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Thailand Buddhist Doctrine and Popular Religion
The doctrine of Theravada Buddhism can be found in the
three-part Tipitaka. The first of the three baskets (or sections)
sets forth the discipline governing the monastic order. The
second presents the sermons or discourses of the Buddha and
contains the dharma (literally, doctrine). The third comprises
the commentaries and explications produced by learned monks in
the centuries after the death of the Buddha. It is here that
significant differences exist between Theravada and Mahayana
Buddhism.
In the first basket, and central to the structure of Buddhist
belief, are the doctrines of karma, the sum and the consequences
of an individual's actions during the successive phases of his
existence, and samsara, the eternal cycle of birth, death,
and rebirth. Both doctrines were derived from the Indian thought
of the Buddha's time, although he invested the concept of karma
with very strong ethical implications. Broadly, these ideas taken
together assert that evil acts have evil consequences for those
committing them, and good acts yield good consequences, not
necessarily in any one lifetime, but over the inevitable cycle of
births and deaths. A concomitant to the belief in karma and
samsara is the view that all forms of life are related
because every form originated in a previous one. In the canonical
view, but not in the popular one, the entity that undergoes
reincarnation is not the soul (although the idea of soul exists)
but a complex of attributes--actions and their consequences--that
taken together are said to constitute the karma of an individual.
It is karma in this sense that survives in another form.
The second basket, containing the dharma, provides the
essentials that define the way to nirvana. The foundation of the
system lies in the Four Noble Truths: suffering exists, it is
caused by craving or desire, it can be made to cease, and it can
be brought to an end by following the Noble Eightfold Path. The
last Noble Truth contains the eight precepts to be followed by
Buddhists: right view, or having an understanding of the Four
Noble Truths; right thought--freedom from lust, ill will, and
cruelty; right speech, which means abstention from lying,
gossiping, harsh language, and vain talk; right action, by which
killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct are proscribed; right
livelihood, which requires an individual's sustenance be earned
in a way that is not harmful to living things; right effort, by
which good thoughts are encouraged and bad thoughts are avoided
or overcome; right mindfulness, or close attention to all states
of the body, feeling, and mind; and right concentration, that is,
concentration on a single object to bring about a special state
of consciousness in meditation. Following the Noble Eightfold
Path conscientiously is necessary if a person aspires to become
an arhat (usually translated as saint), ready for nirvana.
Virtually from the beginning, however, the Buddha
acknowledged that it would be difficult for a layperson to follow
all aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path singlemindedly. The
conditions appropriate to such pursuit are available only to
mendicant monks. The demands on the layperson are therefore less
rigorous, and most interpret the doctrine as requiring acts
gaining merit so that the layperson may achieve a condition in
the next life that will allow stricter attention to the
requirements of the path.
The acts that bring merit are, in principle, those that
conform as closely as possible to the ethical demands of the
Noble Eightfold Path. Acts that support the brotherhood of monks
are also included. Consequently, providing material support,
e.g., food, to the members of the sangha, showing them
deference, underwriting and participating in certain ceremonies,
and supporting the construction and maintenance of the wat
have come to be the chief methods of gaining merit. The powerful
ethical content of the Noble Eightfold Path is reduced to five
precepts or injunctions. The laity are expected to refrain from
the following: taking life, stealing, lying, engaging in illicit
sexual relations, and drinking intoxicating liquors. Thai
Buddhists--like many followers of other religions--select only a
few of the Buddha's teachings to guide them. Many Buddhist
principles, while not actually practiced, are venerated as
ideals.
According to some observers, most Thai place little emphasis
on the achievement of nirvana, whether as a final state after
many rebirths or as an interior condition. What is hoped for is
an improved condition in this life or the next. In Thai thinking,
the ideas of merit and demerit so essential to the doctrine of
karma are linked linguistically to those of good and evil; good
and merit are both bun; evil and the absence of merit are
bap. The Theravada idea of karma (and the Thai peasant's
understanding of it) charges the individual with responsibility
for good and evil acts and their consequences. Thai do not rely
solely on the accumulation of merit, however gained, to bring
that improved state into being. Other forms of causality, ranging
from astrology to the action of spirits of various kinds, are
also part of their outlook.
The world of the Thai villager (and that of many city folk as
well) is inhabited by a host of spirits of greater or lesser
relevance to an individual's well-being. Although many of these
are not sanctioned by Buddhist scripture or even by Buddhist
tradition, many monks, themselves of rural origin and essentially
tied to the village, are as likely as the peasant to accept the
beliefs and rituals associated with spirits.
