March 11, 2010  Tai |Thai 
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Buddhism in Shan State

The conception of Yuan Sect

 

 

When it comes to the Yuan Sect, the difficulty of explanation will lie in its inter mixture of its regions such as part of Tai (Shan States), Laos, China and Siam (present Thailand) in the eye of strangers but this is not the case for one who had already explored previous history of these areas and their people.

So the main concern to get a clear account of what the Yuan is becomes necessary to be mentioned here for the general people who are quite ignorant of the entire matter. We find that Yuan is one of the branches of Tai race according the statement made by William Clifton Dodd in his work ‘The Tai Race’ as “Of all the different branches of the Tai race that we have met and known those nearest and dearest to our hearts are the people of North Siam.”1 In this context these people are referred to as Yuan which in no doubt remain as the existing Tai branch called by others as Tai-Yuan. Thus it would not be enough for its description if we do not trace back the origin of the Yuan, which is the Tai stock. And before we have the access to how the Yuan Sect came into existence, it would be worthwhile for the Tai to be mentioned here.

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Tai or Shan at the Crossroads
History needs to identify Tai races and the Tai stock known as the Shans.2 Ignorance of those vital points, it will be, in my opinion, not only no good, but definitely bad. Thus let us now scrutinize the word Shan, which has the same root as Siam, Syam, Sajam, Siem, Sien, Hsien, etc. The word Syam was mentioned in the Cham inscriptions of the eleventh century. This seems to have been the first mention of the word. In the twelfth century, it again occurred on the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat. Professor Luce further tells us that the word occurs over twenty times, in the Pagan inscriptions, the earliest being dated 1120 A.D., which is one of the earliest in Burmese, and that it occurs usually in the lists of pagoda, slaves, male and female. But the Thais never call themselves Syam, nor do the Tais in the Shan States called themselves Shan. Syam, or Shan seems to be a term used by other people in calling certain members of the Tai race.3 However, the Shans were essentially a Thai people, living in Nan-Chao.4

Sao Saimong Mangrai in his “The Shan States and the British Annexation” also stated that “the word Tai is the same as Thai”.5 Many scholars prefer to use the spelling Dai to represent the name of the language and the people as a race; but some prefer to use Tai, and when this is aspirated it becomes Thai, which means the Siamese or inhabitants, and official language of the present day Thailand. The present work adopts this latter usage. Many Thais and Shans will tell one that the word Tai means free – free from bondage as well as from debt. But in Siam, the word also denotes anything pleasant, beautiful and not dark, which its noun forms meaning light or illumination.6

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Their migration
Thousands of years before the Christian Era the Tai people were believed to have lived in the Altai range of mountains now forming the Western border of Outer Mongolia. The first semi-historical traces of the Tais were found along the strip of land in China, now known as Kiang-su-Shengtung being between the Hwang-Ho or Yellow river and the Yangtze River where they appeared about 4500 years ago.

It is said that Ailaos were the ancestors of Tai, Shan and Lao. They migrated from Altai southwards and occupied the Valley of the Hwang-Ho and the Yantse rivers. In course of time they moved down to Szechuan (Szechwan) and Kiangsi and founded three state viz. Lung or Long, north of the Hwang-Ho river, Pa in the region of Szechuan, and Yio or Yeo in the eastern side of the Yantse river.

The Chinese, who migrated from the Western Asia, came to live with Ailaos (Ai Lao) of these states whom they regarded as Tai, meaning “great race” or nation”. The word Tai or Thai became the name of Ailaos (Ai Lao) and the Ailaos (Ai Lao) began to call themselves from this time Tai or Thai. W.W. Cochrone says that the Tai race, under several local tribal names, were always one and the same people who occupied a far wider range than any others in the Indo-Chinese peninsula.7 Max Muller too holds the view that the original seat of the Tai or Siamese branch of the Indo-Chinese peoples, called Shan by the Burmese, was in central Asia and it was from that area that these people were the first to migrate towards the south and settle along the rivers Mekong, Menam, Irrawaddy (Namkiyo) and Brahmaputra. The history of their migration is a history of long centuries of struggle which they had to carry on both against the Chinese imperial pressure from the north and against the powerful neighbours in the south, resulting in a succession of glorious periods of their supremacy in China, Burma, Laos, and Assam down to the modern time.8

They were divided into numerous and semi-independent clans bearing (in Burmese) generic name of Shans. Stretching southward, the same race, under the name of Laos, occupied the country between the Salween (Nam Khong in Tai) and the Mekong rivers; while still further South, the best known and most civilized branch of the race, the Siamese, had found a powerful maritime kingdom called Thailand.

The 13th century of Christian Era was an unfortunate epoch for the Chinese as well as the Tais of Yunnan, also called Nan-Chao. The mighty Mongols over-ran China and attacked Nan-Chao (Present Yunnan) as a result of which Nan-Chao surrendered to the Mongols whose leader was Kublai Khan in 1235 A. D.

The fall of Nan-Chao caused a mass migration of the Tais. They moved southwards into North-Burma, the Plateau region and the Upper reaches of the Mekong and Chao-Phyaa the Menam Valleys. They migrated to join their brothers who had already settled in these regions. The Tais of Shan States were known as Shans in Burma. They include The Tai of Assam and are traditionally called “Tai-Yai” meaning Great Tai or “Elder Brother”. The Tais or Thais of present Thailand and Laos are also known as “Tai-noi” it means “Small Tai or “Younger brother.”

They started emigrating for new settlements gradually to the regions now known as ShanStates, Northern Thailand, Tongking and Assam, moving southwards following the river Valleys. The Western group headed toward the SalweenRiver (Nam Khong). They settled down there and became known as Shans. The Eastern group took the Eastern route and migrated to Tonking which constituted the ancestry of Laotians. At the same time the middle group followed the route along Chao-Phyaa River or the Menam basin forming a kingdom of Siam (Thailand). These were the ancestors of the present Tai.

Meanwhile, some separated themselves from the main group of the Tais and went westward to establish the Ahom kingdom in Assam (A.D.1228-1826). Whenever they have spread, the Tais have acquired local appellations. In the four major areas of East Asia, namely ShanStates of Burma, Siam (Thailand) French Indo-China and Yunnan and also the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam they are known respectively as the Shan in Burma, Siamese or Thai (Tai) in Thailand, Leo in French Indo-China and Pai in Yunnan of China, and also Ahom in Assam. Besides Ahom, there are Tai races known as Tai Khamti, Tai Phrakey, Tai Khamyang, etc. Besides these, the Tai groups and sub-groups in this vast region are also known by innumerable other local names which at times tend to obscure their racial identity.

There are many instances of the same group being named differently by different peoples and at different historical periods. But, the members of the great Tai race, to whatever local groups they might belong, called themselves Tai. The local people generally know the Tai by their local names. The same Tai races are found in Shan States, in Tonking of North Vietnam, in Southern China namely Yunnan also called Nan-Chao, Kuang-hai, Kwang-Tung and Szechuan. It is unfortunate that the Tais could not live together as one nation. If they could do so they would have become great. Whenever, they (the Tais, Siam (Thai) or the Tai Shans) went they managed to get mixed up with the local people, but their traditional customs including language still remained with them.9

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Who are the Yuan?
The main group of Thais or Tais  which came to settle in Lān Nā 10 was called by its neighbours, Yuan , Yūn or Yōn, (Yonaka in Pāli texts, re-thaiized as Yōnok). Previously, the Yuan had lived in the area where now the three countries meet - Burma, Laos and Thailand or somewhat further north. Their first known fully historical ruler, Phrayā (“King”) Mang Rai , was a relative of Thai Lü  house of Chiang Rung  in Yunnan. He founded Chiang Rai  “King Mang Rai’s City” in 1263 and occupied Lumphūn (HaripuGjaya - in Pāli) in 1281 or 1292. 11 Mr. Hallet says that the Burmese still call the country east of Salween  Yuan and the Shans  who inhabit it Yuan Shans (or Tai ). 12 We, therefore, observe that the entire of the Buddhist SaNgha especially Tai, Tai-Yuan  or Shan in Tai or ShanStates  belong to Yuan Sect . Hence special attention has been paid on this Yuan Sect, which is currently existed in the Shan States although not recognized as one of the Buddhist sects by the brethren of the SaNgha Committee in the same home land of the Union of Myanmar in which the Shan State  is a part after the independence.

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The Script of Tai  Yuan  C. 1300-C.1400
The people of Lān Nā , the land of Tai  stocks13 were not illiterate from the first time of their arrival; they were not unfamiliar with Buddhism either, their administrative and social organization, along with their material and technical civilization, was more refined, advanced and effective than those of local tribes. It is said that in the year 1350 or 1375, they has developed the features of their own new culture: an old Thai animistic substratum with a Mon Buddhist topping.

On Thursday, 12 April 1296, Mang Rai  founded Chiang Mai ; (Nabbisipura )14 in 1327 one of his successors founded Chiang San  “King San Phu’s City”; and in 1338 the Thai principality of Phayao also came under the house of Chiang Mai . By around 1350, most of Lān Nā  was ruled by the Yuan  and was directly or indirectly controlled or influenced by Chiang Mai . Within a relatively short time , the Tai  Yuan had replaced the Mon as the region’s administrators on a state level and now controlled a wider area than the Lumphūn (HaripuGjaya or Lampoon)15 Lampang Mon had done. Phra and Nan, at first oriented more towards Sukhothai , were joined to Lān Nā only in 1444 and 1449, respectively.

