Journal of Buddhist Anthropology

JAYAMAṄGALA GĀTHĀ AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COPING IN APPLIED BUDDHISM

2026-02-14T15:35:34+07:00

Background and Objectives: Contemporary life is characterized by rapid social change, economic uncertainty, and persistent psychological stress, making coping an essential life skill for sustaining psychological well-being. Modern psychological research emphasizes emotion regulation, resilience, cognitive appraisal, and meaning making as key mechanisms for managing adversity. Religious and cultural traditions also provide moral and contemplative resources that cultivate inner stability and ethical clarity. Within the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, the Jayamaṅgala Gāthā, commonly known in Thai as the Phahung Chant, is widely recited as a sacred chant recounting the Buddha's victories over various adversaries. The term Jayamaṅgala Gāthā means "Verses of Auspicious Victory." Although often interpreted as a ritual text for blessings and protection, its narrative structure presents a sequence of encounters in which challenges are resolved through virtues such as wisdom, patience, loving-kindness, and moral clarity. This documentary research aimed to analyze the narrative structure of the Jayamaṅgala Gāthā in terms of life challenges and their modes of resolution grounded in Buddhadhamma, and to construct a Buddhist coping framework for developing life coping skills in relation to contemporary psychological well-being.

Methodology: The study employed documentary research with qualitative thematic content analysis. The primary data consisted of the canonical text of Jayamaṅgala Gāthā preserved in Theravāda chanting traditions and supported by relevant academic literature. Each narrative episode within the chant served as the unit of analysis. The analytical process involved close textual reading, coding of symbolic life challenges and corresponding modes of resolution, and iterative grouping of codes into broader coping themes. Thematic synthesis was used to interpret how Buddhist virtues embedded in the narrative episodes function as coping processes. Analytical transparency was maintained through explicit connections between textual evidence, coding categories, and thematic interpretation.

Main Results: The findings indicate that the chant functions as a structured set of coping exemplars rather than merely a ritual recitation. Across the narrative episodes, diverse forms of adversity were identified, including fear, aggression, anger, rigid beliefs, false accusation, attachment to power, and distorted understanding. These adversities are consistently resolved through inner cultivation. Five integrative coping processes emerged: Emotional regulation, patience and endurance, compassion-based conflict de-escalation, wisdom-based clarification, and context-sensitive skillful means. These processes reflect core Buddhadhamma principles such as paññā, mettā, khanti, and samādhi, demonstrating their roles as moral-psychological mechanisms that support both wisdom development and ethical cultivation.

Involvement to Buddhadhamma: From the perspective of Applied Buddhism, the chant can be interpreted as a culturally embedded narrative model that illustrates how Buddhist ethical principles guide responses to adversity. The narrative episodes portray "Victory" as internal transformation through wisdom, compassion, patience, and ethical discipline. This interpretation highlights the role of Buddhism in the development of wisdom and morality through narrative-based learning processes.

Conclusions: The Jayamaṅgala Gāthā can be understood as a narrative-based coping framework rooted in Buddhadhamma. Conceptually, the study demonstrates how Buddhist ethical principles can be translated into a structured coping model relevant to contemporary psychological contexts. Practically, the findings suggest that the chant may function as a reflective resource for developing coping skills in educational, contemplative, and well-being settings. The study contributes to Applied Buddhism by presenting a model that integrates wisdom development and moral cultivation within a contemporary well-being framework.

LOGIC WITHOUT LOSERS: BUDDHIST DIALECTICAL REASONING AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF UNDERSTANDING IN THE MILINDAPAÑHA

2026-02-25T16:10:20+07:00

Background and Objectives: Contemporary academic reasoning, particularly within philosophy, logic, and the social sciences, has been predominantly shaped by adversarial models of rationality. These models assume that rational inquiry culminates in decisive outcomes: Truth over error, correctness over incorrectness, winner over loser. While such frameworks have yielded powerful analytical tools, they also risk reducing "Understanding" to a by-product of intellectual victory. Against this backdrop, this article re-examines the classical Buddhist dialogical text, the Milindapañha, as a distinctive form of dialectical reasoning that is not competitive but oriented toward the ethical unfolding of understanding. Rather than reading the text merely as doctrinal exposition or apologetic literature, this study aims to analyze the Milindapañha as a form of dialectical logic that does not seek to produce a loser, but instead emphasizes the structure of reasoning over doctrinal content. It further proposes a theoretical framework for Buddhist dialectical reasoning that foregrounds the process of wisdom's emergence. In doing so, the study seeks to connect the interpretation of Buddhist texts with contemporary debates in the sociology of religion, positioning them as alternative sources of rationality.

Methodology: This study employed qualitative theoretical documentary research grounded in a hermeneutic-interpretive methodology. The primary sources consisted of the Pāli Milindapañha and its authoritative translations, while the secondary sources were drawn from Buddhist Studies, the philosophy of logic, and the sociology of religion. Analytical strategies included close textual reading of the dialogical exchanges between Phra Nāgasena and King Milinda, dialectical analysis, comparative logic, and the sociology of knowledge. Rather than seeking definitive doctrinal conclusions, the analysis focused on how questions, analogies, and paradoxes function as logical and ethical mechanisms. Reflexivity and theoretical triangulation were employed to ensure interpretive rigor.

