Buddhism in Kengtung:
Preface:This article undertakes to explore the history of Buddhism in Kengtung for two reasons: first, to celebrate the award of the Aggamahasaddhammajotikadhaja title to the most Venerable Khemacara, the abbot of Wat Jeng Yuen and the head of the Kengtung Theravada Sangha, by the government of Myanmar on 4th January 2002 (for his biography, please refer to a separate article), and secondly to preserve the rich history of Buddhism in Myanmar as a whole.
The subject, the history of Buddhism in Kengtung, is a challenging one that requires extensive research on the part of many scholars and the dedication of many hearts. Sao Saimong Mangrai, once a visiting professor at Cambridge University, England, and research scholar at Cornell University and Michigan University, USA, and Professor Donald Swearer have done some important work related to this subject. To describe my own effort in writing this article, I can but quote the words of Sao Saimong Mangrai: “A beginning has been made” and “it is for future scholars” to advance the subject further.
Kengtung
Since the 13th century, Kengtung has been the largest muang2 in Shan State with an area of 12,00 square miles3, and remains so at present in the eastern Shan State of the Union of Myanmar. Lying between two famous rivers, the Mekhong and the Salween, Kengtung “is a series of (mountain) ranges running north and south, (and) of an average height of 5000 feet, with peaks rising to above 7000”4 Sir James Scott, the British political commissioner in Shan States during the colonial rule, recorded that Kengtung used to export cotton to China and that gold was panned in most of the streams of Kengtung.5 The city was built by King Mangrai6 in 1262, who also became ruler of Chiangsen Kingdom with its capital at Chiangrai from 1296, and then Lanna Kingdom at Chiangmai.7 this followed the destruction of the Nangchao kingdom8 of the Tai by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan in 1253.9 For over eight hundred years, Kengtung was ruled by a Saopha. The last one, Sao Sai Luang, passed away peaceful in Yangon in 1997. saophas of Kengtung where fondly addressed by their people as Braya (lord), Somdej Bra Pensao, “his roya masjesty”, Sao Yodkhamom, “lord above the head”, Saonurho, “lord above the head” or Saopendin, “lord of the earth”10. as described above, Kengtung was the biggest princedom in the former Shan States. Her successive rulers were pious Buddhists who energetically supported the religion of the Buddha. The Tai of Kengtung have developed a culture of their own distinct from their Tai brethren elsewhere. They came to be known as Tai-Khun or Khun after the river Khun situated outside the city, and culturally shared many common features with sibsongpanna and Lanna.
The introduction of budddhism to Kengtung
The Mahavihara Tradition of Arahat Mahinda
The exact date of the arrival of Buddhism in Kengtung is still a subject that awaits scholarly investigation. So far, we can only state that since the Nanchao period (8th-13th A.D) the majority of the Tai people, to which the Tai-Khun belongs, have not professed any organized faith other than buddhis,.11
Historical and archaeological evidence shows that King Mangrai, the founder of Kengtung, was a “staunch supporter” of Buddhism. Among the Buddhist monuments he built was “Wat Chiangman (Chiangman Monastery) in the northeast corner of the modern city of Chiangmai.”12 The fact that he was not a convert suggests the earlier existence of Buddhism in Kengtung and his other Kingdoms.
Buddhism in Kengtung has its root in the great Theravada tradition of the Mahavihara in Ceylon, established by Arahat Mahinda, son of Emperor Asoka, who came to teach the Dhamma in the Island under King Devanam Piyatissa in the 3rd B.C.13 The tradition came to Kengtung via Martaban (now Moktama, in Mon State) and Chiangsen, Thailand.14
The Ramannadesa, of which Martaban formed a part, was earlier known as Suvannabhumi and became the centre of Buddhism after it had adopted Buddhism from one of the Asokan missions led by Thera Sona and Uttara. (King Anawratha (Anirudha) (1044,77), who took 32 sets of the Tipitaka from Thaton, Ramannadesa in 1057, had been in touch with the development of Buddhism in Ceylon throughout his reign.) Kalyani Sima in Bago, built by King Dhammazedi (1472-92), is the most visible landmark of the King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylonese Theravada tradition in Myanmar. In fact, even before King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylon for a re-ordination, the Ceylonese Theravada traditions were followed in the Ramannadesa. Four of the five old fraternities mentioned in the kalyani insvriptions were traditions from Ceylon. 15 They are reported to have been banned by King Dhammazedi, who subsequently established a fresh contact with the Ceylonese Theravada order.
