Pariyatti Dhamma & Patipatti Dhamma in Thailand

Introduction
Buddhism was introduced to Thailand in 4 different periods. In the third century of the Buddha era, Venerable Sona and Venerable Uttara from India brought Theravada Buddhism to the area called Suvarnbhumi. In the fourteenth Buddhist century, Mahayana Buddhism from the Sumatra Islands and Cambodia was expanded to the southern area of the kingdom known as Suratthani Province today. In the seventeenth Buddhist century, Pagan Buddhism spread from Burma to the northern area named “Lanna”, and in the nineteenth Buddhist century, Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka was introduced to Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. It was accepted and then expanded to the northern part of the country, to the Sukhothai kingdom, and then transferred to Ayutthaya and what is now Rattanakosin.

Buddhism has had a long and continuous history with Thai society. It can be said that Buddhism directly influenced many Thai customs, such as ordination, listening to a sermon, giving alms and indirectly gave support to events, such as the Songkran Festival, New Year’s celebrations, and ceremonies concerning birth, death and marriage. Buddhism is related to Thai society at all levels, both as individuals and social groups.

Buddhism has been a significant foundation of customs, culture, beliefs, values and the way of life of Thai people for a long time. The role of Buddhism in Thailand also supports education and develops the people’s thinking. In the field of education, it is known as Pariyatti Dhamma, and in the area of mental training, it is called Patipatti Dhamma. So, Pariyatti Dhamma and Patipatti Dhamma in Thailand will be presented as follows:

Educational Systems in Buddhism

The Buddhist system of education or ‘Phra Saddhama’, is divided into 3 sections; Pariyatti Saddhamma, Patipatti Saddhamma, and Pativeda Saddhamma.

Pariyatti Saddhamma is the study of the Dhamma (teachings) and Vinaya (Discipline) in order to gain accurate understanding in the principles so that one can teach the others accurately. That will lead to an accurate practice according to the aim of Buddhism.

Patipatti Saddhamma is bringing Dhamma and Vinaya that one has learned into practice to train and cultivate one’s behaviour and mind to be perfect. The practice starts from observing Silas (Precepts), and then is followed by the practice of meditation. The fundamental purpose of Dhamma practice is to control one’s physical and verbal actions to be a good member of society. In the higher levels, Dhamma practice is to attain one-pointedness of mind as the base to gain wisdom or enlightenment. At this level, one can realize things as they really are.

Pativeda Saddhamma is the result of the practice following the principles of Dhamma and Vinaya in various levels starting from avoiding evils, and doing good up to attaining salvation.

Pariyatti and Patipatti Saddhamma can be observed physically, but Pativeda Saddhamma can be achieved or experienced by oneself, i.e. only the one who practices it.

Pariyatti Dhamma and Patipatti Dhamma in Thailand

Pariyatti Dhamma and Patipatti Dhamma in Thailand can be traced to the Sukhothai period, Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin respectively. The monks were classified into two groups; Gamavasi (Town-monks) and Aranyavasi (Forest-monks).

Gamavasi means city or town monks or monks dwelling in temples close to or in communities. They have a close relation with communities because almost all of them are the offsprings of communities. They have a clear objective in carrying on Buddhist burden of education. They study Buddhist teachings and help manage the education system of temples and Sangha Orders.

Aranyavasi refers to forest monks or monks residing in temples far away from communities or sometimes in the forest or jungle. They intend and devote themselves to meditation practice or as it is called Vipassana Dhura. Most of meditation centres are the outcome of the forest monks.

Pariyatti Dhamma

Pariyatti Dhamma in Thailand is traditionally divided into 2 sections; Dhamma Studies and Pali Studies. According to the education management in actual situations, it can be classified into 5 sections; Dhamma Studies, Pali Studies, General Education, Buddhist Sunday Schools, and Buddhist Universities. The details of each branch of study are as follows:

   1. Dhamma Studies: This course consists of 4 main subjects. They are an Essay in Dhamma, Buddhist teachings and interpretation, the Life of the Buddha, and Discipline. The courses have 3 grades: Fundamental, Intermediate, and Advanced. The period of study in each grade covers 6 months before an examination. The study program is under the control of the Head of the Dhamma Study Division.

   2. Pali Studies: The Pali studies have 9 grades. Since the first and the second grades are mixed up together, the examination starts from grade 2 to grade 9. The duration of time used for each grade of study is about 6 months and is followed by an examination. The method in teaching and learning are mainly based on translations, i.e. translation the Pali language into Thai and from Thai into the Pali language. The texts used in the study are scriptures from the Commentaries and Sub-commentaries. They are Dhammapada Commentaries, Discipline and Abhidhamma Sub-commentaries. The Pali studies are controlled by the Head of Pali Studies Division.

   3. General Education School: This kind of school is to provide a general education for monks and novices. It was firstly founded in 2514. Subjects on Dhamma and Pali language are put in the study program for additional learning. At first, the school provided the higher primary education and secondary education for students, but at present, only secondary education is provided because the primary education is a compulsory course and is offered by the state nationwide. There are general education schools run by temples throughout the country.

   4. Buddhist Sunday School: It can be said that Buddhist Sunday School is another option in providing Buddhist teachings to the younger generation. His Holiness Somdej Phraphutthajara (Asabho) founded the first Buddhist Sunday School at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok in 2501. The activities of the school has been accepted and improved accordingly. At present, more than one hundred Buddhist Sunday schools are scattered throughout Thailand. The schools provide courses in Buddhism to people with different education backgrounds, from primary school to university level. The main subjects offered to people are the Life of the Buddha, Buddhist teachings and English in Buddhism. The schools also provide optional subjects for their students, such as Thai arts and Thai culture.

