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CONTENT AND MODE OF LEARNING OF NOVICES AND MONKS

We are now in a position to examine the content and mode of learning
among the novices and monks. This account deals with the situation
fifty years ago, as described by elders, as well as with that prevailing
today. The two time periods can be dealt with together, because teaching
and learning techniques and the content of learning have remained largely

the same. Whatever changes there are relate to script rather than content.
Fifty years ago the village school was run on a voluntary basis by the
abbot. The candidates for novicehood had their primary schooling and
learned to read and write Thai as temple boys. Today boys theoretically
can become novices only after completing grade 4 (i.e. passing the
examination) in the government primary school; even if they do not
conform with this ruling they will normally have had four or five years
of schooling and learned the rudiments of reading and writing Thai.

In the past the education of the novices was in three areas: first, learning
to read nansy Tham and to write the Tham script; second, memorizing
a collection of chants (suad); and third, practising the art of rendering
sermons (teed).

Study of nansy Tham

Novices had to learn to both read and write the Tham script. Instruction
took place after breakfast. First of all, the abbot wrote the alphabet on
paper and read out the letters. When the novices had learned the letters,
they practised reading; each student in the class held the palm-leaf book
in his hands and read aloud, while the teacher, standing behind him,
checked his reading. After reading had been mastered, writing was
practised on paper. In importance, writing was secondary to reading.
Each month, or once in every two months, the abbot tested his pupils;
physical punishment with a stick was administered if mistakes were made.

Today (1966) certain changes have taken place in the learning of nansy
Tham. Teaching monks and novices to read nansy Tham takes place
primarily during Lent when the school is active, but learning to read it is
no longer compulsory. Those who want to learn are taught by the abbot,
and the technique of learning is precisely the same as it was fifty years
ago. The voluntary learning of nansy Tham is a major change, and most
novices (and monks) can no longer read the Tham texts. However, those
who propose to spend more than a year in the temple will have to learn
to read sermons, most of which are still in the Tham script, though
increasingly it is being displaced by the Thai script. What is not acquired
today is the ability to write nansy Tham because, with the advent of the
printing press, the copying of manuscripts is no longer necessary.

Memorizing chants

In many religions, especially the `higher literate' religions, a feature of the
priest or religious virtuoso, be he Buddhist monk or Brahmin priest or
Islamic mallam, is his remarkable command of chants and texts which he
has memorized. Since the training of village religious specialists consists

primarily in memorizing texts (without a corresponding accent on the
understanding of them), I shall discuss briefly the method of learning
chants.

In the past (as well as today), it was on memorizing chants that a novice
or a newly ordained monk was likely to spend most of his time. Every
religious occasion in the temple, or a major rite of passage like death, or
a rite of house-blessing, requires chanting by monks. Village monks and
novices are expected to memorize a certain body of chants (suad mon)
that are recited on these occasions. In addition, they must commit to
memory chants which are used in the daily worship of the Buddha
(tham watr), and other texts such as the Patimokkha, which they recite
fortnightly. This second category relates to the monastic régime and
concerns monks alone.

Below, I give a list of the major chants which novices were, and are,
expected to learn during their normal two-year period of study. They can
be divided into the two categories noted above: suad mon and tham watr.
If the reader notes the occasions at which the suad mon chants are rendered,
he will get an idea of the ritual role of the monks in relation to the layman.
Monks are concerned with the transfer of merit to laymen at collective
temple festivals, at rites of passage, and at merit-making household rites
such as house-warming and house-blessing. Together with blessing go
protection and the removal of danger; these effects are achieved by the
paritta chants. Contrary to the ideas of some observers, village Buddhism
is not solely concerned with the other world as opposed to this world.

Chants frequently memorized and recited by novices (`neen')
and monks (`phraa')

The language of the chants is Pali, written in the past in Tham script
and today increasingly in Thai. The following are the collections of
chants that a monk or novice is required to memorize, and which comprise
the repertoire adequate for everyday purposes.

1. Tham watr: this is a collection of chants recited by monks in the
temple in their morning and evening worship of Lord Buddha. This
worship is part of the monk's religious discipline and régime, quite
apart from his parish role vis-à-vis the laity.

