ABSTRACT
The purposes of this thesis entitled ‘ An Analytical Study of influence of Phra Malai Sutta towards Buddhists in Kung Taphao Sub-district, Muang district, Uttaradit Province’ were 1 ) to study of Phra Malai Sutta in Theravada Buddhist scripture 2) to study of Dhamma principles appeared in the Theravada Phra Malai Sutta and 3) to study of the effect of Theravada Phra Malai Sutta towards Buddhists in Kung Taphao sub-district. This was a qualitative research which was focused on the information from the scriptures in Buddhism, documents, research papers, academic articles related with Phra Malai Sutta and the in-depth interview. Buddhists living in Kung Taphao sub-district, Muang district, Uttaradit province were used as the sample group for interviewing.
From studying through the documents, it was found that Phra Malai Sutta was a story about a monk, being an Arahant named Phra Malai who lived in the Kambojagama RohanaJonapada village in a country named Lanka Davipa He had so substantially supernatural power that he could open the inferno’s and the heaven’s gate and then went into the inferno land to visit the hell animals and brought many news and information from there to the humans on earth to know. Also, Phra Malai had flew up to the Tavatimsa heaven and paid a homage to Maha Culamani Cetiya a sacred place where the Buddha’s tooth was kept, and met Indra and Metteyya Bodhisatta. Phra Malai had retold all the matters where he found both in the inferno and in the heaven to preach over the human beings on earth to listen. He had instilled human beings to be afraid of sin, always Practising donation, morality and meditation and all these acts would enable human beings to be born in the era of Metteyya Bodhisatta
Phra Malai Sutta contained a lot of Dhamma principles in Buddhism for the Buddhist to study and follow, teaching us to know about alms giving, Sila observation, meditation practice, living with carefulness, doing good things, knowing gratefulness to the parents. These Dhamma principles were noble codes of practice in which those who follow would be prosperous and happy and the society would be in peace. The samples of these Dhamma principles included The FivePrecepts, The Five Dhammas Five, The Seven Vattapadas The Seven Noble Treasvres, The Ten Perfections, and so on.
In addition, Phra Malai Sutta did not only teach the Buddhists to forsake from doing bad things and to do good things, but it also stayed influential in mind of Buddhists in Kung Taphao, Muang district, and a lot of more Thai people. This was because every human being needed to have happy, comfortable life, so they did everything they needed just to seek happiness for themselves. In particular, the idealistic belief about Metteyya Bodhisatta and the faith in the preaching words of Phra Malai about the inferno and the heaven highly influenced on the Buddhists in Kung Taphao Sub-district, Muang district, Uttaradit Province in several aspects which included arts and cultures, traditions and customs, the people’s belief as well as the economy.
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