Siam 1893 Crisis : King of Siam Tipiṭaka 1893

King of Siam Pāḷi Tipiṭaka, 1893

"Pāḷi" is an old Indian dialect of the mass, spoken in the Indian Subcontinent over 3000 years ago. During the lifetime of the Buddha, Pāḷi was the Dhamma-language of the Buddhist teaching and thus finally became the written medium of Buddhist scripture, the Tipiṭaka.

During an early period, Pāḷi Tipiṭaka was committed to memory and was propagated by Theravada Buddhist monks orally from generation to generation. It was first written on palm leave some 400 years after the demise of Buddha or in the first century BC.

The first writtenPāḷi Tipiṭaka took place in old Sri Lanka when the entire Tipiṭaka was inscribed on palm leaves --in Sinhalese script-- for the first time. Consequently, the Tipiṭaka on palm leave was the conventional depository of the Buddhist Theravada scripture for over 2000 years.

In 1893, King Chulalongkorn of Siam revolutionised the traditional Buddhist depository convention --the King published the Tipiṭaka in Book-form for the first time. In stead of inscribing the sacred Pali texts by hand in old Khmer script, the King ordered a new edition, totaling 39 volumes, to be printed in modern-typeface of the Siam script.

With the efficiency of printing technology of the day, such as, Western printing machinery and local book-binding in Bangkok, these newly edited Siam-script Tipiṭakas were sent as royal gifts to 260 institutes across five continents in 1896.

Digital Archives form the M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund's World Tipiṭaka Project in Roman script, 1999-2007.

Tipiṭaka International Council B.E. 2500 (1956) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhammasociety/sets/72157600329146593/

World Tipitaka Edition in Roman Script 1956-2005 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhammasociety/sets/72157600416138576/

Tipitaka Studies Reference 2007 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhammasociety/sets/72157600406425037/

Royal Patron of Tipitaka : http://buddhavasse.blogspot.com/2007/06/royal-patron-of-tipitaka.html

http://www.dhammasociety.org

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