"Buddha Shrines: A Cross-Cultural Study of Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka"

Chotima Chaturawong, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Silpakorn University

This research aims to understand the term mandapa and compare the architecture of mandapas and Buddha shrines in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.  A mondop in Thai architecture indicates a building and a roof type rather than referencing its functions.  Mondop roof type of the Thai is corresponded to Burmese pyathat or prasada roof which is often crowned Buddha shrines.  Although Theravada Buddhism has long been the main religion in Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, these countries differ in topography and indigenous beliefs and cultures, and the characteristics of Buddhist architecture in each reflect these differences.  The comparison study of Buddha shrines and mandapas in Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka will provide indigenous architectural characteristics as well as links to the history, culture, religion, and society among the people of Sukhothai and Lanna in northern Thailand; the Burmese of Pagan in Upper Burma and the Mon in Lower Burma; and the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka.  It can lead to better understanding of traditional Thai architecture as well as that of the Sinhalese, Burmese, and Mon when Sinhalese Buddhism replaced Buddhism from India after the collapse of Pagan, when the Mon in Lower Burma gained independence, and Sukhothai emerged in the 13th century.