Thai chanting book

If you would like to learn Pali chanting that is chanted by the Thai Forest Tradition, you can consider getting this chanting book the next time you are in Bangkok:



A Manual of Buddhist Studies Through the Sacred Book of Buddhist Chants
Pali-Thai-English Translations.

The book is compiled by Bhikkhu Pannavuddho (Suddhinand Janthagul), Wat Rai Khing, Ampher Samphran, Nakhon Pathom, 73210 Thailand. It costs 150baht. I bought the book from a Buddhist book store in Amulet Street, Bangkok (located near Sanam Luang).

Some advantages of the book:

• the book carries the standard morning and evening chants chanted in most Thai temples. There are also other suttas and chants of transferrence of merits
• it is writen in 3 languages- Pali, Thai and English alongside each other. Therefore, you can show the book to a Thai Buddhist teacher to seek clarification or chant together with Thai speaking people. You will read the English and the Pali chanting (given with English pronounciation) while your teacher can refer to the Pali chanting (given in Thai language) in under to know exactly what you are referring to
• it has most of the more common suttas as well as important suttas like Ovadapatimokkha and the Noble Eight Fold Path

Generally, chanting in Thai temples may have the format as follows:

1. The standard morning and evening chanting praising the virtues of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

2. If you are chanting at home, after finishing with the standard morning/evening chanting, you can continue with chanting the 5 or 8 precepts.

3. Then chant some suttas found in the chanting book, for instance Karaneyametta Sutta (Discourse on Loving Kindness) or Jayamangalagatha (Stanzas of Victory and Blessing)

4. End with transferrance of merits and metta (loving kindness).

Another useful online resource for Thai chanting is available in the following website:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/dhammayut/chanting.html