| Part ofa series on | ||||||||
| Theravāda Buddhism | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| Buddhism | ||||||||
Key figures
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
Southern Esoteric Buddhism andBorān Kammaṭṭhāna are terms used to refer to a collection of esoteric practices, views, and texts withinTheravada Buddhism. Often known asEsoteric Theravada orTantric Theravada, these labels highlight its parallel withtantric traditions—though it does not employactual tantras.
L.S. Cousins defines this phenomenon as "a type of Southern Buddhism which links magical and ritual practices to a theoretical systematisation of the Buddhist path itself."[1][2]
In the West, the study of Southern Esoteric Buddhism was pioneered by professorFrançois Bizot and his colleagues at theÉcole française d'Extrême-Orient. Their research, especially focusing on material discovered atAngkor, has been instrumental in revealing the complex interplay between orthodox Theravada doctrines and these esoteric practices.[3]
Over the past two centuries, the Boran tradition has been marginalized by colonial governments and by the "Protestant Buddhist" movement—reformers who promote a strict "Pali Tipitaka only" sola scriptura approach and dismiss local practices as deviations from orthodox scriptural teachings.[4] As such, the tradition stands in opposition toBuddhist modernism andSecular Buddhism.
As a term, Borān Kammaṭṭhāna is a combination of the Tai-Khmer word បុរាណpronounced[boːraːn] meaning ancient or outdated, derived from the Sanskrit word "Purāṇa" along with the Pali word Kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work". Essentially, it refers to outdated and ancient spiritual practices.[5][6]
Borān Kammaṭṭhāna specifically constitutes Theravada Buddhism that has blended into a distinct form with the ancient folk practices and esoteric spiritual traditions of the Tai-Khmer peoples ofThailand,Laos,Shan State inMyanmar,Cambodia, and theSipsongpanna district ofYunnan province in China.[7]
However, other parts of the Theravada world also have their own versions of esotericism.
Historically, monks of theAbhayagiri andJetavanaramaya fraternities inSri Lanka are known to have incorporatedBodhisattva vows andTantric rituals into their practices,[1] which may have later influencedSoutheast Asia through their missionary activities inJava. According to L. S. Cousins, elements of Southern Esoteric Buddhism might have developed within the mainstreamMahavihara tradition of Sri Lanka. He notes that the 5th-century scholarBuddhaghosa referred to “secret texts” (gulhagantham)—teachings transmitted only through aguru-disciple relationship—alongside other references to esoteric material in thePali commentaries. This suggests that esoteric traditions were already present withinTheravāda Buddhism before the 5th century CE.[8]
The practice ofParitta (protective chanting) in Sri Lanka may also trace its origins to tantric influences from mendicants of the Abhayagiri Vihara.[9] Paritta chanting plays a central role in Sri Lankan religious and social life, functioning both as a communal ceremony and a form of protection. The Sri LankanTheravāda tradition is unique for maintaining parittabhāṇaka (reciter) lineages dedicated to preserving these chants orally. While earlier oral lineages for transmitting theVinaya,Sutta, andAbhidhamma Piṭaka texts have largely disappeared, paritta transmission lineages have survived because oral transmission is believed to empower the texts with spiritual efficacy.[10]
The use ofYantra diagrams as meditation aids within the Theravāda tradition is also thought to have originated among members of the Abhayagiri community.[11]
Theravāda Buddhism inSoutheast Asia was also shaped by the influence ofVajrayāna, which flourished in the region during theKhmer Empire andSrivijaya periods. However, esoteric practices may have already been present due to the broaderIndianization of Southeast Asia.Ari Buddhism—practiced in theBagan Kingdom ofMyanmar (Burma)—combinedTantric elements from India with local traditions ofspirit andNāga worship. Scholars such asFrançois Bizot have proposed that the Buddhism of theMon people may have influenced the later Yogāvacara tradition.[3]
Cousins concludes that “it is quite possible that present-day Southern Esoteric Buddhism contains ideas and practices deriving from more than one of these sources. Nevertheless, it is certainly premature to assume that it has its origins in solely unorthodox circles.”[1]
_LACMA_M.91.232.5.jpg)
The Yogāvacara tradition remained a mainstream Buddhist practice inCambodia,Laos, andThailand well into the modern era. Evidence of its early presence includes thePhitsanulok Dhammakaya inscription from northern Thailand, which contains esoteric elements and dates to theSukhothai Kingdom (16th century). According to scholarKate Crosby, this inscription attests to an esoteric tradition older than any other living meditation tradition in the contemporary Theravada world.[12]
During the reign ofRama I, the Thai Yogāvacara masterKai Thuean (1733–1823) was invited toBangkok to lead the meditation tradition there. He was later appointedSangharaja (supreme patriarch) byRama II of Siam in 1820.[3] InSri Lanka, a revival of Buddhist meditation in the 1750s led to the proliferation of Yogāvacara teachings and texts by Thai monks from theAyutthaya Kingdom, including theYogāvacara's manual.[13]
Following the re-establishment of the Sri Lankansangha byUpali Thera, monks of theSiam Nikaya practiced and disseminated these teachings, establishing monasteries aroundKandy. Yogāvacara practices, such as the rapid repetition ofAraham, were still observed in Sri Lanka as late as the 1970s.[3]
