Tipiṭaka Lecture 2005

by Dhamma Society Fund
Under Patronage of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand

1. Lecture Title
Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in Siam-script and Roman-script Editions
(on the occasion of the World Tipiṭaka Presentation to Sweden to be preserved at Carolina Rediviva, Uppsala University, Sweden)

2. Date / Venue
12 September 2005
The National Library Auditorium, Stockholm, Sweden.

3. Lecture (in English)
(Introducer) Dr. Gunnar Sahlin, Chief Librarian of the National Library of Sweden
(Lecturer on Siam script) Mr. Sumana Ratanayaka, Dhamma Society Sri Lanka
(Lecturer on Roman script) Maj. Suradhaj Bunnag, Dhamma Society Thailand
(Commentator) Mr. Johan af Klint, Dhamma Society Sweden

4.Presiding over by
H.E. The Justice of the Constitutional Court of Thailand
H.E. the Thai Ambassador and H.E. the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Stockholm

5. Audience
100 guests

6.Special features
Dhamma Discourse on the Supramundane as an introductory discourse for Tipiṭaka Studies

7. Commemorative Publication
Maṅgala Sutta : Tipiṭaka Studies in Pāḷi language and translation in English and Swedish.

8. Outcomes
1. Beginning of the historical search for the Royal Gifts of Tipiṭaka from King Chulachomklao which were presented to European libraries, including no less than 6 sets to Sweden.
2. Collaboration among Swedish Tipiṭaka Patrons to organise the presentation of the World Tipiṭaka in Europe.
3. Establishment of the World Tipiṭaka Council to reenact the International Council of B.E. 2500 to continue the Tipiṭaka Activities worldwide.

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1. ชื่อปาฐกถา (Lecture Title)
Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in Siam-script and Roman-script Editions (ภาษาอังกฤษ)
(เนื่องในโอกาสสมเด็จพระเจ้าพี่นางเธอ เจ้าฟ้ากัลยาณิวัฒนา กรมหลวงนราธิวาสราชนครินทร์ พระราชทานพระไตรปิฎกสากลชุดปฐมฤกษ์แก่โลกตะวันตก ณ มหาวิทยาลัยอุปซาล่า)

2. วัน / สถานที่ (Date / Venue)
วันที่ 12 กันยายน 2548 ณ หอสมุดแห่งชาติ กรุงสต็อกโฮล์ม ราชอาณาจักรสวีเดน

3. ผู้แสดง (Lecture)
(กล่าวนำ) ดร. กุนนาร์ ซาห์ลิน, ผู้อำนวยการหอสมุดแห่งชาติ
(ปาฐกถาพระไตรปิฎกอักษรสยาม) มร. สุมนะ รัตนายกะ ผู้เชี่ยวชาญภาษาปาฬิชาวสวีเดน
(ปาฐกถาพระไตรปิฎกอักษรโรมัน) พ.ต. สุรธัช บุนนาค นายกกองทุนสนทนาธัมม์นำสุขฯ ในพระสังฆราชูปถัมภ์ฯ
(กล่าวจบ) มร. โยฮัน อาฟ คลินต์, นายกกองทุนสนทนาธัมม์นำสุขสวีเดน

4. ประธานในงาน (Presiding over by)
ตุลาการศาลรัฐธรรมนูญแห่งประเทศไทย
เอกอัครราชทูตไทยและศรีลังกาประจำประเทศสวีเดน

5. ผู้ร่วมฟัง (Audience)
ชาวพุทธในสวีเดน ผู้อุปถัมภ์พระไตรปิฎก ประมาณ 100 คน

6. ลักษณะพิเศษ (Special features)
ปาฐกถาประกอบสื่อผสมเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและจัดแสดงพระไตรปิฎกสากลชุดพระราชทาน

7. สิ่งตีพิมพ์ (Commemorative Publication)
พระไตรปิฎกศึกษา “มงคลสูตร” ปาฬิ อักษรโรมัน และภาคแปลไทย อังกฤษ และสวีเดน

8. ผลจากปาฐกถา (Outcomes)
1. เกิดการค้นหาพระไตรปิฎกชุดพระธัมมทานที่พระราชทานจากกรุงสยามแก่สวีเดน
2. เกิดความร่วมมือในการจัดพระราชทานพระไตรปิฎกสากลแก่มหาวิทยาลัยต่างๆ ในประเทศสวีเดน
3. เกิดการก่อตั้ง “สภาพระไตรปิฎกสากล” เป็นครั้งแรก พ.ศ. 2548 เพื่อสืบทอดเจตนารมย์ของสภาพระไตรปิฎก พ.ศ. 2500 เพื่อดำเนินกิจกรรมพระไตรปิฎกในระดับโลกในปัจจุบัน

