[Buddha-l] "Soul" and Buddhism

[Piya Tan]

Dear Weng Fai,

Popular Buddhism in Thailand use the term vi~n~aan.na (which they
pronounce winyaan) for the non-physical conscious aspect of a being.
Often the usage has little difference with the Hindu sense of the
word, "soul."

The pioint is that just as Confucianism and Daoism has decisively
shaped Chinese Buddhism, Thai Buddhism is very much influenced by
brahminical Hinduism. Much of Thai Buddhism has gone back to the
Buddha's time, but it is mostly on the opposing side all over again.

The anthropologist Stanley Tambiah has written something on "The
Buddhist Spirit Cults of NE Thailand".

With metta,

Piya Tan



On Mon, May 25, 2009 at 8:07 AM, Weng-Fai Wong <wongwf at comp.nus.edu.sg> wrote:
> I was in Malaysia yesterday and, out of curiosity, I picked up two
> interesting magazines - one called "Thai monks" and another called "Thai
> amulets" - for a bookstore. These are in English and there are at least
> 3-4 more in Chinese of the same genre - all apparently published in
> Malaysia.
>
> On page 2, the second para of an article called "Getting to know Guman
> Thong" in "Thai monks", the unspecified author boldly declared:
>
> "A 'soul' is the spiritual part of a human. It is simple and hidden in
> one's heart. Some say it is in the brain while some other parts of the
> body (sic). It is said that it is kind and full of intelligence and
> potential, as what Buddhists call 'Buddhist soul'."
>
> It then went on to expound the origin and wonders of "rearing" Guman
> Thong, which it clarify is not a "little ghost". It also introduces a
> host of Thai monks all with the title "Luang Phor", all learned in the
> Dhamma, able to perform miracles with one believed to be an arhat at 7.
>
> There is also an introduction to "The Figure of Phra Pitta" which the
> article says is one Sangajaya "a monk of great fortune who lived in the
> Lord Buddha's time" who was later transformed to "Phra Kawampati (Pali
> pronunciation) or Phra Kawambodhi (Thai pronunciation)". It promises
> magic to those wearing its blessed amulet. The article ends by reminding
> all "Remember that all Thai amulets of every piece and every kind must
> be blessed, without exception, through the consecration rituals
> performed by meditative gurus, otherwise they are fake or ineffective
> amulets for wearing."
>
> Is there any scholarly study or introduction to this aspect of Thai
> Buddhism as well as all these monks involved?
>
> W.F. Wong
>
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