Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand

8. Relations with Villagers

1 9 8 CHAPTER 8 Relations with Villagers Sangha authorities, once suspicious of and hostile toward thudong monks, eventually recruited them. Thudong monks were no longer outlaws; they became effective promoters of the Thammayut presence in the countryside. The question now is, Why were they so effective? We shall see that the monks’ exemplary lifestyle, which included both austere individual meditative practice and a willingness to work hard with others, won the villagers’ respect. Furthermore, because these monks had overcome their own fear of ghosts and spirits, they were able to convince villagers that the dhamma could protect them as well. Often the villagers transferred their allegiance from mau phis to thudong monks. The monks’ knowledge of the dhamma and meditation no doubt helped to establish the villagers’ trust in them as healers, but so, too, did their knowledge of herbal medicine. The thudong monks were effective for another reason: sangha authorities and government officials supported their activities. Although the efforts that thudong monks made to subdue people’s fears of spirits were prompted by their goal of spreading the dhamma, these efforts coincided with government policies coming out of Bangkok. Weakening the belief in and fear of local guardian spirits was a necessary first step in the move to develop rural areas economically. Once that belief and fear diminished, local people (Lao, Phu Thai, Suai, Khmer, Yuan, Mon, etc.) would no CHAPT ER 8 • R e l a t i o n s w i t h Vi l l a g e r s 199 longer be afraid of clearing large tracts of forest, and this would encourage the development of agriculture. PROMOTING GOVERNMENT POLICIES Much of the thudong “missionary” work took place during the Phibun regimes, which lasted from late 1938 to mid-1944 and from 1948 to 1957. As prime minister, Phibun’s goal was to build a new nation (sang chat)—a country that belonged to the ethnic Thai and their culture rather than to other ethnic groups, particularly the economically dominant Chinese. During his first period of rule, Phibun made extensive use of the government’s radio broadcasting monopoly to shape local support for his regime.1 One of the government policies was economic development in the countryside.2 During this period, forested land was abundant and the population was low. Forests covered more than 50 percent of the country. In the Northeast in 1937, forests covered 60 percent of the region, or about ten million hectares (40,000 square miles).3 Such extensive forest cover meant that traveling between villages, usually by oxcart, on horseback, or on foot, was slow and difficult . And since there were few roads, people had no easy access to frontier forests. To encourage people to clear forested lands and turn them into farms, the government made it easy to stake claims (jap jong) to wilderness for cultivation.4 The sangha authorities had always gone along with government policies, whether issued by the monarchy or the military. The sangha head of Isan believed—as did the Bangkok elite—that most people in the Northeast were poor because they lacked the drive to make money. Somdet Uan was known for his articles and books advocating government policies. One of his books, Sap nai din, sin nai nam (Bounty in the earth, treasure in the water), encouraged people to work harder by clearing forests and expanding their paddy fields and orchards. One of Uan’s personal mottoes was “We must transform the forest into a town,” a slogan that was hailed as progressive at the time. Uan used the motto in an article urging monks in the Northeast to implement government policies.5 In this article he asked administrative monks in the Northeast to take on the role of community leaders. 200 CHAPTER 8 • R e l a t i o n s w i t h Vi l l a g e r s Fellow Isan monks, senior as well as junior, I urge you to advise laypeople to follow the right livelihood according to the guidelines laid out by the director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture . Monks should lead people to dig ponds, construct roads, and build dams. Do whatever work you can, provided it does not violate the book of discipline [vinaya]. Basically, monks are teachers. We can’t expect people to give donations if they don’t have anything to give. So, first we...