Abstract

This thesis aimed to (1) study the content of Nemiraja Jataka, (2) study the resolutions in Nemiraja Jataka, and (3) study Dhamma that supports resolutions made in Nemiraja Jataka. Results of the study were summarized below.

Content : King Nemiraja who made the resolutions (in Nemiraja Jataka) had a son named Nemikumara, an heir to the Throne of Mithila. Prince Nemikumara had his heart set on charitable activities since he was in his early childhood. He also observed the eight precepts in a rigid manner. Then, when King Nemiraja was getting old and at the retirement age, he crowned his son, Prince Nemirajakumara,  an heir to the Throne, bestowing  on him all the palaces and royal property. The king then started his serious involvements in religious activities and practicing Dhamma by  being ordained as a monk and observing precepts until his death. With his ascension to the Throne, King Nemirajakumara ordered the setting up of four alms houses at the gates of the city and one alms house in the center of the city. The new king made constant donations, offered alms to the poor and the religious holy men, observed precepts, and instructed his subjects in morality and ethics; and his subjects were so moral-and-ethical minded that there was no violence and crime during his reign. The content of Nemiraja Jataka, therefore, was devoted to the conduct and observance of charity resolutions made by King Nemirajakumara who aspired to become a Bodhisatta or a would-be Buddha in his next life; after he died, he was reborn in Brahmaloka, a higher plane of divine existence.

Resolution Principle Found in Nemiraja Jataka: It was found that the conduct of Bodhisatva’s resolutions; it was just one of the Ten Great Births of the Buddha. When considering the content of Nemiraja Jataka, it was also found that the resolution foundation derived from the Bodhisatva’s strong determination to make donations, observe precepts, and practice meditation. It could then be said that resolutions were very essential to the practice of Bhramajaraya or chastity.

Dhamma that supports the resolutions made in Namiraja Jataka: It was found that King Nemiraja, in his resolutions to become the Buddha in the future,  had constantly followed and practiced Dhamma, and the Dhamma that supported the resolutions made in Nemiraja Jataka consisted of  Three Objects of Virtues (Bunyakiriyavatthu 3), Seven Qualities of Virtuous People (Sappurisadham 7), Ten Virtues for The King (Tasapitrajadhamma 10), Four Pathways of Success (Itthipada 4), Four Divine Abodes (Bhrahamaviharadham 4), and Four Bases of Resolutions (Athithanadham 4). It is then necessary for Thai society to study and understand the exemplary deeds made by King Nemiraja in Nemiraja Jataka in order to understand Buddhism correctly and pave the way to a higher level of insights and enlightenment.

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