The decline of Southern Esoteric Buddhism began in the 19th century with the rise of reformed Buddhism, particularly the establishment of theDhammayuttika Nikaya by KingRama IV (1851–1868) of the ThaiRattanakosin Kingdom in 1833. This reform movement emphasized thePali Canon as the main authority for monastic practices and sought to eliminate superstitious and folk religious elements.[14] The Dhammayuttika Nikaya was later introduced intoCambodia, then a protectorate of the Thai kingdom, further contributing to the decline of esoteric traditions.[3]
The textual foundation of this reform movement was rooted in theSri LankanMahavihara school, which had undergone its own reforms in the 12th century underParakramabahu I. This school, heavily influenced by the works of the 5th-century scholarBuddhaghosa, was regarded as the orthodox interpretation of Theravāda Buddhism and viewed other Buddhist practices as unorthodox.[3] The reforms reinforced strict monastic obedience to Mahavihara orthodoxy, leading to a decline in esoteric Buddhist practices and the production of non-canonical texts.
Further suppression occurred under theFrench colonial empire, which ruled Cambodia and continued the policy of marginalizing pre-reform Cambodian Buddhism. Despite these efforts, traditional esoteric practices persisted in rural areas. However, the devastation caused by theKhmer Rouge in Cambodia and religious repression inCommunist Laos inflicted additional damage on these traditions.[15]
Category:Boran Theravada temples
One of the last monks believed to have received initiation into the traditional Boran lineage in Sri Lanka was a monk namedDoratiyāveye Thera, who lived around the turn of the 20th century.[16] His life marks one of the last recorded links to theBoran or “ancient” meditation traditions that once thrived in Theravāda monasteries across the region.Some contemporary Buddhist movements in Southeast Asia are thought to preserve echoes of this heritage. Scholars suggest that elements of Yogāvacara practice have influenced modern Thai traditions such as theDhammakaya movement.[17][18][19] The movement’s mother temple,Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, and its associated online centers such as theVijja Meditation Center, continue to promote systematic forms of concentration and visualization practice.[20]
Throughout the region, temples integrate meditation, ritual, and popular devotional culture. Many monasteries engage lay followers through both Dhamma instruction and the sale of sacred items such asamulets,yantra cloth (Pha Yant), and protective tattoos. Temples likeWat Bang Phra are known for theirsak yant tattoo rituals, while others, such asWat Tha Sung, are celebrated for their elaborate ceremonies and meditative teachings.[21][22]
Outside Asia, the olderSamatha methods have also been maintained. TheSamatha Trust in the UK represents one such organization dedicated to teaching and preserving these early meditative traditions in the West along with the traditional Tai-Khmer knowledge ofbijas.[23][24]
.jpg)
Although it lacks tantric scriptures,Boran Kammatthāna preserves an extensive body of esoteric meditation manuals and ritual practices. Scholars describe Southern Esoteric Buddhism as a symbolic and mystical system that links the body, cosmos, and spiritual knowledge through correspondences involving sound, gesture, and number.[1][3]
Core elements of theYogāvacara orBoran Kammatthāna tradition include mantra recitation, protective and merit-making rituals, and symbolic meditation methods. These practices combine canonical Buddhism with local ritual culture, incorporatingParitta chanting, devotion to Buddhas and deities, and popular ceremonies such as theVessantara Festival andRoyal Ploughing Ceremony.[25]
Esoteric teachings emphasize inner visualization, sacred syllables, subtle-body imagery, and spiritual “alchemy” aimed at purification and transformation. Protective magic, amulets, and yantras in tattoo form such asSak Yant andcloth form part of the same ritual framework. Initiation between teacher and disciple (abhiseka) remains a key aspect of transmission.[3][26]
Research by François Bizot identifies a “rebirth” ritual in which meditation and visualization are modeled on embryonic development, culminating in the realization of theDhammakaya or “body of Dhamma.”[3] Other practices involve yantras inscribed with Pali syllables and colored-light visualizations culminating in visions of the Buddha orMount Sumeru.[3]
Traces of these traditions persist among modern Southeast Asian Buddhists, including Thai forest monks such asAjahn Lee Dhammadharo, whose textThe Divine Mantra reflects similar esoteric influences.[27] Overall,Boran Kammatthāna represents a distinctive Theravāda esoteric system that blends meditation, ritual, and symbolic cosmology within a tantric influenced framework.[3]
In thePali commentarial tradition, the termmūlakammaṭṭhāna is traditionally rendered as "basic meditation subject" or "root meditation theme." Within the classicalTheravāda tradition articulated in exegetical commentaries and meditation manuals, it denotes the primary object of focus selected by a practitioner to cultivatesamatha (tranquility) and developsamādhi. Common examples include mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), contemplation of the body (kāyagatāsati), or visualization of akasina (a colored disk or totality). These foundational practices serve as preparatory stages for attaining deeper meditative absorptions, orjhāna.
