probably an ancient work[224]. The rest of the
day is usually devoted to pious merrymaking, such as processions by day
and illuminations by night. On some feasts the laws against gambling
are suspended and various games of chance are freely indulged in. Thus
the New Year festival called Trŭ̃t (or Krŭ̃t) Thăi lasts three days.
On the first two days, especially the second, crowds fill the temples to
offer flowers before the statues of Buddha and more substantial presents
of food, clothes, etc., to the clergy. Well-to-do families invite monks
to their houses and pass the day in listening to their sermons and
recitations. Companies of priests are posted round the city walls to
scare away evil spirits and with the same object guns are fired
throughout the night. But the third day is devoted to gambling by almost
the whole population except the monks. Not dissimilar is the celebration
of the Só̆ngkran holidays, at the beginning of the official year. The
special religious observance at this feast consists in bathing the
images of Buddha and in theory the same form of watery respect is
extended to aged relatives and monks. In practice its place is taken by
gifts of perfumes and other presents.
The rainy season is preceded and ended by holidays. During this period
both monks and pious laymen observe their religious duties more
strictly. Thus monks eat only once a day and then only what is put into
their bowls and laymen observe some of the minor vows. At the end of the
rains come the important holidays known as Thòt Kăthí̆n[225], when
robes are presented to monks. This festival has long had a special
importance in Siam. Thus Râma Khomhëng in his inscription of A.D.
1292[226] describes the feast of Kaṭhina which lasts a month. At the
present day many thousands of robes are prepared in the capital alone so
as to be ready for distribution in October and November, when the king
or some deputy of high rank visits every temple and makes the offering
in person. During this season Bangkok witnesses a series of brilliant
processions.
These festivals mentioned may be called Buddhist though their
light-hearted and splendour-loving gaiety, their processions and
gambling are far removed from the spirit of Gotama. Others however are
definitely Brahmanic and in Bangkok are superintended by the Brahmans
attached to the Court. Since the time of Mongkut Buddhist priests are
also present as a sign that the rites, if not ordered by Buddhism, at
least have its countenance. Such is the R`ëk Na[227], or
ploughing festival. The king is represented by the Minister of
Agriculture who formerly had the right to exact from all shops found
open such taxes as he might claim for his temporary sovereignty. At
present he is escorted in procession to Dusit[228], a royal park
outside Bangkok, where he breaks ground with a plough drawn by two
white oxen.
Somewhat similar is the Thĩb-Chĩng-Cha, or Swinging holidays, a
two days' festival which seems to be a harvest thanksgiving. Under the
supervision of a high official, four Brahmans wearing tall conical
hats swing on a board suspended from a huge frame about 100 ft high.
Their object is to catch with their teeth a bag of money hanging at a
little distance from the swing. When three or four sets of swingers
have obtained a prize in this way, they conclude the ceremony by
sprinkling the ground with holy water contained in bullock horns.
Swinging is one of the earliest Indian rites[229] and as part of the
worship of Krishna it has lasted to the present day. Yet another
Brahmanic festival is the Loi Kăthŏng[230], when miniature rafts
and ships bearing lights and offerings are sent down the Menam to the
sea.
Another class of ceremonies may be described as royal, inasmuch as
they are religious only in so far as they invoke religion to protect
royalty. Such are the anniversaries of the birth and coronation of the
king and the Thú̓ Năm or drinking of the water of allegiance
which takes place twice a year. At Bangkok all officials assemble at
the Palace and there drink and sprinkle on their heads water in which
swords and other weapons have been dipped thus invoking vengeance on
themselves should they prove disloyal. Jars of this water are
despatched to Governors who superintend the performance of the same
ceremony in the provincial capitals. It is only after the water
has been drunk that officials receive their half yearly salary. Monks
are excused from drinking it but the chief ecclesiastics of Bangkok
meet in the Palace temple and perform a service in honour of the
occasion.
Besides these public solemnities there are a number of domestic
festivals derived from the twelve Saṃskâras of the Hindus. Of these
only three or four are kept up by the nations of Indo-China, namely
the shaving of the first hair of a child a month after birth, the
giving of a name, and the piercing of the ears for earrings. This last
is observed in Burma and Laos, but not in Siam and Camboja where is
substituted for it the Kôn Chũ̆k or shaving of the topknot, which
is allowed to grow until the eleventh or thirteenth year. This
ceremony, which is performed on boys and girls alike, is the most
important event in the life of a young Siamese and is celebrated by
well-to-do parents with lavish expenditure. Those who are indigent
often avail themselves of the royal bounty, for each year a public
ceremony is performed in one of the temples of Bangkok at which poor
children receive the tonsure gratis. An elaborate description of the
tonsure rites has been published by Gerini[231]. They are of
considerable interest as showing how closely Buddhist and Brahmanic
rites are intertwined in Siamese family life.
Marriages are celebrated with a feast to which monks are invited but
are not regarded as religious ceremonies. The dead are usually
disposed of by cremation, but are often kept some time, being either
embalmed or simply buried and exhumed subsequently. Before cremation
the coffin is usually placed within the grounds of a temple. The monks
read Suttas over it and it is said[232] that they hold ribbons which
enter into the coffin and are supposed to communicate to the corpse
the merit acquired by the recitations and prayers.
3
In the preceding pages mention has often been made not only of
Brahmanic rites but of Brahman priests[233]. These are still to be
found in Bangkok attached to the Court and possibly in other cities.
They dress in white and have preserved many Hindu usages but are said
to be poor Sanskrit scholars. Indeed Gerini[234] seems to say that
they use Pali in some of their recitations. Their principal duty is to
officiate at Court functions, but wealthy families invite them to take
part in domestic rites, and also to cast horoscopes and fix lucky
days. It is clear that the presence of these Brahmans is no
innovation. Brahmanism must have been strong in Siam when it was a
province of Camboja, but in both countries gave way before Buddhism.
Many rites, however, connected with securing luck or predicting the
future were too firmly established to be abolished, and, as Buddhist
monks were unwilling to perform them[235] or not thought very
competent, the Brahmans remained and were perhaps reinforced from time
to time by new importations, for there are still Brahman colonies in
Ligor and other Malay towns. Siamese lawbooks, like those of Burma,
seem to be mainly adaptations of Indian Dharmaśâstras.
On a cursory inspection, Siamese Buddhism, especially as seen in
villages, seems remarkably free from alien additions. But an
examination of ancient buildings, of royal temples in Bangkok and
royal ceremonial, suggests on the contrary that it is a mixed faith in
which the Brahmanic element is strong. Yet though this element appeals
to the superstition of the Siamese and their love of pageantry, I
think that as in Burma it has not invaded the sphere of religion and
ethics more than the Piṭakas themselves allow. In art and
literature its influence has been considerable. The story of the
Ramayana is illustrated on the cloister walls of the royal temple at
Bangkok and Indian mythology has supplied a multitude of types to the
painter and sculptor; such as Yŏmma: ràt (Yâma), Phăya Man
(Mâra), Phra: In (Indra). These are all deities known to the
Piṭakas but the sculptures or images[236] in Siamese temples also
include Ganeśa, Phra: Nărai (Nârâyana or Vishṇu) riding
on the Garuda and Phra: Isuén (Śiva) riding on a bull. There is a
legend that the Buddha and Śiva tried which could make himself
invisible to the other. At last the Buddha sat on Śiva's head and
the god being unable to see him acknowledged his defeat. This story is
told to explain a small figure which Śiva bears on his head and
recalls the legend found in the Piṭakas[237] that the Buddha made
himself invisible to Brahmâ but that Brahmâ had not the corresponding
power. Lingas are still venerated in a few temples, for instance at
Wăt Phô in Bangkok, but it would appear that the majority (_e.g._
those found at Pra Pratom and Lophburi) are survivals of ancient
Brahmanic worship and have a purely antiquarian importance. The
Brahmanic cosmology which makes Mt. Meru the centre of this Universe is
generally accepted in ecclesiastical treatises and paintings, though
the educated Siamese may smile at it, and when the topknot of a
Siamese prince is cut off, part of the ceremony consists in his being
received by the king dressed as Śiva on the summit of a mound cut
in the traditional shape of Mt. Kailâśa.
Like the Nâts of Burma, Siam has a spirit population known as
Phís[238]. The name is occasionally applied to Indian deities, but the
great majority of Phís fall into two classes, namely, ghosts of the
dead and nature spirits which, though dangerous, do not rise above the
position of good or bad fairies. In the first class are included the
Phí Prẽt, who have the characteristics as well as the name of the
Indian Pretas, and also a multitude of beings who like European
ghosts, haunt houses and behave in a mysterious but generally
disagreeable manner. The Phíăm is apparently our nightmare. The
ghosts of children dying soon after birth are apt to kill their
mothers and in general women are liable to be possessed by Phís. The
ghosts of those who have died a violent death are dangerous but it
would seem that Siamese magicians know how to utilize them as familiar
spirits. The better sort of ghosts are known as Chào Phí and shrines
called San Chào are set up in their honour. It does not however appear
that there is any hierarchy of Phís like the thirty-seven Náts of
Burma.
