Traibhmikath/Tebhmikath /

te/trai = three, triple bhmi = plane, level, sphere kath = talk, discussion

Note: it should read (kath) instead of (gth), which means "verses"

Videos:
(3D animation - very nice)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylaZvvO3gag (cartoon, shorter version, also nice) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WJcY2PVkHg (slideshow of the main contents) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lriHpL99ww (overview with text) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ePpUo8qBAQ

InThai:

"" "" "" "" " " .. 1888 3 ( )

http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9E %E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87

http://buddhism.hum.ku.ac.th/topics/trai_bhumi.htm

English translation: Frank E. Reynolds: Three Worlds According To King Ruang, a Thai Buddhist Cosmology. Berkeley 1982.

In the 14th century, the heir apparent to the throne of the central Thai kingdom completed the first truly literary work of a Thai author. Phya Lithai entitled his work Sermon on the Three Worlds but it later became known as Three Worlds of King Ruang. It is the culmination of a long history of visionary and cosmological literature within the Theravada tradition, representing in a vivid and concise form, the religious universe within which Thai Buddhists have traditionally lived. In particular, the description of death and the fates which await beings who die in the thirty-one realms of the Three Worlds portray the process of dying and depict the relative absence of suffering and pollution at high levels of attainment.Because of the prestige of its author, its claim to orthodox authority and its strong popular appeal, this text exerted a powerful influence on the religious consciousness of the Thai, on their literary and artistic development and on their social and ethical attitudes. Despite harsh criticisms to which the texts have been subjected by a number of Buddhist modernists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this influence has persisted to the present day. Thus, not only from a buddhological point of view, but also from a historical or anthropological perspective, it is no exaggeration to say that the Three Worlds of King Ruang is the most important and fascinating text that has been composed in the Thai language.

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Worlds-According-King-Ruang/dp/0895811537 http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8586/2493


Creation Myth in 'Three Worlds According to King Ruang': A Teaching of Buddhist Philosophy by Suchitra Chongstitvatana

The creation myth in the text is found in the chapter concerning the destruction of the Mahakappa, explaining the cosmic destruction by the fire, water and wind. After the destruction, the text describes the cosmic devolution and the devolution of society. It is found that the text explains the natural cycle of creation and destruction. The most interesting aspect is the explanation of the origin of human beings and society. According to the text, human beings have in fact the 'divine' origin. The details of the 'creation myth' in this Buddhist cosmology reflect a significant evidence that the myth is employed ultimately for the purpose of teaching Buddha Dhamma. Firstly, the myth focuses on the 'divine' origin of human beings and nature so as to enhance the faith in the concept of 'merit'. By practising Dhamma, all beings could attain a state of 'divinity' and otherworldly qualities. This reflects the 'humanistic' dimension of Buddhist philosophy. Second, by emphasising 'virtues' as the 'norm' for the status of the leader of kings, the text is functioning as a didactic text for the readers. Thirdly, the myth also serves as enhancement of the faith in the supreme bliss of Enlightenment or Nibbana. The myth obviously illustrated how human defilements are the cause of human suffering and hardship in life and significantly the 'cause' of the loss of their 'divinity' and 'magical power'. Moreover, the myth reflects the impermanence of all the cosmos, the cycle of creations or destructions, and therefore emphasises the most desirable goal of Nibbana where the cycle of impermanence or suffering ends.

