• Namo ! Homage
  
  
• The comparative study of men and women in Thai folktales
  
  
• The men behind dictionaries, A Reflection of My Memory

             I kneel in front of the cobweb-festooned white Buddha image. The sun has set in my village and this simple temple is growing dark. I light the candles, the three joss sticks and prostrate myself.  I chant Namo three times, alone in the fading light. For me Namo honors the Buddha, paying homage to the supreme effort, sacrifices, pain and suffering he endured during his ascetic life before he discovered the “middle way” or the Dhamma. And it is homage to the Sangha, his ideal community of monks and nuns, who have devoted their lives to follow, preserve and practice the Buddha’s teachings for so many centuries.

            Upon reciting Namo, I am full of confidence and determination to make my mind calm and clear so as to see the true cause of suffering happening in my mind. I sit cross-legged, setting mindfulness, and directing attention to the tip of my nose as I begin breathing in and breathing out. The word ‘buddho’ is used as the mantra to keep my mind calm, mindful. I allow the breath to flow in and out freely, effortlessly, while maintaining my focus on the activity of breathing itself. As I inhale, I simply observe the breath coming in, and as I exhale, I simply notice the breath going out. My mind begins to be in a neutral state - impartial, free of judgment. One hour and a half pass. My mind is clear, but my right knee gradually begins to hurt and this has an effect on my clear mind. I am focusing to this problematic part of the body. My attention is being unexpectedly attacked and distracted by physical pain. The more I place importance on my right knee, the more chaotic and uncomfortable my mind becomes. I try desperately to cease the pain. The three characteristics of the existence principle suddenly emerge in my distracted mind, and it reminds me of the truth of impermanence, suffering, and non-self. Pain is only a symptom. I then opt to observe the pain as it arises and passes away. Half an hour of observation my right knee is still in excruciating pain.  

            I have practiced Vipassana meditation, which was taught by the Buddha more than 2,500 years ago, for several years. Before that I had read the books on Vipassana meditation written by many revered meditation masters. I believe that the meditation can lead my mind to be free of craving, aversion, attachment, and delusion which are the cause of mental suffering. The Buddha said in a Sutta in the Pali canon, “This is the only way for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of Nibbana.” The Venerable Sayadaw U Janaka, a Burmese meditation master, explains ‘Vipassana, or Insight Meditation, is, above all, experiential practice based on the systematic and balanced development of a precise and focused awareness. By observing one’s moment-to-moment mind and body processes from a place of investigative attention, insight arises into the true nature of life and experiences. Through the wisdom acquired by using Insight Meditation, one is able to live more freely and relate to the world around with less clinging, fear and confusion. Thus one’s life becomes increasingly directed by consideration, compassion and clarity.’

            When doing Vipassana in a sitting posture, it is common for meditators, regardless of age and gender, to face physical suffering. The impermanence principle is put into practice to cope with this suffering but it is quite hard to observe as the suffering arises and passes away. The reason why the suffering increases is because we cling to it, because we have the sense of ‘I’ and ‘self’ being involved. With the ‘I’ concept, the mind is in impure state, and is misled and disturbed by feelings of anger, jealousy or unhappiness. It is only the ‘I’ concept that gives these feelings ‘my mind and my body’ and makes me into ‘my right knee hurt.’ Because my right knee hurts, and I don’t understand the true cause of suffering, I become attached to it, and this results in bodily pain. Of course, physical pain is the result of sitting cross-legged and sitting still in the same posture for a very long time. According to the three characteristics principle, bodily suffering stems from non-movement. If we move, bodily suffering resulted from sitting posture will not arise. The purpose of sitting meditation is to observe, not run away from, suffering as it arises and passes away, without clinging to it.

            In Buddhism there are three kinds of craving; craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence. At that moment of my discomfort and dissatisfaction, I desired to get rid of the pain as soon as possible. I worked hard in dealing with it and at times the pain seemed to be at ease, but it always came back. This was a not-so-good moment in my sitting meditation. I craved for non-existence of the pain. Because I wanted to eradicate it immediately, the pain seemed to increase .The pain which is part of all human existence and is the truth of life, was distorted by my craving for non-existence. I didn’t look at it as it was. I was forced to stop, kill the pain. Who forced me? Tanha (craving) forced me to cling to it.  Thus my clinging, attachment, and craving of various kinds lead only to mental and bodily suffering.

