March 11, 2010
Thai delegation presents multi-volume edition of the Buddhist canon to UW
One by one in a ceremony the afternoon of Monday, March 8, representatives of several Thai groups presented the 40 volumes of the World Tipitaka Edition, the Buddhist canon, to the UW Libraries.
A 26-member Thai delegation was led by Princess Vudhichalerm Vudhijaya Gilbert as well as Suradhaj Bunnag, president of the World Tipitaka Project and Kraisi Kannasut, president of the UW Alumni Association of Thailand.
Princess Vudhichalerm and His Excellency, Don Pramudwinai, Thai ambassador to the United States, read the dedication of the World Tipitaka in English and Thai.
Betsy Wilson, dean of University Libraries, then formally received the gift on behalf of the Libraries.
Presentation of the World Tipitaka is “not only an honor for the University of Washington Libraries, but the capstone of UW’s long connection with Thailand,” said Charles Keyes, a UW professor emeritus of anthropology and international studies who was founding director of Southeast Asian studies at the UW and is an expert on Thailand.
Judith Henchy, head of the Southeast Asian Section of the Libraries, coordinated the event, which was held in the Petersen Room of Allen Library.
The Tipitaka, which means “three baskets,” contains disciplinary precepts for monastic followers of the Buddha, his discourses and summaries of Buddhist doctrine. Initially transmitted orally, the Tipitaka was written down in the Pali language during the first century in Sri Lanka. In the late 19th century, King Chulalongkorn of Siam, as Thailand was then known, ordered that the Tipitaka be produced in Thai script.
The World Tipitaka Edition in the Roman script version given to the UW is based on the work of a council of monks in 1954-56.
The Thai alumni association helped bring the World Tipitaka Edition to the UW.
