Thailand: Buddhism, Society and Women

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Item Code: IDH445
Author: Alexandra R. Kapur-Fic
Publisher: ABHINAV PUBLICATION
Language: English
Edition: 1998
ISBN: 8170173609
Pages: 606 (Color Illus: 20)
Cover: Hardcover
Other Details 8.5" X 5.4
Weight 860 gm
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Book Description

From the Jacket

Alexandra R. Kapur-Fic has been born in India and, after attending the Sacred Heart Convent School in Amritsar, obtained a BA and Bachelor of teaching from University of Punjab and an MA in Political Science from University from University of Lucknow.

She lived in Rangoon Burma, from 1962 to 1963, taught at the Chinese Nanyang University in Singapore from 1968 to 1971, travelled widely through Southeast Asia, and then taught Political Science and Anthropology at Niagara College in Welland, Ontario, Canada, from 1974 to 1995.

In 1993-94, part of the sabbatical leave was spent in Thailand, at Burapha University in Bangsaen, Chonburi, teaching and research the book.

In 1996 she accepted a position of the Chief Technical advisor with the UN International Labour Organization, and was posted to Jakarta, Indonesia, to administer a project ASEAN Network in technical Skills Training for Women in Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Her main interests are gender issues, and designing and implementing programs for the empowerment of women through technical skill training for poverty alleviation and income generation.

Back of the Book

The book develops two major themes. The first theme attempts to understand the sources of value orientation of the Thai people, and their individual and group behaviour. To this end the study examines three major value systems and their institutions, as well as their mutual relationship and interaction.

As the first value system, the study examines the Theravada Buddhism as founded by the Buddha, then focuses on its application in Thailand, on Buddhist ethics and morality, on the conflicts between some aspects of Buddhism and the rapidly changing society and, finally, on various movements attempting to reform Buddhism in that country.

As the second major value system, the study examines the role Thai people, their symbolism, and their fusion with Buddhism and its values and institutions at the grassroot level of the society.

As the third value system, the study discusses various theories which attempt to explain the psych-cultural values and attitudes of the Thai people, how these interact with Buddhism and animism, and how they add another dimension to the already complex patter of social behaviour.

These three value systems interact and define the parameters within which all aspects of the national life - political, cultural, economic and others - are actualized.

The second major theme of he book concentrates on the position of women in Thailand. It begins with the explanation of the attitudes which the Buddha himself held towards the women, examines the status of women in early Buddhist societies and of those women who chose to renounce the world and join the Buddhist Order to seek personal salvation, as well as the role of the lay women in a Buddhist society at that time. The book then various stages of its history, and culminates in the discussion of the legal position of women today and the attempts to improve their status. However, in treating the latter subject the study is descriptive rather than prescriptive, leaving it to the Thai women themselves to decide which to pursue to improve their position.

Introduction

Thailand has been a subject of great scholarly interest in the recent years. The reasons is that the country is successfully combining the traditional values, and values of Theravada Buddhism, with elements of modernity-a synthesis of the old and the new. This enables the country to preserve a strong sense of the Thai national identity, while making a significant progress in its efforts to modernize the country and improve the well-being of its people.

Although, when living in Burma, had the opportunity to visit Thailand many times, my own interest in the study of Thailand became highlighted during my Sabbatical leave spent at Burapha University in Chonburi in 1993-1994.

The book develops two major themes. The first theme attempts to understand the sources of value orientation of the Thai people, and their individual and group behavior. To this end the study examines three major value systems and their institutions, as well as their mutual relationship and interaction.

As the first value system, the study examines the Theravada Buddhism as founded by the Buddha, then focuses on its application in Thailand, on Buddhist ethics and morality, on the conflicts between some aspects of Buddhism and the rapidly changing society and, finally, on various movements attempting to re-form Buddhism in that country.

As the second major value system, the study examines the role which animism and the spirit worship lay in the daily life of the Thai people, their symbolism, and their fusion with Buddhism and its values and institutions at the grassroot level of the society.

