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The appointment of a new supreme patriarch is an opportunity to better politics and Buddhism in Thailand, writes Khemthong Tongsakulrungruang.
In what could be described as one of his earliest exercises of power, King Rama X has appointed Phra Somdej Maha Muneewong as Thailand’s newest Sangha Raja. After three years of vacancy, Thai Buddhists and the nation’s order of monks have got their long awaited Supreme Patriarch. But despite much celebration and fanfare, will the new Sangha Raja rescue Thai Buddhism? And what does the whole appointment process say about contemporary Thailand and its broken politics?
The appointment was not without controversy. According to the Sangha Act, a candidate for Sangha Raja should be the most senior member of the Sangha Council. That mandate left Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungkalajarn as the only possible choice. But the government found this option unfavourable.
Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungkalajarn was seen by many Thais as having an affiliation with the controversial Dhammakaya temple. Phra Thammachaiyo, the former abbot of Dhammakaya temple, was ordained by Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungklalajarn, who has also been implicated in a tax evasion investigation, thus making him even less suitable for the job.
Dhammakaya is not without its problems. The temple has been accused of distorting the teaching of Buddha, accumulating an inappropriate amount of wealth, as well as associating with the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. As the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) government is supported by key anti-Thaksin forces, the appointment of Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungkalajarn could have potentially infuriated the military junta’s supporters and jeopardised its survival.
However, the NCPO could not simply dismiss Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungkalajarn for more favourable candidate. The law gave no them other choice. Besides, the Sangha Council confirmed its nomination, and the NCPO did not want to be accused of undermining such a powerful institution. Religious legitimacy has always been an important source of support for every government.
Thus, the process reached stalemate. The NCPO halted the appointment process indefinitely until all matters were resolved. According to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the appointment should end, not create further, disunity in the country.
On the surface, the appointment of a new Sangha Raja was a conflict over Dhammakaya. But on a deeper level the appointment was politicised and became a conflict over Thaksin. Ultimately, the fraught process represented the ideological conflict between those who insisted on following rules, though the result might not be favourable, and those who were result-oriented, ready to disobey the rules for the best result. The conflict over the new Sangha Raja portrayed what Thailand has been facing in recent years.
Shortly after King Vajiralongkorn assumed the throne, the National Legislative Assembly introduced an amendment to the Sangha Act concerning the appointment of Sangha Raja. No longer would candidacy be given automatically to the most senior member of the Sangha Council. Instead the King would directly appoint the Sangha Raja as he pleased. The amendment was hastily passed.
Despite the language of the law, which specifies that the decision rests solely with the King, Prayuth explained to the press that he was the one who had prepared the list of five candidates according to three criteria; seniority, health, and appropriateness. The process was, as many other issues in Thailand, perfectly legal, but highly questionable. The entire arrangement was to deny the rightful candidate his appointment through a dubious legal process.
Yet, the appointment was greeted with much popular delight. Phra Somdej Maha Muneewong was seen as the right choice. Although he was the third most senior member of the council, his health was better than his elder peers. Moreover, he faced no pending criminal investigation, and was neither a supporter nor critic of Dhammakaya. Also, he appeared to be politically neutral. Having been educated abroad, exemplary behaviour, and a good understanding of Dhamma, Phra Somdej Maha Muneewong was approved by both Red and Yellow political factions. Even Dhammakaya was silent, accepting the outcome.
In fact, Dhammakaya might even be facing persecution. Phra Somdej Maha Ratcha Mungkalajarn has lost his candidacy to the supreme position, and the NCPO has been emboldened by public feedback on the new Sangha Raja. The junta is now stepping up its attempt to ‘patronise and purify’ the Sangha by ordering the siege and search of the Dhammakaya temple to arrest Phra Thammachaiyo, who has been wanted for involvement in a high-profile embezzlement case. So far, several attempts by police and the Department of Special Investigation have ended in failure. This is the first time that the NCPO has ordered the army to lead the search and successfully breach the temple’s grounds.
One notable aspect of the appointment is the alliance between the palace and the junta. The junta seemed to deliberately give the King absolute power over the matter. On the one hand, the King had the heavy burden of being held accountable for his choice. A bad Sangha Raja would be his fault, not the aging Sangha Council or an obsolete law.
On the other hand, this strategy was so marvellously planned. The sole exercise of power was only in theory. In reality, Prayuth prepared the list, possibly with advice. But this process was not written in the law. Also, his three-point criteria were not included. This arrangement helped the NCPO to initiate its policy under the immunity of the King. Any criticism of the appointment would be criticism of the King, hence lese majeste.
Can this model be the NCPO’s new political strategy, with the military government and the new King working together to find the middle ground to end conflict? With all the recent talk about reconciliation, some observers suggest that this is possible.
For the time being, the Sangha is complete once more. In the past 10 years, the late Sangha Raja was in frail health so he could not effectively function as the head of the spiritual realm. His absence was seen as leaving the Sangha in chaos. Many Thais hope that, under the patronage of the King and the protection of the conservative-leaning junta, the new Sangha Raja will restore order and prosperity to Thai Buddhism. But the task is an uphill one.
The problems faced by Thai Buddhism are not simply because of the absence of a respectable head. The Sangha Council has been criticised for lagging behind social progress. Temples are being turned into a multi-million dollar industry. Some own large amounts of land around the country. Others engage in forest encroachment and wildlife trafficking. Female monks are suppressed. Famous monks speak out in support of authoritarian rule. The fundamental Buddhist movement advocates against the Muslim minority.
In order to reconnect with the younger, more liberal and more critical, generation, the Sangha Raja needs to address social issues surrounding the commercialisation of Buddhism, gender equality, as well as tolerance and other democratic values. Although good knowledge of Dhamma and exemplary behaviour are a prerequisite for the role, it requires a different set of qualities for a good monk to become a good Sangha Raja in today’s Thailand.
Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang is a constitutional law scholar in Thailand.
Interesting analysis, although the sentence ‘younger, more liberal and more critical, generation’ is quite optimistic. The liberalism and critical ability of the new generations are not impressing so far.
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I wish I could have more positive things to say about the younger generation but you are right. Nonetheless more of them become more critical than the previous generation. They are more confident to identify themselves as atheists or mock Buddhist monks. Still, there is a long way to go under the current education system.
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Interesting piece, very helpful for the process of getting better insight, and concise too. It does however touch lightly upon the issue of the distortions of Buddha’s teaching, then flees away from it, which is sad in a way because the largely bogus buddhism which is practised today has little similarity to Buddha’s teachings.
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Thanks, Le-Fey. I try to focus on the legal process of the appointment and keep a little distance from that topic. First, I really have no idea what the original Buddha’s teaching is like. Second, it seems to me that most temples in Thailand, Dhammakaya or not, offer really weird teaching of Buddhism. Third, the distortion should be dealt with by open discussion, not by law, cracking down and defrocking monks as the NCPO and the new Sangha Raja are working on. .
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Fully agree, except that one cannot take a view as to the difference between what Buddha taught and how what he he did teach (or is reported to have taught by onlookers since there are no recorded documents written by Buddha himself) has come to be practiced, without being familiar with the teachings themselves, which you say you are not.
Under those circumstances, having made note of the difference, I too would move away from the implications, so I see what you mean.
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Considerable time ago, I lived in vacinity of Dhammakaya. Used to buy petrol from the gas station opposite the temple’s front entrance. The overlap between temple and Thaksin supporters was very noticeable. This whole business has DEFINETLY been an extension, a further episode, in the on-going war between Prayut and Thaksin. As EACH tries to get their grubby hands on as much of the Royal fortune, and national treasure, as they can.
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The siege of Dhammakaya is because they won’t pay the huge bribes that have been demanded. The junta’s legal cases against the abbot and his preceptor are completely fabricated.
The patriarchate is supposed to alternate between the two sects and it was Mahanikaya’s turn next (95% of Thai monks). So the traditional power sharing between the two sects is now over. Another problem is that the former candidate was the most senior in terms of rains retreat which is the only legitimate form of seniority in the Sangha. So the appointment will tarnish the image of Thai Buddhism internationally and exacerbate existing tensions between the two sects.
What ails Thai Buddhism is precisely this choke-hold of state control. Past a certain point it ceases to be alive and functioning. So the appointment of this monastic placeman is not a path to ‘order and prosperity’ it is another nail in the coffin of Thai Buddhism.
My recommendation to other temples that may be concerned about junta raids on their assets is to move them abroad. I would also suggest that they investigate the option of affiliating with the Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka.
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For centuries, religions (not just Buddhism, but ALL religions) have tried to get their shoes under the local monarch’s bed. Claiming spiritual advancement, they lend authenticity to monarchies, and in return, monarchies lend them power, influence, and money (plus of course a dispensation to peddle their wares to the general population. This is a game that is common to many countries, and Thailand is very far from being an exception, although there is an argument to say that the duplicity and cynicism which normally comprises organised religion, has reached its finest expression in Thailand. Places where people are deliberately kept uneducated and unintelligent are a natural breeding ground for religions, for perfectly understandable psychological reasons, but for the life of me I do not understand why any organisation which pretends to be spiritual in nature would not do more to combat hypocrisy and corruption in government, an overwhelming dishonesty, and a clamouring for wealth that exist among the Thai people generally, and what seems to me to be an unhealthy concern with money among themselves. For an organisation which, according to popular belief, contains criminals and prostitutes a-plenty among its number, to do so little for the welfare of Thai people, for me, constitutes deceit and exploitation on a breath-taking scale, though in doing so they have been set an excellent example of the technique of plunder by institution they have been so successful in clambering into bed with.
The reality is that Buddhism, as practised in Thailand is a synthetic product which is very far from being anything like Prince Gautama Buddha could possibly have imagined was the future of what he was trying to teach people.
Personally, I have immense respect for what I believe he was trying to do, but I have no respect at all for the marketing exercise that he chose for spreading the message. Among the greatest confidence tricks that have ever been perpetrated upon people anywhere, the idea of rebirth as peddled by popular Buddhism today must be among the greatest and worst. To suggest that a sequence of lifetimes is universal while offering not a shred of evidence in support of it, all the time making absolutely no demonstration whatever of any spiritual authority, seems to me as though it is almost criminal.
I very much doubt that the Buddhist priesthood in Thailand does anything at all for anybody except its own monk-hood and wealth. It is of course possible that among the hundreds of thousands of monks plying their trade in Thailand there are some with huge spiritual power. I personally have not met any of them, and I doubt that they exist for reasons of my own, which I do not propose to discuss.
To cap it all, the nonsensical Buddha Issara (or is it Issara Buddha, I forget) demonstrates a level of humbug which is astonishing. The fact that the powers-that-be in Thai Buddhism allow him to continue his clown-show unmolested speaks volumes about their own ethical standards. In my opinion (for what it’s worth) Thai Buddhism has not yet understood that we are no longer in the mediaeval period, during which Christianity took root, with much the same PR techniques and an equal lack of actual spirituality.
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Is there any specific reason to think that this new Sangha Raja might be good for women? Has he ever done or said anything to suggest support for female monks?
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An 89 year old Thai monk supporting ordained women, unlikely. if it happened what other radical views might he hold, also unlikely, he was chosen for a reason.
Le-Fey has outlined the conservative nature of Buddhism, much of which could be attributed to the elderly and conservative nature of the Sangha Council over decades. Although the Buddhism being practiced in Thailand goes back way before then. I believe that there are monks with ‘huge spiritual power’, although like Le-Fey, I am yet to find one. I can say that there are genuine learned monks with the people’s interests at heart, before national interests. There are many positives to the temple being the social or cultural and/or spiritual centre of the rural village. I know of one that belongs to the lineage of Wat Pak Nam, but has no association with Dharmakaya, and hence has no interest in glorification of materialism and power. There are also forest temples, many of which encourage women to practice a more nibbanic Buddhism, rather than merit-based or karma-based Buddhism. Overall, while negatives may outweigh the positives, village Buddhism will continue despite what happens at the national level. Buddhist cultural forms have given meaning to village life for a long time, but change is the only consistent in a modern world. Villagers are not blind to change, and forms of alternative beliefs (for better or worse) live alongside the old and the new worlds.