            In meditation one must be patient and mindful in one’s duty. Wanting to be, trying to be, or having to be something are not the goal of meditation. We simply “are”. In the true sense of Buddhist meditation, whenever suffering arises, one is advised to use “indriya” (controlling faculty) - confidence, effort, mindfulness, concentration and analytical wisdom in coping with suffering. Venerable Luangta Maha Bua, the northeastern meditation master, said, ‘the foundation of mediation is morality, concentration and wisdom. One must use wisdom to investigate suffering. Don’t just observe suffering, but use one’s own analytical wisdom to see clearly and investigate the true origin of suffering. The body and mind are not the same thing. Don’t cling to them because they just arise, maintain, and pass away.’ My right knee was still in nagging pain. This might be because I didn’t use wisdom to investigate the pain. At that time I had confidence, effort, mindfulness and concentration, but I lacked analytical wisdom. If I had used wisdom to investigate the suffering seriously, my right knee would not have hurt. Spiritually, my mind and my right knee are not the same thing. Each is natural and independent. They never attach to each other. But we usually regard them as the same thing. When a part of the body is in pain, our mind is in pain, too. This is the wrong view. This is not the right path taught by the Buddha and all meditation masters. Trying to separate between body and mind by using ‘indriya’ until we fully understand the truth of suffering is the right way to cope with suffering.

            This is my spiritual path. Someone else’s path may be different from mine. Vipassana meditation is beneficial to my life. When I first became interested in theoretical meditation, I tried to practice on my own. I have made many mistakes and there have been times when I have been discouraged. But I am still trying. I know I have a great deal yet to learn. Through the Buddhist way of meditation, through practicing on my own and through making the Vipassana meditation essential in my daily life, I have realized the truth of life goes far beyond the mundane meaning of the word. I am more and more conscious of small changes within myself that I might not have recognized, acknowledged or even experienced anywhere else but within me. Buddhist Vipassana meditation is my daily life. I believe that facing the truth of suffering, and investigating the cause, leads to the cessation of suffering. My life will be given a little more genuine understanding of what the Buddha taught. I have never put the blame on suffering because it is considered the first component of the Buddhist Four Noble Truths. I am still happy to continue the subtle way of spirituality.

            After fighting against and enduring that constant stream of bodily suffering for two hours, I think it’s time to change my posture. I begin radiating loving kindness to all companions of birth, old age, sickness and death. I then gradually open my eyes and bow low three times before that which is so overwhelmingly vast and beautiful it is beyond comprehension. My body and mind have been uplifted. My confidence and strength return.

            Namo Tassa Bhagavato…,

            Homage to the Exalted One.

Thailand is a nation of folktales. There are stories about almost everything. One of the happiest moments in one’s life might be the time when one is reading and listening to folktales. The functions of folktales are generally to entertain, educate and teach moral lessons. Folktales are the result of human’s desire for fun and are about the religious affairs which have influenced people’s mind for a long time Phanomyong(2524). From the above functions folktales have played a significant role in societies as they reflect ways of life, beliefs, attitudes and hidden facts instilled in societies ( Boonyarak,2535). Folktales have usually been told through oral tradition and then they came to be recorded in print collections only when people in general stopped telling them orally (Perry, 1996) .

            Most folktales are full of magic power and intended primarily for children(Perry,1996). They have influenced children’s ways of thinking, but few people notice that most folktales are mostly about men. Very few parts of the folktales are given to women. It seems that there might be something wrong about folktales. That is, apart from being sources of entertaining and teaching, they can also be the reflection of class and gender bias. In addition, there are some similar and different features and ideologies about men and women in folktales. Thus, it can be said that most of the mentioned things are unconsciously inscribed in folktales.