Most important are the spirits included in the rather
heterogeneous category of phi, thought to have power over
human beings. The category includes spirits believed to have a
permanent existence and others that are reincarnations of
deceased human beings. Phi exist virtually everywhere--in
trees, hills, water, animals, the earth, and so on. Some are
malevolent, others beneficial.
The ghosts of persons who died violently under mysterious
circumstances or whose funeral rites were improperly performed
constitute another class of phi; almost all of these
spirits are malevolent. In contrast, the ghosts of notable people
are said to reside in small shrines along the roads and are
referred to as "spirit lords." They are often petitioned in
prayers and can enter and possess the bodies of mediums to give
oracles. Among the more important of the spirits and ghosts is
the evil phi pop (ghoul spirit), which, at the instigation
of witches, can enter human beings and consume their internal
organs.
Another category consists of the chao (guardian
spirits), of which perhaps the most important is the chao
thi, or guardian of the house compound (an alternative name
is phra phum). Fixed on a post in the compound of most
houses in Thailand's central region is a small spirit dwelling.
Food offerings are made to the chao thi on the anniversary
of the spirit's installation in the house, on New Year's Day, and
on other special days. The spirit is told of the arrival of
guests who are to stay any length of time, of projected journeys
by members of the family, and of births and deaths. The spirit's
intercession is also sought during illness and misfortune.
Other spirits protect gardens, the rice fields, and the
wat. The spirit of the rice field is worshiped only once a
year, at the beginning of the rice planting; the Rice Goddess
receives offerings when the seedbed is to be prepared and when
the harvest is ready. The Mother Earth Goddess often receives
offerings at transplanting time.
In addition to the rites dedicated to an assortment of
spirits either regularly or as the occasion demands, other rites
intended to maximize merit for the participants are practiced.
The Buddha prescribed no ceremonies for birth, death, and
marriage, but the Hindu rites, which were adopted by the Thai
people, entail the participation of Buddhist monks. The
ceremonies, which are held at home rather than in the wat,
have no scriptural sanction. The monks limit their participation
to chanting the appropriate Buddhist scriptural texts or to
providing holy water.
The propitiation of an individual's khwan (body spirit
or life soul) remains a basic feature of Thai family rites. Any
ceremony undertaken to benefit a person, animal, or plant is
referred to as the making of khwan. On important
occasions, such as birth, ordination into the priesthood,
marriage, a return from a long journey, or the reception of an
honored guest, a khwan ceremony is performed.
Of all the life cycle and family ceremonies, funeral rites
are the most elaborate. When a person is dying, he or she should
fix his or her mind on the Buddhist scriptures or repeat some of
the names of the Buddha. If the last thoughts of the dying person
are directed toward the Buddha and his precepts, the fruits of
this meritorious behavior will be repaid to the deceased in the
next incarnation. After his or her death, other meritorious acts
are performed for the benefit of the deceased, such as attendance
at the wake and provision of food to the officiating monks. Every
effort is made to banish sorrow, loneliness, and fear of the
spirits by means of music and fellowship.
Ceremonies in the wat consist of those that benefit
the entire community and those that primarily affect the
sangha. The first kind include the rites held on such
occasions as Mahka Bucha (an important February holiday that
marks the beginning of the season for making pilgrimages to Phra
Phuttabaht, the Buddha's Footprint Shrine), Wisakha Bucha (a
festival commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and
death), Khao Phansa (the holiday marking the beginning of the
three-month Buddhist holy season, July to October), and Thot
Kathin (a festival during which robes and other items are given
to the monks by the laity). Ceremonies that primarily concern the
sangha include ordination, confession, recitation of the
227 monastic rules, and distribution of new robes after Thot
Kathin.
Of all the ceremonies affecting the sangha, ordination
is the one in which the laity are most involved, both physically
and spiritually. Frequently, before a young man makes his initial
entry into the sangha, a ceremony is held in the home of
the aspirant to prepare him for ordination. His khwan is
invited to enter the sangha with him; otherwise, evil and
illness might befall him. He is informed of his parents'
happiness with his decision, of the sacrifices they have made for
him, and of the life of austerity and discipline he is to begin.
In Thailand, it is a popular belief that by becoming a monk great
merit is gained, merit which also accrues to persons or parents
who sponsor the ordination.
Data as of September 1987
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