I recently attended the Babaylan conference at Sonoma State University, where Lama Choyin Rangdrol discussed the early roots of Vajrayana Buddhism in the Philippines. The Lama gave a brief yet wonderfully pithy dharma talk, but time limited the information he could give us about the presence of Buddhism in the archipelago. When I got home, I tried to look up more information about the subject online, and found that indeed there seems to have been a Mahayana Buddhist presence in the Archipelago during the period of the Srivijayan Empire, when the Philippines was doing a lot of trade with India, Sumatra, and Southeast Asia. One big piece of evidence is the Laguna Copperplate inscription, the earliest written record found in 1989 by a man who was dredging sand at the Lumbang River near Laguna de Ba’y:
The transliteration (in a “mix of Kavi (old Javanese) alphabet in a mixed vocabulary of Tagalog, Old Malay, and Sanskrit in the year 900AD”) is as follows (from SanghaPinoy):
Swasti Shaka warsatita 822 Waisaka masa di(ng) Jyotisa. Caturthi Krisnapaksa somawara sana tatkala Dayang Angkatan lawan dengan nya sanak barngaran si Bukah anak da dang Hwan Namwaran dibari waradana wi shuddhapattra ulih sang pamegat senapati di Tundun barja(di) dang Hwan Nayaka tuhan Pailah Jayadewa. Di krama dang Hwan Namwaran dengan dang kayastha shuddha nu diparlappas hutang da walenda Kati 1 Suwarna 8 dihadapan dang Huwan Nayaka tuhan Puliran Kasumuran. dang Hwan Nayaka tuhan Pailah barjadi ganashakti. Dang Hwan Nayaka tuhan Binwangan barjadi bishruta tathapi sadana sanak kapawaris ulih sang pamegat dewata [ba]rjadi sang pamegat Medang dari bhaktinda diparhulun sang pamegat. Ya makanya sadanya anak cucu dang Hwan Namwaran shuddha ya kapawaris dihutang da dang Hwan Namwaran di sang pamegat Dewata. Ini grang syat syapanta ha pashkat ding ari kamudyan ada grang urang barujara welung lappas hutang da dang Hwa
English Translation
“Long Live! Year of Saka 822, month of Vesak, according to Jyotisha. The fourth day of the waning moon, Monday. On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Bukah, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun [modern day Tondo in Manila], represented by the Lord Minister of Pailah [Paila, Bulacan], Jayadewa. By this order, through the scribe, the Honourable Namwaran has been forgiven of all and is released from his debts and arrears of 1 Katî and 8 Suwarna before the Honourable Lord Minister of Puliran [Pulilan, Pampanga or Pulilan, Angat, Bulacan], Kasumuran, by the authority of the Lord Minister of Pailah. Because of his faithful service as a subject of the Chief, the Honourable and widely renowned Lord Minister of Binwangan [Binwagan, Pampanga] recognized all the living relatives of Namwaran who were claimed by the Chief of Dewata, represented by the Chief of Medang. Yes, therefore the living descendants of the Honourable Namwaran are forgiven, indeed, of any and all debts of the Honourable Namwaran to the Chief of Dewata. This, in any case, shall declare to whomever henceforth that on some future day should there be a man who claims that no release from the debt of the Honourable…”
Vesak is the Buddhist name of the month—though now it’s shortened to a single day–which celebrates Buddha’s birthday and enlightenment. Vesak or Vesakha (in Pali) is the holiest month in the Buddhist calendar and is usually the time when debts are forgiven and festivals held. Swasti is also a very traditional Sanskrit-Buddhist greeting (similar to the modern Thai, sawatdee). The Laguna copperplate therefore indicates that the areas mentioned — Pampanga, Manila, and Bulacan — had already adopted Buddhism.”
Two good articles on the Laguna Copperplate describe a Buddhist presence, but also show that the extent of its presence is still a subject for more research:
Hector Santos: “A Philippine Leaf”
Paul Morrow: “Laguna Copperplate Inscription”
Bayang Pinagpala’s “Treasures of Pila” mentions the “Song Annals of Zhao Rugua” which notes: “‘More than one thousand families have settled there on the two banks of the stream. Some of the natives wear cloth like sheets, loosely thrown over themselves; others use the loincloth only to cover their bodies… Copper statues of the Buddha are set up all over the grassy land, but no one knows were the statues came from…’”
An important part of this story involves the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, and the effects of the Christian Catholic inquisition on both indigenous shamanic traditions as well as all other “outside” influences that were then present in the Philippines, which included Islam and Buddhism. The colonizers claimed the archipelago for Christianity and closed the area off to all trade except that with Spain. This is a shame, since trade with India and southeast Asia seems to illustrate successful economic, cultural, and spiritual exchanges and relationships between indigenous Filipinos and other peoples of southern and southeast Asia.
The Laguna copperplate was not the only early Buddhist artifact found in the Philippines — although I think that the real, living evidence of Buddhist presence is linguistic. More to come…
