In the Thailand, it was said cockfighting was already popular by the time the establishment of Ayutthaya as the capital of the Thai Kingdom in A.D.1350. It was recorded that in 1562, When Crown Prince Naresuan was seven years of age, he was taken captive by the Burmese to ensure the fidelity of his father, who was already a prominent prince, as the Ayutthaya Kingdom was under Burmese occupation. During his stay in Burma, Crown Prince Naresuan was highly trained by the Burmese King Bayinnaung (Thai language: Burinnaung or Burengnong) in martial arts, literature and military strategies, and was reared as one of the princes in the Burmese Palace. After spending nine years of his youth at Pegu under the protection of the Burmese king, Naresuan like watching cockfights when stay in Burma.
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
Cockfights In the Thailand
Friday, February 8, 2008
Stupas are known in many Southeast Asian countries as chedi
A stupa (from the Pāli) is a type of Buddhist mound-like structure found across the Indian subcontinent, other parts of Asia, and increasingly in the Western World.
Stupas are known in many Southeast Asian countries as chedi, for example Thai เจดีย์ (from a Pāli synonym of stupa: Chaitya); in some countries (particularly Sri Lanka) as dagoba (from Sanskrit dhatu, an element, component, or relic; and garbha, a storehouse or repository); or as tope (from Hindi top, derived from Sanskrit stūpa, a heap).
Stupas are an ancient form of mandalas.
Description and history
The stupa is the latest Buddhist religious monument and was originally only a simple mound of mud or clay to cover supposed relics of the Buddha. After the "passing away" of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight stupas with two further stupas encasing the urn and the embers. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original ten monuments. However, some later stupas, such as at Sarnath and Sanchi, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds.
In the third century BCE, after his conversion to Buddhism, the emperor Ashoka had the original stupas opened and the remains distributed among the several thousand stupas he had built. Nevertheless, the stupas at the eight places associated with the life of the Buddha continued to be of particular importance. Accordingly, the importance of a stupa changed from being a funerary monument to being an object of veneration. As a consequence their appearance changed also. Stupas were built in Sri Lanka soon after King Devanampiyatissa converted to Buddhism, the first stupa to be built was the Thuparamaya. Later on Sri Lanka went on to build many stupas over the years, some like the Jetavanarama in Anuradhapura being one of the tallest ancient structures in the world.
They evolved into large hemispherical mounds with features such as the torana (gateway), the vedica (fence-like enclosure evolved from the vedic villages), the harmika (a square platform with railings on top of the stupa), chattrayashti (the parasol or canopy) and a circumambulatory around the stupa. From the first century BCE onwards, stupas were incorporated into the hall of the chaitya-griha.
One such stupa is discovered at Sopara an ancient port near Mumbai and is supposed to one of most ancient stupas in the world. The oldest known stupa is the Dhamek Stupa at Sanchi, India, while the tallest is the Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, with a height of 127 metres. The most elaborate stupa is the 8th century Borobudur monument in Java, Indonesia. The upper rounded terrace with rows of bell shaped stupas contained buddha images symbolize Arupadhatu, the sphere of formlesness. The main stupa itself is empty, symbolizing complete perfection of enlightenment. The main stupa is only the crown part of the monument, while the base is pyramidal structure elaborate with galleries adorned with bas relief of scenes derived from Buddhist text depicted the life of Siddharta Gautama. Borobudur unique and significant architecture has been acknowledge by UNESCO as the largest buddhist monument in the world.
The stupa evolved into the pagoda as Buddhism spread to other Asian countries. The pagoda has varied forms that also include bellshaped and pyramidal ones. Today, in the Western context, there is no clear distinction between the stupa and the pagoda. But in general stupa is used for a Buddhist structure of India or south-east Asia, while pagoda refers to a building in east Asia which can be entered and which may be secular in purpose.
Fundamentally, a stupa is essentially made up of the following five constituent parts:
a square base
a hemispherical dome
a conical spire
a crescent moon
a circular disc
Each component is rich in metaphoric content. For example, "the shape of the stupa represents the Buddha, crowned and sitting in meditation posture on a lion throne. His crown is the top of the spire; his head is the square at the spire's base; his body is the vase shape; his legs are the four steps of the lower terrace; and the base is his throne." [2] The components of the stupa are also identified with the five elements — earth, water, fire, air, and space — held to constitute the fabric of manifest existence.
Regional names for stupa include:
Chaitya - Nepal
Candi - Indonesia and Malaysia
Chedi - Thailand
Chorten - Tibet and Bhutan
Dagoba/Chaitiya - Sri Lanka
Chedey - Cambodia
Sübürgen - Mongolia
Tap - Korea (塔/탑 lit: "tower")
That - Laos
Ta - China (塔 lit: "tower")
Tō - Japan (塔/とう lit: "tower")
Zedi (စေတီ) /Pahto (ပုထုိး) - Myanmar
Refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupa
THAILAND -- CENTRE OF LEARNING AND BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
Thailand’s reputation as a safe and peaceful destination is attracting thousands of foreigners from all over the world to learn more about the 2,547-year-old Buddhist faith and one of its most famous practices, the art of meditation. At Wat Mahathat, the primary centre of meditation studies in Bangkok, nearly 4,000 foreigners have taken courses between 1998 and 2003, and monks are predicting steady growth in the years ahead.
