Vajirananavarorasa
Encyclopedia
Vajirananavarorasa (April 12, 1860, Bangkok, Thailand - August 2, 1921, Bangkok, Thailand) was the 10th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
from 1910 to 1921 . He helped to institutionalize Thai Buddhism.
Vajirañana was the 47th child of King Mongkut
and was destined to become "the leading intellectual of his generation in Siam", in the words of the Thai historian David K. Wyatt
(cited in Reynolds 1979:xiii). His royal name was Prince Manuṣyanāgamānob (พระองค์เจ้ามนุษยนาคมานพ) ('he who is a nāga among men') . Vajirañāṇavarorasa is the name he received on a gold nameplate together with the krommamuen rank on 16 March 1882.
In the palace he learned the Siamese alphabet by a woman ("Nok Panakngan"). A nobleman (Phraya Pariyatidharrmadhātā, "Piam", then called Luang Rājābhirama), deputy head of the Royal Pundits Department, came to the Palace to teach the seven or eight year old Vajirañana (and other princes) the Khmer script used to inscribe religious texts (in Pali). With a teacher who was official at the Outer Court, Vajirañana studied Padamālā (i.e. Pali grammar), the Dhammapada commentary etc. until 1868. When his elder brother, Prince Brahmavarānurakṣa, ordained as a novice, Vajirañana was allowed to live with him in Wat Pavaraniveśa
for some while. There he occasionally studied Pali scripture with Phra Pariyatidharrmadhātā ("Chang", then Luang Śrīvaravohāra), one of the four section chiefs in the Royal Pundits Department, who taught monks and novices at the monastery.
After his father had died in 1868 and his elder half brother Chulalongkorn had come to the throne, Vajirañana was back at the palace, receiving more education from his foster aunt, Princess Varaseṭhasutā. With her he practised reading and writing Siamese, and he was taught verse forms, Siamese arithmetic, and astrology.
King Chulalongkorn founded an English medium school on the palace ground and hired the Englishman Francis George Patterson for providing Western education. When the school first opened in 1872, Vajirañana began to study there. Patterson instructed the brothers of the king in the morning and the boys from the Royal Pages' Bodyguard Regiment in the afternoon. Patterson could not speak Siamese, and he used European textbooks, teaching English and French (reading, writing and speaking), mathematics and also some European history and geography. Vajirañana and Prince Damrong Rajanubhab
were the most diligent of Patterson's students. Vajirañana continued the education with Patterson until 1875.
With 13 years Vajirañana ordained as a novice for 78 days (on 7 August 1873), with Prince Pavareś (สมเด็จพระมหาสมณเจ้า กรมพระยาปวเรศวริยาลงกรณ์, "Prince Roek" ฤกษ์, 1809–1892) as his preceptor. As a novice, he lived in Wat Pavaraniveśa
, in a small residence known as the printshop: His father, King Mongkut, once had lived there as a monk and had printed his Ariyaka script there.
After having disrobed from his novicehood, Vajirañana got his first bigger amount of money to spend and discovered the world of consume. But in 1876, he met the young (between 25 and 30) Scottish physician Dr. Peter Gowan. Dr. Gowan taught him English here and then and a little about medicine, and he had a big influence on Vajirañana's life conduct (stop smoking, drinking and some prodigal or even dissolute habits). Getting more and more attracted to the monastery, Vajirañana went to visit his uncle, the then Supreme Patriarch
Prince Pavareś. By him, Vajirañana was given instruction in poetry, astrology, and Buddhist scripture in 1876. He learned some additional astrology (i.e. how to do calendars) from two other teachers, Khun Debyākaraṇa ("That") and "Pia" (Phrakrupalat Suvaḍhanasutaguṇa at Wat Rājapratiṣṭha). Under the guidance of Prince Pavareś, Vajirañana also took up the study of Dhamma. He also invited one of his former Pali teachers, Phra Pariyatidharrmadhātā ("Chang"), to come to the monastery to instruct him in Pali again.
Vajirañana has always been very critical about the methods by which students learned Pali and would later rewrite the texts for Pali studies.
Although Vajirañana frequented the monastery, he could not yet decide himself to become a monk. From 12 July 1877, he also worked as a legal secretary for King Chulalongkorn for two years. King Chulalongkorn needed a reliable person such as Vajirañana in the Sangha
, and he tried to persuade him to remain in the monkhood after he would have ordained as a monk according to the custom. Vajirañana was not yet sure, but he promised that if he were to disrobe he would do so at the end of the first Rains. If he lasted beyond that he would not disrobe. King Chulalongkorn then promised him to confer on him a princely rank and title if he remained in the monkhood for three Rains. (The King kept his promise by doing so in 1882.)
Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
from 1910 to 1921 . He helped to institutionalize Thai Buddhism.
Vajirañana was the 47th child of King Mongkut
Mongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
and was destined to become "the leading intellectual of his generation in Siam", in the words of the Thai historian David K. Wyatt
David K. Wyatt
David K. Wyatt was an American historian and author who studied Thailand. He taught at Cornell University from 1969-2002, where he became the Chair of the Cornell University Department of History. His book Thailand: A Short History has become the chief authority on Thai history in the English...
(cited in Reynolds 1979:xiii). His royal name was Prince Manuṣyanāgamānob (พระองค์เจ้ามนุษยนาคมานพ) ('he who is a nāga among men') . Vajirañāṇavarorasa is the name he received on a gold nameplate together with the krommamuen rank on 16 March 1882.
Childhood and Early Education
Vajirañana was born in the Grand Palace as the 4th child of Phae, one of King Mongkut's concubines. She died after giving birth to her fifth child, a daughter, when he was one year old. He was then fostered by a maternal relative (Princess Varaseṭhasutā, "Putrī", daughter of King Rama III) and her mother (a royal concubine named Samaśakti or "Ueng").In the palace he learned the Siamese alphabet by a woman ("Nok Panakngan"). A nobleman (Phraya Pariyatidharrmadhātā, "Piam", then called Luang Rājābhirama), deputy head of the Royal Pundits Department, came to the Palace to teach the seven or eight year old Vajirañana (and other princes) the Khmer script used to inscribe religious texts (in Pali). With a teacher who was official at the Outer Court, Vajirañana studied Padamālā (i.e. Pali grammar), the Dhammapada commentary etc. until 1868. When his elder brother, Prince Brahmavarānurakṣa, ordained as a novice, Vajirañana was allowed to live with him in Wat Pavaraniveśa
Wat Bowonniwet
Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Rajavaravihara is a major Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya school of Thai Theravada Buddhism and has been a major temple of patronage for the Chakri dynasty. It is the shrine-hall of Phra...
for some while. There he occasionally studied Pali scripture with Phra Pariyatidharrmadhātā ("Chang", then Luang Śrīvaravohāra), one of the four section chiefs in the Royal Pundits Department, who taught monks and novices at the monastery.
After his father had died in 1868 and his elder half brother Chulalongkorn had come to the throne, Vajirañana was back at the palace, receiving more education from his foster aunt, Princess Varaseṭhasutā. With her he practised reading and writing Siamese, and he was taught verse forms, Siamese arithmetic, and astrology.
King Chulalongkorn founded an English medium school on the palace ground and hired the Englishman Francis George Patterson for providing Western education. When the school first opened in 1872, Vajirañana began to study there. Patterson instructed the brothers of the king in the morning and the boys from the Royal Pages' Bodyguard Regiment in the afternoon. Patterson could not speak Siamese, and he used European textbooks, teaching English and French (reading, writing and speaking), mathematics and also some European history and geography. Vajirañana and Prince Damrong Rajanubhab
Damrong Rajanubhab
Ditsawarakuman Damrong Rajanubhab was the founder of the modern Thai education system as well as the modern provincial administration...
were the most diligent of Patterson's students. Vajirañana continued the education with Patterson until 1875.
With 13 years Vajirañana ordained as a novice for 78 days (on 7 August 1873), with Prince Pavareś (สมเด็จพระมหาสมณเจ้า กรมพระยาปวเรศวริยาลงกรณ์, "Prince Roek" ฤกษ์, 1809–1892) as his preceptor. As a novice, he lived in Wat Pavaraniveśa
Wat Bowonniwet
Wat Bowonniwet Vihara Rajavaravihara is a major Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya school of Thai Theravada Buddhism and has been a major temple of patronage for the Chakri dynasty. It is the shrine-hall of Phra...
