Michael Parnwell and Martin Seeger
\nUniversity of Leeds<\/p>\n
This paper probes beneath the surface of the revitalized religiosity and thriving \u201ccivic Buddhism\u201d that is identifiable in parts of Thailand\u2019s rural periphery today as a result of grassroots processes of change. It exemplifies Phra Phaisan Visalo\u2019s assertion that Thai Buddhism is \u201creturning to diversity\u201d and \u201creturning again to the hands of the people.\u201d Using in-depth case studies of three influential local monks in the northeastern province of Yasothon, it develops three cross-cutting themes that are of significance not only as evidence of a process we term \u201crelocalization\u201d but also as issues that lie at the heart of contemporary Thai Therav\u0101da Buddhism. The paper explores how the teachings and specific hermeneutics of influential Buddhist thinkers like Buddhad\u0101sa Bhikkhu, Phra Payutto and Samana Phothirak have been communicated, interpreted, adjusted and implemented by local monks in order to suit specific local realities and needs. Added to this localization of ideas is the localization of practice, wherein the three case studies reveal the quite different approaches and stances adopted by a \u201cfolk monk\u201d (Phra Khruu Suphajarawat), a \u201cforest monk\u201d (Phra Mahathongsuk) and what might loosely be termed a \u201cfundamentalist monk\u201d (Phra Phromma Suphattho) at the interface of monastery and village, or the spiritual (supramundane) and social (mundane) worlds. This articulation of Buddhism and localism in turn feeds the debate concerning the appropriateness or otherwise of social engagement and activism in connection with a monk\u2019s individual spiritual development and the normative function of the monk in modern Thai society.<\/p>\n
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