Preserving literary heritage
According to her, Prof Hundius’s team decided to support Wat Sung Men in Phrae to become a role model after the monks and more than 10 local villages wanted to continue the digitisation and conservation of the temple’s old manuscripts on their own after the conclusion of the German project.
“We taught the temple’s team about the photo-taking and image-importing methods and showed them how to do this, and they learned about this. There, the monks and more than 10 disciples and local students have been digitising the manuscripts since late last year. The temple is famous for its many old palm-leaf manuscripts. Many other temples consider them a role model,” Ubonphan added.
Another fine example is the digitisation of the old palm-leaf manuscripts and the making of new versions to replace damaged ones at Wat Monthian in Nan after a flood. The project, initiated by academic Somjet Wimolkasem, took 16 months and was completed in February this year. The villagers worked together to cut, boil, sundry and prepare palm leaves before inscribing Lanna letters on the leaves. A palm-leaf manuscript museum will be opened at the temple in the future. The villagers also study the Lanna language regularly with the aim of reviving the art of making palm-leaf manuscripts and writing the Dhamma Lanna letters.
At Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong, Phra Maha Prasert Siripunno and some villagers continue what the Prof Hundius-led team did in 2016. The monk, who can read and write the Lanna language and make manuscripts of palm leaves, facilitated the German-led team’s work by reading, categorising and preparing the old manuscripts for digitisation.
Phra Maha Prasert said: “They came to digitise the temple’s palm-leaf manuscripts. The project needs support because palm-leaf manuscripts at many temples are in deteriorating condition. The manuscripts contain the Lord Buddha’s teachings. The project allows anyone to search for and read the digitised versions on its website.”
According to him, interested temples can digitise their manuscripts themselves with permission from abbots. Digitisation will keep the digital version of manuscripts safe for good.
“The digitisation is good and I am willing to give advice on categorising manuscripts. I am not an expert, but know how to sort and photograph palm-leaf manuscripts at a certain level,” the monk added.
Ubonphan concluded that the German-led project allows people to study Buddhism anywhere from the digitised versions of old manuscripts, which is a way to support Buddhism, while keeping the original versions safe. In addition, the project is practical and applicable by interested persons and can stimulate the new generation’s awareness.
Technical director and project manager Wharton said: “Who is actually responsible for the preservation? It relies on awareness and local and individual interest. We hope to see national databases of manuscripts. We hope to see solutions. We stress in the importance of literary heritage.”