, in a small residence known as the printshop: His father, King Mongkut, once had lived there as a monk and had printed his Ariyaka script there.
After having disrobed from his novicehood, Vajirañana got his first bigger amount of money to spend and discovered the world of consume. But in 1876, he met the young (between 25 and 30) Scottish physician Dr. Peter Gowan. Dr. Gowan taught him English here and then and a little about medicine, and he had a big influence on Vajirañana's life conduct (stop smoking, drinking and some prodigal or even dissolute habits). Getting more and more attracted to the monastery, Vajirañana went to visit his uncle, the then Supreme Patriarch
Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
Prince Pavareś. By him, Vajirañana was given instruction in poetry, astrology, and Buddhist scripture in 1876. He learned some additional astrology (i.e. how to do calendars) from two other teachers, Khun Debyākaraṇa ("That") and "Pia" (Phrakrupalat Suvaḍhanasutaguṇa at Wat Rājapratiṣṭha). Under the guidance of Prince Pavareś, Vajirañana also took up the study of Dhamma. He also invited one of his former Pali teachers, Phra Pariyatidharrmadhātā ("Chang"), to come to the monastery to instruct him in Pali again.
Vajirañana has always been very critical about the methods by which students learned Pali and would later rewrite the texts for Pali studies.
Although Vajirañana frequented the monastery, he could not yet decide himself to become a monk. From 12 July 1877, he also worked as a legal secretary for King Chulalongkorn for two years. King Chulalongkorn needed a reliable person such as Vajirañana in the 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...
, and he tried to persuade him to remain in the monkhood after he would have ordained as a monk according to the custom. Vajirañana was not yet sure, but he promised that if he were to disrobe he would do so at the end of the first Rains. If he lasted beyond that he would not disrobe. King Chulalongkorn then promised him to confer on him a princely rank and title if he remained in the monkhood for three Rains. (The King kept his promise by doing so in 1882.)
Ordination and Early Years in the Sangha, 1879-1892
- On 27 June 1879, Vajirañana received his full ordination as a monk in the Royal Chapel with Prince Pavareś (aged 71) as his preceptor. Another senior monk, Phra Candragocaraguṇa (Candrarańsī), abbot of Wat Makuṭakṣatriya, assisted in the ceremony (as kammavācācariya).
- After the ordination ceremony, Vajirañana spent the first Rains in Wat PavaraniveśaWat BowonniwetWat Bowonniwet Vihara Rajavaravihara is a major Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya school of Thai Theravada Buddhism and has been a major temple of patronage for the Chakri dynasty. It is the shrine-hall of Phra...
studying Pali (e.g. with the Dhammapada commentary) and Buddhist scripture . One of his former Pali teachers, Phra Pariyatidharrmadhātā ("Chang") was his teacher.
- After the Rains, in November 1879, Vajirañana moved to Wat Makuṭakṣatriya (then called Wat Nāmabaññati). There he studied Pali (the Mańgalatthadīpanī) under Chaokhun Phra Brahmamunī (Kittisāra).
- On 3 January 1880, Vajirañana was reordinated in the orthodox Dhammayuttika manner on a raft, Chaokhun Dharrmatrailoka (Ṭhānacāra) being his preceptor. He continued to live in Wat Makuṭakṣatriya as a pupil and personal attendant of Phra Candragocaraguṇa, and as a Pali student of Phra Brahmamunī.
- On 25 December 1881, Vajirañana began his Pali exam, the supreme patriarch being his examiner.
The Middle Years, 1892-1910
- In 1892, Prince Pavareś died. Vajirañana became his successor as abbot of Wat PavaraniveśaWat BowonniwetWat Bowonniwet Vihara Rajavaravihara is a major Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. The temple is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya school of Thai Theravada Buddhism and has been a major temple of patronage for the Chakri dynasty. It is the shrine-hall of Phra...
and as the patriarch of the Dhammayuttika order, while Sa PussadevoAriyavangsagatayana, 9th Supreme Patriarch of ThailandSomdet Phra Ariyavangsagatayana Somdet Phra Sangharaja was the 9th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand 1893–1899. He was born in 1812 in the Nonthaburi Province as Sa Pussadeva. Prior to becoming supreme patriarch, he was a monk of the Rajapradit Temple...
became the new Supreme PatriarchSupreme Patriarch of ThailandThe Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
.
