123rd
Meeting – August 1994
Signs
of the Buddha in the Northern Thai Chronicles
A
talk by Donald Swearer
Donald Swearer's research has focused on the
chronicles of sacred mountains and other religious sites in Northern
Thailand,
such as ‘Phra Chao Liep Lok’ [the Lord Buddha
wanders or tours the
world], dating from the 15th century on. Buddha tamnan cover a
wide
variety of texts and take their definition from the contents. These
used to
abound in
Donald's analysis is
three-part. A tamnan is a window on popular Northern Thai
Buddhism from
before the 15th century to the modern period. By 'popular' is meant 'as
practiced by most people’. First, it provides a magical
instrumentalist view of
the happenings and relics. The relics and images ensure the survival of
the
religion and bless patrons as well. Next, it serves as a cosmological
map of a
region which is now Buddha-land. The Buddha's presence gives the region
an
identity - he is the name-er, creating a cosmos. Thirdly, the Buddha is
'read'
from his relics. Tamnan were never written to be read as
history. The
utter disregard of time, space and history is irrelevant. They are the
story of
the Buddha's living presence.
Here is Don’s summary of his
talk:
Signs of the Buddha
in the Northern Thai Chronicles
By Don
Swearer
Northern Thailand can
lay claim to
having produced a truly extraordinarily collection of legendary
accounts of the
Buddha’s wanderings in northern
David Wyatt divides northern Thai tamnån into two broad categories: the tamnån of the distant past or 'universal histories' in Påli and Thai, and 'monumental histories' concerning Buddhist images, relics, and institutions. Hans Penth proposes five descriptive classifications: chronicles that deal with the history of Buddhism, chronicles about Buddha images, chronicles of religious sites, inscriptions, and a miscellaneous category. The term tamnån covers such a wide variety of texts that it may be best understood in the primitive sense of the term, namely, a hollow stalk or container. That is to say, a tamnån takes its definition from its particular content rather than the other way around.[i] This suggestion goes against the analytical grain of Western scholarship but it may more accurately represent the variety of documents that bear the title, tamnån.
In general terms, all buddha-tamnån (Thai, phuttha-tamnån) texts share a similar content. They treat in varying detail the Buddha's wanderings in northern Thailand and beyond, his encounter with different ethnic and occupational groups, e.g. Lawa, Burmese, farmers, artisans, and so on, their conversion to the path of the tathågata, the establishment of particular historical and religious sites or the prediction of their future appearance, and a passing on of a legacy of Buddha relics, images, and footprints to ensure the long-term success of the Buddha's religion in the absence of its founder. In a study of the Legend of Water Basin Mountain (Tamnån Ang Salung) I proposed that the Buddha’s journey not only sacralizes particular locations, but that through the act of naming, his visit actually creates a “realm” or and grounds the region in the body of the Buddha (buddhakåya) through his relics (i.e. the Buddha’s on-going physical presence).
The northern Thai Buddha tamnån presuppose earlier
developments in the Theravåda tradition associated with Buddha
cult and
devotion found in texts ranging from the Mahåparinibbåna
Sutta and Apadånas to the Påli
commentaries of the fifth century and later.
They are, furthermore, remniscent of Påli vaµsa
composed in
Of course, the Buddha
did not
confine his travels to northern