World Conqueror and World Renouncer A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Thailand against a Historical Background

Abstract

The Social Science Research Council of Great Britain generously financed my fieldwork in Thailand in 1971 and the subsequent analysis of its results. The harvest of information gathered was rich and constitutes the staple of Part Two of this book; there is yet more data that will be reported in another volume. My wife and I also thank the British Academy and the Evans Memorial Fund of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, for providing supplementary grants. There are numerous monks and novices in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand who with patience and tolerance instructed me in many matters. Without their cooperation and good will this study would not have been possible. Of the many to whom I am indebted, let me mention only a few: Phra Wisudhimoli, Phra Mahasaree, Phra Sukwatana Thirakhun, and the abbots of Wat Thongnopakun and Wat Chakkravat. I am also greatly indebted to certain officials in the Department of Religious Affairs. Others who greatly assisted me in my work in Thailand were Dr. Lamaismas Saradatta, Dr. Chancha Suvannathat, Tahwon Koedkietpong, Sulak Srivarak, Sathienpong Wannapok, J. Klausner, Dr. Tej Bunnag, Dr. Jane Bunnag, Stuart and Ann Campbell, various members of the staff of Bangkok Institute for Child Study, the Siam Society Library, Mahachulalongkorn and Mahamakut universities, and finally, but not the least, my two research assistants, Amphorn and Kamol. I must emphasize strongly that I alone am responsible for the use I have made of any information I may have received and the interpretation given it. I must relieve those who have helped me from the burden of controversial views of which I am the author. The analysis and the writing of this book have taken some four years. I must thank the Department of Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, for secretarial assistance. F. K. Lehman's detailed, erudite, and supportive commentary on an earlier draft of this book saved me from certain errors and enabled me to enrich the analysis. Arnold Green's enthusiastic and constructive comments gave me the final spurt of energy needed to complete the work. Neither of these two persons is responsible for the book's blemishes. I have benefited from my association with Frank Reynolds. Claire Friedland has generously given advice on how to present certain tabulations. I thank my wife, Mary Wynne, for the various ways in which she has helped and supported me, from research and editorial assistance to moral support and encouragement. I feel I cannot leave out our son Jonathan, whose happy arrival coincided with the last stages of this book. Finally, a word on recent events in Thailand. The second part of the book, including Chapter 19, was virtually completed in 1972, before the occurrence of the student insurrection in October 1973, the deposition of the three leading military figures at the apex of the regime, partly achieved through the mediation of the king, who has a lively sense of the dangers of open involvement, and the setting up of a civilian cum military caretaker government charged with the responsibility of framing a new constitution before holding free elections. Except for inserting a few sentences relating to these momentous events, I have retained the analysis in much its original form because I believe it was and is substantially correct and because the analysis of the events of 1973 and later would comprise a new and separate undertaking.