Although Buddhism is the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, throughout the Mekong region, China and Northeast Asia, Thailand has gained an influential position as a centre of learning and knowledge. Major institutions like the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya Buddhist University are located in Bangkok. Visits to prominent temples accompanied by laymen’s explanations of the faith are standard features of tours taken by the 10 million visitors who travel to Thailand each year.
The West is becoming increasingly enamoured with the ways of the East. Early interest in martial arts like karate and tae-kwon-do has matured to embrace more peaceful practices such as tai chi, yoga, Ayurveda, Thai massage and, of course, meditation. High-profile figures like the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Prize winner, have helped attract more interest in the faith.
The many students of Buddhism and meditation in Thailand range from local expatriate residents to passing visitors. Some seek to study the religion as a philosophy. Others come to learn meditation techniques in order to become instructors themselves in the proliferating number of schools and institutions in the west. Still others seek to become monks. Increasingly, many are studying Buddhist principles for use in business management techniques and conflict resolution. By far the vast majority, however, see Buddhist philosophy and meditation as a means of attaining good mental and physical health, personal fulfillment and satisfaction.
Seeking inner peace is becoming a powerful global phenomenon in the face of seemingly uncontrollable external conflicts and social mayhem. The pursuit of material wealth and bodies-beautiful is widely perceived as a short-sighted and short-term objective that does little to lift the human spirit. The breakdown of family values and the ruthless competition of political and economic systems only accelerate this search. Indeed, monks and meditation instructors note that meditation is non-denominational; by seeking to enhance concentration and mind-power, the technique can be used by anyone to enhance the practice of their own religion, whatever that may be.
This philosophy is indeed the bedrock of the Buddhist religion, which was founded by a prince who abandoned his legacy of riches in order to identify with those who were truly suffering, and to pursue Truth and Enlightenment. His simple formula for the alleviation of suffering, known as the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, imparts the message that every human being has it within him/herself to attain peace, starting first with the individual and then expanding, like ripples on a placid lake, to families, communities, even companies and countries.
Wat Mahathat, one of the few places in Thailand which keeps records of its students, says enrollments in its meditation courses rose from 540 in 1998 to 871 in 2002, falling back in 2003 to 596 due to global factors like the SARS crisis and the war in Iraq, which affected travel movements across the world. Women outnumbered men by a ratio of 52:48. Of the 659 students who signed up between March, 2003, and March, 2004, a total of 161 were from the United States, 87 from the UK, 78 from Germany and 45 from Canada. Altogether, there were students from 45 countries, including such distant places as Ecuador, South Africa and Scotland.
To capitalise on the trend and a growing number of inquiries, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recently produced a guidebook which lists places of Buddhist learning throughout Thailand. While many training centres are located in Bangkok, others are forest retreats. Courses range in length from just a weekend to 10 days and four weeks, depending on the level the individual wishes to attain. Students can also choose from a broad range of categories and techniques of learning meditation.
Certainly, the process is an intrinsic part of the search for enlightenment. According to Wat Mahathat’s Phra Suputh Kosalo, students seek to get away from the competitive stress of modern life. They dress in unadorned white attire, eat simple food, abstain from alcohol, avoid exposure to the mass media, maintain as much as possible an elegant silence, clean their own living areas -- all part of the process of expunging pride, arrogance and egotism while acquiring humility, modesty and simplicity.
While it was once difficult to find instructors in English, this is changing. Not only is the new generation of Thai monks more familiar with English, many former students have become skillful enough to instruct others in a variety of foreign languages. At the same time, many foreign students find it more challenging and enlightening if they learn Thai. There is no official ‘charge’ for the various courses; finances are usually handled via donations that are at the discretion of the student.
Dominique Whitehead, 34, a Briton, took a four-week meditation course at Wat Mahathat in April. He says the experience in Thailand was far superior to similar studies he had undertaken in France where he lived for 20 years before moving to Hong Kong. His regular visits to Thailand and the friendships he made got him more interested in Buddhism. Stressing that it is critical and essential to have a good teacher, Dominique says schools that offer ‘meditation classes’ in the West need to obtain some kind of certification about the levels of qualification their instructors have attained. Asked how the classes were helping him in his daily life, he responded, “They help me stay sane.”
As interest grows, Thailand is bringing its neighbours into the fold. Tourism authorities of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand recently launched the concept of ‘Four Countries - One Destination’ which includes joint marketing and promotion programmes based on the region’s shared culture, history and religious background. The officials agreed to identify and link various spots along a Buddhist Pilgrimage Trail, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, That Luang in Vientiane, Mandalay in Myanmar and Ayutthaya in Thailand.
This linkage will soon be extended to India and Nepal, where Buddhism took root before being spread eastwards by the Buddha’s disciples in subsequent centuries. The Asian Development Bank is also funding a Buddhist pilgrimage circuit that will include India and Nepal, plus Bhutan and Bangladesh. The bank is seeking to fund transportation linkages and attract long overdue infrastructure investment in some of the world’s holiest spots. The two primary sites are Lumbini in Nepal, where the Buddha was born, and Bodhgaya in India, where he attained enlightenment. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
By dint of its unique geographical position, Thailand will remain at the heart of these efforts. And its biggest asset will be word-of-mouth promotion. Mr Whitehead says he plans to bring at least 10 of his friends to introduce them to meditation classes in Thailand. As long as the world continues to slide into turmoil and conflict, there will be no shortage of takers for solutions that transcend the conventional.
THAILAND – CENTRE OF BUDDHIST LEARNING AND TRADITIONS
Refer: http://www.tourismthailand.org/interesting-article/content-130-1.html