The Dhammakāya Verse: A Lan Na Thai Manuscript : หน้า 100/141

The Dhammakāya Verse: a Lan Na Thai manuscript Kitchai Urkasem This article is a report on research undertaken with the support of the 60th Dhamma chai Education Foundation (DEF) on a palm leaf manuscript titled Dhamma kāya from the Lan Na region of northern Thailand. This manuscript is undated, but archaeological evidence from Phitsanulok and a gold-plated inscription deposited in Wat Chetupon during the reign of Rama I shows that the concept of the Dhamma body of the Buddha, or dhammakāya, that is expounded in this manuscript has been an important part of Thai Buddhism since the 16th century. In this article the Dhamma kāya verse contained in the Lan Na manuscript is analysed, and a transliteration and translation of the Dhamma kāya verse into Pāli, Central Thai and English is presented. The Manuscript The palm-leaf manuscript titled Dhamma kāya consists of a single bundle (phūk, ผูก) of ten palm-leaves (bai lan ใบลาน). The manuscript is kept in the library of the monastery of Wat Pasak Noi, Amphoe San Kamphaeng, Changwat Chiang Mai. This manuscript was microfilmed in 1979 by the Institute of Social research, Chiang Mai University, and given the identification number 79 029 11 027-029. There is no trace of a date on the manuscript. ¹ Kitchai Urkasem (Chulalongkorn University, Northern Arizona University, Ramkhamhaeng University, Sukhothai Thammathirat University) is an academic member of the 60th Dhamma chai Education Foundation of New Zealand and Australia (DEF). He currently resident in Bangkok, Thailand where he works on Lan Na manuscripts. ² This text was published (in Pāli) by George Coedès in Adyar Library Bulletin, vol. 29, 1956, 248-286. ³ Between 1978-2002 the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), an autonomous institution attached to Chiang Mai University, surveyed and documented thousands of Lan Na manuscripts and inscriptions; this manuscript is part of their collection.