Tung Sam Hang : Dhamma Puzzle The Beliefs of the Lanna People

Abstract

This academic article has 2 objectives. namely. 1. to study the history and origins of the 
Tung Sam Hang; 2. to study the Dhamma puzzle that appears on the Tung Sam Hang of the 
Lanna people. This document-based article shows that the Tung Sam Hang is a banner used in 
funeral ceremonies. It has a shape similar to the human form. with three lower strips. The name 
Tung Sam Hang refers to the three-fold cycle or cycle of suffering. namely. sense desire. deed 
and result. Alternatively. it refers to the Three Characteristics. impermanence. suffering and non
self. which is the transitory nature of all created things. or anicca. dukkha. anatta. The Tung Sam 
Hang can be compared to a Dhamma puzzle which is both an illustration and a reminder to be 
aware of many things. The person carrying the Tung Sam Hang is usually someone of keen 
intellect and high moral behaviour. The Tung Sam Hang recalls that each of us must. after death. experience the effects of our actions while we were alive. and must worship the Phra That Ket 
Kaeo Chula Mani in the heavens. using the Tung Sam Hang as a sacred object.