On 7 October, the Liechtenstein National Library received a special donation from the World Tipitaka Foundation: the 80-volume work “World Tipitaka Saj-jhā-ya Phonetic Recitation”.

The edition was presented by Thai Ambassador Pannabha Chandra-ramya to Christian Vogt, Vice-President of the Foundation Board, and Daniel Quaderer, Director of the Liechtenstein National Library. It was an important symbolic act of cultural solidarity between Thailand and Liechtenstein.

First published in Thailand in 2016, the edition is a unique combination of traditional lore and modern science. It contains the complete Pali canon in Thai script as well as in a specially developed phonetic transcription that preserves the authentic pronunciation of the Buddha’s words.

A special feature of the volumes created for Queen Sirikit is a notation with musical symbols that visualises the rhythm and intonation of the recitation. Supplementary audio recordings allow the Buddha’s teachings, which are around 2,500 years old, to be heard in their original sound and support traditional memorisation.

With this donation, the Liechtenstein National Library joins a circle of important international institutions that make the work available for research and teaching. The collection opens up new perspectives for interdisciplinary Buddhist studies and at the same time honours the cultural dialogue between Europe and Asia.