2. Suad mon: these are chants recited by monks at collective merit-making
rites at the temple (gnan bun) in which the laity participate, or
at the houses of laymen or other locations outside the temple (e.g. cemetery)
where ceremonial is held. The chants are divided into two groups:
avamangala and mangala. Avamangala refers to inauspicious occasions
or occasions which, being charged with danger, have to be `desacralized',

and mangala to occasions which are auspicious or at which `sacralization'
or `charging' with blessing takes place. For example:

(a) Suad kusala is an avamangala chant, which is recited in a funeral
house immediately after a person dies;

(b) Suad mongkhon are an important and frequently recited collection
of paritta verses which give protection from misfortune as well as positive
blessing.

The suad mongkhon are also referred to as suad mon yen and suad mon
chaw (evening and morning chants). At any merit-making festival at the
temple, for example Bunkathin (collective village offerings to monks at
the end of Lent), or at home, or after the completion of cremation, monks
will first recite at night and then on the following morning chant the
blessing, during which laymen fill their bowls with food and give them
gifts. The sequence is `protection' followed by `blessing' and `gift-giving'.
In the case of post-cremation sacralization, monks chant for three consecutive
nights in the funeral house and are feasted on the fourth morning.

The following are an example of the collection of paritta that comprise
suad mon yen (evening chants):

(i) either namo pad or sum putte;

(ii) mangala sutta (asevana), usually in abbreviated form;

(iii) ratana sutta, usually in abbreviated form;

(iv) karaniya metra sutta (suad karanee), either in full or in abbreviated
form;

(v) vipassis (atanatiya sutta).

The concluding suad mon chaw (morning chant), which transfers
blessings to the laity, is usually referred to as suad pahung; the best known
is the victory blessing chayamangala katha. The morning chant (suad
pahung) is also chanted by monks at the wat on wan sil (Buddhist sabbath)
during the presentation of food to the monks (sai bart/tak bart).

The technique of learning chants is as follows. The tham watr are
not memorized from printed texts. Since they are chanted by monks
daily in the early morning and at night, a newcomer repeats what he
hears and memorizes them fairly quickly. But essentially the suad mon
chants and the Patimokkha confessional are learnt by the pupils not only
collectively in school but also privately, with the aid of printed texts.

The abbot gives each student the task of learning a set of chants. After
about five days, at a common class, each student is asked to recite in
turn. The task in question is not merely a matter of learning words but
of chanting them according to certain tunes. Early morning before school,
or after school in the afternoon, novices and monks practise chants
individually in their cubicles (khuti).

The fact that Buddhism is aesthetically a musical religion, and that
the memorizing of words is closely linked to musical rhythms, gives us
a clue to the technique and the way in which novices and monks are in
fact capable of memorizing an impressive amount of words in their
correct order.

There are essentially three musical rhythms employed in chanting. The
Magadha form breaks up the chant into phrases. The Samyoka style, on
the other hand, is somewhat staccato; stops are made irrespective of
meaning in those places where words are joined by certain consonants
like k, c, t, p, d. Both these styles are employed in the chanting of mangala
(auspicious) chants. A third style is Sarabhanna, which employs a higher
pitch of voice and also slows down the speed of chanting, again breaking
the chant into phrases; the Sanghaha is a similar mode of `lengthened'
chanting. Sarabhanna chanting is employed on avamangala (inauspicious)
occasions, such as immediately after death, when its slow and mournful
grandeur suits the occasion.

The verbal structure of the verses (gatha, sutta) has discernible implications
for facilitating memorization. The chants use the method of
repetitions in stylized form. As Rhys Davids wrote:

It is clear, then, that the Buddhist gathas (like the Vedic prayers) initially
belonged to the oral tradition and were designed in a particular form to
facilitate transmission. Committing them to writing came later.

In village religion the Buddhist chants present a problem for interpretation.
The language of the chants is Pali. Traditionally, they were
written in Tham script; today they are available in printed books in the
Thai alphabet, which is one reason the study of Tham is declining. Yet
whether written in Tham or Thai alphabet, the Pali language itself is
alien to most village novices and monks; some who stay in robes for
a length of time may actually learn Pali, but this is infrequent. In effect,
most village novices and monks do not understand the chants, or at best
understand them imperfectly. The lay congregation, all the women and

most of the men, are in even greater ignorance about the actual content
of chants. However, many of them can recognize particular chants
(especially those recited frequently), and often know which chant is
appropriate for which occasion; some men who were previously novices
have a somewhat better idea of the content.