As the third value system, the study discusses various theories which attempt to explain to explain the psycho-cultural values and attitudes of the Thai people, how these interact with Buddhism and animism, and how they add another dimension to the already complex of social Behaviour.

These three value systems interact and define the parameters within which all aspects of the national life- political, cultural, economic and others - are actualized.

The second major theme of the book concentrates on the position of women in Thailand. It begins with the explanation of the attitudes, which the Buddha him-self held towards the women, examines the status of women in early Buddhist societies and of those women who chose to renounce the world and join the Buddhist Order to seek personal salvation, as well as the role of the lay women in a Buddhist society at that time. The book then focuses on the position of women in the Thai society through various stages of its history, and culminates in the discussion of the legal position of women today and the attempts to improve their status. However, in treating the latte subject the study is descriptive rather than prescriptive, leaving it to the Thai women themselves to decide which remedies to pursue to improve their position.

The study originated during the field work at Burapha University, Thailand, undertaken during my Sabbatical leave from the teaching and administrative responsibilities at Niagara College, Welland, Canada, between 1993-1994.

The original incarnation of this study was a modest research project entitled the Changing Values and Attitudes of Female University Students in Thailand: a Comparative Study of Female Students at Burapha University, Payap University, Chachoengsao College and the Ram Bhai Barni College.

The purpose of the project was to study the interaction between the traditional Thai religious and cultural values, in which the student have been socialized in their homes, with the values of modern social sciences, business practices and technology, which the students were being exposed to at the universities and colleges.

Moreover, the study was interested in finding what goals the young women have set for themselves to achieve in life, and what role they wished to play in nation building as wives and mothers, professional women and citizens exercising their democratic rights, and to measure their concerns for the prevailing social problems, particularly those affecting women in Thailand.

Finally, in order to ascertain variable data for comparative purposes, the participating institutions have been selected, in a representative sample, from the urban and rural settings, from northern and southern regions of the country, from institutions of different sizes and different curricula. For example, Payap is a Christian university in Chiang Mai servicing students from tribal areas, where the values and attitudes of students are quite different from those elsewhere.

While a fairly comprehensive questionnaire has been developed and administered and the obtained data computerized and processed from some of the participating institutions, the work on inquiry in order to understand better the traditional values of the Thai female students which, eventually, resulted in the present book. However, it is my hope that I will be able to return soon to the original project on the changing values and attitudes of female students at selected universities and colleges in Thailand.

The initial scope of my research was even broader in its initial stage, and it concerned itself with the role of women in the developmental process in selected countries of South East Asia. Some of this work was carried out in Singapore, where I was a Visiting Research Scholar associated with the Centre for Advanced Studies of the national University of Singapore in 1993, which facilitated my access to the extensive collections of research material at the university library, as well as at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. I am grateful and acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Chin Kin Wah, Director of the Centre, and many professors at the National University of Singapore, who so generously gave their time to meet with me to discuss the project.

In Thailand, I express my gratitude to Burapha University, in Chonburi, for providing me with appropriate facilities. My sincere thanks are extended to Dr. Banchong Chantrasa, Vice-President Administration, for his counsel and support; Dr. Kunawudh Konchalard, Vice-President Academic, of his administrative support; Dr. Charan Chakandang, Vice- Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, for helping with the question-naire and for extending many other courtesies; Mr. Somsak Aeamkongrsi, Chief of Planning Division, for recognizing the value of such research; Mr. Serree Chinodom Director, Computer Centre for excellent work in processing the data; Professor virat Karavapittayakula, Dean, Faculty of Science, of his support; Professor Korblarp Tanskul, Head of Department of English and Foreign Language, for translating the questionnaire from Thai to English; Professor Chirawibha Pongruang, for helping with fine tuning the questionnaire and translating students' comments; and Mr. Sompoch Chuenpreecha, for the many courtesies extended to me during my stay at Burapha. My sincere gratitude to all those professors at Burapha who invited me o give lectures and lead seminars in their classes, and to many other for their hospitality and numerous acts of friendship.

