The relationship between the Dai and Buddhism?

China's Dai, the Lao of Laos, and the Shan of Burma belong to the same ethnic group, their languages can be connected, and Buddhism, as their faith, has a deep historical connection.

According to the legend of Xishuangbanna, Buddha toured the world when he was alive, and also visited the area of Xishuangbanna and Dehong. According to documents, the first spread of Buddhism in the Dai area was around the third century AD. During the reign of King Ashoka of India around the third century B.C., Buddhism held its third great assembly. After the gathering, nine Dharma-expanding groups were sent out to preach in various places. According to the Shanmilu, scholars of Thai history have proven that in ancient times there did exist a "Run Country" centered on Chiang Mai, the northern capital of Thailand, which included the valleys of the Salween and Lancang Rivers. Nujiang and Lancang River downstream is the Salween River and the Mekong River, as for the Mohela abandoned much of the specifics of the Elder in this area, due to the lack of historical data is difficult to prove, but one thing can be sure, China's Dai area in Yunnan is also the scope of the Mahorashtra abandoned much of the Elder's Dharma teachings.

Circulating in Xishuangbanna and other places of the Dai language codex "Buddhist Chronicle" (pronounced "Lelorong") a book, said the Buddha into the 244 years after the end of the (300 BC), there are nine monks to the four sides of the mission, which is led by the Sona Udala days of the eighth mission of the four monks, to the whole of the Meng, Shunaja and Yudoruo to carry out the promotion of Buddhism, about to the Buddha's calendar (the Buddha's demise for the year) Around the year 580 of the Buddhist calendar (the year of the Buddha's demise), Buddhism flourished in the northeastern part of today's Burma and Thailand. The "Historical Story of Buddha's Teaching" found in the recent Mengjiao Chief Buddhist Temple records that in the 23rd year before the Zura calendar (Little Calendar) (615 A.D.), Buddhism was introduced to Xishuangbanna from the Mon region of Burma and the first Wabasi Buddhist temple was established, thus gradually replacing the divine rituals of ancestor worship.

According to the records of Meng Zhai and Menghai, the two places belonging to Xishuangbanna: around the first year of the Zulalai Calendar (small calendar) (A.D. 633), Buddhism was introduced to Xishuangbanna from Burma, and at that time there was no scripture, and the Buddhist scriptures were orally transmitted, and there was a simple Buddha Hall, which enshrined a small wooden statue of the Buddha invited from Burma, and there were a small number of monks, who settled in the halls when they lived in peace and stayed in these halls, and they were usually out on missionary work, and they established the Pagoda Temple of a large scale later. A few monks settled in these pagodas when they settled down and went out to preach, and later built a large-scale pagoda temple. Between 330 years (959 A.D.) and 450 years (1079 A.D.) of the Zululai calendar, the Bagan Dynasty of Burma fought several wars with Thailand, which affected the area of Xishuangbanna, so that the area was deserted, and Buddhism declined with it. Later, the war subsided, agriculture and commerce were revived, and Buddhism was introduced to Xishuangbanna from Chiang Mai, Thailand (Mengrun) through Jingdong, Myanmar, when monks carried the scriptures in Dai Runwen, and then started to build pagodas and temples, set up a monastic system, and guided the masses, which has been passed down to the present day.