Spiritual Beliefs and Eschatological Salvation of the Lao
An Analysis of the Four Palm Leaf Manuscripts and Words of Holy Men during the Early Twentieth Century
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12043105 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ryota Wakasone (Chiang Mai University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 237-260 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Tōnan Ajia Kenkyū/Tonan ajia kenkyu (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0563-8682 • E-ISSN: 2424-1377 |
| Publisher | Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.20495/tak.54.2_237 |
| OpenAlex | W7133488798 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
In their research on the "Holy Mans Rebellion," a millenarian movement that occurred in Thailand and Laos during the early twentieth century, historians have uncovered the concept of eschatology and belief in Maitreya.However, the idea of the eschatological salvation of the Lao, as derived from the Four Palm Leaf Manuscripts, has not yet been revealed.In addition, we do not know whether the Holy Mans Rebellion, in accordance with the tenets of Buddhism, was what influenced the spiritual belief systems of Lao society.Hence, in this study, we aim to reveal the concept of eschatological salvation and its connection with Cakkavatti, as well as the historical meaning of the Holy Mans Rebellion, in the context of Lao spiritual beliefs.We achieve this aim by analyzing the Four Palm Leaf Manuscripts that were handed down to temples, and also through the holy mens preaching to the Lao.We found that the eschatological savior of the Lao in the beginning of the twentieth century was a Cakkavatti; this belief was reflected in the divine right of kings.Furthermore, the holy men considered spiritual beliefs as being lower than Buddhist beliefs.This suggests that the words of holy men, who spoke hierarchically about Buddhism and spiritual beliefs, were spread among a wide range of peoples and became embedded within Lao society.Therefore, we discovered that there was significant meaning to the Laos thoughts about subjectivity as well as the historical significance of the Holy Mans Rebellion
Action (physics · Context (archaeology · Government (linguistics · Subject (documents · Chinese history and philosophy · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |