Book Review: Maha Chat in Thai Culture

Abstract

This paper aims to recommend the book entitled ‘Maha Chat in Thai Culture’ to inform readers of its significance and engaging content, and to foster Thai pride in “Maha Chat” as a Buddhist literary work recognized as a national literature masterpiece. This book provides the readers with novel knowledge and perspectives through Jataka – the story of the Buddha-to-be (Siddhartha Gautama) in his previous lives before finally attaining enlightenment. This book contains two parts. The first part collects eleven papers written by eleven academic experts, offering various insights and dimensions of the Maha Chat or Jataka within Thai society. The second part highlights the value of this literary work in three key aspects: (1) language, (2) society and culture, and (3) literature.