The Yuan  began to use two scripts and two languages for two different purposes: secular and religious. Hans Penth further stated that the Thai of Sukhothai  underwent a similar evolution because they used Thai script / Thai language for secular matters but Khmer script / Pāli language for religious purposes. They used their own traditional Thai script, once probably adapted from old Mon for secular matters in their Yuan dialect; and then Modern Mon script called Tham -  Dhamma letters or tua Muang which gives the meaning of Local letters for religious purposes, for instance Tai  Yuan Buddhist Pāli texts (Lān Nā ’s oldest known palm-leaf manuscript dates from 1471.) is a Jātaka book containing the Visati-, Timsa-, and Sattai-nipatas, and is written in Tham letters and Pāli language). Later, Tham letters had also been used for secular purposes. Their traditional Thai alphabet which can be seen on stone inscription, fells into disuse in the decades after 1850 and was replaced by the modern central Thai alphabet. But the rounded Tham letters, used in religious texts, continued to be widely read and written regarded as one of the characteristics of North Thailand. Tham letters is used far and wide of Northern Shan States  especially Jeng Tung (Kengtung -Chieng Tung – Pāli KemaraTTha) and Tachilek , (Shan/ Tai border) even today. They (Tham letters) are usually written on palm-leaf manuscripts and sā (Broussonetia) paper (Shan paper) and are taught for scholarly purposes at university level and in some monasteries to uphold the tradition.  

When Lān Nā  reached its golden age in the year C.1400-C.1525 and became a leading power, many of her cultural features and achievements were exported to neighboring regions with which, since of old, she had had affiliation and shared affinities. Luang Prabang  (Lan Chang), Chieng Tung, (Thai Khon or Khun , the easternmost Shan States ), and Chiang Rung  (Thai Lu , Sip Song Panna ) also took over the Dhama or Tham letters so that present north Thailand, northwest Laos, parts of northeast Burma and part of southwest China formed an extended area with a similar culture which one might call the “Culture of the Region of the Dhamma Letters’. The similarities are still apparent today.

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The East and the West of Salween
>As has been mentioned earlier it is quite clear that the Yuan  script itself has different names in the variety of the different communities of the Tai  stock such as the Khun , Lu , Thai and Tai-Yuan, or Lao-Yuan . Also an account of the relationship between Chiang Mai , Jeng Tung, Monglaem, Sip Song Panna  and Laos can undoubtedly be seen in “the Pādaeng  Chronicle and the Jengtung  State Chronicle” which were translated by Sao Saimong Mangrai. It is stated that in area where Khun script had been in general use until the early part of the twentieth century, namely, Kengtung , Monglaem, Sip Song Panna, Laos, and Chiang Mai , there had been much intercourse between them from the legendary days of the chronicles and throughout their histories. Thus “Tham  or Dhamma Letters” has widely been used among these groups of people but although it retained its original name as “Tham or Dhamma Letter”, it possesses another name as “Liek Khun or Khun Letters” among the Khun people or “Khun or Yuan Letters” among other groups such as Tai-Yuan , Lao-Yuan and Tai Lung . For the clarification of this, we will see the geographical expansion of the Shan State  in two parts as the east and the west of Salween  flowing from North to South, which is the best known river as “Nam Khong ” by the people of Shan State. 

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The East
When we say “the east of Salween ”, the area is mostly confined to Kengtung, the largest part in the eastern Shan State  and Tachilek and some other parts. There are different Tai peoples bearing different names with rather similar dialects with some different accents. Among them were the Khuns  who mainly use the Tham  or Dhamma Letters for their secular and religious purpose. So the “Tham or Dhamma Letters” which is also the Yuan  scripts is also the Khun scripts. Now what are the differences among Tham or Dhamma Letters, Yuan scripts and Khun scripts which are almost meant the same thing? In fact there is not much difference except for the different accent of them used among the whole Tai Stock . The following passage from the introduction to “The translation of Pādaeng  and The Jengtung  State Chronicles” by Sao Saimong Mangrai will shed the light for us to see and have a clear understanding of what is being discussed here.   
“The Khun language is akin to Lu  of Sip Song Panna , Tai -Yuan  of northern Thailand, and Lao. The Khun script with its two tonal marks is identical with that of Chiang Mai  (Tai-Yuan), Sip Song Panna, and Monglaem, and with some modification it is also understood in Laos. Prior to the sixteenth century, inscriptions in Kengtung  had rectangular characters identical with those used in Chiang Mai  but at the present those used in Kengtung are round. This was probably due to Burmese-Mon influence from the time King Bayinnaung  conquered Chiang Mai , and all the Shan States  in Burma submitted to him. While Burmese suzerainty over Chiang Mai  lasted a little over two hundred years, Kengtung has been with Burma ever since her submission in 1559.”16
The above statement shows a very close relationship between the Khun , Yuan , Lu  and Thai and Tais  of the Ai Lao  or the Tai  stock in the regions where they settle, whether in Thailand, Laos, Yunnan  and some other parts of China and the Shan State  of Union of Myanmar. Thus it should be mentioned here that the Pādaeng  Temple in Kengtung  itself, of which the Pādaeng Chronicle was compiled, played a prominent role in the making of the history of Buddhism in these regions.

