Buddhism in Laos
Encyclopedia
Buddhism
is the primary religion of Laos
. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada
tradition. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture
. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist
beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits, particularly in rural areas.
The percentage of the population that adheres to Buddhism in modern Laos is variously reported, the CIA World Factbook estimates 65% of the total population have taken refuge in the Three Jewels
. The creation of accurate estimates of the number of Buddhists in Laos is complicated by the paucity of information made available by the Laotian government, and the close connection between Buddhist and animist practices in Laos could make the numbers of nominal adherents of both Buddhism-Animism as much higher as over 90% because these traditions have influenced on mostly Lao people
. It is still exclusive significant numbers of Chinese
or Vietnamese
Mahayana Buddhists.
. During the 7th Century, tantric
Buddhism was also introduced to Laos from the kingdom of Nan-chao, an ethnically Tai kingdom centered in modern day Yunnan
, China. The Nan-chao kingdom also likely introduced the political ideology of the king as defender and protector of Buddhism, an important ideological tie between the monarchy and the sangha in much of Southeast Asia.
During the 11th & 12th Century, Khmer
rulers took control of Muang Sua
, the historical region of the kingdom of Luang Prabang
in northern Laos. During this period, Mahayana
Buddhism replaced Theravada Buddhism as the dominant religious ideology of the ruling classes.
Historically, the Lao state is regarded as beginning in 1353 CE with the coronation of Fa Ngum
at Luang Prabang. Fa Ngum brought his Khmer
Theravada teacher with him to act as adviser and head priest of the new kingdom. This Khmer monk named Phramaha Pasaman also brought to the kingdom a revered image of the Buddha that became known as the Phra Bang
, the namesake of the city of Luang Prabang and the symbol of the Lao kingdom. Subsequent alliances with Burma and Thailand helped cement the primacy of Theravada Buddhism in the Laotian kingdom. Faced with rugged, isolating geography and the absence of a strong central government, Theravada Buddhism became one of the primary unifying features of Lao culture.
During the 1920s, the administration of Buddhism in Laos was reorganized by Prince Phetsarath, who established a system of schools for providing instruction to the Lao clergy.
, the communist government of Laos has not sought to oppose or suppress Buddhism in Laos to any great degree. Rather, since the early days of the Pathet Lao, communist officials have sought to use the influence and respect afforded to Buddhist clergy to achieve political goals, while discouraging religious practices seen as detrimental to Marxist aims.
Starting as early as the late 1950s, members of the Pathet Lao sought to encourage support for the Communist cause by aligning members of the Lao sangha
with the Communist opposition. Though resisted by the Royal Lao Government, these efforts were fairly successful, and resulted in increased support for the Pathet Lao
, particularly in rural communities.
Following the Pathet Lao's ascension to control of the government in 1975, efforts to link Buddhism and Communism in the popular imagination continued, with the government stressing the fundamental similarities of Buddhist and Communist views with regard to equality and material possessions, while simultaneously discouraging religious practices seen as wasteful or otherwise at odds with Communist doctrine- such as the donation of large sums to monastic institutions. Traditional donations of food to monks were curtailed, and replaced with a government rice ration. In response to this and other government policies limiting the traditional role of Buddhist monks in village life, the number of monks in Laos declined during the late 1970s as new ordinations declined, combined by an exodus of monks either fleeing to neighboring Thailand or leaving the sangha and returning to lay life.
Senior clergy, such as the sangharaja
, were forbidden by the government to preach. Lower clergy were allowed to preach to the public, but their sermons were often taped or otherwise monitored by government officials to ensure that they didn't use their position as a platform for agitating against the government. As a result, in 1979, the Sangharaja of Laos, Venerable Thammayano, fled to Thailand by floating across the Mekong on a raft of inflated car inner tubes.
After 1979, government policy regarding Buddhism began to liberalize, resulting in a gradual resurgence of Buddhist institutions and practices. Party officials are no longer barred from participation in religious services, and may even undergo temporary ordination. Buddhist schools in urban areas continued to teach Buddhist doctrine to monks and laity, albeit with a political bent to their doctrine. Ordinations- both temporary and permanent- have increased, primarily in Vientiene and the Mekong River region. Lao monks are required to do productive work, with most working as teachers and physicians. The curriculum they teach- which includes basic literacy and Lao history- as well as the medicine they practice (Western medicine and traditional herbal remedies have replaced the sale of blessed amulets and other spiritualist cures) are controlled by the government.
Communist reform of the Lao sangha has been variously praised and criticized by outside observers, with supporters seeing it as a significant achievement in modernizing and reforming a traditional institution, and opponents criticizing the co-opting of Buddhist clergy to serve political ends.
