Thoungh most of the upland minorities
are animists of one kind or another, the lowland Lao and closely related Tai
communities are Theravada Buddhists-like the Thai, Cambodians, and Burmese-and
serveral festivals mark significant dates in the Buddhist ceremonial year. But
interwomen into Lao Buddhism are religious practices that draw on another,
earlier tradition associated with the worship of snake deities and an
impressive range of spirits, both friendly and maleficent. This combination of
Buddhist belief and ritual and the propitiation of spirits is what gives Lao
religion its unique character.
The Lao Chronicles recount that
Theravada Buddhism was brought to Laos by the Cambodian queen of the founder of
the first extensive lao kingdom, which was established in Luang Prabang in the
mid fourteenth century. But buddhism was known in the middle Mekong region long
before Fa Ngum found the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao (the kingdom of a Million
Elephants and the While Umbrella, symbols respectively of power and kingship). In
the region of Viang Chan it dates back at least four centuries earlier, while
in Luang Prabang it was introduced from the west, from Chiang Mai in thailand
(which was founded in the late thirteenth century).
The missionary monks who arrived in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries encountered people who were still
animists. The Lao had earlier migrated into northern Laos from the northest,
down tributaries of the mighty Mekong, along whose banks they grew their
imigrated rice. They fished too, but these were dangerous rivers whose rapids
could easily sink a frail canoe. The Lao took precautions by placating the
snake deities of the rivers, the most dangerous of which were the Ngeuak. They
also gave offerings to a variety of spirits (phi, pronounced “pee”). Some of
these were spirits of the heavens; some were territorial spirits of the land;
others still had evil intentions and caused sickness or death.
The Lao treated all such spirits
warily. Most could be easily placated: small daily offerings of sticky rice,
tasty morsels of food, and flowers marigolds the color of monks’ robes were and
enough keep most phi content. A more elaborate ritual was associated with the
phi ban, the spirit protecting the village (ban). And the assistance of a
medium was required to remove malevolent phi bop from the bodies of the sick.
The Lao called their principalities
meuang, which they believed were presided over by the more powerful phi meuang,
who demanded blood sacrifices ( of chickens or pigs). The ritual sacrifices to
the phi meuang of the whole kingdom of Lan Xang were more elaborate still,
requiring the slaughter of buffalo and oxen. Naturally, this state cult of
blood sacrifice horrified Buddhist monks, who taught non-violence and respect
for all living things. A struggle ensued, and the state cult was eventualy
abandoned but not belief in phi. Buddhism and phi worship came to coexist, in a
uniquely Lao way, though some buddhist monks do denounce the worship of phi.
Buddhism also brought with it a more
benign view of snake deities, derived from a legend recounting an event that
occurred when a storm blew up while the Buddha was meditating on the banks of a
river. Deep in trance, the Buddha was unaware of the rain, so the giant water
snake that lived in the river ( the Lao would have called it a ngeuak) reared
up behind him and flattened its hood, cobra-like, to protect him from the
elements. In Buddhism, therefore, such snake decities, or naga (nak in lao),
were and are protective, which is why they are so often portrayed protecting
Buddhist temples. The lao accepted that naga were protective, but even so they
never lost their fear of ngeuak. In Laos, Buddhist monks are commonly called
nak.
The key beliefs of popular Buddhism
are the doctrines of kama and rebirth, which by far the majority of Lao accept
with out hesitation. Karma acts like a natural moral law: good deeds produce
good karma, while bad deeds produce bad karma. At the end od one’s life the
balance of this moral bookkeeping determines one’s next state of being. This
could be in one of the multiple Buddhist heavens or hells, or it could be back
on earth as an animal, if the karmic balance is adverse, or again as a human
being. Even then, karma will count: those with good karma will be bom into
wealthier families, and so enjoy a happier life; while those with still beter
karma will have the opportunity to become Buddhist monks, enabling them to
progress towards what Buddhists believe to be the goal of all existence, which
is Enlightenment.
Laos Buddhists believe that to impove
one’s karma one must perform meritorious deeds. Such deeds make merit, which
the Lao call bouns, the same word as for festival, for festivals are occations
for making merit by giving gifts to monks and temples. Any gifts to a monk is a
meritorious act, with the merit accruing to the giver. When monks go out each
morning with their begging bowls ( a ritual known as the takbat), they do so in order to give the faithful an
opportunity to make merit.
Laos Buddhists believe that merit can
be transferred from one person to another, even though canonical Buddists texts
provide no support for this popular belief. Many Lao make merit for others,
especially for deccased parents. When a parent dies, sons will often shave
their heads and become monks for a short
time, dedicating the merit they gain to the parent at the vital time of their
transition to a new life, and thusensuring a better reincarnation.
In villages and towns thoughout Laos,
and in the suburbs of the cities, the Buddhist monastery, or vat, is at the
same time the religious, cultural, and communal center. Each vat includes a
number of buildings. Of central importance is the image hall, called the sim,
where monks perform their daily rituals and people cougregate on days of
special observance. These uposatha days, called van sin in Lao, are determined
by the phases of the moon and fall on the eightth and fifteenth days of both
the waxing and waning moons (that is, on the days of the new moon, the full
moon and the two quarter moon in between). In Thailand the image hall is called
a viharn, and there is usually another, smaller temple nearly, called the
ubasot or bot, that is reserved for ordination ceremonies. In Laos, however,
ordinations take place in the sim. Others structures include one or more stupa
(or that), a small “library” where palm-leaf manuscripts are kept (the hotai),
a bell tower, a drum tower, an open meeting pavilion (sala), and a number of
dormitories (kuti) for the monks.
All Buddhist worship whether held in a
temple or a private home; on normal holy days or to mark important festivals
follows the same basic pattern. First come a number of short prayers (in pali),
which Lao Buddhists learn by heart, dedicating the merit gained to the pursuit
of Enlightenment. The recitation of theser prayers is also away of playing
respect to the Buddha, his Dhamma (the truth he taught), and the sangha (the
order of monks), and of vowing to abide by the five preccepts for lay followers
(not to kill, steal, lie, misbehave sexually, or use intoicants). Worshippers
then ask the monks to chant a sutra (in pali) as a from of blessing. As the
monks oblige, the lay worshippers perform the TAKBAT by placing offering in
The alms bowls of the monks, and
present them with a prepared meal. After the monks have eaten, a senior monks
reads a passage from the Buddhist scriptures (the tripitabat), and worshippers
then present each monk with individual gifts (khai) of money, flowers, and
candle in triangular banana leaf containers. Finally, the monks bless the pure
water that worshippers bring in small containers and later pour on the ground
in order to transfer merit to the dead (ancestors, relatives or friends). If
the celemorny takes place in a private home, the monks sprinkle holy water on
those present, and around the house itself.
Buddhism permeater Lao culture through
and through. It accounts not just for the rituals that the Lao perform
throughout the year, but also for their acceptance of life and tolerance of
others. After all, Buddhists are convinced that all sentient beings of whatever
religious persuasion will eventually be reborn as Buddhists and so discover the
Dhamma and embark on the path to Enlightenment. This tolerance is extended to all
those who wish to participate in a Lao festival.
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