To make the matter clear, here we will focus our attention mainly on the Vat Pādaeng  (SihaLarattārāma-Mahārattavanārāma), one of the great monasteries in the city of Kengtung  in the Eastern Shan States  of Burma. It is the chief vein of Buddhism in spreading to various parts of the brethren of Tai  people from an earlier time in the history. “Vat - (Wat)” means Monastery and Pādaeng means red forest. So the combination of their meaning comes to be “Red Forest Monastery”. This temple is said to have been built in the 15 A.D. with the help of monks coming from Chiang Mai , who received ordination from the Mahāvihāra  tradition in Ceylon.

With regard to this, it is said that in 1473, a group of twenty five priests from Chiang Mai  including eight from Cambodia, six Mon priests from Burma visited Ceylon and received ordination, returning two years later after stopping en route at Ayudhaya, Sukothai and Sajjanalaya reaching Chiang Mai  in 1480. They installed themselves at the temple of Pādaeng  in Chiang Mai  form where they undertook missions to Lampung, Chiang Mai  and Chieng Sen. The king at the time was San Feng Ken who was a heretic but there was no harassment by him. They founded an order of Sinhala Bhikkhu s which undertook systematic propagation of Theravāda Buddhism and stimulated a revival of Pāli Literature and studies.17
Sao Saimong Mangrai related in his introduction to Pādaeng  Chronicle, “The name ‘Vat (Wat) Pādaeng’ originated in Chiang Mai  and spread to Kengtung , to its sub-States of Mongyong, Mongbeng, and Monglaem, and, I am told to Sip Song Panna .”18 This is true that even in the present day the Vat (Wat) Pādaeng which still exists in Kengtung is now over 500 years old from the above mentioned account. Within the already mentioned states where Khun script was in general use, there seems to be little doubt that their culture and the Sāsanā came from Chiang Mai , in the south, as recorded in the Pādaeng Chronicle.

A group of five monks headed by Somacitta Thera was sent by Ven. Nanagambhira to Kengtung , of which its classical name was Khemarattha, to ward off evil spirit haunting violently in the palace. Therefore Somacitta Thera is regarded as one who took the Sāsanā to Kengtung. After some years he was appointed Somdec Rajaguru Muni which is the highest title among the SaNgha community in the region.19  Because of their belonging to the order of the Sinhala Bhikkhus, the place, Vat Pādaeng , where they stayed also became known as Sihalarattarama.20
 
The total census of the SaNgha of Vat Pādaeng  – all Bhikkhus and Samaneras – was two hundred. The number of all lay devotees of Tinpa was three hundred and fifty houses having Brayalong Khandha, Braya Kaeu, and Braya Sri as leaders.21 Vat Pādaeng of Kengtung  was the great learning center of Buddhism in sharing its riches with other parts of the Tai  communities far and near in the 15 A.D and centuries onwards. We see that the SaNgha committee of that time was highly organized and strong enough to preserve the Theravāda Sinhala form of Buddhism or the red forest form of Buddhism which it might be called Yuan  Sect due to the use of Khun scripts or Yuan Script in the tradition. It is said that the Khun culture, which has not suffered damage all along its history, is seemingly the best reserved of the Lao and Tai groups  in the Indochinese Peninsula.22
The way of organization of the SaNgha community in Kengtung  today, which is exactly the same as the one of earlier dates that has been mentioned above, and the Vat Pādaeng still in existence prove that it has preserved the tradition uninterrupted and in an unbroken chain. Now it is quite clear that this form of Theravāda Buddhism which is based on the culture of Yuan  and Khun  with its own version of TripiTaka23 is quite different from the nine sects based on the different culture and different views of their own on the teachings of the Buddha. The monks of this culture belong to not any of the nine sects. This draws much attention among the many communities from the earlier time up to the very present day and it deserves to be officially recognized that it is also the existing Buddhist Culture (Sect) but remains as simply unnoticed and carries on its journey with its unfailing strength ever.

The following Vassa  Order they used for the different positions among the SaNgha up to the present day according to the number of Vassa of each monk shows the real characters and rich culture of the Yuan  Sect still existing in the east of Salween  in the eastern Shan State .

Vassa  Order
From Age 10 – Samanera
From Age 20 – Bhikkhu
From 5 vassa – called Phamahā
From 10 vassa – called Sitthi or Svãthi
From 20 vassa – called Phrasvãmi
From 30 vassa – called Phrakhuvar
From 40 vassa – called SaNghanaryuk
From 50 vassa – called Somreit Ayartham Phrasao24

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The West
A passage in the translation of the Pādaeng  Chronicle goes, “At one time this Khun script seems to have been used in the Shan areas west of Salween .  Pāli scriptures and their translation in this script, on palm leaves and Shan paper books dating back to the early eighteenth century, were found in Monghnong, close to the Salween, and in Mongbeng, near Taunggyi. It is not known whether this indicates that Khun script was in general use or was used only in monasteries in those areas adhering to the Kengtung  brand of Theravāda Buddhism. These books are now in the government museum in Taunggyi.” This is the indication of the fact that the Khun scripts had been used in those areas west of the Salween in the Shan State  as well. The author of Pādaeng Chronicle himself seems not to have been to those places and so he cast seemingly opinion as in the above passage.

