ACADEMIA Letters The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand Woramat Malasart, University of Otago The Dhammakāyatexts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand [1] Woramat Malasart [2] The Dhammakāya text genre has been studied by many scholars including Coedès (1956), Reynolds (1977), Bizot (1992), Swearer (2004), Urkasame (2013), Crosby (2016), and Walker (2018), using a variety of approaches, such as textual analysis, historical analysis, ethnography, and translation. The text has three parts. The first part identifies the knowledge and qualities/virtues(guṇa) of the Buddha with the physical attributes of his body. The second part is followed by verses in praise of the Buddha’s resplendent body qua the dhammakāya. The third section exhorts one in the yogāvacara lineage (a practitioner of spiritual discipline, i.e. a meditator) to recollect the dhammakāya.The Dhammakāya text can be found in manuscripts from central Thailand, northern Thailand, and Cambodia. The earliest extant version of this genre discovered to date appears in an inscription that can be dated 1549 CE (Urkasame 2013) and which was found in the stūpa of Wat Suea in Phitsanulok. The many versions of this text in manuscript and inscriptional form are evidence of its popularity and may be due to its ritual usage during the consecration of Buddha images and stūpas, something that still occursin northern Thailand and Cambodia. In this paper, I wish to present how the Dhammakāya text has been used in the consecration ceremonies in Cambodia and northern Thailand respectively. The way Buddhists in Academia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 1 both countries use the text shares some similarities and I will argue that although there are geographical differences between Cambodia and northern Thailand, the Dhammakāya text has played an important role in the Buddhist practices in both countries. In Cambodia, the Dhammakāya formula was recited during the consecration of an image of the Buddha. A Cambodian consecration ceremony, as described by Bizot in 1992, is divided into three parts: the first is the implantation of the lakkhaṇa (pañcuḥ braḥ lakkhaṇa),[3] the second is the opening of the eyes, and the third is the recitation of the consecration’s stanzas. Bizot explains that the Dhammakāya gāthā was recited in order to introduce the lakkhaṇa-s of the dhammakāya to the Buddha statue. He compares the eye-opening ritual, in which the Dhammakāya formula was recited, to the yogāvacara transformation of the body through meditation practice.[4] The gāthā was recited to enliven the Buddha image, so that the image could be venerated with the same title as the Buddha himself. Swearer, in other words, clarifies that “the parallel between the transformation of the body through samādhi and the transformation of the dhammakāya into a material representation provides a striking insight to the operative significance of the meaning of the consecration ritual of the Buddha image.”[5] Moreover, it seems that the Dhammakāya text was not only recited in official rituals, but also in the individual religious practice of Cambodian Buddhists. I see this implication in Bizot’s translation of the Dhammakāya manuscript (registered number: TK217) found in Wat Uṇālom, Phnom Penh. One section (2.3) of the text states; Anyone who venerates and praises or studies the Dhammakāya text everyday will obtain whatever that person wishes. For example, a person who recites this Dhammakāya only one complete day is reborn as a god who lives in the precious palaces. For another example, a person who recites the qualities (of the Dhammakāya) spits on a female ant, and that causes her death. This ant at the time of her death was reborn in heaven because of great merit which that person had accumulated from the recitation of the Dhammakāya.[6] It is clear that the Dhammakāya text is not a static text, but also “a practical text” which has a ritual usage articulated in Cambodian tradition. On January 18, 2015 Phrakru Palad Nayokworawat interviewed a Mr Supeap.[7] According to the interview Supeap had participated five times in the consecration ceremony where the Dhammakāya gāthā was recited. The interview not only supports Bizot’s argument that the Dhammakāya text was recited in the consecration ritual of a Buddha image, but also that its usage in Buddhist ritual involved a placing of the Dhammakāya text inside an image of the Buddha. I have translated the Thai subtitle to English below. “My name is Sopheap. My nickname is Mong. I used to be a monk in Wat Kweanklang. At that time, there was a forest monk (dhutaṅga) who had a palm-leaf manuscript called the Academia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 2 “Dhammakāya,” and this text was recited during the Buddha image consecration ritual. The text was also installed in Buddha images and put under the stones (pañcuḥ sīmā) in order to make the Saṅgha boundary. Therefore, as I have remembered, I will attempt to recite the Dhammakāya gāthā.” Sopheap then starts chanting with Sabbaññutañāṇa pavarasisaṃ… and ends with …dhammakāyabuddhalakkhaṇaṃ lokanāyakaṃ yogāvacarakulaputtena tikkhañāṇena patthentena sabbaññūbuddhabhāvaṃ punappunaṃ anussaritabbaṃ.” The video shows that in Cambodia, recitation of the Dhammakāya gāthā was part of buddhābhiseka. In the video, by pointing out his body parts, Sopheap showed the correlation between the teachings of the Dhammakāya text and the practical considerations during the ritual of implantation of the Buddha’s marks. Swearer states that he has never witnessed the recitation of the Dhammakāya gāthā during the eye-opening ceremony in northern Thailand. However, according to the Tamrā Kān Kosāng Phraphuttarūp,[8] “the manual for construction of a Buddha image,” of which the Dhammakāyaformula is composed, the Dhammakāya gāthā was recited when constructing an image of the Buddha in order to empower the image so that it could be worshipped as if it were the Buddha himself. The Tamrā explains that Altogether these characteristics of Buddha (Buddhalakkhaṇa) are called the dhammakāya. If one constructs a Buddha statue and recites the text (the Dhammakāya), it will be the same as if the Buddha himself were present.[9] I have shown that the Dhammakāya formula was recited in the consecration ritual in both Cambodia and northern Thailand. There are some distinct differences between them. For instance, the Dhammakāya text was not recited in the eye-opening ceremony in northern Thailand. Despite the differences in ritual usage between Cambodia and northern Thailand, the two traditions share the same concept of “making the Buddha present” by reciting the Dhammakāya gāthā. Furthermore, as in Cambodian Buddhist practice, the Dhammakāya text is recommended for recitation in the individual religious practice of northern Thai Buddhists. Kitchai Urkasame demonstrates in his PhD thesis that the tThammakāya or pDhammakāya was recommended for recitation and memorisation for the purpose of gaining prosperity as well as attaining enlightenment (in this life or in the future).[10] Tambiah and Swearer suggest that there are four dimensions in the ritual of consecration which is considered as the Buddhist technology for giving “life” to the material representation of the Buddha. First, the portion of pāramīs and virtues which were believed to be installed in an old statue are transfused into a new Buddha statue. The newly consecrated statue is considered as a “reincarnation” of the older image. Second, the power of the recitations of paritta “the protective chant,” of DhammacakkapAcademia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 3 pavattana Sutta “the first sermon of the Buddha,” and of Paṭhama Sambhodi “an account of Buddha’s biography,” are stored in the statue. Third, the meditative power of holy monks is transferred to an image, and the image is transformed into the dhammakāya “the holy Buddha spirit.” Fourth, the eye-opening ceremony is performed in order to recreate the biography of the Buddha in his second birth when he attained enlightenment.[11] In regard to these methods for giving ‘life’ to an image of the Buddha, there is another method used in Northern Thailand that is not mentioned by Tambiah and Swearer. This way is known by northern Thai Buddhists as the ritual of installing a “Buddha’s heart” into a Buddha image or stūpa. The Dhammakāya text is also recited and written on a metal plate during this ceremony to make the Buddha present. The ritual of installing a Buddha’s heart into a Buddha image can be found in Thailand, Cambodia, China and Tibet.[12] In Thailand, this ceremony can be traced back to at least the Sukhothai period (1283-1317 CE) because stucco Buddha images were common at that time which had a hole in the chest inside which relics, manuscripts, and valuables were placed [13] This ceremony still exists in northern Thailand. However, it can no longer be found in modern central Thailand. In northern Thai tradition, the ceremony is normally held after the eye-opening ceremony. In that tradition the symbolized heart of the Buddha, consisting of a heart, two lungs, two small intestines, two large intestines, and two livers, is placed inside an image of the Buddha.[14] According to Tamrā Kān Banchu Huachai Phraphuttharūp and Phra Chedī (the manual for installing a Buddha’s heart into a Buddha image and a chedī) composed by Krūbā Kong (1902-1989 CE), a holy northern Thai monk, the Dhammakāya gāthā was used as a core element in the ritual of installing a Buddha’s heart into a Buddha image. Whoever recites or worships the Dhammakāya gāthā, and whoever worships the Buddha statue or the chedīwhich had been consecrated by the Dhammakāya gāthā will gain great merit, living prosperity, and even attain omniscience (Buddhahood), if they wish. The Dhammakāya gāthā which great teachers recommended for recitation should be written on golden plates and put inside both a Buddha image and chedī as the “heart.” It will be as if the Buddha himself is present. Moreover, if a temple has this gāthā, it will bring prosperity because the Dhammakāya gāthā originated from the Tamrā Kān Kosāng Phraphuttharūp and Phra Chedī Borān (the old traditional manual for making Buddha images and Chedīs).