The study

The folktales studied are Sri Thanonchai and The Two Moons, Sri Thanonchai’s Special Dishes, ( Kaeo, the horse- face girl), (Seven Pot , Seven Jar), The Twin Stars, Krai Thong, and Chanthakorop or Mora. The  analytical techniques of children’s literature and media discourse  are applied to analyze the folktales. The findings and discussion are as follows;

 Differences

1. Appearances and characters

            In most folktales, the differences of men’s and women’s appearances and characters are very obvious and distinctive. It is to be noted here that men are usually admired and narrated in a positive and admirable fashion while women are mostly blamed and used as the obstacles in the stories. The following examples show the differences.

Men;

-Kaeo honored to be trained by this wise man. ( Kaeo,the horse-face girl)

-Their only son was an unusual boy with exceptional strength.( Seven pot, seven jar)

-I am so strong that I can pull 100 carts at time…,( Seven pot, seven jar)

- Our king has sent many brave men to fight.., ( Seven pot, seven jar)

Women ;

-When Kaeo arrived and the King saw how very ugly she was..,( Kaeo the horse –face girl)

- the home of an evil sorceress..,( Seven pot, seven jar)

- This woman had a very foul mouth.(Sri Thanonchai’s special dishes)

- Phra Sri borrowed money from an old woman ( Sri Thanonchai and the two moons)

- You ( Mora) are an evil woman. ( Mora)

            We can see from the examples that the adjectives used with men are positive and admirable. As for women, the adjectives used in negative ways. Women are not respected and admired. Most of the time we can also see that men are used as the leading characters in the stories. They are narrated as the heroes or the leaders while women are usually portrayed as old, ugly, foul , sometimes weak : ‘ Old woman, why are you crying?’( Sri Thanonchai and the Two moons), ‘The mother sobbed quietly.’( Seven pot, Seven jar). It should be noted that the words ‘ crying and sobbed’ shows women’s weak characteristics. Men are not described with this kind of word. Women are usually found to  play the weak and inferior roles in the stories. 

2. Social classes

Men: men are usually portrayed as the high class people. It is very obvious to see from the stories that the positions of men are the Prince, the King , the scholar, and the minister. For example,

-Khun Muang was a minister.(Sri Thanonchai’s special dishes)

- Prince Pinthong, the son of King Phuwadol( Kaeo,the horse-face girl)

-Chanhakorop was a son of King Prommathat.(Mora)

- Sri Thanonchai is considered a scholar, in the stories he is usually asked to solve the problems.( the writer)

Women : Women are mostly positioned to be a housewife, mother and the prize to be won by men. This is an ordinary thing found in most Thai folktales. This also implies that women are usually portrayed to be in inferior positions. They have no power to determine their lives. Some stories like “Sri Thanonchai and the two moons” an old woman is tricked by Phra Sri. Specifically, women are not shown as being wiser than men.  Besides, they are controlled  by their father. For example,

Women as prize to be won

- anyone who defeats the giant will marry the princess( Seven pot, seven jar)

- whoever could kill the crocodile and bring back his daughter alive would get her hand as a reward ( Krai Thong)

- the Queen decided to present Watchara and Prince Pinthong with her daughters’ hands in marriage( Kaeo, the horse-face girl)

Women as housewife and mother

- I would like for you to accept me as your wife.., ( Kaeo,the horse-face girl)

-One evening when Khun Muang’s wife had finished cooking.(Sri Thanonchai’s special dishes)

- the mother called her son.., ‘ Do not worry, Mother.’ ( Seven pot, seven jar)

In the story of Kaeo, and the Twin Stars, it is considered improper for women to ask a man to marry. It cannot be accepted. In Thai culture , it is men’s responsibility to ask for a woman hands.  Thus, it is quite clear that women are usually portrayed to be in lower and powerless classes. They cannot be independent and should be taken care of or provided for. Besides, at the beginning of the stories, the narrators usually introduce the lives of the high class people to the readers and most of them are men who are powerful, independent and wealthy. However, a story of ‘The Twin Stars’, a woman who is Phra In’s niece is portrayed as a very beautiful and capable woman. She is also known for her spinning and weaving abilities. We should notice that she is only good at household work and it seems that she is admired and depicted as Phra In’s niece. She looks to be in high class, but like Kaeo, the horse-face girl, Phra In’s niece has to look for the perfect husband. When the right man was found, she was portrayed as a housewife. “She must care for the house, the farm, the cows, and her new husband.”(The twin stars, p.106). It is very apparent that a woman, although given a higher status and power at the beginning of the story, is lowered her class by the narrator. But if we look at the Twin Stars, the powerless boy was given power at the end of the story. That is , he became the ruler of the kingdom.