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I can live with all of that and I agree with most of it. Thanks for it Allan, I could easily have found myself a lone voice in the wilderness as a consequence of a personal policy of accepting what is already good but noting, emphasising and trying to change what is not good. Overall Thai Buddhism, Thai government indeed most things in Thailand fall into the latter category .
Where I differ from most people is that I never say something is already good enough, or, that it’s OK because the problems exist in other places too – these are two of the most common yuppie/PC cop-outs.. Clarity in acknowledging what is already the best it can be and striving to improve what is not, is all-important, and that applies to all people, irrespective of nationality. What one person feels, all people feel in one way or another, and to one extent or another. Those are both irrespective of nationality as well.
That’s my view anyway.
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It is important to notice that the previous candidate for Supreme Patriarch, usually spelled as Phra Maha Ratchamangalcharn, has in fact the largest community of nuns in his temple, larger than any other temple in Thailand. From the perspective of promoting female spirituality, choosing another person to be Supreme Patriarch was certainly a mistake.
Most importantly, however, the new amendment in the Monastic Law is another piece of evidence that the junta is only moving away from democracy, as the entanglement of state and religion becomes only stronger, state control of Buddhism is intensified, and the future of Thailand is jeopardized.
Today, the Department of Special Investigation is starting to cut off electricity inWat Phra Dhammakaya. I wonder how many people need to suffer before the conservative Thai elite realizes the value of a democratic government.
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What makes a successful abbot? The answer seems always to have been the ability to raise enough money for his temple to prosper. Phra Dhammachayo has stood out so far from his brother abbots in this respect that he has evidently incurred the envy of a great number of them. We can see now, how wise it was of all those American Christian preachers never to persecute any of their brother preachers who were similarly successful. Instead we are to be entertained with the spectacle of the Thai Buddhist Sangha being marshaled under the banner of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, by a King better known for most of the others!
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Isaarn is starting to move. It will be slow – like Vietnam’s revolution. But that is the point : the slow tortoise wins the race. Isaarn’s tortoise is moving into position.
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I really do hope you are right but I have my doubts. To me, most Thais are feckless and absorbed by self-interest. The former is an educational thing and I’ve said enough about that over time. The second is understandable, perhaps even inevitable given the historic levels of poverty in Isaan, though the grinding poverty I saw early in my sojourn in Thailand has improved somewhat – at least in cash terms if not so much in psychological terms.
Measured against all that fairly broad perspective is a widely-held perception that Isaan Thais, (who have more in common with Laos people than Bangkok people, or so it is said) are considered ‘kwai’ by BKK folk (ironically, many of whom are Isaan folk themselves), by which they mean Isaan folk are lazy, dirty and stupid.
It always fascinates me how generally-held perceptions come to be generally-held, and in many cases, perhaps even most cases, it’s because they are broadly true, or sincerely believed to be so.
So. I was very surprised that the Isaan folk, mostly red-shirts, were prepared to watch (without meaningful comment) a few army officers who were set up like dummies at a coconut shy, commit what was obviously treason against an elected government, only to claim a retrospective pardon, allegedly by the former King but in fact by the great schemer and meddler Prem (doubtless acting in loco or believing himself to be entitled to do so). It’s a long-held principle in civilised societies that actions are judged against the law prevailing at the time, so retrospective prosecutions, impeachments or pardons have no weight in the international community and no legal weight whatever in Thailand, not that this triviality seems to prevent it at all.
The incompetent Prayuth has presided over a huge reduction in treasury reserves, and all the ‘Oh it’s all OK because… nonsense can be safely disregarded. If I were a senior redshirt I would make sure all of his assets are confiscated when this miserable period in Thai history finally shudders to a close. Much as he is doing without recourse to the courts, to Yingluck. He is an oaf, nothing more, and has, I believe, generated some pretty weighty karma for himself in his quest to reinvent Thailand in his own image and claim some additional wealth and fame somewhere along the way. One hopes that he is not allowed to die or quietly slink off into exile, though Thais, being feckless by nature, will probably see both of those eventualities as easy ways out.
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