   5. Buddhist University: There are two Buddhist universities in Thailand; Mahamakut Buddhist University and Mahachula Buddhist University founded a hundred years ago. Both universities have headquarters in Bangkok, but their learning centres and campuses are located in big cities around Thailand. The courses offered by the universities are Buddhism, Philosophy, Languages, Education, and Social Sciences. Undergraduate and graduate studies are available at the universities. Students may choose to enroll in either a general program or an international program.

Patipatti Dhamma

Forest temples are believed to be the meditation practice centres. The purpose of the practice is to attain the salvation or to eradicate all suffering. Forest monks and forest temples have existed and continued from the Sukhothai period. In Ayutthaya kingdom the group of forest monks was called ‘Wat Pa Kaew Group’. It has been well-known among Thai people because its role was brought to relate to some parts of the life of King Naresuan the great. In the reign of King Rama III of the Rattanakosin period, Veneralble Vajirayana founded a new Sangha Sect called “Dhammayuttika Nikaya” in 2372. The result of the new Sangha Sect was to make the forest temples and meditation centres clearer and more significant. It could be said that there were forest temples founded in the kingdom, especially in the northeast area of the country.

The teaching, learning and practicing of meditation in Thailand originated from a faith in a particular monk as the main factor. The monk was usually well-known in meditation practice and his way of life, but his followers gained the fruit of their practice according to their practice levels or their spiritual perfections. For example, Somdej Phraphutthajara (Brahmarangsi) of Wat Rakhang was well-known for his knowledge of Buddhist scriptures and meditation in the reign of King Rama I to King Rama III. When he passed away, his way of practice in meditation also disappeared. What has remained until now is the rituals and supernatural belief of him.

After the founding of Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the forms of meditation practices and the meditation centers became formative. It started from the period of Phra Upalikhunupamajara (Siricando, 2399-2475) who was an administrative monk from Ubolratchathani Province in the northeast of Thailand and was interested in meditation himself. He also encouraged monks under his administration to pay more attention to meditation. The results of his encouragement are to have several famous meditation trainers in the past until now, such as Venerable Sao (2403-2484), Venerable Man (2413-2492), Venerable Fan (2442-2520), Venerable Thes (2445-2537), Venerable Bua (2456-Present), and Venerable Viriyang (2463-Present). These meditation trainers and their meditation centers are located in the northeast area of Thailand.

After the death of Venerable Man in 2492, in the central plain area of the kingdom, Somdej Phraphutthajara (Asabho, 2446-2532) from Khon Kaen Province in the northeast founded a meditation center at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok in 2495. The teaching and learning of meditation in this center is based on the principles of “Mahasatipatthana”, which is parallel to Sasayissa Meditation Center in Rangoon of Myanmar. Not long before that, Phra Mongkholthepmuni (Candasaro, 2427-2502) opened a meditation center at Wat Pak Nam in Phasi Charoen of Bangkok. The method of meditation practice is called “Vijja Dhammakaya”. The teaching and learning activities of these two meditation centers are prosperous and popular among local and international people.

Nowadays, Thai people of different ages and all walks of life pay attention to the practice of meditation. It may be said that that is a new trend in Dhamma practice in modern Thai society. At the same time, there are increasing numbers of meditation centers nationwide run by temples, monks, non-profit organizations, profit-organizations, and lay-people. The meditation centers recognized by the Office of National Buddhist are 898 in number. Those meditation centers can produce certificates to the meditation participants and trainees.



Conclusion


According to its principles, Buddhism aims to have its disciples follow 3 essential doctrines, i.e. starting from Pariyatti Saddhamma or to study Dhamma and Vinaya and bring them into practice called Patipatti Saddhamma. It seeks the preservation of Sila, a meditation practice, and cultivation in wisdom in order to realize things as they really are, not as they appear. When the mind is free from defilements and sufferings, it will enter into Pativeda Saddhamma, that is to say, to achieve the outcomes of practice in different levels starting from Magga, and Nibbana at the end.

Pariyatti Sikkha in Thailand is the outcome of dividing monks into Gamavasi or monks who come from communities, stay in the communities, and study Buddhist teachings and discipline in order to teach people in the communities. So Pariyatti Sikkha has a clear structure and management. It is also supported by the Royal Bureau, government and organizations in the form of budget, scholarships and personnel. And again, Pariyatti Sikkha can go together with the requirement of the present society, i.e. the graduates can earn their living from the knowledge they obtained from the temples.

Patipatti Sikkha has resulted from dividing monks into Aranyavasi or forest-monks and forest-temples. The purpose of becoming a forest-monk is to practice or train oneself for salvation. There have been several well-known meditation centers and monks in Thailand. But some factors could deter the progress and expansion of meditation practice. The first is that the conditions and procedures for monks to enter to the forest-monk communities take time. Then monks who wish to become forest-monks or wish to stay in forest temples have to make a clear decision for peace of mind and salvation. So they have to reduce and avoid their relations with others and outside society. All that may be against the will of an ordinary man. Finally, it is a factor of society that evaluates and proves things from documents and certificates. Those who are interested in meditation have to turn their ways to the meditation centers recognized by the Office of National Buddhism.

Both Pariyatti Saddhamma and Patipatti Saddhamma, however, must go along together. Those who have studied Buddhist teachings and discipline have to bring them into practice. Those who are interested in meditation have to study it clearly and correctly so that their practice can give a suitable advantage as their wish, i.e. to attain different levels in Pativada Saddhamma.