3. Space given to men and women

The stories analyzed show that men are given unlimited space while women’s space is limited.

            In Seven Pot, Seven Jar, men had the right to travel and adventure into the forest as they pleased. Chet Huat Chet Hai, his father and his friends could go the forest  and to fall a giant while the mother just stayed at home and waited for the return of her husband.

In Mora, Chanthakorop could go and studied with the sage in the forest while Mora was kept and limited inside the casket by the sage. It can be found out later that  Mora’s  freedom only comes from Chanthakorop’s curiosity.

In Sri Thanonchai’s Special Dishes, the minister had the right to work outside, but his wife was limited inside the house and portrayed as a housewife as we can see from the following example; ‘ One evening when Khun Muang’s wife had finished cooking.’(Sri Thanonchai’s special dishes). There are no stories that men found to be a cook. There are only women who have to cook for her family or husband.

Similarities

1.      Learning Experience of men and women

It is found that both men and women are similar to each other in a way. In this sense men and women have to face problems, they usually find someone to help solve the problems and teach some kinds of knowledge to them. In the story of Sri Thanonchai and the Two Moon, an old woman was tricked by Phra Sri. She could not win Phra Sri. Not long after that a Buddhist novice came to help her. She then got her money back. She was assisted by the novice. What’s more, In Sri Thanonchai’s Special Dishes, a minister whose wife was impolite also asked Phra Sri to help him change his wife’s behavior.

In the story of Kaeo, it was found that she was trained by a wise man . The hermit taught Kaeo many things, be they the art of curing with medicinal herbs, speaking with animals and being kind towards all living things. We can also see that it is a similar thing for men and women to learn through wise men .In the story of Mora, Chanthakorop was trained under the sage in the forest. He was also helped by God Indra. Another story that supports this fact is Krai Thong, that is Chalawan who was a male crocodile was assisted by his grandfather, Tao Rampai and at the same time Krai Thong, an expert on catching crocodiles, was taught and supported by his teacher. Thus, it is obvious to see that men and women are usually helped and taught by wise men. They learn through men in many ways. However, in terms of learning experience, men are usually depicted to be wise, strong and independent. That is, they can help themselves like the story of Seven Pot, Seven jar.

2. Men and women in adventure

            There are some parts of the stories that show the similarity of men and women in terms of adventurous experience. Take the story of Kaeo, for example. Kaeo was a very ugly woman. She was wanted to bring some soil from Sumeru Mountain. She had to take a long trek on her own. Her life was full with adventure. She had to defend the kingdom and killed giants. The same  is true for Seven Pot , Seven Jar, the four boys are adventurous . They had to fight against a giant and sorceress. They also had to spend their lives in the forest. The boys themselves were very strong. They had no magic tools like Kaeo. Kaeo had a magic boat and knife. Before she would fight the giants she disguised herself as a young man. It should be noted here that although Kaeo was adventurous, she had magic tools and had to disguise into a young man. This shows that even though men and women are equally adventurous, women have to be disguised to be a man. 

Ideologies and folktales

Through analyzing the folktales we can see that there are some ideologies hidden in the folktales.