Chaingsen, the earliest thai kingdom, was contemporary to Dvaravati (6-11th A.D), the Mon principality within the Khmer Empire. The Sinhalese tradition of Buddhism, known as lankavamsa, came to Chiangsen first via Sukhothai and then Ayuthaya. Sukhothai (1219-1350 A.D) first adopted Ceylonese Theravada buddhism in 1276 from Kakhon Sridhammarat, where monks of Ceylon began propagating the Dhamma a decade or so earlier, together with the local monks who had been educated in Ceylon. This Ceylonese sect was invited to Sukhothai (Sukhodaya) by the king who had heard of their good practice and thorough knowledge of the Tipitaka. King Ram khamheng Inscrption (dated 1276) thus say: “King Ram Khamheng gave donations to the Supreme Patriarch, to every senior monks and to wise monks learned in the Three Baskets – of all whom are greater than any previous teachers of old in the city. Every one of these monks came from Nakonsridhammaraj.”16 Jinakalamali, composed in Pali in 1516 A.D, relates the important missions of the monk Sumana, who had visited Martaban, Ramannadesa, where he had learnt Sinhalese Buddhism, which he later introduced to the newly emergent kingdom of sukhodaya.
Theravada Buddhism came to Chaingsen through the effort of Sumana Mahathera (1030-110 A.D) who with another bhikkhu named Anomadassi studied the Tipitaka in Martaban before returning to Sukhothai. Professor S.J Tambiah writes in his ever popular work, the World Conqueror and the World Renouncer that a Pali chronicle of Thailand, Mulasasana, recounts “Sinhalese sect in Ramannadesa at Pan near Martaban, the leader of the forest dwelling sect honoured by Sinhalese king with the title of Mahasami”, and then speaks “of the two Taai monks, Anomadassi and Sumana who made a visit to Pan to study under Mahasami and to be re-ordained (their action followed by other Thai monks) and of Sumana returning to Sukhodaya at King Lo Tai’s request in order to found the order of Sinhalese monks”. 18 Sumana Mahathera later came to Chiangmai to propagate the Dhamma.
According to padaeng Chronicle written in Mong (Tai-Khun) scripts in Kengtung, Buddhism as practiced in Martaban was brought to Kengtung via Chiangmai around the turn of the 10th ventury A.D by Sumana Mahathera. 19 This suggests that when King Mangrai made himself the ruler of Kengtung, there had already flourished Theravada teachings among the people. But, at the same time this statement appears contradictory to the historical fact that Chiangmai came into existence only “on Thursday, 12 April 1296” 20 And so how could Buddhism have sxisted in Kengtung when Kengtung itself had not been founded? If we take into consideration that the northern part of Thailand had prospered long before 1296 as a part of Dvaravati, Chiangmai therefore must have been in existence before King Mangrai made it the capital of his kingdom. This may be called Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai where people had good connections with Ramannadesa as far as Buddhism was concerned. Charles F.Keyes argues that “the earliest mention of Tai is in an inscription of the eleventh century A.D, but it is almost certain that Tai had been moving into the area of central mainland Southeast. Asia well before that time, perhaps since the seventh century, there was most probably a substantial Tai-speaking population living in the domains of the Mon-Buddhist kingdom of Dvaravati.” And that they “may have been organized as tribal peoples under petty chiefs?”
So, Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai may have been under small chieftains and culturally was much influenced by Haripunjaya (Lampun) which was, according to Camadevi, founded in the 8th A.D.22 This logic applies, also, to Buddhism in Kengtung in the Pre-Mangrai era.
We have lernt of the development of Buddhism in Kengtung through the writings of the Red Forest Sect. as no written record by lineage of Sumana Mahathera himself was left, it is hard to determine the actual monastic practice in the Sunmana Mahathera tradition. Nevertheless, a general understanding of the state of Buddhism in the early tradition can be obtained by studying sources on history of Buddhism n neighboring countries. But that is beyond the scope of this paper. We may therefore rely on the Padaeng Stone Incvription (PSI), Padaeng Chronicle (PC) and Jengtung Chronicle (JC) which, no doubt, favour the second mission led by Somacitta Thera because they were written by the disciples of Somacitta Thera. The PSI dates 1451 A.D and is in the Ramkhamheang Tahi scripts. But we have no verified information as to the dates of the two chronicles.
