Glossary

Abhayamudra - a gesture of soothing or protection: the right arm is bent at the elbow, the hand raised to shoulder level, palm outwards and fingers together.

Adorer - a deity in a pose of worship: the palms of the hands pressed together in front of the chest.

Anjalimudra - a gesture of greeting or worship: the palms of the hands pressed together in front of the chest.

Antaravasaka - the lowest element of a monk’s clothing: an unsewn length of cloth that is wrapped around the hips and tied at the waist; the free end is arranged in parallel vertical folds and tucked in behind the belt, descending in a narrow strip between the legs.

Ayutthaya - the capital of a Siamese state of the same name (1350-1767) that united the whole of Siam with the exception of the Far North.

Bhumisparshamudra - a gesture of "calling the Earth to witness", performed by the seated Buddha: the left hand lies palm upwards in the lap, the right hand on the shin with the palm inwards, the fingers touching the ground. This gesture symbolizes Gautama’s victory over Mara, the lord of evil forces, when he called upon the goddess of the Earth to attest to all his previous merits and virtues.

Bodhisattva - a person who has achieved the highest level of perfection and is on the point of attaining nirvana (the ultimate goal of Buddhists), but postpones this while there is even one person on the Earth in need of aid and salvation. A very important concept in the Mahayana.

Buddha - "the enlightened one" - an epithet given to Prince Siddhartha of the Shakya tribe after he attained a state of boddhi, "Enlightenment", when he grasped the Sublime Wisdom. The founder of Buddhism, one of the three ancient Indian religions.

Buddha Calming the Ocean - a reference to an episode when the Buddha saved fire worshippers, who had taken refuge in a cave on the shore of the ocean, from a deadly flood.

Buddha Maravijaya - the"Buddha who vanquished Mara" - a name given in Siam to the episode in which Gautama called upon the Earth goddess to bear witness and gained victory over Mara, the lord of evil forces.

Buddha Reconciling Relatives - an episode in the life of the Buddha when he reconciled two clans of his relatives who had argued over the right to use the waters of the River Rohini for irrigation.

Buddhism - a religion that arose in the 6th-5th centuries B.C. in eastern India. The name comes from the word "Buddha" - "the enlightened one" - the name given to Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the founder, after he had attained the state of boddhi or Enlightenment and grasped the Sublime Wisdom.

Bun - "merit", a pious act of a believer that improves his future incarnation. There is an expression tham bun - "to acquire merit" - referring to a person’s efforts to perform as many pious acts as possible in order to ensure themselves a happier next life.

Chakri (or Chakkri) - the present dynasty of rulers of Thailand, established in 1782. The first king of this dynasty, General Chakri, was crowned as Rama (Ramatibodi) and all subsequent members of the dynasty have added the name Rama to their own.

Chulasakkaraja era - the "Little Era" of the calendar with a starting date in 638 A.D. that was used officially in Siam until the late 19th century.

"Closed manner" of wearing clothing - the outer garment covers both shoulders.

Crowned Buddha - the Buddha wearing a crown and jewellery in combination with a monk’s clothing. This image became very common in the countries of Indochina. In Ayutthaya art it took on a special, truly state significance. This was connected with the particular conception of the legitimization of royal power that developed in Ayutthaya: the image of the ruler, sovereign, that formed there was highly original for countries with a Buddhist culture.

Curls - one of the most typical elements in the iconography of the Buddha. According to legend, when he left his father’s house, Prince Siddhartha shaved off his long hair and the locks remaining on his head immediately formed snail-shell-like curls on his scalp. The curls always spiral clockwise. The origin of this attribute is not clear.

Dhyanamudra - a gesture of the hands that always accompanies a pose of meditation: the hands are placed palm upwards in the lap one on top of the other and the arms rest on the folded legs.

Donor - a person who has given money for the building of a temple or the making of a statue.

Elongated earlobes - an invariable attribute of a depiction of the Buddha. It is probably due to the fact that before the Buddha’s withdrawal into asceticism, he wore like his peers heavy earrings that stretched the earlobes, and stretched earlobes thus point, as it were, to his royal origin.

