President of the National Human Rights
Commission of Thailand
and
Advisor to the World Tipiṭaka Project
The Presentation of The World Tipiṭaka in Roman Script
To The University of Washington 2010
It is with great privilege and honor for me to be addressing this gathering on the Occasion of the Presentation of the World Tipiṭaka in Roman Script to the University Library of the University of Washington, my alma mater.
This royal gift has been published by the M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage of His Holiness Somdet Phra Nanasanvara, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.
The World Tipiṭaka is being presented by the M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund in cooperation with the UW Alumni Association of Thailand.
The publication of the Roman Script Edition is the result of care and dedication of many people, too numerous to mention here. Nevertheless, their efforts are very much appreciated with great respect and gratitude. The preparation involved complicated tasks, facilitated by the use of Information Technology with rigorous computer-controlled procedures.
The process included:
• recitation by canonical Tipiṭaka experts,
• verification of the authenticity of the original manuscripts and phonetic verification of every sound,
• correction of printing errors, and
• numerous proof-readings to ensure accuracy.
In addition, the project committee also made reference to all modern 18 editions of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka. The reference collection totals over 2,000 volumes and has been presented as a donation to Chulalongkorn University.
The World Tipiṭaka is considered as a Gift of Wisdom and Peace. To date, more than 40 leading international institutions in 20 countries have been presented with the gift.
1. In 2004, the formal and final announcement of the world’s first printed set of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka Roman Script Edition was made in a special Royal Lecture for Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, who was the Royal Matriarch of the Descendents of King Chulalongkorn Chulachomklao of Siam.
2. In 2005, the special inaugural 40-volume edition in Roman script was finally published by the Dhamma Society. These special sets were graciously presented during the same year by Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Honorary President of the World Tipiṭaka as a Royal Gift of Wisdom & Peace.
3. In 2008, the World Tipiṭaka WebService was made available on the internet as a gift of Dhamma, for institutional request. This will result in:
* Eliminating the information cost of the Tipiṭaka Wisdombase.
* Making the Wisdom Heritage in the Tipiṭaka more accessible to a greater
number of people.
* Facilitating Tipiṭaka Studies by making the World Tipitaka Reference available electronically.
4. In 2010, this year, the Personalized Digital Tipiṭaka Printing and the Tipiṭaka Social Networking through the World Tipiṭaka WebService will be made available. Like-minded individuals interested in Tipiṭaka Studies can be connected online to form networks. Furthermore, networking of Tipiṭaka study groups can also be made possible.
Human Rights
In terms of Human Rights, the new initiative in Tipiṭaka Studies, which allows electronic access to the 40-volume Roman Script Edition will enable scholars and practitioners to explore the teachings on specific topics more deeply. Each person will be able to retrieve, examine, and make interpretations freely and at one’s own pace. I would like to discuss two topics related to Human Rights.
1. Rights and Justice
1. Since, knowledge can be access through self actualization without domination; therefore, the interpretation of what is “right” and what is “just” can be made individually.
2. “Righteousness and Justice for one” and “Righteousness and Justice for all” then become fundamental ethical values of individuals and society.
3. Interpretation of human relationship between individual inner life process and social values can be made through personal experience in the course of realizing of the true self in one’s own way.
4. Conscious concern for social and ethical values can be realized and practiced.
2. Freedom, Equality and Democracy
1. Freedom. The principle of relying on oneself is the essence of each individual’s virtue. Hence one has freedom to choose one’s own interpretation and one’s own destiny.
2. Equality. The emphasis on one’s inner life puts unqualified faith on the quality of oneselves which are all the same with no distinction as to class, race, and gender.
3. Democracy. This term puts focus on the “demo” which concerns people and/or citizen. In the Tipiṭaka, the term is dhamma-cracy which puts the concern on Righteousness and Justice. Hence the emphasis is on the essence or quality not on the citizen and the rulers.
Finally, I would like to end my remark by expressing my appreciation to the Library of the University of Washington in making this occasion possible for the benefit of humanity of this generation and future generations.
March 8th 2010
