Though sharing
basic doctrines with Theravada Buddhism, the Mahayana
school places less emphasis on monasticism and claims any
layman might achieve nirvana. It also differs in
considering the Buddha omnipresent, representing not only
the Enlightened One but also the principle of
Enlightenment. Mahayana further places more emphasis on
the concept of Bodhisattvas, Buddhas-to-be who decline
entering nirvana in order to help others.
Mahayana
Buddhism eventually spread to China, Central Asia, Japan
and other parts of East Asia, as well as to Vietnam.
Theravada Buddhism found a stronghold in Sri Lanka and was
later to become the dominant faith in Burma, Laos,
Cambodia and Thailand. The initial spread and growth of
the religion, however, pre-dates the division of the two
basic sects, which occurred around the 1st century AD.
Buddhism was
first introduced to the region that is now Thailand in the
3rd century BC when, according to tradition, the Indian
emperor Ashoka sent two missionaries to the 'Land of
Gold'. This has been tentatively identified as the Mon
kingdom of Dvaravati centred on the modern town of Nakhon
Pathom, west of Bangkok.
The area at
this time was not dominated by the Thais, whose homeland
was in China and who only gradually migrated into the
region, slowly rising to power. But before consolidating a
nation, the Thais early on in their southern migration
come into contact with Buddhism through mingling with the
Mon, people from what is today Burma and who were the
early civilizers of the Chao Phraya river basin.
While the
seeds of the religion were sown early and had come
directly from India, the form of Buddhism that was
eventually adopted by the Thais as their national religion
was developed later from the Theravada school which had
taken root in Sri Lanka.
By the time of
the founding of the first Thai sovereign state at
Sukhothai in the early 13th century, Buddhist monks in the
southern part of the country had made contact with Sri
Lanka. From there came the doctrine of Theravada Buddhism
based on Pali texts, as opposed to the Sanskrit scriptures
of Mahayana.
Sukhothai's
greatest monarch, King Ramkamhaeng (c.1279-1298),
reputedly met with these southern monks and invited them
back to his capital to establish Buddhism according to the
Sri Lankan school. With both royal patronage and
subsequent direct contact with Sri Lanka, Theravada
Buddhism was embraced by the Thai nation and thrived as
the religion which gave the newly united people a common
bond.
After Sukhothai was eclipsed by the second Thai kingdom,
centred on Ayutthaya, Theravada Buddhism continued to
flourish, enjoying the support of the monarchy which was
responsible for the building of countless temples and
monasteries to sustain both the communities of monks and
the spiritual needs of the people.
With the fall
of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767, many of the kingdom's
religious scripts were lost in the wholesale destruction.
The nation was quickly rallied, however, first by King
Taksin (1767-1782), who made a new capital at Thonburi,
and then by King Rama I (1782-1809) with a power base at
Bangkok, ever since the capital. Remarkably Thailand's
structure and institutions survived the upheaval intact
and Buddhism flourished as before.
The kingdom as
a whole was revitalized and modernized in the Ratanakosin,
or Bangkok, period, and Buddhism likewise received fresh
impetus, most notably during the reign of King Mongkut,
Rama IV (1851-1868). A monk for 27 years prior to
ascending the throne, King Mongkut was a renowned scholar
of the religion and, in an effort to purify religious
practice, he created a second, stricter monastic sect,
Thammayut. This still coexists with the traditional
Mahanikai order.More