If truth be told, the Khun scripts had exactly been used mainly in monasteries for secular as well as religious purposes among the Shan scholars west of the Salween. But it retained its name as Yuan and the monks as well as laypersons adhering to the study of Yuan scripts and the Yuan cultural heritage of Buddhism are said to belong to the Yuan Sect. Thus at one time, the form of Buddhism existing west of the Salween of the Shan State was also the same as that of east of the Salween. This makes it a difference in that it draws much attention among the many communities including the Burmese. Sometimes the Bhikkhus belonging to the Yuan Sect have been accused of leading an idle life. The accusation was certainly leveled against them by ignorant writers and by converts and preachers of other Sects, naturally jealous of their predominant influence in the society, even under a foreign rule.25 The study of biographies of some of the well-known Shan Scholars will give a vivid explanation of the Yuan Sect fate which it faced some centuries earlier.

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The Prominent Monks and Laymen of Yuan Sect

The most distinctive feature of Tai and the use of logical argument, to prove that they are Tai belonging to Yuan Sect, have widely been brought to light through the media. I am, therefore, trying my utmost to trace the process or the development of the Tai of Shan States in this work of mine. Now let us pay our attention to see of how the Prominent, honorable Monks and Laymen belonging to the Yuan Sect had done for the benefit of the many.

Sao Garng Hsur son of Loon Pu Loi and Nai Sarng, was born on Friday, the first Waxing Day of Tazaungmon, 1149 BE (Burmese Ear) (1789 Christian Era), at Na-Kieng Village, Weing-Lao Township, Murng Nai District, Southern Shan States. His childhood name was Hsai-sa alias Lai-sai. In 1157 BE (1797), Sao Garng Hsur, at the age of eight, was sent to Hai-Lao village monastery to study under the guidance of Sao Ton Khu, the abbot of that Monastery, which belongs to Yuan Sect. He learned both Yuan and Tai (Shan) alphabets, later on he acquire the great knowledge of Burmese alphabets. He learned Tham-Yuan (Dhamma letters- in the field of Buddhist studies in Yuan Sect system) and Tham-Tai (Dhamma – in Tai or Shan non-Yuan Sect system).26

Prince - Patriarch Vajirayan27 said, "Secular and religious learning flow in the same channel. Each will sustain the burden of the other so that both may move forward and progress".28 Being a schoolboy, he had been studying and acquiring the necessary skill of Tham-Yuan and Tham-Tai for one year, and he was novitiate under the preceptor of the abort of the same monastery. Then the title “Rev or Sao “Saang Sumana” was given to him. He continued his higher Buddhist literature under the guidance of his preceptor up to the age of twenty. In 1170 BE (1809), he got the ordination (bhikkhu) under the patronage of the same abbot, Hai-Lao monastery in Murngnai.

Learning that there were some traders from Weing–Lao who were trading with the Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, he asked the permission form his master to allow him to go with traders for his further studies. Having been permitted, he traveled with some traders to Moulmein. It is said that it took him more than one month to reach there from the journey he began to set up, called Weing Lao. Here, I am of the opinion that it is true because they have to depend only either on foot or horses. It is of course by boat or rafts while crossing the Rivers. However, Sao Garng Hsur stayed in Moulmein for two years learning the higher Buddhist literatures viz.  Pāli Grammar, Pāli Sutta, Abhidhamma and Buddhist history preserved both in Mon and Burmese literatures. Moreover, philosophical and logical expression provided in the field of secular educations i. e. astrology, arithmetic, horoscope and history are gained. After two years of his studies, he left Moulmein to Thailand via Kawkareik and Myawadi, (i.e. around the border of Thailand and Karen State). There, he learned how to read and write Thai language. From there he traveled to Yuan State (viz. Chiang Mai - Nabbisipura), Lampoon (Haripunchai), Lakwan for four years long, then he went back to his native land, Weing-Lao, Murngnai District, in Southern Shan States.

When he arrived at his old monastery in Weing-Lao, after six years traveling, his first teacher, (his preceptor) has passed away. He was, therefore, appointed as a chief monk of the Weing-Lao monastery supported by Buddhist monks, Dayakas, Dayikas (devotees), far and wide of Weing-Lao.

Not only being the prolific writer, Sao Garng Hsurwas one of great scholars in teaching both monastic education and the knowledge of secular life (i. e.  Pāli, Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist culture, Buddhist literature, mathematic, astrology and horoscope) so on and so forth. Thousand of students, both monks and lay people from Shan States were learned under him. Weing-Lao monastery, thus, became the central core of Yuan Sectthat provided life long learning for the benefit of the many. He then became (one of) very famous Buddhist monk in Shan States.