, or temple, for at least a short period of time. Many men also become monks for the rest of their lives. Most people donate food to the monks to gain merit and improve their karma
. The temples of Laos were once seen as "Universities" for monks. Lao monks are highly respected and revered in Lao communities. Based on
Laotian Buddhism, the women of Laos are taught that they can only attain nirvana
after they have been reborn as men.
, Wat Sisakhet, Wat Xieng Thong
, and That Dam
are all Buddhist structures in Laos. Lao
Buddhism is also famous for images of the Buddha performing uniquely Lao mudras, or gestures, such as calling for rain, and striking uniquely Lao poses such as showing the Buddha lying down and welcoming death
, after which he would achieve Nirvana
.
, instead of having Rama
portrayed as an incarnation
of Vishnu
, Rama is an incarnation of the Buddha. Lao people have also written many versions of the Jataka Tales.
An interesting description of sacred caves in Southeast Asia and their role in Buddhist practice can be found here: Sacred caves in Southeast Asia
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
is the primary religion of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. The Buddhism practiced in Laos is of the Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
tradition. Lao Buddhism is a unique version of Theravada Buddhism and is at the basis of Lao culture
Culture of Laos
Laos has its own distinct culture. Through Theravada Buddhism it has influences from India and has also influences from China. These influences are reflected throughout Laos in its language as well as in art, literature and the performing arts....
. Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits, particularly in rural areas.
The percentage of the population that adheres to Buddhism in modern Laos is variously reported, the CIA World Factbook estimates 65% of the total population have taken refuge in the Three Jewels
Refuge (Buddhism)
Buddhists "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This can be done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The Three Jewels general signification is: * the Buddha;* the Dharma, the teachings;...
. The creation of accurate estimates of the number of Buddhists in Laos is complicated by the paucity of information made available by the Laotian government, and the close connection between Buddhist and animist practices in Laos could make the numbers of nominal adherents of both Buddhism-Animism as much higher as over 90% because these traditions have influenced on mostly Lao people
Lao people
The Lao are an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia.-Names:The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the Ai Lao who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunan Province...
. It is still exclusive significant numbers of Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
or Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
Mahayana Buddhists.
History
Theravada Buddhism is believed to have first reached Laos during the 7th - 8th Centuries CE, via the kingdom of DvaravatiDvaravati
The Dvaravati period lasted from the 6th to the 13th centuries. Dvaravati refers to both a culture and a disparate conglomerate of principalities.- History :...
. During the 7th Century, tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
Buddhism was also introduced to Laos from the kingdom of Nan-chao, an ethnically Tai kingdom centered in modern day Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, China. The Nan-chao kingdom also likely introduced the political ideology of the king as defender and protector of Buddhism, an important ideological tie between the monarchy and the sangha in much of Southeast Asia.
During the 11th & 12th Century, Khmer
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
rulers took control of Muang Sua
Muang Sua
Muang Sua was the name of Luang Phrabang following its conquest in 698 by a Tai prince, Khun Lo, who seized his opportunity when the king of Nanzhao was engaged elsewhere. Khun Lo had been awarded the town by his father, Khun Borom, who is associated with the Lao legend of the creation of the...
, the historical region of the kingdom of Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
in northern Laos. During this period, Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhism replaced Theravada Buddhism as the dominant religious ideology of the ruling classes.
Historically, the Lao state is regarded as beginning in 1353 CE with the coronation of Fa Ngum
Fa Ngum
Somdetch Brhat-Anya Fa Ladhuraniya Sri Sadhana Kanayudha Maharaja Brhat Rajadharana Sri Chudhana Negara better known as Fa Ngum established the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang in 1354....
at Luang Prabang. Fa Ngum brought his Khmer
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
Theravada teacher with him to act as adviser and head priest of the new kingdom. This Khmer monk named Phramaha Pasaman also brought to the kingdom a revered image of the Buddha that became known as the Phra Bang
Phra Bang
The Phra Bang ," Lao ພະ + ບາງ) is the palladium of Laos. The Lao-language name for the image has been transliterated in a number of ways, including "Pra Bang," "Prabang," "Phabang" and "Pha Bang." The statue is an 83cm-high standing Buddha with palms facing forward, cast in bronze and covered in...
, the namesake of the city of Luang Prabang and the symbol of the Lao kingdom. Subsequent alliances with Burma and Thailand helped cement the primacy of Theravada Buddhism in the Laotian kingdom. Faced with rugged, isolating geography and the absence of a strong central government, Theravada Buddhism became one of the primary unifying features of Lao culture.
During the 1920s, the administration of Buddhism in Laos was reorganized by Prince Phetsarath, who established a system of schools for providing instruction to the Lao clergy.