[15] As the above quotation shows, the Dhammakāya gāthā was recommended for recitation in the individual practice of northern Thai Buddhists as well as in official ceremonies. It is symbolised here by the ritual of installing a ‘heart’ of the Buddha into the Buddha image and the Chedī. As well as being recommended for recitation, the alphabetic elements of the Academia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 4 Dhammakāya text have a ritual usage in northern Thailand that is demonstrated by its being written on the golden plate (in the shape of a heart). The aim of the recitation is not only the worldly (lokiya) expectation of gaining merit and living prosperity, but also the supramundane goal of attaining Buddhahood. In conclusion, I have suggested that the Dhammakāya text genre has been used as an important element in the Cambodian consecration ceremony, especially in the implantation of marks of the Buddha (pañcuḥ braḥ lakkhaṇa) and in the eye-opening ceremony. In the individual religious practice of Cambodian Buddhists, recitation of the text is also recommended for the gaining of spiritual merit as well as prosperity. In northern Thailand, the Dhammakāya text is not recited in the eye-opening ceremony. However, it has a ritual usage in the ceremony of constructing a new Buddha statue as well as in the ritual of installing a Buddha’s heart into a Buddha image and a stūpa. Although there are some differences in the ritual usage of the Dhammakāya text genres between Cambodia and northern Thailand, they share the same ideological concepts. The Dhammakāya text genres are connected to two dimensions: the first is “the concept of making the Buddha present” (an official ceremony) and the second is “the concept of gaining merit and prosperity” in the individual practice of local Buddhists (both in Cambodia and northern Thailand). In short, the official usages of the Dhammakāya text— the eye-opening ceremony (in Cambodia), the ceremony of constructing a new Buddha statue and the ritual of installing a Buddha’s heart into an image of Buddha and a stūpa(in northern Thailand)— all share the same concept. The Dhammakāya text was applied (by reciting and installing it as a “heart”) during the ritual of image consecration. This makes the Buddha’s dhammakāya present, manifested in his material image, so that the image of the Buddha can be venerated as the Buddha himself. In other words, whether the Dhammakāya text is recited or written down on a metal plate or installed inside the heart of a representation of the Buddha (his image or a stupa), these methods are all regarded as “ways of enlivening a Buddha image.” References [1] This paper was presented in the DIRI seminar on Early Buddhist Manuscript and Southeast Asian Buddhist Studies on 10 November 2018 at the University of Otago, New Zealand. It also had published in the DIRI journal as a proceeding in 2019. [2] Woramat is a PhD student from Religion Programme, School of Social Sciences, the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. He was awarded the University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship to support his study on Tai-Khmer Manuscript Cultures. Academia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 5 [3] See also Trent Walker. 2018. “Unfolding Buddhism: Communal Scripts, Localized Translations, and the Work of the Dying in Cambodian Chanted Leporellos.” Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of California, 113, 349-351, 417, 598, 789-791. [4] Francois Bizot. Le Chemin de Laṅkā. Paris: EFEO, 1992, 293 [5] Donald K Swearer. Becoming the Buddha: The Ritual of Image Consecration in Thailand. Princeton University Press, 2004, 72 and see also Crosby, Kate. Traditional Theravāda Meditation and Its Modern-era Suppression. (Buddhist Dharma Centre of Hong Kong, 2013), 51-52. [6] Bizot, Le Chemin de Laṅkā, 299 [7] Interviewed by Phrakru Videśasudhammayaṇa Vi. (January 18, 2015 at EFFO office, Wat Uṇālom, Phnom Penh, and see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt_0aMOOp3k [8] Surasavas Suksavas. The Lanna Buddha Image and the Influence of Vajirañāna Nikāya. (Chiang Mai: Chiang Mai University Press,2016),259-260.This text is found in northern Thailand and written in LanNa language dated back to the Golden Age of Lanna (ca.1400ca. 1525). [9] Swearer, Becoming the Buddha, 55-6, 185 [10] Kitchai Urkasame. 2013. “A Study of Elements in Yogāvacara Tradition from Tham Scripts Palm-leaf Manuscripts.” Unpublished PhD Thesis, The University of Sydney, A268. [11] Richard Gombrich. “The consecration of a Buddhist image.” The Journal of Asian Studies 26, no. 1 (1966): 23-36, 26 and see also Bizot, Le Chemin de Laṅkā, 293 [12] Swearer, Becoming the Buddha, 262 [13] Ibid.,262 [14] Suksavas, The Lanna Buddha Image, 41-42 [15] Sukasava, The Lanna Buddha Image,244 Academia Letters, June 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Woramat Malasart, woramatediri072@gmail.com Citation: Malasart, W. (2021). The Dhammakāya texts and their ritual usages in Cambodia and northern Thailand. Academia Letters, Article 1393. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL1393. 6