The Second Mission and Present Sangha in Kengtung
The second mission of the Ceylonese Theravad fraternity from Chiangsen arrived in Kengtung in the early year of the reign of Braya (also pronounced as Phya) Dhamma Culamani (1441-1456). 25 It is said that the father of Dhamma Culamani, Braya Rattabheri (1416-1441), buit the city in a new site in the south of the old one with moats and walls for the defence of the city. There was a demon in the vicinity who was so angry with the king’s encroachment of his area that he haunted the new palace for over ten years. The Braya invited bhikkhus of Sondok Jenlom and Jenglae, one after another, to come and recite the holy suttas to expel the demon. But that was to no avail and the bhikkhus were defeated. On learning of this incident, Nanagambhira Mahathera, now the head of the Sangha in Chiangsen, deputed his senior disciple Somacitta and four other bhikkhus to Kengtung where they first stayed at Hroy-yen. They came to be heard of by the Braya Dhamma Culamani after their encounter with boys of Sondokgham grazing cattle where they resided. They where invited to the palace by Braya Dhamma Culamani and asked to do holy changing for three days and three nights. Medical protection was now given to the Graya and his people because of their strict adherence to the vinaya, “the monastic rules”, and their correct way of chanting the suttas. Their effective chanting protected the people twice later from fire and flood. The Bray built them a monastery called Mahavanaram. Soon, Somacitta thera and his party informed the Braya of their wish to return to Chaingsen. The Braya, instead, persuaded them to stay saying that he would invite their teacher, Nanagambhira Mahathera to come to Kengtung. On their arrival, a new monastery was built by Bray Dhamma Culamani and the populace for Nanagambhira Mahthera and his disciples. The monastery was know as Sihalarattarama, or Wat Padaeng, where the famous chronicle of Buddhism inKengtung seens to have been composed. As Alesander B. Griswold writes in his preface to the translation work by Sao Saimong that this chronicle may be studied with Jinakalamall and “several of its dates can be verified or corrected by reference to those given in a stone inscription whichis preserved in the Red Forest (Padaeng) Monastery itself.” Wat Padaeng thus has been the focus of history of Buddhism I Kengtung since the reign of Braya Dhamma Culamani. Wat Padaeng was also the name of the monastery of Nanagambhira Mahathera in Chiangsen. As we shall see in the next paragraph there was yet another. Wat Padaeng in Chiangmai where the Sangharaja resided. During the founding of the Mahavihara tradition of Ceylon in Kengtung for the second time, we can note the emphasis non the learning of the holy scriptures in this forest tradition, because at Wat Padaeng two libraries wehre constructed almost immediately inside the monastery. 24
Keng Tung City, Shan State
Nanagambhira MahatheraNanagambhira Mahathera, who established the Ceylonese Mahavihara Theravada tradition for the second time in Kengtung, went to Rohana Janapada of Ceylon to study the true doctrine after he and his colleagues had doubts on some Pali grammatical points that were considered to render the ordination procedure inbalid. On the recommentdation of his preceptor, Dhammakitti Mahathera, he went to Sulhothai with five other bhikkhus. There he met the king and his religious tutor, the rajaguru who then asked him to go to Ceylon to lern the true teaching to solve the above dispute. He was given a courtier and another five bhikkhus to accompany him to Ceylon in 1419. having consulted with the members of the Order in the Rohana Janapada led by surinda Mahathera, he and his colleagues decided to seek a new ordination under the head of the Rohana Janapada Sangha, Maha Sudassana Mahathera. 25 Grammatical correctness of the natticatuttha khammavaca seems to have formed the focus of the discussions Nanagambhira had with many Ceylonese monks. 26 As can be expected, the Padaeng chronicle blames Sumana Mahathera for everything that went wrong. From Ceylon and then Ayuthaya, Nanagambhira arrived back in Chiangsen in 1434. here a monastery called Wat Padaeng (Red Forest monastery) was built for him by the Braya, local chief. 27 The name of the monastery indicates that a revival of forest traditions was underway. The situation of the monastery outside the city also suggests that they belonged to the Ceylonese sect. on the structure of the monasteries, Prince Damrong remarks: “The monasteries (outside the town) were regarded as important for the Ceylonese sect. they included the Mango Grove Monastery where the Supreme Paiarch of Sukhothai redided and the Red Forest Monastery, the residence of the Pariarch of Chiangmai”28
As Prince Damrong observed, there came to be two fraternities when a Ceylonese sect, langavamsa, was established in sukhothai and Chiangmai. Kengtung also came to have two traditions, Sondok fraternity and Padaeng fraternity, with the arrival of the second mission. As the two traditions gradually merged in Sukhothai and Chiangmai, only one fraternity was to remain in Kengtung. But, according to the Padaeng Chronicle, this was because the Sondok (Garden or Puppharama sect) left their monastery on recognizing the superiority of the newly established Padaeng (Rd Forest or Sihalarattarama) tradition. This new form of Buddhism is reported to have spread to Tai people of other areas such as Sibsongbanna, Lu, Monglaem, Mongka, Mongmaen, Mongting, Kungma.
