THAILAND THE BUDDHIST STATE
Every aspect of life in Thailand as we know today and dating back to its earliest beginning days as Siam is governed by Buddhism and the Buddhist monks.
The sacred and most authoritative scripture of Buddhism, the Pāli Canon, are written in classical Sanskrit and refer to Thailand as Sāmindavisaya. These scriptures speak of a close relationship between Thailand and Sri Lanka dating back to the Middle Ages at which time monks were sent from Thailand to Sri Lanka to re-establish Buddhism that had been declining and was on the verge of collapsing there. The primary natives of the region were the Mons who had most likely been introduced to Theravāda Buddhism in the earlier centuries by missionaries dispatched from India and it was firmly rooted and strictly enforced.
An influential and most powerful Khmer Empire in that region from the fifth to the fifteenth century also embraced Hinduism and Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the eleventh century, however, missionaries arrived from Burma and at the same time the Thai people, who were displaced by the Mongols from China, also appeared. Both the Burmese and the Thai found the Theravāda form of Buddhism most agreeable and influenced the entire region to abandon the Mahāyāna forms in favor of Theravāda. As a result, the kingdom of Sukhothai gained its independence from the Khmers in 1260 and pronounced Theravāda as the official religion of the state.
Kukhothai was overthrown by the Ayudhya Kingdom in 1492 and remained in power until 1767 during which time the link between the crown and the Sumgha became tighter than ever due to an edition to the Pāli Canon.
King Mongkut (1851-1878) was a monk for 27 years in the strict Thammayut order which he founded himself before accepting the crown. One of his first rulings as the king was that all monks, including those of the Mahānikai orders, were to henceforth observe his own order, the very austere Thammayut order.
Since the Saṃgha Administration Act of 1902, Samgha Buddhism has acquired constitutional status as the official religion of Thailand and plays a significant role in national and cultural events, political rulings and actions of all its government departments and personal lives of its citizens. Under this official enactment, a supreme patriarch is appointed by the king and as a consequence of the link between Buddhism and nationalism it is customary for all young men to spend at least three months as monks, thus fulfilling their obligatory national service before either continuing their service or moving on to other professional careers.
One of the most important Buddhist ceremonial acts is the offering of food to monks and it can be witnessed daily throughout Thailand in rural and urban communities. Rice is most commonly offered but other food such as fruits and sweets is also acceptable. Food offerings are also placed daily in spirit houses that look like small temples originating from past Brahman influences to feed the spirits occupying them.
Monks are the main and most powerful source of religious authority in Thailand, but many liberal groups of various factions have been founded in recent years and they are pushing for more enlightened position on the part of the nation’s clergy and a modernization of the ancient teachings to make them more applicable to present-day life and its problems.