Buddhism and the Pathet Lao
In contrast with the brutal repression of the sangha undertaken in CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, the communist government of Laos has not sought to oppose or suppress Buddhism in Laos to any great degree. Rather, since the early days of the Pathet Lao, communist officials have sought to use the influence and respect afforded to Buddhist clergy to achieve political goals, while discouraging religious practices seen as detrimental to Marxist aims.
Starting as early as the late 1950s, members of the Pathet Lao sought to encourage support for the Communist cause by aligning members of the Lao sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
with the Communist opposition. Though resisted by the Royal Lao Government, these efforts were fairly successful, and resulted in increased support for the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
, particularly in rural communities.
Following the Pathet Lao's ascension to control of the government in 1975, efforts to link Buddhism and Communism in the popular imagination continued, with the government stressing the fundamental similarities of Buddhist and Communist views with regard to equality and material possessions, while simultaneously discouraging religious practices seen as wasteful or otherwise at odds with Communist doctrine- such as the donation of large sums to monastic institutions. Traditional donations of food to monks were curtailed, and replaced with a government rice ration. In response to this and other government policies limiting the traditional role of Buddhist monks in village life, the number of monks in Laos declined during the late 1970s as new ordinations declined, combined by an exodus of monks either fleeing to neighboring Thailand or leaving the sangha and returning to lay life.
Senior clergy, such as the sangharaja
Sangharaja
Sangharaja is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity , or of the Sangha throughout the country...
, were forbidden by the government to preach. Lower clergy were allowed to preach to the public, but their sermons were often taped or otherwise monitored by government officials to ensure that they didn't use their position as a platform for agitating against the government. As a result, in 1979, the Sangharaja of Laos, Venerable Thammayano, fled to Thailand by floating across the Mekong on a raft of inflated car inner tubes.
After 1979, government policy regarding Buddhism began to liberalize, resulting in a gradual resurgence of Buddhist institutions and practices. Party officials are no longer barred from participation in religious services, and may even undergo temporary ordination. Buddhist schools in urban areas continued to teach Buddhist doctrine to monks and laity, albeit with a political bent to their doctrine. Ordinations- both temporary and permanent- have increased, primarily in Vientiene and the Mekong River region. Lao monks are required to do productive work, with most working as teachers and physicians. The curriculum they teach- which includes basic literacy and Lao history- as well as the medicine they practice (Western medicine and traditional herbal remedies have replaced the sale of blessed amulets and other spiritualist cures) are controlled by the government.
Communist reform of the Lao sangha has been variously praised and criticized by outside observers, with supporters seeing it as a significant achievement in modernizing and reforming a traditional institution, and opponents criticizing the co-opting of Buddhist clergy to serve political ends.
Buddhism in Laotian Culture
Lao Buddhist are very devout and almost every Lao man joins a monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, or temple, for at least a short period of time. Many men also become monks for the rest of their lives. Most people donate food to the monks to gain merit and improve their karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
. The temples of Laos were once seen as "Universities" for monks. Lao monks are highly respected and revered in Lao communities. Based on
Laotian Buddhism, the women of Laos are taught that they can only attain nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
after they have been reborn as men.
Art and Architecture
The Pha That LuangPha That Luang
Pha That Luang is a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of Vientiane, Laos. Since its initial establishment suggested to be in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions until the 1930s due to foreign invasions to the area...
, Wat Sisakhet, Wat Xieng Thong
Wat Xieng Thong
Wat Xieng Thong is a Buddhist temple , located on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Phrabang, Laos.-History:It was built in 1560 by King Setthathirath and was under royal patronage during the Kingdom of Laos. Like the royal palace, the wat was placed near the mekong. In 1880, the Tripitaka...
, and That Dam
That Dam
The That Dam is a large stupa in Vientiane, Laos. Many Laotians believe it is inhabited by a seven headed nāga who tried to protect them from the armies of Siam, who invaded in 1827. It is also known as the Black Stupa, the English translation of the Lao name "That Dam"....
are all Buddhist structures in Laos. Lao
Lao people
The Lao are an ethnic subgroup of Tai/Dai in Southeast Asia.-Names:The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the Ai Lao who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunan Province...
Buddhism is also famous for images of the Buddha performing uniquely Lao mudras, or gestures, such as calling for rain, and striking uniquely Lao poses such as showing the Buddha lying down and welcoming death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, after which he would achieve Nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
.
Literature
In the Pra Lak Pra Lam, the Lao RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, instead of having Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
portrayed as an incarnation
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
, Rama is an incarnation of the Buddha. Lao people have also written many versions of the Jataka Tales.
External links
An interesting ethnographic documentary by Patrice Ladwig and Gregory Kourilsky, Caring for the Beyond: Two Lao Buddhist Festivals for the Deceased can be down loaded here: Bristol University Death Ritual Project.An interesting description of sacred caves in Southeast Asia and their role in Buddhist practice can be found here: Sacred caves in Southeast Asia