Some Salient Features of Buddhism in Kengtung
This topic deserves a separate article on its own. We may cite but a few examples here. Following in the traditions of Nanagambhira Mahthera, who sailed to Ceylon because of a dispute on Pali grammatical points and Pali pronunciation, the Kengtung and Sinhalese Sangha have similar pronunciation of Pali. The pleasing chanting of the great meditator and forest dweller, Khuva Woonzoom, also known as Mong Pong Sayadaw, belongs to this great tradition. Chanting of the paritta among the Sangha in Myanmar generally differs from one monastery to another. This is not the case with the Kengtung Sangha, who has preserved chanting with great care.
In the Kengtung tradition, the begging for forgiveness, Okasa or Awkatha, is in Pali. So is the offering of homage to the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
The structure of every monastery is the same, with cetiya (pagada), vihara (main hall) and bodhi tree, as in Ceylon. This subject is discussed in detail by Sao Saimong in his pioneering work on the Padaeng Chronicle. Most important of all is that the Sangha in Kengtung have a well-formed administrative structure, the head of which is called Annadhamma (pronounced as ayatham), “the most well versed in the Dhamma”.
The Budhhist Literature of Kengtung is vast and was, possibly, until the turn of the last century, one of the most progressing branches of Buddhist literatures in Southeast Asia. According Sao Saimong Mangrai, the Visddhimagga, by the great Pali commentator, Buddhaghosa Mahathera, had long been translated into Tai-Khun language probably before its counterparts in Thai, English and the Myanmar language. Among the transtations of the Visuddhimagga in the latter three language, the English translation, by Professor Pe Maung Tin, was the first. It was completed in 1923. GABamoli bhikkhu, an English monk ordained in Sri Lanka, transtated it for the second time in 1956 and is now widely in use. The transtations into Myanmar and Thai were undertaken only a few years after the celebration of the 2500th Years of Buddhism (1956). However, it is yet to determine the exact date of the Tai-Khun translation.
Extensive quotation of Kaccayana’s Pali grammar n the Padaeng Chronicle shows the impressive scholarship of the Sangha in Kengtung at the time. kaccayana’s Pali grammar, simply known at present as great grammar (thatda-gyi) is one of the most studies texts in Myanmar since the Pagan prriod. professor Madhav Deshpande, a Pali scholar at the Linguistic Department, Michigan University, “was often surprised to find the rules accurately quoted in the text (Padaeng Chronicle) in spite of (the) repeated copying that it must have undergone”. 31 Judging from the way the Vessantara Jataka has been developed, it is not hard to imagine that active buddhist scholarship existed before in Kengtung. the Kengtung version of the Vessantara jataka is now being studied by a postgraduate student as a part of his research at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. we hope to learn more of the Kengtung Buddhist literatures as the scholarship on the subjects advances.
End note:
1. The Thai pronounce and thus spell as Chiangtung. Sao Saimong Mangrai uses also Jengtung in his transtation of Jengtung Chronicle (for his explanation see p. 200), which is the pronunciation of the city and state by the people of Kengtung themselves. however, he also employs Kengtung in the text itself. The Burmese pronounce it Kyaington. In this article Kengtung is used throughout because if has long been a standard spelling. Kengtung has a classical name in Pali, khemarattha, "Safe Kingdom" or "the Kingdom of Peace" to translate khema in the light of the famous Mangala Sutta of the Suttanipata. Kengtung city itself is known classically as Tungapura.
by : Sao Dr. Dhammasami
Preface:This article undertakes to explore the history of Buddhism in Kengtung for two reasons: first, to celebrate the award of the Aggamahasaddhammajotikadhaja title to the most Venerable Khemacara, the abbot of Wat Jeng Yuen and the head of the Kengtung Theravada Sangha, by the government of Myanmar on 4th January 2002 (for his biography, please refer to a separate article), and secondly to preserve the rich history of Buddhism in Myanmar as a whole.
