The Samannaphala Sutta And The Religious Life Of The Dai Nationality In Yunnan Province

Theravada Buddhism has entered the Dai and De'ang etc ethnic minority areas of Yunnan in southwest China for more than 1,300 years,among which relevant references have recorded a written history of 600 years.Dai,Blang,De'ang,Achang and other ethnic groups who live here almost all believe in Theravada Buddhism.From the perspective of religious studies,all religions have common characteristics in their dissemination,that is,when they enter different regions and countries,they will interact,integrate and restructure with the local inherent culture,so as to adapt themselves to the social environment and obtain substantial survival and development.The Theravada Buddhism who live in these areas have a close relationship with Buddhism in their national culture,daily life and even folk customs.Thereof,some the records of some folk customs,such as the Water Splashing Festival and Danfo Festival are rooted in or affected by the Buddhist scriptures.Based on the author's major,religious studies,he selects the SAMANNAPHALA SUTTA as the research object,and combines the contents of the scripture with the sadhana drubtab of the southern Buddhism and the life of believers etc,so as to objectively reveal the influence of the southern Buddhism on the real life of Dai people.The SAMANNAPHALA SUTTA,whose core idea is praising the achievements obtained by practicing according to the right view,marks that the Dharma brings infinite education to people in real practice and life at all stages.As an important influential part in the southern Theravada Buddhism,the SAMANNAPHALA SUTTA is a required reading for the ascetics and laities in the areas where southern Buddhism is prevalent.This paper systematically introduces the SAMANNAPHALA SUTTA,which not only shows the basic ideas of the southern Theravada Buddhism,but also presents its practice and corresponding social influence in the Dai nationality belief area of Yunnan.Exploring and studying the influence of SAMANNAPHALA SUTTA,a classic that cannot be missed for understanding and learning the southern Theravada Buddhism,enable us to better research the religion,folk customs' origin,and related social cultures of Dai nationality.In addition,based on the relative methods of sociology,folklore,anthropology and ethnic philosophy etc.,we can improve the research level of ethnic culture more comprehensively and systematically,especially the researches on Dai culture or Pattra-leaf culture.However,this paper is only a small introduction to this field,and more comprehensive studies on Dai Buddhism or Dai beliefs etc need to be carried out and continued.