Photos by Tor
Review by Willard Van De Bogart
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The papers which were presented showed the syncretism which has existed between Buddhism and the devotion to the Brahmanical gods. Due to the number of papers, each presenter was only alloted fifteen minutes to deliver their findings. This was indeed unfortunate because the amount of material organized by the presenters had to be condensed. But even with this time constraint it was possible for me to gain a deeper appreciation for what this esteemed body of scholars was trying to convey. I could understand how difficult the task at hand was when trying to convey the same information which was to be included in the future Thai Cultural Center in New Delhi, India.
Papers which contributed to historical and architectual insights were put under the topic: Thai Heritage Sites.
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The influences of Buddhism in the two cultures was elaborated in several papers and were covered in the topic: Philosophy of Life: Buddhism in Practice today.
There were several other papers which I have not mentioned as I did not have a list of the speakers and their topics. These are the ones I made notes of and I appologize for omitting the other papers. I hope to have a full list shortly. These then were the papers, which were presented on Monday August 21st and I think you can see that it was a very intense day with the information the speakers presented.
The second day of the seminar was equally as intense with a paper emphasizing existing Tai Culture still in India and was presented under the topic: Indian Communities of Tai origin.
The afternoon sessions were devoted to the establishment of a Thai Cultural Center in New Delhi, India and two papers focused on this subject under the topic: Proposed Future Cultural Activities.
Allow me to attempt a brief walk through of some of the highlights that were presented in this two day seminar. It would be impossible for me to mention everything that was presented, but several ideas struck me as extremely important.
One of the most fascinating subjects was the concept of syncretism. The influence with which both Buddhism and the many strands of Hindu worship have on one another over many centuries of being fused together in an almost seamless way. In the presentation by Dr. Phasook Indrawooth on the Dvaravati:Early Buddhist Kingdom in Central Thailand, she showed a piece of sculpture that combined the vehicles of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma called Vanaspati. If one did not realize the influence of India on Buddhism I doubt whether this piece could adequately be identified. To me this was a very important insight because today many people do not realized the origins of Ganesh, the four faced Brahma, and many other Hindu deities that have been absorbed into Thai Buddhism.
The thrust of the seminar was to develop a Thai Cultural Center in India. However, concern was voiced by several of the scholars as how the heritage which India and Thailand share will be presented to the public within the confines of the cultural center.
There is no question as to the influence India has had on the art and language of Thailand. Thailand on the other hand has been able to nuture and develop Buddhism for over the last 800 years.
Dr. Basa brought up a point concerning the iconography incorporated by Thai artisans in their temple architecture. Dr. Basa was concerned that the dominant Buddhist culture in Thailand could give the impression that India's contribution would not be effectively communicated in the proposed Thai Cultural Center.
In the inaugural comments by Mr. Piyawat Niyomrerks, Deputy Permanent Scretary, Ministry of Foriegn Affairs, indicated that if there is no attempt to convey the ideas that are embedded in the symbolism and language of both India and Thailand then the historical and cultural linkage between the two nations will be lost forever. Therefore, the syncretism which has already taken place, whereby the art, language and architecture of India is incorporated into Thai Buddhism will be impossible to see unless these historical roots are preserved and presented properly. Consequently, these are very important considerations when showcasing the Thai Culture in India with a Thai Cultural Center.
Another observation I made at the seminar was the preponderance of emphasizing Lord Buddha. Buddhist thinking has become a unique form of a peaceful and compassionate way of action that is spreading throughout the world. The vipassana meditation expounded by Lord Buddha and popularized by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu has become world renown. In listening to the scholars indicating the worship of Shiva and Vishnu and Brahma all the way up to the 13th century and perhaps even further within SE Asia, I was struck over the fact that the expression of any worship to the ancient gods was absent from the papers in the seminar. Perhaps this was why Dr. Basra had expressed his concerns over how the syncretism of Hinduism and Buddhism is expressed at the Thai Cultural Center.
It has been mentioned in many of the papers that were published in a book from the first seminar that Brahmanical ceremonies are conducted for the King as was evident in King Bhumibol's 60th Anniversay of his Accession to the Throne. It was at this ceremony that the Brahman priests chanted all the mantras to honor all the past Kings of Thailand.
The glorious temples throughout SE Asia which were built to honor the Hindu gods of the holy Hindu trinity testifies to the devotion bestowed upon these deities. Having said that, and having seen how much the teaching of Lord Buddha was expressed by Dr. R. Panth, Dr. Charan Thongkasem and Dr. Sachidanand Sahai I feel that more representation is necessary concerning the Hindu deities and not just the archaeological artefacts which have been discovered and placed in museums. The Gita, where Krishna speaks to Arjuna on the Kurusetra plains during the Mahabharata war, is considered to be "Gods Song", and it too should be given a proper place in the cultural center.
Perhaps the chantings which are done at Buddhist ceremonies could be heard in the cultural center as well as showing their Hindu origins as is done today with other arts forms such as dance and sculpture. In other words, if all Thai cultural influences are shown to have their roots in ancient India, then I would think more aspects of those Indian roots should be showcased at the Thai Cultural Center. However, as an amatuer researcher speaking, I would have to assume these expressed concerns have been considered deeply by the organizers for the new Thai Cultural Center in New Delhi,India.
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Other perspectives on art and architecture: