FORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THAI EDITIONS OF THE PALI CANON: FROM MANUSCRIPTS TO DIGITAL CORPORA IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN SOURCE-CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Phunthasane Phra Paron(JayānandoBhikkhu)

This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the historical transmission of the Thai editions of the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism — from ancient oral councils ("saṅgīti") to modern digital platforms. Institutional mechanisms of textual preservation are examined, including the Buddhist councils of India, Lanka, and Siam; the creation of the "Golden Edition" under King Rama I; the first printed Pāli edition in 1893; and dual Pāli-Thai series by MCU and MBU. Special attention is given to online resources presenting suttas in Pāli, Thai, romanized transcription, and English. The study also considers: 1) ancient manuscripts in Lanna and Khom scripts; 2) Pāli texts first typed in Thai script; 3) modern Thai translations and commentaries. The methodology integrates textology, source criticism, cultural studies, digital linguistics, and comparative philology.Scientific novelty lies in conceptualizing Thai versions of the Canon as a unified "living corpus" connecting manuscript, print, and digital layers. A typology of three editorial levels is proposed, reflecting the dynamic "crown ↔ sangha ↔ text" relationship. Inter-order competition is reinterpreted as internal peer review. A two-step model is proposed for Russian Buddhology: using the Thai Pāli corpus followed by terminology calibration via translations. It is argued that digital integration of Thai-Pāli scripts and morphological tools enables cross-canonical comparison with Sinhalese, Tibetan, Chinese, and other versions.

Keywords:Thai Tipitaka, Pali Canon, Buddhism, Theravada, Thailand, Sanghayana, Sangiti, Textology, Source Studies, Religious Studies, Buddhology