[haittiweerved]

Before the Thai people arrived in what is now called Thailand, there was a old civilisation called Dvaravati, consisting of the Mon people. Mon people spoke a language similar to khmer, but they had been theravada buddhists, not mahayana and hindu like the khmer!
The civilisation dates back to the late 6th century. The first Thai arriving in the today Thailand, came in contact with this buddhist civilisation and it is likely that they adopeted buddhism from them. King Mangrai of the northern kingdom Lanna even married the daughter of the Mon king from Pegu. Also the majority of the south part of his northern empire was Mon population. Wyatts write: "Mangrai was particularly respectful of Mon culture and Buddhism and early demonstrated his royal patronage of the religion. By encouraging the propagation of a new, more scholarly, and ostensibly authentic Sinhalese Buddhism toward the end of the century, however, Mangrai could begin to build a new common social and political idenity on a religious ground that was not so readily identifiable with either Mon or Thai." The Tai ruling families intermarried with the older indigenous ruling family of the Mon kingdom Haripunjaya and through the propagation of a common religion, Theravada buddhism they developed a new "thai" identity, which was acutally a mixture of Tai and Mon. I guess this happend not only in the north but everywhere where the Tai meet the Mon people. Mon people have been less organised then the khmer of angkor, and they treated their kings not like gods. In uniting with the tai immigrants, the built up a common idenity against the khmer civilisation. The leader in building this opposed idenity have been the frist tai kings, mangrai, ramkhamhaeng and Nam Müang (Payao). Under a common religion the different people united under the Tai kings against the Khmer people, who try to keep them under control and slavery.

Source: David K. Wyatt

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HERITAGE
The secrets of the forest
By PHOOWADON DUANGMEE
THE NATION
Udon Thani


Discoveries on either side of the Lao border suggest Buddhism has been in Thailand far longer than thought

Anyone flying over the little Udon Thani district of Ban Phue can see the rice fields stretching endlessly in all directions, with occasional cattle gnawing on stalks left over from the harvest. Further north, along a canal snaking its way through the paddies, is Phu Phan, a sandstone ridge that reaches into Laos.

The lifeless Ban Phue landscape is hardly breathtaking, but Srisak Vallibhotama, the archaeologist leading our expedition, wants to convince us that, for people in his line of work, this area is as exciting as an amusement park is for kids.

"It's so interesting!" he says. "The Fine Arts Department has excavated several sites around here and found many artefacts that suggest Phu Phan hill was a forest-temple hub for centuries.

"The boundary stones, Buddha images and other remnants date back to the late Dvaravati Period, around the 10th century."

Surely Buddhism hasn't been around that long in Thailand, but we're learning.

Our excursion is a lesson in "animism, Buddhism and forest temples on both sides of Mekong River". Siam Michelin made the arrangements, the latest in a decades-long commitment by the French tyremaker to the Kingdom's cul¬tural heritage.

A mixed bag of culture buffs spends days on the bus, people like SEAWrite Award winner Wanich Jarungidanan, artist Sangkhom Thongmee and political activist Thirayuth Boonmee.

We first explore little Wat Nonsilaard in the village of Nong Kaleum. Here are some of the boundary stones Srisak mentioned.

They're not your typical markers, but clearly ancient, three metres high and made of pinkish sandstone, with fine carvings on the lower parts of horses and people who are reminiscent of Angkor's danc¬ing apsara.

"The Nong Kaleum arti¬sans might have used the same bas-relief technique of those who built Angkor Wat," says Srisak, "but don't let the carving style fool you.

"This isn't a Hindu monastery, even if the artwork suggests that. This is a Buddhist temple - a forest temple, to be precise."

Monks who pursue their faith in the woods usually come from a small faction of Theravada Buddhism popular among the Laospeaking communities of Northeast Thailand.

Orthodox and conservative, they bring scant possessions to the forests in search of nirvana through unfettered meditation.

"The Buddha's wisdom was continuously passed on in the folklore, stories based on his earlier incarnations," Srisak explains. "What we're seeing on the carved boundary stones are illustrations of the Jataka tales about the Lord Buddha."

We follow the monks' trail between the trees to Phutthabat Buaban, an historical park five minutes by foot from the village.

Right in the midst of the forest we're amazed to find another group of boundary stones.

This has been called "Thailand's Stonehenge".

The description is quite apt. Looming like a long-lost twin of the famous prehistoric site in England's Wiltshire, there are three rings of tall stones. Each ring forms an octagon.

"One standing stone after the other two - forming the three-layer circle," Srisak points out. "The composition is as unique as it is mysterious."

So far, much less is known about the ruined monastery than scientists have pried from Stonehenge. The remains seem to hark back to the Dvaravati and Lop Buri eras, suggesting the for¬est temple also originated in the 10th century.

A 30minute drive away is Phu Phrabat Historical Park, notable for its caves and bizarre rock formations with names like "Tower of Usa" and "Turtle". Here different civilisations overlapped, from the gloom of prehistory to Dvaravati times.

Strolling around the archaeological sites you can witness the fascinating transition from caveman to devout monk. In one cave is a prehistoric painting of a white elephant and her calf; walk a lit¬tle further and there are Buddha images set against the walls.

"Such a serene setting - among the megaliths and rock chambers - made Phu Phrabat an ideal place for a forest temple," Srisak says.

"The forest monks left their mark at every turn - the boundary stones, the Buddha images, the prayer grounds and so on."

The trail crosses the Mekong to Phuphra Wangchang, a sandstone hill that's only about two hours' drive from Vientiane.

Again, the hill looks mundane, but it holds another important clue in the saga of the forest temples, another link in the chain that begins in Udon Thani.

Overlooking the river, carved in the rock wall, are two large depictions of the seated Buddha. Nearby is a flat area the size of tennis court. This was another forest temple, I can now tell.

"The two Buddha images are often overlooked, or at least mistaken for recently made images," says Srisak, peering into their hands. "But the posture and style convinces us that they were probably made in the late Dvaravati Period."

Three days into the journey and we're still encounter¬ing surprises. So often we've been told that Buddhism arrived in what is now Thailand in the 13th century, when King Ramkhamhaeng invited Sri Lankan monks to visit.

Having seen the hundreds of boundary markers, strange megaliths and sculptures of the Buddha that are three centuries older than that, it's time to correct our perspective.

Clearly the Buddha's teachings arrived much earlier than those Sri Lankan preach¬ers who braved the Bay of Bengal. The sutras were here a full millennium ago.

The stunning Buddha carvings at Phu Phrabat Historical Park.

[97dYA9L3]

Discoveries on either side of the Lao border suggest Buddhism has been in Thailand far longer than thought

The fallacy here is that Udon Thani area was not part of what is now Thailand in the 10th century-or even during the time of Sukhothai!

Udon Thani only be came part of what is now modern Thailand under the Ayuthaya Kingdom.

[zueqhbyhp]

I have posted about the legend of Nang Usa and Phu Phrabat Historical Park
in a thread here