Recently the voluminous book of the Complete Chinese Pattra-leaf Buddhist Scripture was offered to a local Buddhist temple by villagers from Manlu, Mengzhe Town, Menghai County for its preservation and use—with a volume of the book in their hands, the villagers, together wither their guests, formed a long queue, singing and dancing joyously to the accompaniment of scripture-chanting by monks >>>
The Creation
Named Batamagabelo in Dai people’s language, The Creation is an important one of Dai people’s Pattra-leaf Scriptures. It is a depiction of the history of the act of God by which the world was brought into existence. The history is divided into three periods: 1) the period of mythology that focus on a character named Busangashi Yasansai; 2) the period o >>>
Zhaoshutun
Zhaoshutun is a love story which is encompassed by Jataka, a Buddhist scripture, which is widely known and popular to the Dai people, and from which many narrative poems, operas and movies have been adapted. It is a masterpiece of art that demonstrates the creativity of the Dai people. Below is an outline of the story.
Once upon a time, a hunter >>> The Buddhist scripture Gantana is a story about the experience of Sakyamuni before he became Buddha Sazhao. It is said in the scripture that in the remote ancient time there lived a widow in Mengsalagaya. One day, after she drank the water in the footprint left by an elephant in the rice paddy, he became pregnant. Then she gave birth to a baby boy. As soon as the boy was born, a divine sword fell >>> The King of Mengnianxiang had a daughter named Nanxilihan. When finding Nanxilihan became pregnant after dating a god, the king flied into a fury and put her and her mother on a bamboo raft and just let them drift on a roaring river. Fortunately, the queen and the princess met a kindhearted gentleman named Palaxi who accommodate them. Shortly afterwards, the princess gave birth to a boy who was na >>> There was a poor man in Mengbalanaxi whose wife bore a gold carp. The carp was raised in a water cylinder for a decade. One day, a merchant got the carp at the cost of a piece of cloth, and represented it to Maduli, the king of Mielula. The carp changed into a beauty all of sudden before the king who fell immediately in love with and slept with her. The king’s wife was so jealous that she in >>> Ten Samsaras is an important one of the Dai people’s Pattra-leaf Scriptures, telling a story about Gautama Siddhartha’s ten cycles of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth before he became Buddha. It also glorifies the greatness of Buddha, and expounds a wide range of Buddhist doctrines.
According to the collection of vivid stories that Ten Samsaras comprises, Buddha wa >>>
Xiushan is an important one of the Dai people’s Pattra-leaf Scriptures. Not only it is a Buddhist classic of the Dai people, it is a bewitching collection of folklores, which amount to nearly 60, and which are associated with and consistent with each other in plot and in implied meanings. These stories extend Buddhist teachings and the truth of life in an astonishingly graceful man >>> Siddhartha’s Leaving Home
Before he began to seek the route to enlightenment, Gautama Siddhartha was a prince of an Indian kingdom. He saw so many miseries and sufferings of his people, plus being revealed by Sramana, that he decided to leave his home to find and grasp the truth on life. However, his father showed a strong opposition towards his id >>>
Weixiandala is a book of Buddhadharma that tells stories about Buddha. It goes round widely and has great influence in Xishuangbanna.Until now, there are four different versions of this book have been found and this is the best one of them.
The scripture records and narrates Buddha’s preexistence. Weixiandala (meaning the kindhearted prince) was very fond of donati >>> The Travels of Buddha is a scripture about Southern Buddhism, also regarded as the sutra of Hinayana introduced into the Dai area long ago. It goes round widely and has great influence in Xishuangbanna. The scripture records and narrates the preexistence and this life of Buddha. It is said when Buddha cultivated himself under the banyan and finally reached the spiritual state of an immortal, he wa >>>
The Pattra-leaf Buddhist Scripture refers to the Theravada Sthavira Buddhism Sutras inscribed in the pattra leaves by the hard pen.
The Pattra-leaf Buddhist scriptures are consisted of three parts: the sutras of Theravada Sthavira Buddhism, the works of eminent Buddhist monks of past ages and the secular classics developed from the Buddhism sutras. As one of t >>>
