From the Preface of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka Publication
in Roman script, 2548 (2005)
His Holiness
Somdet Phra Ñāṇasaṃvara the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
Patron of
The World Tipiṭaka Project
and
Major Suradhaj Bunnag, Chancellor of the M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, has informed me that he will publish the complete Pāḷi-language Tipiṭaka of the Great International Council Buddhist Era 2500 (1956) in Roman script, for the first time in Thailand. This Pāḷi Tipiṭaka has been meticulously edited by 2,500 Buddhist monks of the highest scholastic repute in the Theravāda tradition from around the world. The international edition of Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in Roman script, comprising 1,000 complete sets each containing 40 volumes, will be presented as gifts of Dhamma to major international institutions all over the world.
I thereby designate this commemorative Pāḷi Tipiṭaka edition
in Pāḷi :
Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka Buddhavasse 2500
and in English :
The Buddhist Era 2500 Great International Council Pāḷi Tipiṭaka
The Pāḷi Tipiṭaka is the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, the Teacher of man and devine beings. The Pāḷi Tipiṭaka falls into three divisions, namely, Vinayapiṭaka, the Book on the Disciplines; Suttantapiṭaka, the Book on the Discourses; and Abhidhammapiṭaka, the Book on the Ultimate Realities. It comprises 84,000 Dhammakhandhas, or Dhamma sections. As He approached Parinibbāna, the Buddha uttered:
Ānanda, maya dhammo ca vinayo ca desito paññatto, so vo mamaccayena satthā...
(M 2500/2548 7D.216)
Consequently, five hundred Arahanta Elders, who were all led by Venerable Mahākassapa Arahanta held the First Great Council for compilation of the Buddha’s words in the Tipiṭaka at the city of Rājagaha in ancient India. The gathering of the arahantas at the First Great Council is called in Pāḷi as Paṭhamamahāsaṅgīti. Thereafter there were Great Councils with a view to perpetuate the Teachings of the Buddha. Buddhists all over the world regard the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka as the Buddha Himself. Hence, the compilation of the Buddha’s words and the propagation of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka are profound meritorious acts.
Thailand’s friendly Buddhist countries including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos which profess Theravāda Buddhasāsana held, during Buddhist Era 2497-2499 (1953-1955), in Yangon, the Great Council of the Buddha’s Teaching. The Buddhist monks who were well-versed in the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka were invited from all over the world to edit and verify the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka.
With the approval of the Ecclesiastical Council under the auspices of the Royal Thai Government, a group of Buddhist monks from Thailand including myself took part in this Great Council. Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand made a State Visit to Yangon, Myanmar, in Buddhist Era 2503 (1960), and offered their royal support to the Great International Council along with the Heads of State of other countries. In Their Majesties’ official suite, was included Thanphuying M.L. Maniratana Bunnag, Her Majesty the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting.
With the completion of the trasliteration into Roman script of the Buddhist Era 2500 Great International Council Pāḷi Tipiṭaka Edition, Thanphuying M.L. Maniratana Bunnag expressed her deepest appreciation and acted as leader in organizing the World Tipiṭaka Edition to be published and propagated all over the world...
I would, therefore, like to offer commendation for this profound meritorious act. May happiness and peace pervade the whole universe through the omnipotent power of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, through the omnipotent power of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka with 84,000 Dhammakhandhas, through the omnipotent power of Phra Syāmadevādhirāja, the Guardian Deity of Siam, and through the omnipotent power of the highest god brahma and deities of the whole universe. May Their Majesties, King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great Dhamma Protector and Queen Sirikit of Thailand, who are both endowed with benevolent and excellent qualities and ever-firmly devoted to Buddhasāsana, and all the members of royal lineage, be blessed with longevity, happiness and peace.
May the highest brahma gods and deities, as well as human and all beings, joyously celebrate and bless those who have piously donated money and kind toward this profound meritorious act of preparation the complete Romanised Pāḷi Tipiṭaka published in the Kingdom of Thailand, the first of its kind in the world, for their happiness and prosperity, now and always.
The Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
amended, 25 January Buddhist Era 2545 (2002)
Bovornives Vihāra, Bangkok.