Nice PDF presentation with colour paintings from Thai temples illustrating the Three Worlds: http://apec.ucol.mx/Sem11/ponencias/37/SEM11_Presentacion_Chongstitvatana.pdf

The political and social aspect of the text remaining in SE Asia until today: http://asu.academia.edu/JulianeSchober/Papers/834386/The_Theravada_Buddhist_Engagement_With_Modernit y_In_Southeast_Asia_Whither_the_Social_Paradigm_of_the_Galactic_Polity

Cosmology as Described in the Trai Phum Phra Ruang By Dr. Sumalai Ganwiboon The Trai Phum Phra Ruang or the Three Worlds according to King Ruang was the most important element of Thai Buddhism for at least five hundred years.[1] It was regarded to be almost as important as the Pli Tipitaka.[2] The three worlds are: (i) the sensual worlds, (ii) the form world, and (iii) the formless world. [3] These three worlds may be mentioned as Buddhist cosmology. Generally, cosmology seems to have nothing concerned with Buddhism. However, if we look at the term properly, we may find the connection therein. Cosmology is the term for the study of cosmic views in general and for the specific view or collection of images concerning the universe held in a religion or cultural tradition. The twofold meaning of the term is reminiscent of the double meaning of mythology, which is at the same time the study of myths and the dominant or representative assemblage of myths in a given tradition. However, the double usage of the term, it relates also to inquiry in the natural science. It is customary in the natural science to associate the term primarily with the first meaning given; more specifically, these science reserve cosmology for the scientific study of the universe considered as a whole. Thus, it is the most encompassing task of astronomy and is distinct from, even if presupposed by, sciences with a comparatively more limited object, such as physics or geology.[4] We may say that, Buddhist cosmology seems to have connection with the myth part. ... Buddhist cosmology is also mentioned in the The Three Worlds according to King Ruang. However, its significant should be mentioned here. The Trai Phum Phra Ruang was written about seven hundred years ago, in Khmer script, ancient Thai language.[11] The original text was based on the Pli Canon and its Commentaries,[12] by Phya Lithai, a Thai king. Its original title was the Traibhumikath or the Sermon on the Three Worlds, later on it became well known as theTrai Phum Phra Ruang or the Three Worlds according to King Ruang. King Ruang, Phra Ruang, or Phya Lithai was the name of a son of King Lelithai who reigned in the city of SriSajjanlaya of Sukhothai dynasty.[13]

According to Sulak Sivalaksa,[14] the book has strong political connotations, especially concerning the concept of Kamma. After Sukhothai, Ayudhya was the capital for almost five hundred years. The Three Worlds according to King Ruang still played a significant role in transmitting, and transforming popular Buddhism into the Thai worldview. Indeed, the text also influenced the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia. The Three Worlds according to King Ruang remained the supreme text even after the destruction of Ayudhyaabout two hundred and fifty years ago. As soon as the new dynasty was established at Dhonburi, and laterBangkok, The Three Worlds according to King Ruangwas copied and distributed widely under royal mandate, and mural paintings adorned new royal temples. However, the text pays an important rolled until the modernized of king Rama V who reformed the kingdom improved the western colonial administration under a centralized bureaucracy and absolute monarchy with modern army to suppress its citizens or provincial governors to be totally loyal to the Crown and Bangkok. Western education introduced by the king was entirely secular, with no room for developing Buddhist ethics or meditation. Although Buddhism was taught in the schools, it was taught ineffectively. ... The concept of the three worlds is also mentioned in the Pli texts. The Anguttaranikya[21] mentions about the three Dhtus. The term Dhtu is used in a cosmological sense to mean the three spheres or planes into which the entire universe is analyzed from an ethical and spiritual point of view. This analysis gives the different aggregates (Khandha) or the elements (Dhtu2 or Dhamma 2) that obtain in the three sphere, indicating the different levels of spiritual and ethical progress reached by beings belonging to the three spheres. The spheres are (i) the sensual sphere (Kma-dhtu), (ii) the material sphere (Rpa-dhtu), and (iii) the immaterial sphere (Arpa-dhtu). They are also called the three worlds (Loka): the sensuous world (Kmaloka), the material world (Rpa-loka), and the immaterial world (Arpa-loka), as well as the three regions (Bhmi): the sensuous region (Kmvacara-bhmi), the material region (Rpvacara-bhmi), and the immaterial region (Arpvacara-bhmi). http://sumalai.multiply.com/journal/item/1/1