By contrast, the Tai-Khmer Yogāvacara tradition interpretsmūlakammaṭṭhāna through a distinct esoteric framework. Here, the concept encompasses a highly ritualized system integrating meditation with elements such as sacredKhmerseed syllables,mantra recitation, the activation of symbolic bodily points ("body loci"), and the visualization ofyantra-like diagrams. Unlike the canonical emphasis on mental stabilization, this approach seeks to catalyze the awakening of latent spiritual energies, reflecting a tantric-inflected methodology that extends significantly beyond conventional Theravāda exegesis.[26]
In the Yogāvacara tradition, sacred mantras such as"Namo Buddhaya" ("Homage to the Buddha") and"Araham" ("Worthy One") are central to meditation practice.[3] These mantras, also found inClassical Theravada, are imbued with esoteric interpretations, with each syllable assigned deeper, symbolic meanings.
For example, the mantra"Namo Buddhaya" is analyzed esoterically, with its syllables associated with familial and societal virtues.[1]
Robert Percival, who was in Ceylon from 1796 to 1800, described Buddhist mantra meditation as follows: "To their girdles they wear suspended strings of beads made of a brownish or black wood; and mutter prayers as they go along."[3]
These esoteric practices remain most prevalent inNorthern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism, where they integrate elements of Theravada and esoteric Buddhist traditions.[28]
In one text studied by Bizot, meditation includes visualization of colored lights paired with sacred syllables within the body, along with visions of the Buddha and astupa atopMount Sumeru.[3] Another text, the Ratanamala, uses theitipi so formula for various purposes, including:
TheSaddavimala, a widely circulated Yogāvacara text, describes how practitioners rebuild themselves spiritually by internalizing Dhamma as bodily components, forming a new, immortal spiritual body that replaces the physical form at death.[3] This process involves several key steps, which the yogavacara must undertake:
Prayers and worship of deities in Theravada Buddhism is rooted in sutta-based textual information such as the Nandiya Sutta and Pataligama Sutta which advise lay practitioners to provide offering of food in order to receive honors and mendicants to recollect the virtues of the devas in order to emulate their qualities.[29][30] Whereas classical Theravada includes parittas from the Pali Canon directed towards gods, the esoteric tradition involves lay and monastic acharyas who often compose their owngathas praising the qualities of a particular deity or deities and calling upon them in times of need.[31]
One ritual that is a part of the esoteric tradition of Theravada is theNaga ordination ceremony, sometimes a golden hat known as theKratham Hua is worn.[32] Whereas Classical Theravada makes use of wrathful practices such as the invocation of theAtanatiya Paritta for exorcisms, the esoteric tradition makes use of ritual implements such as theMitmor Knife as a conduit for the channeling of maha-metta and protection from dark forces.[33] This is similar to the use ofphurba andkarthika in tantric traditions.
Lay and monastic masters of esoteric arts in Thai culture are referred to asGeji Ajahn. A regional subsect ofGeji Ajahn in theLanna region of Thailand are referred to with the title ofKruba Ajahn.[34]
In Cambodia and Laos, the geji ajahns (respected forest masters) are renowned for their mastery of esoteric disciplines. They are widely believed to possess supernormal abilities such as thedivine eye and communication with spirits. These powers are cultivated through intensive practices includingKasina meditation, mantra recitation, and ascetic observances (dhutanga).
Today, their influence remains especially strong along the banks of theMekong, where monks and magicians following these traditions continue to attract devotees seeking spiritual protection, healing, and guidance.