Among those Phís who are not ghosts of the dead the most important
is the Phí ru̓en or guardian spirit of each house. Frequently a
little shrine is erected for him at the top of a pole. There are also
innumerable Phís in the jungle mostly malevolent and capable of
appearing either in human form or as a dangerous animal. But the tree
spirits are generally benevolent and when their trees are cut down
they protect the houses that are made of them.
Thus the Buddhism of Siam, like that of Burma, has a certain admixture
of Brahmanism and animism. The Brahmanism is perhaps more striking
than in Burma on account of the Court ceremonies: the belief in
spirits, though almost universal, seems to be more retiring and less
conspicuous. Yet the inscription of Râma Komhëng mentioned above
asserts emphatically that the prosperity of the Empire depends on due
honour being shown to a certain mountain spirit[239].
It is pretty clear that the first introduction of Hinayanist Buddhism
into Siam was from Southern Burma and Pegu, but that somewhat later
Ceylon was accepted as the standard of orthodoxy. A learned thera who
knew the Sinhalese Tipitaka was imported thence, as well as a branch
of the Bo-tree. But Siamese patriotism flattered itself by imagining
that the national religion was due to personal contact with the
Buddha, although not even early legends can be cited in support of
such traditions. In 1602 a mark in the rocks, now known as the Phra:
Bãt, was discovered in the hills north of Ayuthia and identified as a
footprint of the Buddha similar to that found on Adam's Peak and in
other places. Burma and Ceylon both claim the honour of a visit from
the Buddha but the Siamese go further, for it is popularly believed
that he died at Praten, a little to the north of Phra Pathom, on a
spot marked by a slab of rock under great trees[240]. For this reason
when the Government of India presented the king of Siam with the
relics found in the Piprava vase, the gift though received with
honour, aroused little enthusiasm and was placed in a somewhat
secluded shrine[241].
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 188: The principal sources for information about Siamese
Buddhism are: _Journal of Siam Society_, 1904, and onwards.
L. Fournereau, _Le Siam Ancien_, 2 vols. 1895 and 1908 in _Annales du
Musée Guimet_. Cited here as Fournereau.
Mission Pavie II, _Histoire du Laos, du Cambodge et du Siam_, 1898.
Gerini, _Researches on Ptolemy's Geography of Eastern Asia_, 1909.
Cited here as Gerini, _Ptolemy_.
Gerini, _Chŭlăkantamangala or Tonsure Ceremony_, 1893.
H. Alabaster, _The Wheel of the Law_, 1871.
P.A. Thompson, _Lotus Land_, 1906.
W.A. Graham, _Siam_, 1912.
Petithuguenin, "Notes critiques pour servir à l'histoire du Siam,"
_B.E.F.E.O._ 1916, No. 3.
Coedès, "Documents sur la Dynastie de Sukhodaya," _ib._ 1917, No. 2.
Much curious information may be found in the _Directory for Bangkok
and Siam_, a most interesting book. I have only the issue for 1907.
I have adopted the conventional European spelling for such words as
may be said to have one. For other words I have followed Pallegoix's
dictionary (1896) for rendering the vowels and tones in Roman
characters, but have departed in some respects from his system of
transliterating consonants as I think it unnecessary and misleading to
write j and x for sounds which apparently correspond to y and ch as
pronounced in English.
The King of Siam has published a work on the spelling of His Majesty's
own language in Latin letters which ought to be authoritative, but it
came into my hands too late for me to modify the orthography here
adopted.
As Pallegoix's spelling involves the use of a great many accents I
have sometimes begun by using the strictly correct orthography and
afterwards a simpler but intelligible form. It should be noted that in
this orthography ":" is not a colon but a sign that the vowel before
it is very short.]
[Footnote 189: The name is found on Champan inscriptions of 1050 A.D.
and according to Gerini appears in Ptolemy's _Samarade_ =
Sâmaraṭṭha. See Gerini, _Ptolemy_, p. 170. But Samarade is
located near Bangkok and there can hardly have been Tais there in
Ptolemy's time.]
[Footnote 190: So too in Central Asia Kustana appears to be a learned
distortion of the name Khotan, made to give it a meaning in Sanskrit.]
[Footnote 191: Gerini states (_Ptolemy_, p. 107) that there are Pali
manuscript chronicles of Lamphun apparently going back to 924 A.D.]
