Buddhist Literary Works by Phra Brahmamoli (Vilat Ñāṅavaro)

Abstract

        The article aims to study the thematic and literary characteristics of ten Buddhist literary works written in Thai by Phra Brahmamoli (Vilat Ñāṅavaro) between 1963 and 2000 and their importance in Thai society. It was found that these works have structure and format based on Pali scholastic work, i.e., they consist of opening verses, prologue, uddesa (topic), niddesa (detail) and epilogue, including explanation methods, morphological analysis, padavicaya (definitions and details of words), vevacana (synonyms), upamā (metaphors), and nidāna (background story), Furthermore, names of Pali works are adopted for the names of the literary works, four of which are applied: dīpanī (seven times), vilāsinī (one time) and ratanamalī (one time), applied for commentary, and vaṃsa (one time) for a chronicle. Following Pali literature, the creation in Thai by Phra Brahmamoli is unsurprisingly influenced by the Myanmarese tradition, in which monk scholars are skillful in scriptural learning, literary works writing and meditational practice. According to his background, Phra Brahmamoli completed his Pali Study of Thai tradition before becoming a pupil and practicing meditation under the guidance of Venerable Bhaddanta Āsabhathera Dhammācariya, a monk scholar from Myanmar. The works by Phra Brahmamoli are important to Thai Buddhist literature in three ways: (1) They are Thai literary works with structures, formats, and references based on Pali literature; (2) Their topics provide significant knowledge for Buddhists; (3) They show the impact of Myanmarese tradition, in which scriptural and meditational learning is simultaneous. Therefore, they were valuable for Thai Buddhists particularly in that age when Buddhist works in Thai were limited and the Thai translations from Pali texts not widely spread.