At that time, Bodawpaya (Pha-dung in Shan), the fifth son of Alaungpaya, became king in Āva. The King Bodawpaya in cooperation with the SaNgharajaand the other senior bhikkhus has established a system of supervision of the Bhikkhus by royal officials. In every township, the king’s representatives were responsible for ensuring that the bhikkhus adhered scrupulously to the rules of the Vinaya. Bhikkhus who transgressed were taken before religious Courts and punished according to the code of discipline. This ruling created one unified sect throughout Myanmar under the leadership of a council of senior bhikkhus appointed by the king. These were called the thudhammā Sayadaws and the thudhammā Sect has survived in Myanmar down to the present day.

Shan States in the west bank of Salween were under Āva or Burmese king control. In order to dispel non-thudhammā sect and to propagate thudhammā sect in Shan States, the Burmese king sent his missions headed by Bohmu, and Sitkes to Shan States. They forced SaNgha Communities in Shan States to give up Yuan Sect and observe the practice of thudhammā sect, which is supported by king. Any groups, which did not accept and follow the thudhammā sect, were all to be considered as unlawful groups/sects or followers. At that time, throughout of the communities of Shan/Tai SaNgha in Shan States, Yuan Sect was the prominent figure.

Unfortunately, one day the thudhammā missions came to the monastery where bhikkhu Sumana (Sao Garng Hsur) was residing, and forced him to be converted to thudhammā sect. As he, finally, could not bear their obstruction longer, he crossed the Salween River and went to Weing Garng Hsur (Small town in the east of Salween) and made his residence there, until he obtain 65 years of age. When he left Hai-Lao, his birth place, he was just 26 years old and 6 years of his monk hood. Later on, he was well- known as “Sara Sao Garng Hsur” - the honorable teacher of the Dhamma. It is named after small town “Garng Hsur”, because he stayed in that small town and compiled so many Dhamma Books.

Having stayed for 45 years in Weing Garng Hsur, he had in mind of visiting his birth place, Hai Lao, in order to see his relatives and friends, and to inquire condition there. Unfortunately, he again faced with the disturbance of thudhammā mission. As the thudhammā missions traced to disturb him using the authority given by the Court of Āva, at last he had to disrobe in order to free from their tracing. In 1214 BE (1842), he unfrocked at the age of 65, after staying in his monk-hood for 45 years.

After becoming laity, Sao Garng Hsur, with his Yuan Sect followers, traveled throughout the Shan States preaching the Dhamma, all aspect of the teaching of the Buddha, (i.e. verses with very important meanings rite and ritual of Tai, simple, beautiful advices to people in order to surmount the difficulties, problem in our day to day life.) Later on, he married with Nang Hsen Shwe and got a child named Nang Kham Ku. Sao Garng Hsur, who had offered substantial guidance and assistance throughout the History, had won the heart of the people.

However, “Life in the world implies a journey towards death.” 29 And thus Sao Garng Hsurhad gone out of the world at the age of 94 on the 6th Waning day of Tazaungmon, 1243 BE (11/11/1881). It is to remember here that “The Buddha says, Man’s body will return to dust, but his influence and services remain.”30 In other words, though he is no more with us, but his works (books) still uplift and give benefits to the people (especially The Tai/ Shan). Sao Garng Hsur was one of the most prolific of all the Shan authors and has nearly two hundred books to his credit.31 Therefore, he is one of a great honor in Tai History.

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And Sao Kawli, another Shan Scholar monk who was born in 1824 at Nwang-kao-lam village, Murng-pan Township, Southern Shan State was also one belonging to Yuan Sect as he studied under the Sara Sao Sumedha who belonged to Yuan Sect. He learned Tham-tai and Tham-yuan as a lay schoolboy for one year and was initiated Samanera under the patronage of Sara Sao Sumedha. He was named Sao Saan Koliya. After a few years of studies at various places, he while lecturing the Buddhist literature to the young monk and novice students has also compiled many books. As it was during the time of Bodawpaya, it was the most difficult periods for Buddhism in Shan States (especially in the west of Salween River). Many Shan Buddhist monks who were well versed and learned in Buddhist literature, fled to east Salween in order to free themselves from persecution brought about the thudhammā sect’s followers or King’s missions. Some monks who did not want to flee away unfrocked or changed their monk life into lay life. Bhikkhu koliya was one of them. Though he became a householder, he did not ever try to ignore the religious affairs and worked for the propagation of the Buddha’s teachings and uplift the Shan literature and culture.

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Nang Kham Ku, who was a famous lady writer, was born at Wieng Lao village, Murngnai Township, Southern Shan State. Her father was the famous scholar Sao Garng Hsur already mentioned above. From her young age she was taught the basic Shan and Yuan alphabets by her own father.

Sao Murngnawng who was born in 1844 at Pan-sung-yao village, Murng Nawng, Shan State was also initiated as a novice by the preceptor bhikkhu Sumedha under whom was Sao Kawli which has just been mentioned above. No doubt Yuan Sect was then with the heart of this novice as with some other monks.