The subject, the history of Buddhism in Kengtung, is a challenging one that requires extensive research on the part of many scholars and the dedication of many hearts. Sao Saimong Mangrai, once a visiting professor at Cambridge University, England, and research scholar at Cornell University and Michigan University, USA, and Professor Donald Swearer have done some important work related to this subject. To describe my own effort in writing this article, I can but quote the words of Sao Saimong Mangrai: “A beginning has been made” and “it is for future scholars” to advance the subject further.
Kengtung
Since the 13th century, Kengtung has been the largest muang2 in Shan State with an area of 12,00 square miles3, and remains so at present in the eastern Shan State of the Union of Myanmar. Lying between two famous rivers, the Mekhong and the Salween, Kengtung “is a series of (mountain) ranges running north and south, (and) of an average height of 5000 feet, with peaks rising to above 7000”4 Sir James Scott, the British political commissioner in Shan States during the colonial rule, recorded that Kengtung used to export cotton to China and that gold was panned in most of the streams of Kengtung.5 The city was built by King Mangrai6 in 1262, who also became ruler of Chiangsen Kingdom with its capital at Chiangrai from 1296, and then Lanna Kingdom at Chiangmai.7 this followed the destruction of the Nangchao kingdom8 of the Tai by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan in 1253.9 For over eight hundred years, Kengtung was ruled by a Saopha. The last one, Sao Sai Luang, passed away peaceful in Yangon in 1997. saophas of Kengtung where fondly addressed by their people as Braya (lord), Somdej Bra Pensao, “his roya masjesty”, Sao Yodkhamom, “lord above the head”, Saonurho, “lord above the head” or Saopendin, “lord of the earth”10. as described above, Kengtung was the biggest princedom in the former Shan States. Her successive rulers were pious Buddhists who energetically supported the religion of the Buddha. The Tai of Kengtung have developed a culture of their own distinct from their Tai brethren elsewhere. They came to be known as Tai-Khun or Khun after the river Khun situated outside the city, and culturally shared many common features with sibsongpanna and Lanna.
The introduction of budddhism to Kengtung
The Mahavihara Tradition of Arahat Mahinda
The exact date of the arrival of Buddhism in Kengtung is still a subject that awaits scholarly investigation. So far, we can only state that since the Nanchao period (8th-13th A.D) the majority of the Tai people, to which the Tai-Khun belongs, have not professed any organized faith other than buddhis,.11
Historical and archaeological evidence shows that King Mangrai, the founder of Kengtung, was a “staunch supporter” of Buddhism. Among the Buddhist monuments he built was “Wat Chiangman (Chiangman Monastery) in the northeast corner of the modern city of Chiangmai.”12 The fact that he was not a convert suggests the earlier existence of Buddhism in Kengtung and his other Kingdoms.
Buddhism in Kengtung has its root in the great Theravada tradition of the Mahavihara in Ceylon, established by Arahat Mahinda, son of Emperor Asoka, who came to teach the Dhamma in the Island under King Devanam Piyatissa in the 3rd B.C.13 The tradition came to Kengtung via Martaban (now Moktama, in Mon State) and Chiangsen, Thailand.14
The Ramannadesa, of which Martaban formed a part, was earlier known as Suvannabhumi and became the centre of Buddhism after it had adopted Buddhism from one of the Asokan missions led by Thera Sona and Uttara. (King Anawratha (Anirudha) (1044,77), who took 32 sets of the Tipitaka from Thaton, Ramannadesa in 1057, had been in touch with the development of Buddhism in Ceylon throughout his reign.) Kalyani Sima in Bago, built by King Dhammazedi (1472-92), is the most visible landmark of the King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylonese Theravada tradition in Myanmar. In fact, even before King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylon for a re-ordination, the Ceylonese Theravada traditions were followed in the Ramannadesa. Four of the five old fraternities mentioned in the kalyani insvriptions were traditions from Ceylon. 15 They are reported to have been banned by King Dhammazedi, who subsequently established a fresh contact with the Ceylonese Theravada order.
