Une interprétation bouddhique des rites funéraires du Lanna et du Laos : le sutta apocryphe de Mahā Kāla

The Pavarabandha (Pvb) is a Buddhist text written in Northern Thai and in Lao that can be found on palm leaf manuscripts kept in wat libraries. The Pvb is made of three sections dealing with death, funerals, reincarnation and meditation. This article is a presentation and a translation of the first part of the Pvb. This part tells the story of Mahā Kalā Thera, an old bhikkhu who decided to meditate in a cemetery. There he directed the funerary rites performed before the cremation of a young woman. The monk commented on and explained these rites, which had apparently not been fully appreciated by the people. Since this section of the Pvb starts with the well know evam me suttam Pali formula we refer to it as Mahâ Kalà's apocryphal Sutta. This "Sutta" appears under different names in the Thai-Lao Buddhist literature, independently of the Pvb. It is also known in Khmer and, very significantly, in Mon. Its origin is to be found partly in ancient canonical texts and partly in death rituals that developed in Peninsular Southeast Asia from Buddhist and non-Buddhist beliefs.Lagirarde François. Une interprétation bouddhique des rites funéraires du Lanna et du Laos : le sutta apocryphe de Mahā Kāla. In: Aséanie 2, 1998. pp. 47-77