And like in the eastern side of Salween, the western side also has its way of organizing the SaNgha communities which is based on the same culture of Yuan in adopting Buddhism in the earlier time before and during the assimilation of the other main sects coming from Burmans. Brief biographies of the prominent scholars above show that due to the closeness in dialects and culture of the Tai stock Buddhism in the west of Salween of Shan State was no doubt in the form of that of Yuan Culture coming from Chiang Mai and Kengtung from the very earlier time whilst the form of Burmese Buddhism fond its way through the authorities of the different kings of different times.32 The following vassa order in this place also shows the rich heritage of the earlier time when the form of Buddhism of the Yuan Culture was predominant.

10 vassa downwards – called Khanan
From 10 to 20 vassa – called Ma Thein
From 20 to 30 vassa – called Ma Sarn
From 30 to 40 vassa – called Tar Khu
From 40 to 50 vassa – called Tar Sami or Tar Samari33

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Conclusion
In conclusion, that we have seen the different aspects of the different Buddhist sects having been mentioned, the knowledge of them would give us a very clear thought of how they have emerged and existed side by side throughout the history. The arising of the sects would be the effect of some causes lying behind them. It is true that the conflict arose among the Theras sometimes on question of certain monastic rules and at other times on personal grounds. In this way, more and more branches arose in the religious history of Burma.34 This is in the case of the nine Buddhist sects that exist in the region of Burma proper.

But in the case of the Yuan Sect on which I wish to lay the emphasis, it has its own salient feature that it comes into being independent of the other sects without being falling into conflict with them. Their direct reception of the Buddha’s dispensation in Kengtung from Chiang Mai, the place where the monks received ordination from the Mahāvihāra Tradition in Ceylonin the 15 A.D., is the indispensable decisive role to make it possible as an independent sect throughout the history up to the present day. Besides, its geographical expansion in which different people of Tai stock with similar dialects and the same culture forms concrete foundation for it to stand firmly amidst the other sects in later periods. This shows that the assimilation of the other sects is rather difficult due to the remote geographical regions where the transportation has not been easy and the completely different dialects therein. Of course, this is spoken of the east of Salween where the mentioned Sect still holds its strong grasp.35

And as has been stated, the Yuan Script has been in use mainly in monasteries in the west bank of the Salween. The Tai stock being the central point of the wheel, it makes it possible for it to have been so when the people of the west bank have better and closer relationship with those in the east bank of the Salween than the Burmans among whom the other sects hold the important places. The truth is that the remaining heritage of the old day of the Yuan Sect can be seen in some monasteries even in the present day. In some old monasteries, there are characters of the Yuan scripts written to record the name of the donors on the wall of the temple or on palm-leaves. The way of chanting of the Paritta and some other religious stanzas in some places still resembles one existing in the east bank of Salween. But due to the easy transportation, later on as early as the 17/18 centuries, there has been import of other sects from the Burmans and the Yuan Sect has been suffering much damage as unlawful as can be seen in the biographies of the Shan Scholars which have been mentioned. But the richest literary heritage possessed in Shan Literature today, which is left by these Shan scholars of Yuan Sect in the 18/19 centuries reminds us of the fact that the Yuan Sect had been in existence for centuries for the benefit of the many and won the heart of the people of the Shan State before the assimilation of some Burman Buddhist sects, which in fact on the pretext of purifying the Sasana on the political ground, had taken place from about 19 A.D. onwards. Based on the already rich cultures of the Tai stock from a very earlier time, it would not be wrong to say that the present form of Buddhism, with a highly organized SaNgha Committee, embraced by the Shan people of the Shan State will be as strong as it is at present with its own complete translation of TripiTaka (in 1960) already in hand.36

In the final stage what I am going to present here would be apparent from the context which has already been discussed. The Yuan Sect form of Buddhism still exists in the Shan State in the present day whilst other nine sectarian forms of Buddhism spread about in various parts of the Union of Myanmar. So the reason why it is not recognized by the brethren of other sectarian groups and the succeeding authorities in the same homeland will surely produce the curiosity in the mind of the people who come to know the reality. The whole of my article in its details would provide the solution for this curiosity.

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End Notes :