[Footnote 192: Strictly Sŭkhồthăi.]
[Footnote 193: Phongsá va: dan or Vaṃsavâda. See for Siamese
chronicles, _B.E.F.E.O._ 1914, No. 3, "Recension palie des annales
d'Ayuthia," and _ibid._ 1916, pp. 5-7.]
[Footnote 194: _E.g._ Aymonier in _J.A._ 1903, p. 186, and Gerini in
_Journal of Siam Society_, vol. II. part 1, 1905.]
[Footnote 195: See especially Fournereau and the publications of the
Mission Pavie and _B.E.F.E.O._]
[Footnote 196: Gerini, _Ptolemy_, p. 176.]
[Footnote 197: See Fournereau, I. p. 225. _B.E.F.E.O._ 1916, III. pp.
8-13, and especially Bradley in _J. Siam Society_, 1909, pp. 1-68.]
[Footnote 198: This alphabet appears to be borrowed from Cambojan but
some of the letters particularly in their later shapes show the
influence of the Môn or Talaing script. The modern Cambojan alphabet,
which is commonly used for ecclesiastical purposes in Siam, is little
more than an elaborate form of Siamese.]
[Footnote 199: See _B.E.F.E.O._ 1904, p. 161.]
[Footnote 200: Bradley, _J. Siam Society_, 1913, p. 10, seems to think
that Pali Buddhism may have come thence but the objection is that we
know a good deal about the religion of Camboja and that there is no
trace of Pali Buddhism there until it was imported from Siam. The fact
that the Siamese alphabet was borrowed from Camboja does not prove
that religion was borrowed in the same way. The Mongol alphabet can be
traced to a Nestorian source.]
[Footnote 201: See for these inscriptions papers on the Malay
Peninsula and Siam by Finot and Lajonquière in _Bull. de la Comm.
Archéol. de l'Indo-Chine_, 1909, 1910 and 1912.]
[Footnote 202: Fournereau, pp. 157 ff. and Coedès in _B.E.F.E.O._
1917, No. 2. Besides the inscription itself, which is badly defaced in
parts, we have (1) a similar inscription in Thai, which is not however
a translation, (2) a modern Siamese translation, used by Schmitt but
severely criticized by Coedès and Petithuguenin.]
[Footnote 203: This portion of the narrative is found only in
Schmitt's version of the Siamese translation. The part of the stone
where it would have occurred is defaced.]
[Footnote 204: See Fournereau, vol. II. inscriptions xv and xvi and
the account of the Jâtakas, p. 43.]
[Footnote 205: Fournereau, I. pp. 247, 273. _B.E.F.E.O._ 1917, No. 2,
p. 29.]
[Footnote 206: See the texts in _B.E.F.E.O. l.c._ The Bodhisattvas are
described as Ariyametteyâdînam dasannam Bodhisattânam. The vow to
become a Buddha should it seems be placed in the mouth of the King,
not of the Metropolitan as in Schmitt's translation.]
[Footnote 207: See Fournereau, pp. 209 ff. Dharmâsokarâja may perhaps
be the same as Mahâdharmarâja who reigned 1388-1415. But the word may
also be a mere title applied to all kings of this dynasty, so that
this may be another inscription of Śrî Sûryavaṃsa Râma.]
[Footnote 208: 1350 is the accepted date but M. Aymonier, _J.A._ 1903,
pp. 185 ff. argues in favour of about 1460. See Fournereau, _Ancien
Siam_, p. 242, inscription of 1426 A.D. and p. 186, inscription of
1510 described as Groupe de Sajjanalaya et Sukhodaya.]
[Footnote 209: Fournereau, vol. I. pp. 186 ff.]
[Footnote 210: O. Frankfürter, "King Mongkut," _Journal of Siam
Society_, vol. I. 1904.]
[Footnote 211: But it was his son who first decreed in 1868 that no
Siamese could be born a slave. Slavery for debt, though illegal, is
said not to be practically extinct.]
[Footnote 212: = Cûlâlaṇkâra.]
[Footnote 213: The word has been derived from Vâta, a grove, but may
it not be the Pali Vatthu, Sanskrit Vâstu, a site or building?]
[Footnote 214: = Uposatha.]
[Footnote 215: These finials are very common on the roof ends of
Siamese temples and palaces. It is strange that they also are found in
conjunction with multiple roofs in Norwegian Churches of eleventh
century. See de Beylié, _Architecture hindoue dans l'extrême Orient_,
pp. 47, 48.]
[Footnote 216: The Buddha is generally known as Phra: Khodom
( = Gotama).]
