Illuminating the Life of the Buddha: An Illustrated Chanting Book from Eighteenth-Century Siam

About the Book

This lavishly illustrated book investigates an outstanding eighteenth-century example of a samut khoi, a type of beautiful folding book found in Southeast Asia, which became particularly popular as a repository for the Buddha's teachings. Written in Pli and produced in the Kingdom of Siam, its finely executed pictures, painted on khoi paper, show key incidents from stories of the past lives of the Buddha as he prepares for Buddhahood. These tales, historically one of the principal means whereby Buddhist teachings were communicated, known as Jtakas, are a favourite theme for manuscript art. Uniquely for such manuscripts, however, this samut khoi also offers an extensive series of scenes from the last life of the Buddha, including his final awakening and teaching, which is distinctive to the region. These related narratives all contribute to a superb example of eighteenth-century manuscript and calligraphic art.

As well as affording great artistic opportunities for expressing the beauty of the Buddha's words and achievements, samut khois are repositories for popular chants and short distillations of doctrine. This book describes the context to this unusually rich expression of Thai Buddhist creativity and, in retelling the stories depicted, reveals the continued appeal of its closely related art and narrative traditions.

About the Author :
Naomi Appleton is Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Sarah Shaw is a member of Wolfson College and the Oriental Institute and an honorary fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. Toshiya Unebe is Associate Professor in the Department of Indian Studies at Nagoya University, Japan.

Review :
'The best resource for the study of pre-modern Siamese Buddhist art and literature to come out in over a decade, and one of the most significant publications in the history of Thai Buddhism. …Shaw's thorough research tracing the journey of the text, combined with Appleton and Unebe's respective expertise in texts and art, make this book an absolute essential resource for any student or scholar embarking on teh study of the extensive and sophisticated Siamese manuscript culture. it is quite an achievement.' 'This well-illustrated book investigates an outstanding eighteenth-century example of a samut khoi, a type of folding book found in Southeast Asia, which became particularly popular as a repository for the Buddha’s teachings. Written in Pali and produced in the Kingdom of Siam, its finely executed pictures, painted on khoi paper, show key incidents from stories of the past lives of the Buddha as he prepares for Buddhahood. . . . This book describes the context to this unusually rich expression of Thai Buddhist creativity and, in retelling the stories depicted, reveals the continued appeal of its closely related art and narrative traditions.' 'In a short review without illustrations, I cannot even simulate the perfect harmony between images and text that the reader can admire in this volume. Illuminating the Life of the Buddha is not only a descriptive book on a siamese manuscript of the Eighteenth-century, but also a genuine homage to the culture, art, and the religious afflatus that created it. This work by Appleton, Shaw, and Unebe is undoubtedly one of the most important recent contributions to the study of Southeast Asian Buddhism and Thai narrative art.'