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Tipiṭaka Lecture 2005

The Making of the World Tipitaka Project : Five Collective Factors

Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka Buddhavasse 2500
The Buddhist Era 2500 Great International Council Pāḷi Tipiṭaka
Roman Script B.E. 2548

The Royal Library, Stockholm, Sweden
12 September B.E. 2548 (2005)

Image printed from the Dhamma Society Electronic Archives
500-hour/6500-gigabyte documentary of the World Tipiṭaka Project
Recorded between 1999-2007

for more image information of the World Tipiṭaka Project

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The World Tipiṭaka Project

by
Major Suradhaj Bunnag
Chancellor of the Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage of
H.H. the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand

Presented with Multi-media Technology
at the Royal Library in Stockholm, Kingdom of Sweden
12 September B.E. 2548 (2005)

On behalf of the Dhamma Society Fund and the World Tipiṭaka Project, I am very honoured to be here at this prestigious Royal Library in Stockholm. Today on behalf of the 40-member Tipiṭaka delegation from Thailand and Sri Lanka, I am especially delighted to present to you some of the fundamental information of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in Roman script, the world first complete international edition, published by Dhamma Society in 2005, which will be formally presented tomorrow to the Kingdom of Sweden at Uppsala University. This inaugural edition, the first in the western world, is a Royal Gift of Dhamma from Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand to the people of Sweden.

The presentation today is a preliminary information for our special friends of Thailand in Sweden. We will be presenting facts and experiences from our collective efforts of various individuals in the Project, most of whom are present here today. It is, therefore, a meritorious and wholesome experience and it is not meant to be an academic forum for the audience here. We hope that such an intellectual forum should be organized separately by academic institution in the future. Further details have been given in the two commemorative books which will be distributed as a gift for all of you today.

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(Reading script - Not for publication,
A complete text is available upon request)

The World Tipiṭaka Project in Roman Script

by
The Dhamma Society Fund
Thailand

The first often asked question is -- "how did the Dhamma Society manage to publish the world's first complete Rpmanised edition of the international Pāḷi Tipiṭaka Council?"

Collective teamwork and some coincidence, is the answer in brief.

In fact, it is not impossible for us to undertake this work when Tipiṭaka has been handed down uninterruptedly from generation to generation for over the last 2500 years though the Great Buddhist Councils of the world.

The second often asked question is - "how did the project manage to accomplish the highest international standard of Tipiṭaka publication which has never been attempted before"

The answer is because of the Five Tipiṭaka Collective Factors, namely:

1. Tipiṭaka Collective Brains
2. Tipiṭaka Collection in Various Scripts
3. Tipiṭaka Patrons and Support
4. Tipiṭaka Culture
5. Tipiṭaka Electronic Documentation

1. Tipiṭaka Collective Brains

The most important factor that makes it possible for the project to succeed is the knowledge and wisdom from the Tipiṭaka experts. These are the Tipiṭaka Collective Brains of the Dhamma Society.

A most recent historic Council was convened about 50 years ago in 1956 or the Buddhist Era 2500 in Rangoon, Myanmar where 2500 erudite Theravada Buddhist monks from all over the world met and verified the Pāḷi text of the Tipiṭaka. The end-result is the international Tipiṭaka edition Buddhist Era 2500. This internationally agreed text of the Theravada Buddhist world therefore makes it possible for the Dhamma Society in Thailand to print it in the international alphabet of Roman script in 2005.

One of the first and foremost Tipiṭaka collective Brains is the present His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. An eminent Pāḷi scholar, His Holiness attended the Great International Council in 1956. As the Patron of the World Tipiṭaka Project, He wrote the benediction preface for the Romanised edition in 2000.

Master Siri Petchai is the Chairman of the Dhamma Society Fund and is today Thaiand's most senior Tipiṭaka Master and Pāḷi scholar.

Nun Vimuttiya, Ph.D., is the Chairperson of Proof-Reading Committee. Her role is to integrate modern collating methodology with the Theravada wisdom from Tipiṭaka Master Siri Phetchai and systematize into the Romanised Pāḷi editing.

(e-Achive Audio Information)

Professor Visut Busyakul is a fellow of the Royal Institute of Thailand and expert in languages. He is Thailand's most senior scholar in ancient languages of India at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. His role therefore is to evaluate the project and inform the learned society of scholar.

(e-Achive Audio Information)

Dr. Lily de Silva is Emeritus Professor of Pāḷi language and Buddhist Studies in Sri Lanka. She is Sri Lanka's most imminent expert and leading scholar of the world today. Prof. de Silva's role is to demonstrate the difference between this International Romanised Pāḷi Tipitaka and other pali text editions.

