Abstract:  Dai Buddhist temple education is a traditional educational method of the Dai nationality， which plays an important role in the inheritance of the Dai ethnic culture and the shaping of the ethnic spirit. And the development of the ethnic culture of the Dai nationality in the border areas is related to the national cultural security. In the past， the research on Dai culture focused on the culture of Theravada Buddhism， the education of the Dai ethnic group， and the cultural security of the southwestern frontier. They mostly involved religious infiltration， and these social phenomena did not exist in isolation， but had an internal logical connection. The education of Theravada Buddhism connects the three organically through its own bridging function， forming a unity of Dai culture with Theravada Buddhism culture as the core. In recent years， the rapid development of society， economy and culture in the Xishuangbanna area of Yunnan has led to the secularization of Dai Buddhist temple education. The development of Buddhist temple education has shown the characteristics of separation from secular education， de-transcendence （disenchantment）， and privatization， deconstructing the Dai people traditional concept， providing an opportunity for the entry of other cultural elements， thereby affecting the cultural security of the Dai area in the southwestern frontier.

Key words:

Xishuangbanna, Dai, Buddhist temple education, cultural security in the southwestern frontier