 

CONTENTS
Introduction 9
List of Illustrations 15
Chapter I The Setting 17
The Land and the People 17
National Symbols 19
History Overview 20
Constitutional Monarchy Established: 1932 31
Thailand after World War II 33
The Constitutional Development 34
The Political Role of the King 35
The Changing Pattern of Thai Politics 40
Chapter II The Thai Society 44
The Perception of Time and Karma 48
Social and Economic Class Structure 53
Early Socialization and Value Orientation 54
Power and Perception of an Individual 57
Individual and Society 59
Superior-Subordinate Relationship 61
Village Organization 62
Rules Governing Marriage 63
Wedding Ceremony 65
Death and Funeral 66
The Thai Family Patterns 68
Social Values 77
Chapter III Buddhism And Evolution Of Its Doctrines 80
The Buddha, His Life, Death and His Teachings 80
The Doctrine of Karma 92
Major Schools of Buddhism 102
Theravada Buddhism 105
Theravada Literature 107
Mahayana Buddhism 137
Four Schools of Mahayana Philosophy 146
Buddhist Synods 152
Chapter IV Buddhism In Thailand 174
Buddhism and Social Behaviour 175
Buddhist Hierarchy 182
Rights and Duties of Abbots 184
Ordination of Monks 185
Rules of Conduct for Monks, Novices and Laity 192
The Mae jis 196
Duties of the Laity 204
Buddhism under Stress 207
Chapter V Animism And Spirit Worship 216
The Parn Yak Rites 217
Modern or Indigenous Cures? 226
Challenges to Buddhism 228
The Tham Khwan Ritual 231
Cross-Cultural Perspective 242
Chapter VI Ethics, Morality, Wealth And Salvation In Buddhism 249
The Foundations of Buddhist Ethics 256
The King and the Buddhist Ethics 263
Social Relationships and Responsibilities 269
Relations between the Monks and the Laity 271
Buddhism and Wealth 275
Theravada Buddhism and Social Change 279
Chapter VII Women In Early Buddhism 298
The Women: Buddha's Dilemma 298
The Decline and Demise of Buddhism in India 310
The Bhikkhuni Sangha 318
The First Bhikkhunis 325
The Songs of Sisters: Therigatha 331
Daily Life of a Bhikkhuni 351
Novices, Outstanding Theris and Meditation 364
Relations between the Bhikkhunis and the Bhikkhus 373
Ananda and Women 382
The Buddha and Women 385
The Lay Buddhist Women 388
Wives, Mothers and Daughters 390
Daughters and Marriage 395
Types of Marriage 395
Polyandry 398
Qualities of Wives 402
Widows 406
Origin of Sati 410
Working Women 416
Musicians, Dancers and Courtesans 418
Chapter VIII Women And Buddhism In Thailand 432
Women, Attachment and Economic Activities 432
National Integration and the Role of Women 442
Buddhism and Prostitution 447
Legal Position of Women Today 460
Chapter IX The Thai Psycho-Cultural Values 485
Theories about the Nature of Thai Society 485
Embree's Theory of a Loosely Structured Society 487
Critique of Embree's Theory 494
The Thai Existentialism 496
The "Bunkhun" Factor Interpretation 499
The Thai Individualism 501
The Thai Autonomism 502
The Freudian Interpretation 503
The Buddhism Interpretation 504
The Entourage Interpretation 505
The Affiliative Society Interpretation 506
Mulder's Power and Goodness Hypothesis 507
Suntaree Komin's Theory of the Thai National Character 520
The Nine Value Clusters 521
The Ego Orientation 522
The Grateful Relationship Orientation 524
The Smooth Interpersonal Relationship Orientation 528
The Flexibility and Adjustment Orientation 535
The Religio-Psychical Orientation 538
The Education and Competence Orientation 545
The Interdependence Orientation 548
The Fun and Pleasure Orientation 551
The Achievement-Task Orientation 554
The Importance of Arjarn Suntaree Komin's Work 564
Conclusion 571
Appendices 574
Bibliography 579
Index 593
Sample Pages





















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