Page 40 - The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand Vol.XIII-2021

The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XIII – 2021

thirteenth century. During this time, thousands of monks came from many parts of
India as well as various parts of Asia to study there, making it a fully international

3
university with its own vigorous cultural life. According to traditional accounts,
Nalanda became an important seat of learning since the time of the Third Buddhist
council during the reign of Emperor Asoka. Then it was continuously supported by

successive dynasties, especially the Gupta and the Pala, right until its final demise.
Nalanda was one of the most important places where Buddhist teachings were
transmitted to Central, East and South-east Asia, and continued to attracted
scholars, such as the famous Chinese Xuanzang, who wrote a detailed account of
the monastery when he visited there during the early period of the Tang Dynasty

in the seventh century. The monastery complex taught not only the teachings of
the Buddha, but also subjects such as astrology, music, grammar, rhetoric,
medicine, perhaps the entire corpus of knowledge that was available in the world

at that time. It is, therefore, not difficult to imagine that these intense academic
activities included not only teaching of transmitted texts, but must also have
included active interpretations of these texts, as well as very strong creative
activities in producing new knowledge.

In this paper I plan to look back to the past as a way toward gaining some
insights or inspiration which could translate to more informed and insightful
policies toward the present and the future. I propose to look back at the famous
Nalanda, not to dwell on the past and to appreciate its power and strengths of
learning (which were indeed considerable), but to look at it in order to find out

what, if any, source of inspiration toward these new ways of thinking could be

3 Pintu Kumar, “Cultural Life at Nalanda University,” 2010. The IUP Journal of History and Culture, 4.1-2.
January & April 2010: 96-118, posted January 25, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1541842.
A study of the recent attempt at reviving the Nalanda legacy can be found in Andrea Marion Pinkney,
“Looking West to India: Asian Education, Intra-Asian Renaissance, and the Nalanda Revival.” Modern
Asian Studies 49.1(2015): 111–49. However, it is not within the scope of the present essay to discuss the
revival attempt of the Nalanda Mahavihara and the recent university that has been found there. For infor-
mation about the modern Nalanda University, see: https://nalandauniv.edu.in/. For a history of higher
education in India, which includes that of Nalanda, see: Sujit Kumar Choudhary, 2008. “Higher Education
in India: A Socio-Historical Journey from Ancient 2018. Period to 2006-07,” In: The Journal of Educational
Inquiry 8: 50-72. See also: Navin Shankar Pathak, 2018. “First Education System In Ancient Indian Society,”
In: Research Review Journals 3.9: 1163-1165, available at https://rrjournals.com/wp-content/up-
loads/2020/11/1163-1165_RRIJM180309247.pdf.

A Reflection on Nalanda Monastery as an Inspiration for Promoting Scientific and Technological Capabilities in
30 Thailand