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Dhamma Technology

The portrait of the King printed in the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka which was sent abroad
King Chulachomklao the Great of Siam Edition, 2436 (1893)

The formal portrait of kingship showing Chulachomklao the Great, Rama V, in the full attire of the Siamese court, and complete with the Royal Regalia, sitting on the throne of the Buddhist Sovereign Monarchy of Siam…

From the Special Royal Command Commemorative Lecture
The 112th Anniversary of King Chulachomklao the Great of Siam Bangkok Era 112,
The World’s First Printed Set of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka – Dhamma Technology by the Thai Nation
By Nun Vimuttiya and Major Suradhaj Bunnag
At the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Thailand, 2004

In 1896, two years after printing, King Chulachomklao sent from Bangkok by sea this 39-volume Pāḷi Tipiṭaka edition, the world’s first printed set of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka in book form. This Royal Gift of Dhamma was presented to 260 leading institutions all over the world, via the Royal Thai Embassy in London. The time was during the period of peaceful treaty, after Siam, as the only independent nation in the region, recently recovered from one of the greatest crisises with western powers during the height of 19th Century colonialism in Asia and Southeast Asia.

The King's portrait similar to this original photograph, which was printed in the first page of the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka edition, illustrated the vision of King Chulachomklao, who, over a century ago, used the Western printing and image technology to make a statement of the independence of Siam’s Sovereign Monarch who rules as the Righteous Protector of the Buddhist institution. Most importantly, the latest printing technology of that time was used to preserve the words of the Buddha in the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka.