Prayudh Payutto (also
P.A. Payutto; ,
ป.อ. ปยุตฺโต) (
b. 1938), also known by his current monastic title,
Phra Bhrama Khunabarana, is a well-known Thai Buddhist monk, an intellectual, and a prolific writer. He is among the most brilliant Buddhist scholars in the Thai Buddhist history. He authored Buddha Dhamma, which is acclaimed to as one of the masterpieces in Buddhism that puts together Dhamma and natural laws by extensively drawing upon
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
,
AtthakathaAtthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
, Digha, etc., to clarify
BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
's verbatim speech.
Prayudh has lectured and written extensively about a variety of topics related to Buddhism, including the position of women in Buddhism and the relationship between Buddhism and the environment.
Prayudh Payutto (also
P.A. Payutto; ,
ป.อ. ปยุตฺโต) (
b. 1938), also known by his current monastic title,
Phra Bhrama Khunabarana, is a well-known Thai Buddhist monk, an intellectual, and a prolific writer. He is among the most brilliant Buddhist scholars in the Thai Buddhist history. He authored Buddha Dhamma, which is acclaimed to as one of the masterpieces in Buddhism that puts together Dhamma and natural laws by extensively drawing upon
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
,
AtthakathaAtthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
, Digha, etc., to clarify
BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c...
's verbatim speech.
Prayudh has lectured and written extensively about a variety of topics related to Buddhism, including the position of women in Buddhism and the relationship between Buddhism and the environment. He was awarded the 1994
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
Prize for Peace Education.
Because changes in monastic title often involve adding or changing monastic names, Payutto has been known by, and published under, a variety of different names over his career. Previously, he was known as
Phra Rajavaramuni,
Phra Dhebvedhi, and
Phra Dhamapitaka.
Early life
Prayudh was born the fifth child of Samran and Chunkee Arayangkoon on January 12, 1938 in
Si Prachan DistrictSi Prachan is a district in the eastern part of Suphanburi Province, central Thailand.-History:The government separated some part of Tha Phi Liang district and Nang Buat district to create the Si Prachan district in 1901.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Mueang Suphanburi, Don Chedi and Sam...
,
Suphanburi ProvinceSuphan Buri is a town in central Thailand, capital of the Suphan Buri Province. It covers the whole tambon Tha Philiang and parts of the tambon Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri district...
,
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
.
Prayudh received his early education in Suphanburi. During his childhood, Prayudh suffered a lot of illnesses, some of which involved him in surgeries and many have followed him until today. Poor health made it difficult for him to commit to school and formal education. Discouraged by his health, Prayudh came back to Suphanburi after completing junior high school at Pathum Khongkha School in
BangkokBangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Mahanakhon , or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep for short, it was a small trading post at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It came to the forefront of Siam when it was given the...
in 1950. Being assured that he could continue his education without having to get involved physically, as is the case in school, he entered the monastery, with the family's support, to seek religious education, being ordained as a novice (
samaneraIn Buddhist context, a samanera can be translated as novice monk. It literally means 'small samana', or small renunciate, where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya , a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera. The female counterpart of the...
) at the age of 13. He began the study of
Pali
and received training in
VipassanāVipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi ....
. Under his father's encouragement, he moved to
Wat Phra Piren in Bangkok and went on to achieve the highest-level (ninth-level) studies in the
Pali
language while still a
samaneraIn Buddhist context, a samanera can be translated as novice monk. It literally means 'small samana', or small renunciate, where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya , a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera. The female counterpart of the...
, for which he was granted a royal ordination ceremony into monkhood in 1962. He embraced the monastic name "Payutto", literally "a person with unrelenting efforts". Prayudh received a Bachelor's degree in Buddhist studies from
Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya UniversityMahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University or MCU is one of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. It is located at Wat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara in Bangkok.- History :...
in 1962.
A Scholarly Monk
After securing instructor qualifications, Prayudh was appointed Associate
DeanIn academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and had maintained this position for the following ten years. He played an important role in modernizing Sangha's education by relating knowledge in Buddhism to contemporary social issues. Prayudh assumed the post of Deputy
AbbotThe word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of
Wat Phra Piren in 1973, but resigned three years later to dedicate himself to academic work. He published a number of books and articles, and regularly attended academic seminars and conferences, surrounding himself with contemporary scholars and intellectuals. He authored Buddha Dhamma, recognized as a masterpiece among Buddhist scholars. He received honorary degrees from more than ten universities, both domestic and foreign. When he received
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
's Prize for Peace Education, he donated the whole amount to the Ministry of Education of Thailand for the establishing of
Phra Dhampitaka Education for Peace Foundation.
Prayudh is currently serving as Abbot of Nyanavesakavan Temple (
Wat Nyanavesakavan), located in Tambon Bang Krathuek,
Amphoe Sam PhranSam Phran , is the southernmost district of Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand.-History:The district was established in 1896, then named Talat Mai district...
,
Nakhon Pathom ProvinceNakhon Pathom is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi....
.
Defending Pali Canon
Prayudh strongly believes in strict interpretation of Pali Canon, very much in line with the
TheravadaTheravada Theravada Theravada (Pāli: थेरवाद theravāda (cf Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद sthaviravāda); literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
tradition. He came public in many occasions in defence of Pali Canon whenever its integrity was challenged. When the Dhamakaya scandal, in which the original mentioning of "Dhamakaya" in Pali Canon was misinterpret by a group of monks in their own favor, broke out in mid-1990s, Prayudh published a book that specifically dealt with the case. In
The Dhamakaya Episode, Prayudh reviews the essence of Pali Canon, cites Pali texts misinterpret by the this group of monks, and counterargues in the context of genuine Pali Canon. He argues that "Dhamakaya" was not truthfully interpreted, and points out that if the group continued to uphold the false interpretation, they could not do it under the umbrella of Theravada Buddhism.
Achievements
Despite his poor health, Prayudh has proved himself a man with great efforts and faith in Buddhism. He has suffered a lot of illnesses from childhood, among which are
valvular heart diseaseValvular heart disease is any disease process involving one or more of the valves of the heart . Valve problems may be congenital or acquired...
,
diarrheaIn medicine, diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea , is the condition of having frequent loose or liquid bowel movements. Acute diarrhea is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide...
, indigestion,
otitisOtitis is a general term for inflammation or infection of the ear, in both humans and other animals.It is subdivided into the following:*Otitis externa, external otitis, or "swimmer's ear" involves the outer ear and ear canal. In external otitis, the ear hurts when touched or pulled.*Otitis media...
, allergic asthma, pulmonary disease,
kidney stoneKidney stones or renal calculi are solid concretions or calculi formed in the kidneys from dissolved urinary minerals. Nephrolithiasis refers to the condition of having kidney stones...
,
bronchitisAcute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
, inflammatory arm-muscle disorder, eye-inflicted viral disease, stricture of cerebral artery, and
vocal fold noduleA vocal cord nodule is a mass of tissue that grows on the vocal folds . Typically this mass will appear on the junction of the anterior and middle two-thirds of the vocal fold, where contact is most forceful....
. Nonetheless, Prayudh has put a lot of efforts on defending the integrity of
Pali CanonThe Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
throughout his life. He has employed his well-versed understanding of Pali Canon not only to uphold the
SanghaSangha 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. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups...
institution in Thailand, but also to educate the general public of any misconceptions about Pali Canon. In so doing, Prayudh effectively uses verbatim quotes from Pali Canon, cites relevant Dhigas, and draws conclusions to argue for his case and counter-argue against and correct any misconceived views.
Prayudh published a number of books that examine contemporary social issues, such as
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
, from a viewpoint of buddhism. He regularly expresses buddhist viewpoints on areas as diverse as education, laws, social sciences, and natural sciences. Prayudh stresses the Buddhist approach of
middle pathIn general, the Middle Way or Middle Path is the Buddhist practice of non-extremism.More specifically, in Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon, the Middle Way crystallizes the Buddha's Nirvana-bound path of moderation away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and toward the...
as the inevitable way to achieve peace and
sustainable developmentImage:Sustainable development.svg|right|300px|thumb|Scheme of sustainable development: at the confluence of three constituent parts.poly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403...
. He argues that Buddhism is the eventual aggregation of natural laws and that it forms a basis of modern sciences. Prayudh also points to Buddhism as the indispensable path to happiness.
International Awards and Recognitions
- 1994 UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
Prize for Peace Education
- 1995 Appointed to a post of Tipitaka Archaraya, a scholar well versed in Pali Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pali language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
, by Nava Nalanda Institute
- 2005 Awarded the Most Eminent Scholar as a guru of Theravada Buddhism by The World Buddhist University
External links