If this is the actual situation, there are two questions we may ask. To
what extent does the knowledge of chants which are in Pali (and to
a lesser extent, the ability to read nansy Tham) constitute an esoteric and
exclusive body of knowledge confined to the clergy? Secondly, if Pali
chants are essential at rituals performed by monks and novices and if
at the same time they are largely unintelligible to the laity, what, then, is
communicated in the rites? The first I shall answer in this chapter; the
second in a subsequent chapter.

Sermons (`teed')

Sermons are also chanted and therefore require practice. The quality
of recitation itself, apart from the words, is a matter of great aesthetic
appreciation on the part of the congregation.

In the village, sermons are not free creations of the novice (or monk)
who gives them. They are standardized and there is an appropriate one
for each particular occasion or set of occasions, written down in palm-leaf
manuscripts. In the past the writing was inscribed by human hand; today,
one frequently sees palm-leaf documents on which the words are printed.
The latter applies to documents in the Thai script, which are increasingly
supplementing the older Tham texts.

Types and content of sermons. 1. One kind are those which enumerate
or `tell' the advantages of making merit (baug anisonk), which in fact
means giving gifts to the monks and the village temple. Typical occasions
when merit-making is extolled are:

Bun prasaad pueng: making merit for a dead person after the cremation
rites are over by carrying a palanquin of gifts to the monks and also
feasting them;

Bun kathin: giving of gifts by the village to the monks after they have
completed Lent seclusion (during the rains), and emerge again into the
world. It is after this ceremony that the temporary monks resume lay life.

2. Another set of sermons are rather specialized and are reserved for
the celebration of the opening of newly constructed (or repaired) khuti
(monks' living quarters), sala (preaching hall), wihaan or bood (sacred
place of worship). These buildings are always constructed by laymen;
it is a classical requirement that monks cannot construct these buildings
for their use.

3. The third category of sermons deserves special attention. They are
called teed nitarn (sermons which relate stories), and these sermons not
only have implications for the villagers' understanding of the morality
and ethics of Buddhism but also represent the focus of genuine audience
participation and a channel of cultural transmission beyond the narrowly
religious. Traditionally, the teed nitarn constitute a major component
of nansy Tham (sacred palm-leaf books). Teed nitarn can be differentiated
as follows: (a) Pathom Sompote. These are stories (nitarn) concerning the
life of the Buddha, especially his birth, the renouncing of his kingly life,
achievement of nirvana, and also the episodes of his previous lives embodied
as Chadok (Jataka) stories. These stories are a common substance of
sermons, and are widely known throughout Thailand, but each region
has its own version or adaptation. The sermons mentioned here are thus
north-eastern creations. (b) Lam Phrawesandaun. This is a story of the
same category as (a) above but deserves special mention because it is
a work of many chapters, based on the great and moving story of Buddha's
penultimate life, as related in the Wessaundon Chadok (Vessantara Jataka).
It is the major sermon listened to (the reading takes a full day) on the
occasion of Bun Phraawes, which is the village's largest religious and
secular festival held after harvest. The north-eastern version of this story
has its counterpart in the Maha Chad (`Great Story') known in Central
Thailand. (c) Stories which are primarily local and regional myths and
folk tales, and which are not found elsewhere. These are particularly
appreciated by the listeners, for whom their moral significance is secondary
to their dramatic value as stories. The best known stories are, to give
examples, Pha Daeng Nang Ai, Tao Sowat, Tao Phii Noi, Tao Chan
Samut, Tao Ten Don, and Tao Nokrajog. The first named of these stories
will concern us in a later chapter.

All the categories of sermons (1-3) are given on the occasion of the
major collective calendrical temple festivals or are read by monks to
laymen during the Lent season. For example, Lam Phrawesandaun (3(b))
is read on the last day of the three-day Bun Phraawes. Category types 1
and 3 sermons are preached at Org Phansa (the conclusion of Lent and
the `coming out' of the monks) and Bun Khaw Chi (making merit for the
dead with puffed rice); some of them also comprise minor sermons
during Bun Phraawes.

I have already stated that the Pali chants have little meaning content
for the layman; the chanting of them on certain occasions is regarded
as efficacious in a `magical' sense. By contrast, the various sermons read
and explained in the north-eastern language are better understood by the
listeners. It is interesting to note that, on merit-making occasions, it is the

villagers who choose the sermon they would like to hear, and it was
reported by the abbot that for the major festivals the villagers invariably
choose a sermon of category 3.

Whereas stories of the life of the Buddha are universal in Thailand
and are heard in variant forms by all Buddhist congregations, we see
that the propagation and transmission of tales which have originated in,
or at least are confined to, the North-east (and perhaps Laos) help to
maintain regional cultural identity vis-à-vis other cultural regions of
Thailand.[5] The temple, of course, is not the only channel of transmission
—folk opera (mau lum) transmits the same stories through a different
medium; furthermore, literate villagers may themselves possess copies of
nitarn and read them at funeral wakes to entertain the mourners and guests.

In recent times, as may be expected, the sermons of categories 1 and
2, which are common to Thai Buddhism in general, have tended to
become standardized by virtue of their being written or printed in the
Thai alphabet. Increasingly, the stories (nitarn) of category 3, including
the north-eastern tales and myths (3(c)), are also being printed in the
Thai alphabet while linguistically retaining the local dialectal form.

The education of monks

From the point of view of learning and literacy, village monks are of two
kinds: those (a minority) who have been novices and are then ordained
as monks, intending to stay for some time in the temple, and those (the
majority) who are ordained temporarily for one Lent season.

For the first type the period of monkhood is a continuation of their
liturgical and philosophical learning. A novice in the course of his second
year of service would normally prepare for the nagtham examinations
(nagtham means one who is versed in the precepts and doctrines of the
religion) held by the district ecclesiastical authorities. Preparation for
nagtham is intensified, and in many village temples engaged in only during
Lent when the clerical school functions systematically.

The nagtham syllabus may be said to consist of four parts. Pupils are
required (i) to show competence in writing essays in the Thai language,
and to study (ii) the life of the Buddha (as embodied in stories of his life),
(iii) the essentials of the Buddhist doctrine (Dhamma), and (iv) the 227
rules of the Vinaya, which are the rules of conduct that apply to monks;
included in this is the study of the Navakowad, which is the admonition
given to a new monk (bhikkhu) about the rules of the Vinaya.

The nagtham examinations range from grade 3 (lowest) to grade 1.
In the lowest grade the study of the above syllabus is begun at an elementary
level, and in the next two grades more advanced study is made.
Most village monks from Baan Phraan Muan do not get beyond grades
3 and 2; the abbots nowadays may pass grade 1 in the course of time, but
this was not necessarily so for abbots in the past. In 1962, for instance,
only the abbot and one novice had passed the second grade; four of five
monks had passed the lowest grade 3, and the fifth none; two of the
three novices had failed the lowest grade. In subsequent years the abbot
passed the highest grade 1 and is now officially entitled to run a school
in the Lent season.

The three nagtham grades do not include the study of Pali, the language
of the chants and Buddhist doctrinal texts. Pali studies are conducted
separately and the relevant examinations are called prayog, which consist
of seven grades (3-9). In theory a monk may embark on Pali studies
concurrently with nagtham studies or after concluding them. In practice
Pali studies are not easy to engage in because, even if the monk or novice
is motivated to learn, he faces the difficulty of finding a competent monk
to teach him. Few village monks are versed in Pali and therefore this
specialized learning is rare. It is for these reasons that I argue that the
majority of village monks or novices are largely ignorant of Pali (or at
most have a shaky knowledge) and therefore of the content of Pali chants
and Pali doctrinal texts. While the latter are accessible in translation
in local script, the chants cannot be reduced into the words of the local
language, for then they would lose their sacredness and their efficacy.

A monk whose service is a continuation of novicehood enlarges his
repertoire of chants and takes up for special study the Navakowad (the
227 Vinaya precepts) and the Patimokkha confession.

What does a monk study who serves only for one Lent? He is expected
to acquire the following competence: he is trained in tham watr (morning
and evening worship of the Buddha), and in giving the five and eight
precepts of the laity (haj sin dai); he tries to memorize the suad mongkhon
chants; and he is taught the Vinaya rules. It is not an exaggeration to say
that temporary monks primarily take back to lay life a limited repertoire
of Pali chants which they will never use again. But while in robes they
will have participated in many temple and household rites where the
chants will have been recited. The life of the novice who later becomes
a monk and spends some years in the temple can be, as we have seen,
quite different.