These are some of the Tipiṭaka Collective Brains of Dhamma Society. There are also, in addition, experts in various disciplines such as experts in electronic and computer engineering technology as well as experts in image and printing technology.

An International Romanised Pāḷi Tipiṭaka is the result of the collective efforts. The result is not the quantity of the 6-year team-work but the quality of excellence in selfless interdisciplinary research and integrated collective work which is most invaluable.

2. Tipiṭaka Collection in Various International Scripts

When the Dhamma Society decided to initiate the Romanised Tipiṭaka Project, the first step was to search for the original Pāḷi manuscript of the 1957 International Council Ediiton. We were given two electronic Tipiṭaka manuscripts from abroad but both of them are incomplete and contain enormous printing mistakes.

Fortunately within 9 months we were able to collect some 3,000 items of the first printed edition of Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in various international scripts of the world. The Dhamma Society then decided to present the entire collection as a Dhamma Gift to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and the university consequently established the International Tipiṭaka Hall in order to enshrine the International Tipitaka Collection in the oldest building of the university.

Previously there was no complete Pāḷi Tipiṭaka Library in Thailand and in fact, there was no adequate Tipiṭaka collection of Theravāda Tipiṭaka any where in the world. The fact that these Tipiṭaka editions have now been assembled together in one collection thus presents a holistic picture for the possibility of the new complete and improved publication of Tipiṭaka today.

An International Romanised Pāḷi Tipiṭaka is therefore a quality improvement both in graphics and publication technology which is the result of comparative studies and research from the complete International Tipiṭka Collection.

The Dhamma Society is also preparing the e-Tipiṭaka database for scholars. But this is the next phrase of development between 2005-2006.

(e-Achive Audio Information)

3. Tipiṭaka Patrons and Support

The Dhamma Society initiated the Tipiṭaka Project because of a request from abroad in 1999. Six years ago we thought that we would act as a publisher and expected to finish the publication in six months. We had no idea that we would have to engage in the new proof-reading and textual editing to correct the previous printing errors for the next 5 years. Therefore, we had to inform and educate our founding members of the delay and the consequent workload. Fortunately, through Tipiṭaka project education, we received even more support.

The Dhamma Society is a private charitable organization with no permanent staffs. Most of us are volunteers and receive no official funding from any government agency.

(e-Achive Audio Information)

4. Tipiṭaka Collective Culture

Tipiṭaka Collective Culture includes studying and practicing in accordance with the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka.

According to the Words of the Buddha,

...after I am gone My teaching will be your Teacher.

In publishing the complete world Tipiṭaka edition, we therefore make reverence to the Tipiṭaka as we do to the Buddha statutes. Unlike Buddha statues which could be created by a few mundane individuals. The preservation of Tipiṭaka is the work of enlightened individuals and magnitudes of individual through the 2500 years of Great Councils.

5. Tipiṭaka Electronic Documentation

Tipiṭaka documentation is an important principle to support the preservation of Pāḷi Tipiṭaka. Two important ancient documentations of Tipitaka should be mentioned. Over 2000 years ago, Emperor Asoka the Great of India erected the great stone pillars to proclaim the Dhamma after the completion of the Tipitaka council. These Pillars numbering 84,000 according to the 84,000 Dhammas. About 1,000 years ago in old Burma, King Anurudha built 84,000 Buddhist monasteries. The aim of the ancient world is to publicize the news of the Great Council and the completion of the new verified Tipiṭaka.

In the case of the Dhamma Society, in order to sustain the concept of 84,000, we documented every key process on electronic media. This includes Tipiṭaka electronic editing and Tipiṭaka video documentary. The e-Tipiṭaka editing ensure the efficiency and accuracy of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka database while the video documentary ensures the public understanding and transparency of the Project procedure.

(e-Achive audio Information)

It is important to emphasize that the video recordings are purely spontaneous and therefore come out very genuine. For the future researchers, the video documentary will be an important source of electronic oral history.

The Tipiṭaka Electronic Documentation therefore makes it possible for a small organization to achieve a much greater result. More importantly, through the right understanding of the wise experts and selfless individual scholars, a powerful line of direct command in Tipiṭaka editing could be executed right down from top to the final details. This modern information technology with the wisdom of an individual is therefore the quality of excellence which can be termed -the Dhamma Technology- has thus been achieved in the World Tipiṭaka Project.

In conclusion the Five Collective Tipiṭaka Factors, namely, the Tipiṭaka Collective Brains, the Tipiṭaka Collection, the Tipiṭaka Support, the Tipiṭaka Culture and the e-Tipiṭaka Archive make it all possible for the Dhamma Society to publish this Romanised Tipiṭka edition.

Thank you for you kind consideration.