Enlightenment - comprehension of the Sublime Wisdom available only to buddhas.

Garuda - a figure from Indian mythology adopted by the Thais: a solar eagle, the king of the birds and sworn enemy of serpents. In Thailand the symbol of royal power.

Gautama - the clan name of the founder of Buddhism, better known simply as the Buddha.

Hinduization - the process of the spread and adoption across South-East Asia of Indian cultural traditions that embraced a whole variety of spheres - state administration, religion, art, written language, literature and more.

Jataka - a traditional literary genre relating about the former lives of the Buddha before his final deliverance. A total of 549 jatakas are known, telling of the 549 reincarnations of the Buddha. His last earthly reincarnation was in the guise of Prince Siddhartha Gautama.

Karma - the deeds of a person that determine his or her future reincarnation; in Buddhism karma - the sum total of all a person’s good and bad deeds - assumes the role of rigorous ethical mechanism that influences one’s future life.

Ketumala - the finial of the ushnisha, the raised area on the top of the Buddha’s head, in the form of stylized tongues of flame.

Lang Chang - a Laotian state that existed in the north-east of the Indochina peninsula from 1353 to 1700.

Lanna - a state in the Far North of present-day Thailand that existed up to the late 18th century. It flourished from the second half of the 13th century to the middle of the 16th.

Mahaparinirvanas - "the great full passing into nirvana": among the eight major episodes in the life of the Buddha, his death, that became known as the mahaparinirvana, holds a significance on a par with the Enlightenment. It is believed that Shakyamuni attained nirvana at the moment of Enlightenment, but remained on Earth to preach his teaching to people.

Mahapurushalakshanas - "signs of a Great Man" - is a concept adopted from India of special signs on the bodies of great rulers and deities testifying to their merits and perfection. According to the canon, the Buddha had 32 major and 80 minor tokens of his highest degree of perfection.

Mahayana - one of the two main tendencies in Buddhism, stressing not someone’s personal merits and individual efforts, but the aid of bodhisattvas and religious ritual.

Mara - the prince of darkness, lord of demons and evil forces, who attempted many times to prevent Gautama from attaining the Sublime Wisdom.

Meditation - a state of deepened contemplation, detachment from external objects and some inner feelings; one of the chief means of attaining religious liberation.

Mon - one of the most ancient peoples of Indochina. In the 6th-11th centuries they settled in the southern areas of central Thailand. In a process of assimilation, in the 13th-15th centuries, the Mon and incoming Thais formed that cultural community that until 1939 was known as Siam and Siamese.

Mongkut (1851-1868) - the fifth ruler of the Chakri dynasty. The first Siamese king who spoke several European languages and was familiar with Western civilization. A man of exceptional curiosity and great diligence, he devoted himself particularly to the study of languages, European philosophy, mathematics and astronomy, history and the concept of the state. He was the first to begin modernizing the system of government and to expand political contacts with the European powers. He pursued an "open-door" policy, trying in every way to become closer to the European states, while nonetheless avoiding colonization.

Mudra - "stamp", symbolic hand gestures borrowed by Buddhist ritual and iconography from the choreography of Indian dances. From early times the language of gesture played an immense role in traditional dances that always had a religious aspect.

Museum Fund - an organization created in 1917 to assume responsibility for the preservation and registration of works of art left without supervision.

Nirvana - (literally, "act of extinguishing") - the ultimate goal of Buddhists, understood as liberation from all earthly desires, passions, longings, etc.

"Open manner" of wearing clothing - in this case the outer clothing covers only the left shoulder, leaving the right bare. The free part of the cloth is arranged as a narrow band of pleats on the chest. In Sukhothai art this pleated edge reaches to the navel, in the art of the Far North to the left nipple.

Paccekabuddha - a person who reached Enlightenment through his own efforts without ever having heard of the Buddha Shakyamuni or his teaching.

Pagan - a state that existed on the territory of present-day Burma between 1044 and 1287, and also its capital of the same name. One of the foremost centres of Buddhist culture in South-East Asia.

