Modern Thai Buddhism and Buddhadasa Bhikkhu: A Social History

Chapter 3: The Spread of Buddhadāsa's Dhamma

72 Te Spre of ’s Dhamma ’s mission to spread the transcendent truth of lokuttara dhamma was taken on by many of his followers who had realized its benefits in their lives. In the dissemination of dhamma — by which Thai people usually mean the wisdom of lokuttara dhamma — both ordained and lay Buddhists played active roles, with the lay Buddhists’ involvement being particularly striking. As we shall see in this chapter, while ’s fellow monks such as  played a central role in delivering the message of dhamma, some of ’s lay followers also committed themselves to offering their own interpretation of ’s sermons for further promulgation. Those lay Buddhists took up the work of spreading dhamma as an important religious mission well worth the dedication of their funds and labor. Through their contribution, they would not have denied the benefit of earning merit (good kamma), but for them it was even more relevant than the conventional method of merit-making; it meant a noble contribution to inform people the way to achieve “true” religious goal. This chapter will trace the expansion of the propagation of - ’s teaching by his lay followers, first, by the group of Chao Chun Sirorot at Wat Umong in Chiang Mai, a remote area with a different local tradition; second, by the Organization for the Restoration of Buddhism, which distributed many free copies of dhamma booklets in which Pun Chongprasoet printed his interpretation of ’s sermons; third, by the Sublime Life Mission, which published an inexpensive series of ’s influential sermons; fourth, through popular dhamma debates by urban commoners in temple grounds; and last, through involvement of more groups after the late 1960s and onward. CHAPTER 3 1. Taking the Dhamma Beyond Bangkok: Wat Umong in Chiang Mai Not only did the propagation of ’s preaching of the dhamma, teaching which originated in Southern Thailand, have an impact on people in the nation’s capital, it also was transmitted by his lay disciples to people in other regions of Thailand.  also had devoted support in Chiang Mai Province in northern Thailand, where a distinctive local tradition of Buddhism had been practiced. In terms of both political and religious administration, the north had already been integrated into the nation-state of Siam/Thailand before ’s teaching arrived there toward the end of the Second World War. In contrast to Thammayut monks such as Chao Khun Ubalikhunupamachan (Chan Siricando; 1857–1932) and Phra Achan Man  (1871–1949), who were assigned the ’s administrative tasks in their teaching and education in provinces,  and his group came to the north from a different region with private status, and ’s teaching was spread by means of newly developed mass communication techniques.1 By that time, ’s group from Chaiya and the people from Chiang Mai in the north joined in the same public sphere for the exchange of intellectual expressions and opinions using a common language and script. The propagation activities of ’s group was developed along with geographical inclusion of outer regions into the Thai national Buddhist public sphere. The Beginning of ’s Propagation in the North: Chao Chun Sirorot For this geographical extension,  had significant support from Chao Chun Sirorot (1896–1995)2 for his propagation of the dhamma. Chun was the son of Chao Inthapat, who descended from a Lord of Chiang Tung, Chao Kramom, and his wife, Duang, who was from a Karen (a hill tribe) family. When Chun’s father Chao Inthapat married Chao Mae Buaphan, who was also descended from a lord of Chiang Tung, his mother Duang left her first husband and returned to her parents’ home with her children. Later, Duang married Kaew Rattanaphon, who was the janitor of a provincial government school, and who brought up Duang’s sons, i.e., Chun and his brother. Even though he was called “Chao” (Lord) as a descendent of Chiang Tung’s lord, Chun was not in a position to inherit the full family fortune and honor, but rather had to struggle to find his way as a commoner. One important benefit that Chun gained from his noble family background was the opportunity for higher education. Since most farmers The Spread of ’s Dhamma 73 74 Modern Thai Buddhism and Buddhadsa Bhikkhu then considered the education of their children as a waste of work time,3 Chun could not have had an education if he had been from a humble family...