Chapter Six - Reformist Monks

Summary

As noted in Chapter One, Buddhism in Thailand is not only structured by the official state-imposed system of the sangha administration. Thai Buddhism is also patterned by a complex and fluid system of unofficial relations between the Buddhist laity and individual monks and monasteries. Occasionally, some monks with distinctive intepretations of doctrine or systems of religious practice develop such a large following of faithful lay supporters that it is appropriate to regard the monk and his lay audience as a distinct movement or sect within the body of Thai Buddhism. In the second half of the twentieth century a number of such Buddhist movements centred on the teachings of a particular monk have grown rapidly in size and influence. The largest movements, in terms of the numbers of lay adherents, tend to be those whose interpretations of Buddhist teaching and practice reflect the political aspirations and economic interests of a certain section of Thai society, and which consequently attract significant numbers of followers from that social stratum. Most of the larger urban Buddhist movements thus have a socially identifiable audience and it is possible to characterise such movements in terms of the socio-economic position of their audiences as being pro-establishment, anti-establishment, intellectual-professional, lower middle class, and so on.

The analysis of urban Buddhist movements and their lay audiences, as opposed to the study of formal stzte-sangha relations, is an important component of the study of the legitimatory function of contemporary Thai Buddhism. This is because of the growing influence of groups outside of and in opposition to the traditional political establishment. Controlling neither the sangha administration nor the official interpretation of Buddhist teaching and practice propagated by the state-controlled hierarchy of monks, many members of the professional and middle classes have instead turned to a number of sympathetic monks – such as Phutthathat, Panyanantha, and Phothirak – to provide a religio-political justification of their aspirations.