![A statue of a Ruesi at Wat Suan Tan in [Nan, Thailand]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a2013_Wat_Suan_Tan_02.jpg)
In theIsigili Sutta, a well known paritta, the Buddha recollects the virtuous qualities of thepaccekabuddha rishis such as the Vedic sageBharadvaja.[35] The practices of the Burmese BuddhistWeizza ("Wizards") and ThaiRuesi, who follow an esoteric system of occult practices (such as recitation of spells,samatha and alchemy) believed to lead to supernormal powers and even immortality, might also be related to Southern Esoteric Buddhism.
.jpg)
For centuries, Brahmins have played an important role in the royal and religious life of Southeast Asia, working alongside Buddhist monks in state ceremonies, coronations, and calendrical rituals. From the courts ofAngkor andAyutthaya to present-dayBangkok, this collaboration gave rise to a distinctive blend of Buddhist and Brahmanical traditions that shaped the ritual life of the region.[36][37]
Studies of the borān meditation and ritual traditions suggest that Buddhist and Brahmanical elements often coexisted within the same cultural sphere. Practices such as the recitation of mantras, the use ofyantra diagrams, and invocations of protective deities were integrated into Buddhist frameworks of meditation, merit-making, and spiritual protection. The boundaries between monastic and lay ritual specialists—including Brahmins—were therefore often fluid, reflecting a shared understanding of ritual efficacy across traditions.[38][39]
In contemporary Thailand and Cambodia, elements of this synthesis remain visible in ceremonies such as royal consecrations,paritta (protective) chanting, and the creation of consecrated cloths and amulets. In these contexts, monks and Brahmins may still collaborate or draw from similar ritual repertoires. Although modern reform movements have sometimes emphasized clearer distinctions between “orthodox” Theravāda Buddhism and Brahmanical practices, the two traditions continue to intersect in the lived religious life of the region.[40][41]
The currentChief Royal Brahmin of Thailand isChawin Rangsipramanakul.
Category:Boran Theravada texts
Across the Theravāda Buddhist world, numerous texts exist outside the standardizedPāli Tipiṭaka yet hold importance within regional traditions. These works, often preserved through oral transmission or local manuscripts, continue to influence devotional practices, storytelling, and meditation methods across Southeast Asia.
Among the well-known narrative compositions are theRamakien—a Thai adaptation of the HinduRamayana rendered in a Buddhist context[42]—and thePaññāsa Jātaka, a compilation of fifty Jātaka tales found primarily in Thai and Lao traditions.[43] These collections often reinterpret the Buddha’s previous lives through local geographical, cultural, and moral perspectives.
Esoteric and meditative manuals form another important body of regional literature. Texts such as theYogāvacara's manual[44] and thePhuttha Rangsi Thrisdi Yan[45] provide detailed instruction in concentration, visualization, and mantra-based practices. Other examples, including theKammatthāna Majjhima Baeb Lamdub[46] and the CambodianPhlōv Preah Dhammalaṅkāra,[47] reflect the diversity of regional meditation systems and the persistence of premodern lineages.
Protective and ritual texts occupy a prominent role in everyday religious practice. Works such as theJinapañjara Gāthā,[48]Dhammakāyānussati Gāthā, andItipiso Ratanamala are recited for spiritual protection and merit. In Sri Lanka, thePiruwana Poth Wahanse[49] compiles paritta verses along with rareyantras and associated ritual instructions, while Tamil hymns such as theTiruvempavai andTiruppavai are performed in Thai royal ceremonies. These examples highlight the shared ritual and devotional networks across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
Regional doctrinal and philosophical works, includingNarai Sip Pang,[50]Trai Phum Phra Ruang, andKappālaṅkāra, offer interpretations of Buddhist cosmology and ethics specific to local contexts. Apocryphal suttas such as theUṇhissavijaya Sutta[51] andMahāmegha Sutta appear in the Lao and Khmer canons, suggesting fluid boundaries between canonical and regional corpora.
Additional collections such as theSipsongpanna Pattra Buddhist Canon maintained by theDai people[52][53] further demonstrate the extensive manuscript traditions of Theravāda communities. Collectively, these regional and extra-canonical works show the adaptability of Theravāda Buddhism while preserving its fundamental doctrinal principles.
This is a list of Buddhas, deities, dharmapālas, and spirits emphasized in local or folk traditions of Boran and popular Theravāda Buddhism. These figures are not often not emphasized in canonicalPali Tipitaka texts but are widely venerated through oral traditions, protective rites, and devotional practices in Southeast Asia.
Category:Sinhalese Buddhist deities
Here is a list of figures that have been praised in local Theravada Buddhist traditions on account of their extraordinary saintliness and powers as well as scholars of the traditions.
.jpg)
Myanmars spiritual landscape includes many holy men who practiced extreme asceticism or alchemical meditation:
These Thai monks and acharyas are revered for their meditative attainments and for founding meditation schools and temples:
.svg)