- On 1 October 1893, the Mahāmakuṭa Royal AcademyMahamakut Buddhist UniversityMahamakut Buddhist University or MBU is one of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. Founded in 1893 as an educational institute for monks, by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his late father King Mongkut...
(Mahamakut Buddhist University) was opened. Vajirañana now could carry out his reforms concerning the study of Pali and the Dhamma. Vajirañana wrote a Pali grammar and several textbooks. He also designed the university's curriculum. It consisted of secular subjects such as reading and writing Siamese, history, and some science beside religious studies and the preparation for the Pali exam, as the new academy also served the purpose of training monks to become teachers. In 1898, King Chulalongkorn ordered Prince DamrongDamrong RajanubhabDitsawarakuman Damrong Rajanubhab was the founder of the modern Thai education system as well as the modern provincial administration...
and Vajirañana to find a possible solution for providing the whole country with a primary education. Due to the lack of money the solution was to let the educated monks be the teachers of the villages in the outer provinces. (This plan, however, was not further pursued after 1902.)
- In 1894, Vajirañana opened the first Buddhist journal in Siam, the Dhammacakṣu ('Eye of DhammaDharma (Buddhism)Dhamma or Dharma in Buddhism can have the following meanings:* The state of Nature as it is * The Laws of Nature considered collectively....
'). It contained news of the academy, articles on Buddhism, and sermons.
- While the Mahāmakuṭa Royal AcademyMahamakut Buddhist UniversityMahamakut Buddhist University or MBU is one of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. Founded in 1893 as an educational institute for monks, by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his late father King Mongkut...
belonged to the Dhammayuttika order, King Chulalongkorn also strengthened the school of the MahānikāyaMaha Nikaya"Maha Nikaya" refers to one of the two principal sects of modern Thai Buddhism. The other principle sect is Dhammayuttika Nikaya...
order in the Wat MahādhātuWat Mahathat, BangkokWat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara ) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of the 10 royal temples of the highest class in Bangkok.-History:Built during Ayutthaya period, the temple was then known as Wat Salak...
which in 1896 became the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya UniversityMahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya UniversityMahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University or MCU is one of two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. It is located at Wat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara in Bangkok.- History :...
. The Sangha unity was also strengthened by the decision to hold the Pali examination in two sets: one at Mahamakuta Academy, where Vajirañana's new curriculum and a written examination format would be used, and one at the Grand Palace chapel, where the traditional oral translations would be heard.
- The First Sangha Act of 1902 established a new administration of the Sangha in the whole country. (...)
- In 1906 King Chulalongkorn raised Vajirañana's princely rank to krommaluang, although it was not royal custom to promote prince-monks until they reached advanced age. But Vajirañana should not be at a disadvantage in comparison with his brothers.
- From 1900 to 1910 the position of Supreme Patriarch of ThailandSupreme Patriarch of ThailandThe Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
remained vacant. Reynolds speculates that King Chulalongkorn didn't want to appoint a successor to the 9th Patriarch because a senior monk might have been too conservative to support the ongoing reforms, and Vajirañana might have been still too young to be able to assert his reforms against the will of the conservative senior monks.
The Later Years, 1910-1921
- After the accession of the throne by King VajiravudhVajiravudhPhra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Phra Bat Somdet Phra Ramathibodi Si Sintharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VI was the sixth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1910 until his death...
in 1910, Vajirañana was appointed Supreme Patriarch.
- In 1921, King Vajiravudh created the honorary title phramahasamanachao for the Supreme Patriarch.
- Vajirañana continued his work in religious education, Sangha administration and scholarship. He breathed new life to the Council of Elders (Thera), founded by the Sangha Act of 1902.
- Publication of Thalaeng kan khanasong [Announcement of Sangha Affairs] which spread rules for the whole Sangha within the country.
- 1912-1917 Vajirañana travels to the provinces to examine the situation of the Sangha.
- 1912 Creation of a new curriculum for Dhamma studies which does not require previous Pali studies.
- On 2 August 1921 Vajirañana died of tuberculosis.