Pali - the language of the sacred texts of Theravada Buddhism, in which the Buddhist canon was first written down on Sri Lanka in the 1st century B.C.

Pralambapadasana - a sitting pose with legs extending downwards in the "European manner".

Rama I - General Chakri (1782-1809), the founder of the Chakri dynasty that still reigns today. The founder of Bangkok, the capital of Siam. A talented statesman who did much to unify and strengthen the state. In the sphere of art he sought to preserve and continue Ayutthaya tradition.

Rama II (1809-1824) - the second ruler of the currently reigning Chakri dynasty. Continued the policies of his father, Rama I, devoting much attention to religious education, the activities of the monastic community, the creation of religious sculpture and architecture.

Rama V Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) - the fifth ruler of the currently reigning Chakri dynasty. One of the most extraordinary and striking personalities in the history of Siam. In the late 1890s he carried out a set of major reforms that ensured his country’s active development in the 20th century. In 1897 King Chulalongkorn visited Russia to ask for support against the aggressive policies of France. As a result of this successful trip to Russia and on to other European countries, Siam remained the only country of South-East Asia not to become a colony. Diplomatic relations between Russia and Siam were established in 1898.

Samghati - a cape that is one of the three components of monastic dress, worn over the other two.

Sarnath - a city in eastern India, one of the eight sacred places connected with major events in the Buddha’s life.

Serpent - the snake as worshipped by various peoples since deep antiquity and invested with a variety of functions and abilities. Serpents are closely connected with the earth, fertility, the feminine principle, water and rain, and also with ideas of longevity and immortality. As a symbol of creative energy the serpent has a direct connection to the sexual sphere.

Shakyamuni - "the sage of Shakya stock" - one more epithet of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, usually used in the standard expression "the Buddha Shakyamuni".

Siddhartha - the name given at birth to the future Buddha.

Solar - connected with sun worship. Solar cults are among the most ancient in the world.

Struggle between Garuda and the serpents - the myth says that Vinata, Garuda’s mother, was treacherously tricked by her sister Kadru into becoming her slave. Kadru agreed to release her sister on condition that Garuda steals from the gods the elixir of immortality (amrita) for her sons, who were serpents or nagas. Garuda overcame great difficulties to obtain the elixir and freed his mother, but the gods use cunning to recover the amrita. After this occurrence Garuda and the serpents lived in a state of permanent enmity.

Sukhasana - a less rigorous pose used for prolonged meditation: the feet are not placed on the thighs, but beneath them.

Sukhothai - the capital of the Thai state of the same name that existed from 1238 to 1438 in the north of the country. The first actual Thai state on the territory of Thailand.

Thai Yuan - the language of the northern Thais used on the territory of Lanna (the Far North) until the late 19th century.

Thai Lanna - a script used in Lanna (the Far North) exclusively for writing religious texts; no longer in use.

Theravada - "the way of the elders" - one of the two main tendencies in Buddhism, followed in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Sri Lanka. This branch of Buddhism took final shape on Sri Lanka in the 12th and 13th centuries and spread from there to Indochina. For its followers the most important thing is a person’s own efforts on the path of liberation from the chain of reincarnations.

Urná - a special mark in the form of a small hair-covered mole between the brows or slightly higher on the Buddha’s forehead: a sign of higher spiritual power, one of the tokens of a "Great Man".

Ushnisha - a protuberance on the top of the Buddha’s head, beneath the hair, symbolizing his attainment of transcendental wisdom and a state of Enlightenment. One of the main attributes in the iconography of the Buddha.

Uttarasanga - the outer garment of a Buddhist monk, consisting of a long piece of cloth sewn from several strips. It is wrapped around the body in such a way as to cover both shoulders or only the left.

Vaishali (Vaisali) - the capital of an ancient principality in northern India. Nearby, according to legend, a monkey brought the Buddha honey. One of the eight sacred places of Buddhism.

Vajrasana - a sitting pose: legs crossed, the heels turned outwards.

Virasana - a sitting pose: the legs bent at the knees, the right leg placed on the left.

Vitarkamudra - the gesture of preaching: the thumb and forefinger joined in a circle, the palm facing the viewer.

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