Chaingsen, the earliest thai kingdom, was contemporary to Dvaravati (6-11th A.D), the Mon principality within the Khmer Empire. The Sinhalese tradition of Buddhism, known as lankavamsa, came to Chiangsen first via Sukhothai and then Ayuthaya. Sukhothai (1219-1350 A.D) first adopted Ceylonese Theravada buddhism in 1276 from Kakhon Sridhammarat, where monks of Ceylon began propagating the Dhamma a decade or so earlier, together with the local monks who had been educated in Ceylon. This Ceylonese sect was invited to Sukhothai (Sukhodaya) by the king who had heard of their good practice and thorough knowledge of the Tipitaka. King Ram khamheng Inscrption (dated 1276) thus say: “King Ram Khamheng gave donations to the Supreme Patriarch, to every senior monks and to wise monks learned in the Three Baskets – of all whom are greater than any previous teachers of old in the city. Every one of these monks came from Nakonsridhammaraj.”16 Jinakalamali, composed in Pali in 1516 A.D, relates the important missions of the monk Sumana, who had visited Martaban, Ramannadesa, where he had learnt Sinhalese Buddhism, which he later introduced to the newly emergent kingdom of sukhodaya.
Theravada Buddhism came to Chaingsen through the effort of Sumana Mahathera (1030-110 A.D) who with another bhikkhu named Anomadassi studied the Tipitaka in Martaban before returning to Sukhothai. Professor S.J Tambiah writes in his ever popular work, the World Conqueror and the World Renouncer that a Pali chronicle of Thailand, Mulasasana, recounts “Sinhalese sect in Ramannadesa at Pan near Martaban, the leader of the forest dwelling sect honoured by Sinhalese king with the title of Mahasami”, and then speaks “of the two Taai monks, Anomadassi and Sumana who made a visit to Pan to study under Mahasami and to be re-ordained (their action followed by other Thai monks) and of Sumana returning to Sukhodaya at King Lo Tai’s request in order to found the order of Sinhalese monks”. 18 Sumana Mahathera later came to Chiangmai to propagate the Dhamma.
According to padaeng Chronicle written in Mong (Tai-Khun) scripts in Kengtung, Buddhism as practiced in Martaban was brought to Kengtung via Chiangmai around the turn of the 10th ventury A.D by Sumana Mahathera. 19 This suggests that when King Mangrai made himself the ruler of Kengtung, there had already flourished Theravada teachings among the people. But, at the same time this statement appears contradictory to the historical fact that Chiangmai came into existence only “on Thursday, 12 April 1296” 20 And so how could Buddhism have sxisted in Kengtung when Kengtung itself had not been founded? If we take into consideration that the northern part of Thailand had prospered long before 1296 as a part of Dvaravati, Chiangmai therefore must have been in existence before King Mangrai made it the capital of his kingdom. This may be called Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai where people had good connections with Ramannadesa as far as Buddhism was concerned. Charles F.Keyes argues that “the earliest mention of Tai is in an inscription of the eleventh century A.D, but it is almost certain that Tai had been moving into the area of central mainland Southeast. Asia well before that time, perhaps since the seventh century, there was most probably a substantial Tai-speaking population living in the domains of the Mon-Buddhist kingdom of Dvaravati.” And that they “may have been organized as tribal peoples under petty chiefs?”
So, Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai may have been under small chieftains and culturally was much influenced by Haripunjaya (Lampun) which was, according to Camadevi, founded in the 8th A.D.22 This logic applies, also, to Buddhism in Kengtung in the Pre-Mangrai era.
We have lernt of the development of Buddhism in Kengtung through the writings of the Red Forest Sect. as no written record by lineage of Sumana Mahathera himself was left, it is hard to determine the actual monastic practice in the Sunmana Mahathera tradition. Nevertheless, a general understanding of the state of Buddhism in the early tradition can be obtained by studying sources on history of Buddhism n neighboring countries. But that is beyond the scope of this paper. We may therefore rely on the Padaeng Stone Incvription (PSI), Padaeng Chronicle (PC) and Jengtung Chronicle (JC) which, no doubt, favour the second mission led by Somacitta Thera because they were written by the disciples of Somacitta Thera. The PSI dates 1451 A.D and is in the Ramkhamheang Tahi scripts. But we have no verified information as to the dates of the two chronicles.