1.Dhamma  Principles;

It can be seen from the folktales that when men did something wrong they were not blamed by their society. Take the story of Kaeo, for example. Prince Pinthong could have many wives and at the same time he didn’t keep his promise to Kaeo. His actions conflict with the principle of The Ten Regal Qualities (Thosapitraja-dhamma) and Six directions[1] . This may reflect that the King and the Prince can do no wrong and can have as many wives as they wish. Men are usually portrayed as good while women are narrated bad as found in Mora, Seven Pot, Seven Jar. Mora was condemned as an evil woman as she committed adultery with a bandit and offered herself as the wife of an eagle . In the story of Kaeo, she was very ugly although she was honest. This shows that being honest cannot help her. The dhamma found in the folktales show that ‘ Doing good doesn’t always mean receiving good things.’ In terms of killing , it is interesting to see that Kaeo could kill giants without being blamed, the boys in Seven Pot , Seven Jar, could kill a giant, Krai Thong could kill the crocodile. All of the mentioned things conflict with the Panatipata principle of the Buddhist precepts . That is, not to kill any living things. It seems that killing is an ordinary thing in Thai folktales even though it is a wrongful deed. Thus, it can be implied that folktales don’t always teach us moral lessons.

2.Marriage

            It is quite strange to see that only beautiful women have the right to marry the prince. Kaeo, who was ugly, had to be tested and disguised although she was a good woman. It seems that the beauty ideology had played a very important role in Thai society and it is also unusual to see that Kaeo and Phra IN’s niece had to find their own husbands. Phra In’s niece, Mora and women considered the prize to be won didn’t have the right to know that their husbands were good or bad. We can thus assume that the women as prize to be won might be beautiful. This can be implied that men were powerful in the society and only beautiful women can be a good match for the men. The ideology hidden here is that if you are beautiful you can be successful and chosen.

Conclusion

Through studying Thai folktales carefully, it can be seen that men are usually portrayed as powerful, independent, wealthy and adventurous. If you are a man, it means that you are successful in the society. As for women, they are portrayed as weak, dependent and worse than that, as the prize to be won. Folktales, in fact, don’t always teach us moral lessons, but they instill some ideologies into us. That is, they contain some class and gender bias. Besides, some wrongful ideologies are instilled in the folktales; killing and committing adultery. Thus, it can be implied that men and women are still unequal.

 Bibliography:

English

Nodleman,P The Pleasures of Children’s Literature. London: Longman, 1996.

Vathanaprida, S, Thai Tales; Folktales of Thailand.

Chadchaidee, T., Fascinating Folktales of Thailand, Thailand, Thanapol Press,2548.

Thai

มณี พยอมยงค์,วัฒนธรรมลานนาไทย สำนักงานคณะกรรมการวัฒนธรรมแห่งชาติ    กระทรวงศึกษาธิการ,2524.

เสน่หา  บุณยรักษ์ , คติชนวิทยา, ภาควิชาภาษาไทย คณะวิชามนุษย์ศาสตร์และ สังคมศาสตร์       วิทยาลัยพิบูลสงคราม พิษณุโลก สหวิทยาลัยพุทธชินราช,2535.

In the course of my learning English, I find it exciting to see many new dictionaries. It might not over exaggerate to say that compiling a dictionary is the biggest and hardest task for a human being. However, there are many lexicographers or commoners who can fulfill the task. When I was in M 6, the only dictionary compiler that I knew was S. Setthaputra. For me he is the greatest dictionary compiler in Thailand or even in the world. Some people might not know that he compiled an English-Thai dictionary while he was in prison! More than 10 years later, he spent the better life in compiling a Thai- English dictionary.

Both dictionaries were selling like hot cakes in those days. Many Thai and foreign students usually consulted them. Sulak Sivarak, a social and outspoken critic, also bought S. Setthaputra’s dictionaries when he went to pursue his education in England. Sulak constantly reads them whenever he has free time. Besides, S. Setthaputra was a royal translator whose duty was to translate news from Thai to English for the king. When he was studying abroad, he usually wrote articles to the Times. This made him to be adept at English. Apart from compiling dictionaries, he also wrote three books entitle “ไปนอก” ( Going abroad). Many present-day dictionary compilers have been inspired by S.Setthaputra’s tireless dedication and efford.                                                                                              

The second dictionary compiler that I know is Ajarn Sathienpong, a fellow of the Royal Institute, professor at Silpakorn University and special lectures in Buddhism at Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University. He used to be a Buddhist monk and he was also the first Buddhist novice who received the ninth level of Pali studies in this dynasty. He excels in Thai, Sanskrit and English language. His great work is “Domnern Sathienpong Thai-English Dictionary. Besides, he translated Words in the Dhammapada and Life of the Buddha. So we can say that his proficiency of languages made him successful in compiling the hard-fought work.

