The thesis entitled ‘An Analytical Study on the Concept of Life and Death of Karen Buddhist Tradition’ is of three objectives: 1) to explore the concept of life and death in Buddhism, 2) to investigate the tradition of life and death in the Pga K’nyau community and 3) to analyze the tradition of life and death the Buddhist  Pga K’nyau. This research was conducted by the documentary research method and interviewed the Pga K’nyau ethnic scholars.

The results revealed that in the Buddhist concept consists of the life and death as follows. As regards life, it consists of the Five Aggregates – Rupa khandha: corporeality, Vedana-khandha: feeling; sensation, Saooakhandha: perception, Saïkhara-khandha: mental formations and Viooaoa-khandha: consciousness. In addition, it also consists of the Four Primary Elements - Panhava-dhatu: element of extension, apo-dhatu: element of cohesion, Tejo-dhatu: element of heat or radiation and Vayo-dhatu: element of vibration or motion. The Five Aggregates and the Four Primary Elements are relied on each other which produce what is called life. Life is impermanent and cause many sufferings as graving and attachment. Therefore, all component things are decay by the time based on the law of nature.

Regarding the Pga K’nyau’s tradition of life and death, it was found as follows:  1) birth tradition 2) tradition of marriage, 3) traditions of middle-aged people and 4) traditions about livelihood etc. The traditions related to death of Pga K’nyau , it consists of three durations: - preparing before death, death ceremony and after death ceremony.  

The analysis on the tradition of life and death of Buddhist Pga K’nyau in Ban Mae Had, Ban Mae Or and Ban Hua Pon, it found that the traditions of the old days are still practiced by the Pga K’nyau such as 1) birth tradition 2) tradition of marriage, 3) traditions of middle-aged people and 4) traditions about livelihood etc. In addition, the tradition related to death is divided into two traditions as: 1) the old tradition – the death ceremony was carried out in the middle of the village and organizing the ritual according to the sequence of steps until the last body was buried. 2) In the modern way, when the the Pga K’nyau people turn to practice Buddhism, a monk is invited to perform a ritual when people the community dies.  

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