The Second Mission and Present Sangha in Kengtung
The second mission of the Ceylonese Theravad fraternity from Chiangsen arrived in Kengtung in the early year of the reign of Braya (also pronounced as Phya) Dhamma Culamani (1441-1456). 25 It is said that the father of Dhamma Culamani, Braya Rattabheri (1416-1441), buit the city in a new site in the south of the old one with moats and walls for the defence of the city. There was a demon in the vicinity who was so angry with the king’s encroachment of his area that he haunted the new palace for over ten years. The Braya invited bhikkhus of Sondok Jenlom and Jenglae, one after another, to come and recite the holy suttas to expel the demon. But that was to no avail and the bhikkhus were defeated. On learning of this incident, Nanagambhira Mahathera, now the head of the Sangha in Chiangsen, deputed his senior disciple Somacitta and four other bhikkhus to Kengtung where they first stayed at Hroy-yen. They came to be heard of by the Braya Dhamma Culamani after their encounter with boys of Sondokgham grazing cattle where they resided. They where invited to the palace by Braya Dhamma Culamani and asked to do holy changing for three days and three nights. Medical protection was now given to the Graya and his people because of their strict adherence to the vinaya, “the monastic rules”, and their correct way of chanting the suttas. Their effective chanting protected the people twice later from fire and flood. The Bray built them a monastery called Mahavanaram. Soon, Somacitta thera and his party informed the Braya of their wish to return to Chaingsen. The Braya, instead, persuaded them to stay saying that he would invite their teacher, Nanagambhira Mahathera to come to Kengtung. On their arrival, a new monastery was built by Bray Dhamma Culamani and the populace for Nanagambhira Mahthera and his disciples. The monastery was know as Sihalarattarama, or Wat Padaeng, where the famous chronicle of Buddhism inKengtung seens to have been composed. As Alesander B. Griswold writes in his preface to the translation work by Sao Saimong that this chronicle may be studied with Jinakalamall and “several of its dates can be verified or corrected by reference to those given in a stone inscription whichis preserved in the Red Forest (Padaeng) Monastery itself.” Wat Padaeng thus has been the focus of history of Buddhism I Kengtung since the reign of Braya Dhamma Culamani. Wat Padaeng was also the name of the monastery of Nanagambhira Mahathera in Chiangsen. As we shall see in the next paragraph there was yet another. Wat Padaeng in Chiangmai where the Sangharaja resided. During the founding of the Mahavihara tradition of Ceylon in Kengtung for the second time, we can note the emphasis non the learning of the holy scriptures in this forest tradition, because at Wat Padaeng two libraries wehre constructed almost immediately inside the monastery. 24
Nanagambhira MahatheraNanagambhira Mahathera, who established the Ceylonese Mahavihara Theravada tradition for the second time in Kengtung, went to Rohana Janapada of Ceylon to study the true doctrine after he and his colleagues had doubts on some Pali grammatical points that were considered to render the ordination procedure inbalid. On the recommentdation of his preceptor, Dhammakitti Mahathera, he went to Sulhothai with five other bhikkhus. There he met the king and his religious tutor, the rajaguru who then asked him to go to Ceylon to lern the true teaching to solve the above dispute. He was given a courtier and another five bhikkhus to accompany him to Ceylon in 1419. having consulted with the members of the Order in the Rohana Janapada led by surinda Mahathera, he and his colleagues decided to seek a new ordination under the head of the Rohana Janapada Sangha, Maha Sudassana Mahathera. 25 Grammatical correctness of the natticatuttha khammavaca seems to have formed the focus of the discussions Nanagambhira had with many Ceylonese monks. 26 As can be expected, the Padaeng chronicle blames Sumana Mahathera for everything that went wrong. From Ceylon and then Ayuthaya, Nanagambhira arrived back in Chiangsen in 1434. here a monastery called Wat Padaeng (Red Forest monastery) was built for him by the Braya, local chief. 27 The name of the monastery indicates that a revival of forest traditions was underway. The situation of the monastery outside the city also suggests that they belonged to the Ceylonese sect. on the structure of the monasteries, Prince Damrong remarks: “The monasteries (outside the town) were regarded as important for the Ceylonese sect. they included the Mango Grove Monastery where the Supreme Paiarch of Sukhothai redided and the Red Forest Monastery, the residence of the Pariarch of Chiangmai”28
As Prince Damrong observed, there came to be two fraternities when a Ceylonese sect, langavamsa, was established in sukhothai and Chiangmai. Kengtung also came to have two traditions, Sondok fraternity and Padaeng fraternity, with the arrival of the second mission. As the two traditions gradually merged in Sukhothai and Chiangmai, only one fraternity was to remain in Kengtung. But, according to the Padaeng Chronicle, this was because the Sondok (Garden or Puppharama sect) left their monastery on recognizing the superiority of the newly established Padaeng (Rd Forest or Sihalarattarama) tradition. This new form of Buddhism is reported to have spread to Tai people of other areas such as Sibsongbanna, Lu, Monglaem, Mongka, Mongmaen, Mongting, Kungma.