[Footnote 217: In an old Siamese bronze from Kampeng Pet, figured in
Grünwedel's _Buddhist Art in India_, p. 179, fig. 127, the Sirô rồt
seems to be in process of evolution.]
[Footnote 218: P.A. Thompson, _Lotus Land_, 1906, p. 100.]
[Footnote 219: Four images facing the four quarters are considered in
Burma to represent the last four Buddhas and among the Jains some of
the Tirthankaras are so represented, the legend being that whenever
they preached they seemed to face their hearers on every side.]
[Footnote 220: These figures only take account of twelve out of the
seventeen provinces.]
[Footnote 221: Thompson, _Lotus Land_, p. 120.]
[Footnote 222: They bear the title of Só̆mdĕ̃t Phra: Chào
Ràjagama and have authority respectively over (_a_) ordinary Buddhists
in northern Siam, (_b_) ordinary Buddhists in the south, (_c_)
hermits, (_d_) the Dhammayut sect.]
[Footnote 223: For this and many other details I am indebted to P.A.
Thompson, _Lotus Land_, p. 123.]
[Footnote 224: When gifts of food are made to monks on ceremonial
occasions, they usually acknowledge the receipt by reciting verses 7
and 8 of this Sutta, commonly known as _Yathâ_ from the first word.]
[Footnote 225: Kathina in Pali. See Mahâvag. cap. VII.]
[Footnote 226: Fournereau, p. 225.]
[Footnote 227: The ploughing festival is a recognized imperial
ceremony in China. In India ceremonies for private landowners are
prescribed in the Gṛihya Sûtras but I do not know if their
performance by kings is anywhere definitely ordered. However in the
Nidâna Kathâ 270 the Buddha's father celebrates an imposing ploughing
ceremony.]
[Footnote 228: _I.e._ Tusita. Compare such English names descriptive
of beautiful scenery as Heaven's Gate.]
[Footnote 229: See Keith, _Aitereya Aranyaka_, pp. 174-178. The
ceremony there described undoubtedly originated in a very ancient
popular festival.]
[Footnote 230: _I.e._ float-raft. Most authors give the word as
Krathong, but Pallegoix prefers Kathong.]
[Footnote 231: _Chulakantamangalam_, Bangkok, 1893.]
[Footnote 232: P.A. Thompson, _Lotus Land_, p. 134.]
[Footnote 233: For the Brahmans of Siam see Frankfürter, _Oriental.
Archiv._ 1913, pp. 196-7.]
[Footnote 234: _Chulakantamangala_, p. 56.]
[Footnote 235: They are mostly observances such as Gotama would have
classed among "low arts" (tîracchânavijjâ). At present the monks of
Siam deal freely in charms and exorcisms but on important occasions
public opinion seems to have greater confidence in the skill and power
of Brahmans.]
[Footnote 236: King Śrî Sûryavaṃsa Râma relates in an
inscription of about 1365 how he set up statues of Parameśvara and
Vishṇukarma (?) and appointed Brahmans to serve them.]
[Footnote 237: Maj. Nik. 47.]
[Footnote 238: _Siam Society_, vol. IV. part ii. 1907. _Some Siamese
ghost-lore_ by A.J. Irwin.]
[Footnote 239: _Jour. Siam Soc._ 1909, p. 28. "In yonder mountain is a
demon spirit Phră Khăphŭng that is greater than every other
spirit in this realm. If any Prince ruling this realm reverences him
well with proper offerings, this realm stands firm, this realm
prospers. If the spirit be not reverenced well, if the offerings be
not right, the spirit in the mountain does not protect, does not
regard:--this realm perishes."]
[Footnote 240: The most popular life of the Buddha in Siamese is
called Pa:thó̆mma Só̆mphôthĩyan, translated by Alabaster in
_The Wheel of the Law_. But like the Lalita vistara and other Indian
lives on which it is modelled it stops short at the enlightenment.
Another well-known religious book is the Traiphûm ( = Tribhûmi), an
account of the universe according to Hindu principles, compiled in
1776 from various ancient works.
The Pali literature of Siam is not very large. Some account of it is
given by Coedès in _B.E.F.E.O._ 1915, III. pp. 39-46.]
[Footnote 241: When in Bangkok in 1907 I saw in a photographer's shop
a photograph of the procession which escorted these relics to their
destination. It was inscribed "Arrival of Buddha's tooth from Kandy."
This shows how deceptive historical evidence may be. The inscription
was the testimony of an eye-witness and yet it was entirely wrong.]