Analysis of Allegory in the Lanna Buddhist Text “Kāyanakhon”

Abstract

This academic article aims to analyze the metaphors presented in the Lanna palm-leaf manuscript, Kāyayanakorn, to understand the structure of Buddhist thought, particularly the relationship between the body, mind, and the process of samsara. The study found that in Kāyayanakorn, the “city” is used as a metaphor for the human body, with the “mind” functioning as the ruler of the city. Various characters and symbols are used to explain the workings of the mind, mental states, the Five Aggregates, and the principle of the Three Marks of Existence in a systematic way. Key metaphors include the nine gates representing the sensory organs, five palaces symbolizing the aggregates, seven bodyguards reflecting the mind’s mechanisms, three priests as advisors, three kings representing spiritual training, twenty ministers symbolizing wholesome actions, fourteen officials as unwholesome mental states, and four soldiers representing decay and death. Three monks serve as reminders for the mind to recognize the Three Marks of Existence. This framework reflects a Theravāda Buddhist worldview emphasizing impermanence, suffering, and non-self. The path to liberation from samsara is presented through the cultivation of wisdom and concentration. Therefore, Kāyayanakorn is not only a religious text but also serves as a Buddhist philosophical model explaining the structure of the mind and human existence in a systematic manner, which can be applied to contemporary Buddhist studies and spiritual learning.