Phramahã Vessantaradîpanî :
Essence, Value and Significant toward the Lan Na’s Social and Culture
Phisit Kotsupho, Ph.D.
Lecturer, Department
of Philosophy and Religions, Faculty of Humanities ;
Deputy Director of Social Research
Institute, Chiang Mai University
Abstract
The Vessantaradîpanî or Phramahã Vessantaradîpanî was the Pãlî literature which was composed by Venerable Phra Sirimangala, the welknown
Buddhist Scholar of Lanna Kingdom in the
Past. This literary work was composed in the reign of King Muang Kaeo (2060
B.E) in order to explain the meaning of the terminologies and essences which
were appeared in Vessantara Jãtaka. The Jãtaka has been elucidated on the Greatest
Dãna of the King Vessantara, known as
the Pañcamahãpariccãga or the Greatest of Five Donation, they are as 1) Dhanapariccãga
or to let wealth be given 2) Angapariccãga or to let organs be given 3) Jîvitapariccãga
or to let life be given 4) Puttapariccãga or to let children be given and 5) Dãrapariccãga
or to let wife be given.
King Vessantara had given the wealth to people, his son and
daughter to the old Brãhmin
Jûjaka and finally his beautiful wife, Maddi to Indra, the God of Tãvatimsã, who came in the form of an old Brahmin. These meritorious
actions were considered to be the Great Dãna, thereby the normal people could not easily
perform. In acting so, Vessantara absolutely aimed to
achieve enlightenment in order to help all living beings across from the Ocean
of sufferings. Vessantara actually always will to give, it is said that there
was none coming back home with the empty hands. In Thai Society, the person who
always gives Dãna without the niggardliness in mind, will comparatively be called “Generous as
the Vessantara”.
Venerable
Phra Sirimangala used to lodged in “Suankhuan” Vihara which located on the southwest of Wat Phrasingha.
At present, this place is known as Wat Tamnak, Tamnak Village, Pa Chi zone, Mea
Hiah Sub district, Muang District Chiang Mai Province. He was a high learned
monk with qualified expertise in Pãlî
Scriptures and other Buddhist texts such as Saddanîti
or the advance Pãlî grammar. This fundamental
knowledge was considered to be the most efficacy of the Pãlî composer, thereby, the
text was completed both essence and references those facilitating the later studying.
Through all his works, he was the authentic wise man, never
dominated any idea upon others. When the disagreement was found, all
information from the concerned sources will be displayed by him. He never judges
any matter based on his own opinions, but the freedom will be opened to
learners. If he has some thing to contradictory elucidate, he will explain that his opinion is
as such, but the learners must consider the right and wrong by themselves which those
the given details. I admired that this is the true nature of a wise man in
academic carree.
The
fact is that, Venerable Phra Sirimangala was the Lanna’s native and his mother language
was not the Pãlî language, but he had
got a talent at Pãlî language and gained
the ability of composing the text. He composed the Pãlî literature as the great poet and expertise
in Pãlî grammar as the
language - master. His works were full of references and can be clearly
examined the fact of the stories with a fair mind. He was the great example to
the Thai and foreign scholars who compiled their academic works in the modern
time.
Prof. Dr. Saksree Yeamnadda had mentioned on the structure of
Vessantaradîpanî that it
completed in the form of the Pãlî literary works, they were begun with the
Panãma Gãthã or
salutation to the teacher and this
traditionally been practiced since the Pãlî
commentator who composed the Commentaries and Sub Commentaries. In the Panãma Gãthã was
contained the salutation to the Triple Gem, the purposes of the text and
referred to the persons involved such as a person who invited the author to
composed the text and things should be known first as an introduction and then
turn to the content in a sequence and the author’s name appeared at the finale.
Phra Sirimangala had introduced the commentary of
Vessantara that appeared in Jãtaka to clarify when the terms were found unclear in meanings or
when he found the different of information and each of them were logically in
their own right. He would offer them all to the readers in order to judge
whether the explanation as well.
The Vessantaradîpanî was divided into 13
chapters which based on the original of Vessantara Jãtaka. The author had used
the event, terminologies that had already been explained by Phra Sirimangala to analyze with
reference to data and evidences through all chapters and its content had
followed to the commentary of Vessantary Jãtaka.
The Vessantara Jãtaka had significantly and deeply to the Lan
Na’s culture and society because of the Lan Na people had strong faith in
Buddhism. The Lan Na’s way of life is the Buddhist way, even though they also
believed in Animism and Superstition, but the dominant one was focused on
cultures and Buddhist tradition. The Vessantara Jãtaka had taught the
essence of giving Dãna, donating and generosity to people. The Lan Na people had
absorbed the form of meritorious man from Vessantara Jãtaka and casted them to
be the good-natured and generosity since the ancient to present time. These characteristics
made enchant to the people who come to visit Lan Na region.
It is believed that if persons had already completed of listening
the 13 chapters of Vessantara Jãtaka, with the fruit of meritorious action,
they would be born again in the world of Mettraiya. The world of Mettraiya is
to be called as the blissful world and people needed not to work hard for their
livings. In Malai Sutta described that, when Phra Malai headed to worship the
Buddha’s Holy Hair Relic in Tãvatimsa Heaven, Metttraiya Devaputta had told that ‘I beg all
people to complete of listening the 13 chapters of Mahãjãti Jãtaka within
the single night and they would join my religion’. The story had been told to
people by Phra Malai and they had practiced the like since it becomes the Lan Na
- tradition.