Some Salient Features of Buddhism in Kengtung
This topic deserves a separate article on its own. We may cite but a few examples here. Following in the traditions of Nanagambhira Mahthera, who sailed to Ceylon because of a dispute on Pali grammatical points and Pali pronunciation, the Kengtung and Sinhalese Sangha have similar pronunciation of Pali. The pleasing chanting of the great meditator and forest dweller, Khuva Woonzoom, also known as Mong Pong Sayadaw, belongs to this great tradition. Chanting of the paritta among the Sangha in Myanmar generally differs from one monastery to another. This is not the case with the Kengtung Sangha, who has preserved chanting with great care.
In the Kengtung tradition, the begging for forgiveness, Okasa or Awkatha, is in Pali. So is the offering of homage to the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
The structure of every monastery is the same, with cetiya (pagada), vihara (main hall) and bodhi tree, as in Ceylon. This subject is discussed in detail by Sao Saimong in his pioneering work on the Padaeng Chronicle. Most important of all is that the Sangha in Kengtung have a well-formed administrative structure, the head of which is called Annadhamma (pronounced as ayatham), “the most well versed in the Dhamma”.
The Budhhist Literature of Kengtung is vast and was, possibly, until the turn of the last century, one of the most progressing branches of Buddhist literatures in Southeast Asia. According Sao Saimong Mangrai, the Visddhimagga, by the great Pali commentator, Buddhaghosa Mahathera, had long been translated into Tai-Khun language probably before its counterparts in Thai, English and the Myanmar language. Among the transtations of the Visuddhimagga in the latter three language, the English translation, by Professor Pe Maung Tin, was the first. It was completed in 1923. GABamoli bhikkhu, an English monk ordained in Sri Lanka, transtated it for the second time in 1956 and is now widely in use. The transtations into Myanmar and Thai were undertaken only a few years after the celebration of the 2500th Years of Buddhism (1956). However, it is yet to determine the exact date of the Tai-Khun translation.
Extensive quotation of Kaccayana’s Pali grammar n the Padaeng Chronicle shows the impressive scholarship of the Sangha in Kengtung at the time. kaccayana’s Pali grammar, simply known at present as great grammar (thatda-gyi) is one of the most studies texts in Myanmar since the Pagan prriod. professor Madhav Deshpande, a Pali scholar at the Linguistic Department, Michigan University, “was often surprised to find the rules accurately quoted in the text (Padaeng Chronicle) in spite of (the) repeated copying that it must have undergone”. 31 Judging from the way the Vessantara Jataka has been developed, it is not hard to imagine that active buddhist scholarship existed before in Kengtung. the Kengtung version of the Vessantara jataka is now being studied by a postgraduate student as a part of his research at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. we hope to learn more of the Kengtung Buddhist literatures as the scholarship on the subjects advances.
End note:
1. The Thai pronounce and thus spell as Chiangtung. Sao Saimong Mangrai uses also Jengtung in his transtation of Jengtung Chronicle (for his explanation see p. 200), which is the pronunciation of the city and state by the people of Kengtung themselves. however, he also employs Kengtung in the text itself. The Burmese pronounce it Kyaington. In this article Kengtung is used throughout because if has long been a standard spelling. Kengtung has a classical name in Pali, khemarattha, "Safe Kingdom" or "the Kingdom of Peace" to translate khema in the light of the famous Mangala Sutta of the Suttanipata. Kengtung city itself is known classically as Tungapura.
by : Sao Dr. Dhammasami
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