Main Results: The findings revealed that the Milindapañha operated through a non-adversarial dialectical structure characterized by; 1) Open-ended questioning that did not aim at final conclusions; 2) The use of analogy as a logical mechanism for elevating understanding, and 3) Mindful engagement with paradox. Phra Nāgasena did not seek to refute or defeat King Milinda's questions; Instead, he gradually unfolded the assumptions underlying them. Through this process, dialogue shifted from confrontation to shared inquiry. Understanding emerged not as the triumph of one position over another but as a relational event occurring within the dialogical space itself.

Involvement to Buddhadhamma: The dialogical logic articulated in the Milindapañha is deeply consonant with core principles of Buddhadhamma, particularly non-self (Anattā), dependent origination (Paṭiccasamuppāda), and right speech (Sammā-vācā). Reasoning is not detached from ethical cultivation but constitutes a form of practice aimed at reducing attachment to one's own views. The absence of winners and losers is not a rhetorical strategy but an ethical consequence of a worldview that denies a fixed self and absolute truth.

Conclusions: This article advances the conceptual framework of "Logic Without Losers" and proposes Buddhist dialectical reasoning as a theoretical contribution to the sociology of religion. By demonstrating that Buddhism is not merely a belief system but also a source of alternative logic, the study highlights its potential to engage constructively with the modern world. The Milindapañha thus emerges as a globally relevant resource for rethinking dialogue, rationality, and coexistence in pluralistic societies.

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: INTEGRATING SOCIETY, ECONOMY, AND ENVIRONMENT

2026-03-04T19:37:28+07:00

Background and Objective: Prosperity achieved by human civilization loses its real meaning if the socio-economic well-being of mankind and its stewardship of natural systems are ignored. Any damage to these systems makes them unsustainable and ultimately threatens human civilization. The discussion of this study focuses on two contrasting philosophical approaches to sustainable development: An ongoing growth-oriented model that relies on profit, technology, and policy solutions, and an ethically grounded, justice-oriented view historically rooted in South Asian communities. The core debate centers on whether profit should define social and ecological outcomes, or whether social values should set the limits of profit. Whether sustainability is best understood as an individual market choice or as a collective responsibility, and the environmental crisis faced by humanity reflects a deficit of technology, or a crisis of ethical values that requires a fundamental shift. The main objective of the study was to critically examine the perspectives of sustainability with reference to Buddhist and spiritual practices in South Asia as a collective resource that informed holistic and value-driven responses to pressing global challenges, supported by empirical examples of development practices.

Methodology: A qualitative design with documentary research has been followed. With a systematic review of the literature, including classical Buddhist texts, the canon in Pali, and experiences from engaged Buddhism, the primary sources for the analysis were taken from these sources. Ideas from Key informants comprising 10 specialists regarding Buddhist Philosophy and their application have been conducted and taken as a guide for the analysis. Evidence from community-based practices has been incorporated to explain the understanding of Buddhism not only as a philosophy, but as an ethical and lively resource for supporting sustainable development. Applying a thematic approach to content analysis and comparative textual interpretation, the study proposes the concept of the Wisdom spiral, integrating the inner transformation with outer sustainability.

Main Results: Unlike the contemporary worldview, the indigenous and Buddhist worldviews and practices recognize the interdependence of all life and teach that true prosperity does not come from unlimited growth but from ethical living. The system guided by Buddhist philosophy offers an alternative in which harmony between human society, the ecosystem, and all beings can be achieved with deep respect. Proving philosophical guidelines of interdependence, the Middle Way, and shared responsibility, Buddhist philosophy suggests a moral and practical framework for environmental, social, and economic balance with human-nature relations. The evidence from indigenous values and traditions in South Asian communities also reflects the lived experience of alternatives.

Involvement to Buddhadhamma: Drawing from the Buddhist philosophy and practices of Engaged Buddhism, this paper examines how Buddhist ideas have been reshaped in modern times as both spiritual imperatives and practical tools for shaping and implementing policy. A dialectical approach has been followed to find differences between the original Buddhist teaching and initiatives taken by engaged Buddhism for sustainable development. This allows for a nuanced understanding of how spiritual philosophy can help to shape the ethical boundaries of recent orientation. An interpretative textual analysis rooted in a historical cultural context has been explored to examine how classical Buddhist traditions are interpreted in practices.

Conclusions: Drawing on the concept of the wisdom spiral, integrated with the sustainability bottom line, the study concludes that sustainability requires more than technological advancement, and development becomes meaningful only when it respects economic viability, considers social equity, and respects ecological limits. The findings emphasize that human activity should be guided by moderation, compassion, and interdependence. Sustainability is more than a technological advancement. It is not value-neutral but requires fundamental ethical transformation that Buddhist and spiritual practices can offer holistically.