  1. William Clifton Dodd, The Tai Race, p. 250.
  2. S. Sananananda, History of Buddhism in Assam, 1986, p. 173.
  3. Sao Saimong Mangrai, The Shan States and the British Annexation, p. 44.
  4. Vernon L. B. Mendis, Currents of Asian History, 1981, p. 381.
  5. Sao Saimong Mangrai, The Shan States and the British Annexation, p. 44.
  6. Ibid p. 44.
  7. S. Sananananda, History of Buddhism in Assam, p. 173.
  8. U. (Sao) Kelananda, A study of Buddhism in Tai or Shan state of Myanmar, p. 16.
  9. S. Sananananda, History of Buddhism in Assam, pp. 173-177.
  10. Lān Nā consisted of several countries much as a modern country can be composed of partly self- governing provinces or states.
  11. Hans Penth, A Brief History of Lān Nā, p. 39.
  12. William Clifton Dodd, The Tai Race, p. 251.
  13. Sommai Premchit & Amphay Doré, The Lān Nā Twelve-Month Traditions, p. III.
  14. Jinakālamāliī, p. Vii.
  15. Kanai Lah Hazra, The Buddhist Annals and Chronicles of South-East Asia, p. 33.
  16. Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The PāDaeng Chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, p. 377.
  17. Vernon L. B. Mendis, Currents of Asian History, p. 377.
  18. Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The PāDaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, p. 31.
  19. Ibid p. 38.
  20. Ibid, p. 112.
  21. Chieng Tung: Its Way of Life, p. 300.
  22. Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The PāDaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, p. 6.
  23. Ceylon Journey 2000, p. 115.
  24. Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The PāDaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, p. 18.
  25. U. (Sao) Kelananda, A study of Buddhism in Tai or Shan state of Myanmar, p.168.
  26. One of the sons of Rama IV, known as King Mongkut (1851-68) and the most influential figure in the history of Thai monastic education.
  27. Wan Nam Tham Pariyat, p. 308.
  28. Ven. Balangoda Anandamitreya, Buddhism Lectures and Essays, p. 42.
  29. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, Why Worry- How to Live Without Fear & Worry, p, 123.
  30. U. (Sao) Kelananda, A study of Buddhism in Tai or Shan state of Myanmar, p. 170.
  31. Hans Penth, A Brief History of Lān Nā, p. 58.
  32. Ceylon Journey, p. 114.
  33. Kanai Lal Hazra, History of Theravada Buddhism in South-east Asia, pp.108-109.
  34. See The East and West of Salween and ‘The East
  35. See The East and West of Salween and ‘The West

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Reference:

  1. JinakālamālI  transcribed from a Siamese text and edited by AggamahApaBBDita A. P. Buddhadatta, MahAthera of AggArAma, Ambalangoda, Ceylon (Editor of Sammohavinodani, Buddhadatta’s Manuals, etc. Complier of “English- Pāli  Dictionary” Published under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in commemoration of His visit to Great Britain, 19th -20th July, 1960, Published for the Pāli Text Society by Luzac & Company Ltd, 46 Great Russell Street, London W.C.i, 1962.
  2. Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi, The PāDaeng chronicle and the Jengtung state chronicle translated, Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan, Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia, Number 19, 1981.
  3. Sao Saimong Mangrai, The Shan States and the British Annexation, Data Paper: Number 57, Southeast Asian Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, August 1965, Second Printing, 1969.
  4. Ven. K. Dhammasami (University of Oxford), The Sangha in Burma and Thailand, 1826-1880 AD, A Review of Factors leading to the Emergence of Contemporary Nikāyas, A paper presented at the XIIIth Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, 8 – 13, Dec. 2002.
  5. Sao Dhamma (Ven. Dhammasami) Oxford University, Oxford, U. K., Wan Nam Tham Pariyat, To honour the Aggamahapandita Ven. Ajeyya, The head of the Dhammodaya, Pariyatti Institute on the Diamond anniversary (75th) of his Birthday, (Prince-Patriarch Vajirayan and His contribution to Thai Monastic Education, 2002.
  6. U. (Sao) Kelananda, A study of Buddhism in Tai or Shan state of Myanmar, Thesis submitted for the Ph. D Degree of Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya 2003.
  7. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, Why Worry- How to Live Without Fear & Worry, 2nd Edition, Malaysia 1998.
  8. Hans Penth, A Brief History of Lān Nā, Civilizations of North Thai Land, Second Edition, Chiang Mai, January 1994.
  9. Chieng Tung: Its Way of Life, Publication of Wat Tha Kradas, Chiang Mai, Sasana era 2541.
  10. Ceylon Journey, published by Shan Sangha studying in Sri Lanka and abroad, 2000.
  11. S. Sananananda, History of Buddhism in Assam, 1986.
  12. William Clifton Dodd, The Tai Race, White Lotus Co., Ltd, Bangkok, Thailand, 1996.
  13. Ven. Balangoda Anandamitreya, Buddhism Lectures and Essays, Printed in Taiwan 1997 June.
  14. Vernon L. B. Mendis, Currents of Asian History, Lake House Printers and Publishers Ltd, Sri Lanka, 1981.
  15. Sommai Premchit & Amphay Doré, The Lān Nā Twelve-Month Traditions, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 1992.
  16. Kanai Lal Hazra, History of Theravada Buddhism in South-east Asia, New Delhi, 1996.
  17. P. V. Bapat, 2500 Years of Buddhism, New Delhi, 1965.
  18. Heinz Bechert, The world of Buddhism, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, 1984.
  19. Kanai Lah Hazra, The Buddhist Annals and Chronicles of South-East Asia, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1986.
  20. The First Printing Press In Monland, By Sunthorn Sripanngern, Bangkok, Kao Wao, News No. 45.
  21. www.philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/dwara.html
  22. www.myanmar.gov.mm/Article/Article2003/aug/Aug12a.htm

 

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"Dhamma Gifts" from Venerable Dr. Khammai Dhammasami
When we discover our own agitation, frustration, disappointment, resistance, resentment, we should try to accept it, see it more closely and understand it.