Wong Wattanaphichet is another great dictionary compiler whom I admire. The amazing thing is that he is Chinese who moved to Thailand with the hope that he could teach the Chinese language to those who were interested. Unfortunately, many Chinese schools were closed by the government. He then spent his life in learning Thai and English on his own.

 “ I have not had the privilege of an education in an English speaking country, nor an opportunity to study with a teacher whose mother tongue is English while in China, but had forgotten almost every thing about it before I came to Thailand in 1948 at the age of 22. So I had to do it all by myself the hard way right from the pronunciation of the alphabet and the spelling of the names of the days of the week and those of the months.”

This means that he had to face the hardest difficulty in his life. With his assiduous effort, he could learn and communicate in both Thai and English. The translations from Thai-English and English-Thai are a piece of cake for him. As time passes by, he began to compile a dictionary entitled “English By Example, A Dictionary of English Collocations with Thai Translations”. In fact, he did it as a part time job for 8 years. Fortunately, at 75, still in good health, he started working on a new dictionary “Thai-English Dictionary” in February 2001 by labouring for about two and a half years. He said:

          “After due consideration, I decided on compiling a Thai- English dictionary, because although there were several such dictionaries in print, there still seemed a lack of one that is up to date and adequate to serve the needs of both Thai students  of English and foreign learner of the Thai language.”

          If we read his preface of the Thai-English dictionary, we can see the process of making a dictionary. He said:

          “ My compilation process comprised three stages: to select words and phrases to be included in the Dictionary, to find out the meanings of each word and phrases, and to write the meanings in English.”

As for the people who are interested in the religious cycle,              “Dictionary of Buddhism” might be familiar with your ears. The dictionary was compiled by Venerable Phra Dhammapitaka( P.A. Payutto). He is a scholar monk. It is said that he has read every volume of Encyclopedia Britainica, let alone the 45 volumes of the Pali Cannon! What surprised me most is that he compiled this dictionary when he was in twenties. The person who can compile such a dictionary must thoroughly read and understand every word contained in the Tripitaka. Although he usually says that he is a slow reader, he is a keen reader who is careful and heedful in every detail of the text. Thai, English and Pali are his advantages in writing books and compiling dictionaries. Asked what kind of books he likes to read, he loves reading dictionaries and encyclopedias. Ajarn Sulak and Ajarn Sathienpong admire him a lot. He is also my inspiration in reading and learning new things. “Keep learning and fighting against difficulties” is his favorite motto. Now he is in poor health. I am really worried about him.

Another great dictionary compiler is Ajarn Nopporn Suwanapanich, a lexicographer and versatile reader. I always feel astonished whenever I read his books. For me he is a renaissance man. Rong Wongsawan said that Nopphorn is a remarkable man who has read all great novels and literature of the world. He now possesses about 300 dictionaries. My inspiration of learning English derives from his writings. As far as I know, he has compiled many kinds of dictionary: Dictionary of Sweets, Dictionary of Foods and Cuisine, Dictionary of Sports, Dictionary of Teas, Dictionary of Jokes, Dictionary of Slang, Dictionary of Obscenity and so on. Besides, he likes to travel all around the world. Japan might be his favorite place as he used to study there and also write many books about Japan. With his great proficiency of English, he is also a simultaneous interpreter of the United Nations. Not only does he know English, he also knows French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese and to name but a few.

Of all dictionary compilers, I like the assiduous effort of S. Setthaputra, the carefulness and humble character of Phra Phromkunaphorn, the good heart of Wong Wattanaphichet, the benevolence of Sathienpong and the versatility of S. Nopporn.

In fact, there are many great dictionary compilers in Thailand and all around the world. However, few people know that before making dictionaries, the men behind them have to be patient and careful with strong will.