Buddhist extremism in Thailand fits neatly into

juntas plans

Thai Buddhist monks pray at Wat Dhammakaya. Pic: AP.

by Alistair Denness-1st December 2015

BESET by a painful economic downturn, clouded by political uncertainties

and plagued by numerous human rights abuses attributed to the ruling
junta, Thailands rulers are throwing a spanner in the media narrative by
launching a controversial campaign to establish Buddhism as the
countrys official religion.

The junta-appointed committee that is writing the countrys 20th

constitution in a century is being actively pressured by Buddhist activists
to insert a new clause: a state religion. However, an extremist Buddhist
movement active both within the country and in neighboring Burma
(Myanmar) is now threatening to send the project off the rails.
A recent call to arms by Thai monk Phra Apichart Punnajanto, abbot at
one at one of Bangkoks most prestigious and influential temples Wat
Benchamabopit has come under fire. In a classic eye-for-an-eye
religious diatribe, this holy man, this man of peace, advocated that for
every Buddhist monk killed by Muslim insurgents in the south of the
country a mosque should be burned to the ground.
It seems almost paradoxical to use the words Buddhist and extremism
in the same sentence, such is the extent to which this darling of
philosophical thought has cornered the market on the general concept of
a peaceful religion. However, make no mistake about it, Buddhism is no
stranger to leaving its own mark on the annals recording the atrocities
religion has inflicted upon humankind. Take, for instance, attacks upon
Europeans by Buddhist extremists in Burma in the 1930s, in response to
a national call to conversion for those not already practicing Buddhism.
Or the formidable Buddhist support extant in Japan during WWII for the
home forces, so that peace could be restored once more to East Asia. In
the 70s, Thai Buddhists actively encouraged the murder of
Communists in the region, assuring all adherents that there would be no
karmic consequence.
The foundations of Thai society are built upon three institutional
cornerstones: monarchy, nation and religion. So intertwined have they
become that it is sometimes difficult to entirely separate them. Not that

the major players the royal family, the military and the Buddhist
Sangha would wish to do any such thing. Like most elite circles, they
have always been remarkably eager to work together in order to
maintain the status quo that has for so long benefited them. And
nowhere is there anyone more in need of that tried and tested support
right now than junta leader, Prayuth Chan-o-cha.

The foundations of Thai society are built upon three institutional cornerstones:
monarchy, nation and religion. So intertwined have they become that it is
sometimes difficult to entirely separate them.

The latest in a very long list of military autocrats, Prayuth has not been
shy of letting it be known that there are no immediate plans to allow the
nations fortunes back into the infant hands of democracy. Recently, in
a two-hour tirade, he made it patently clear that the more the media
attacks his rule, the more he will stay in power in order to restore peace
and order. This most recent of threats goes beyond the previous 20month roadmap to elections established in September, after the junta
unexpectedly rejected the draft constitution written by one of its
committees. So where does the dictator turn next in his quest for
justification? Step forward the Sangha.

Thailands Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Pic: AP.

The Sangha, described as a Buddhist council but in reality an
institutional body of senior Buddhist figures, is constituted entirely of
monks. Much like any of the classical worlds more noteworthy religions,
women only seem to figure marginally. There are nuns, but these play a
subordinate role to the monkhood and, although spoken of respectfully,
live a life almost outside normal Thai society.
A friend who worked teaching English in Thailand the last time a junta
was in power, early in the 2000s, had a nun as a student, a lady whom
he described as refreshingly candid. At that time, the junta was writing
a new constitution and had been convinced by the Sangha to include
within it a concession that legally recognized Buddhism as the state
religion. To say she was disgusted would be an understatement: she
regularly berated the monkhood for its concessions to traditional
animistic practice in addition to its obeisance to the trappings of power
and wealth but to tie in the Sangha to political life was for her an utter
betrayal of everything that Buddhism ought to be.

Under Prayuth, the very same dialogue has once again reared its ugly
head. Coincidence? Almost certainly not. The collusion of monk and
tyrant seems a regular occurrence in the history of Thailand, and with
good reason.
The Buddhist establishment can provide the perfect means for an ever
increasingly unpopular leader to get back in the driving seat. With more
than 90 percent of the population declaring their attachment to Buddhist
traditions, the religion is the common thread between the state (read
military) and the people.
Getting the Sangha on his side as well, Prayuth could secure the whole
deck of political aces. In a country crippled by strict top-down societal
conditioning, questioning the motives of all three of the nations most
revered institutions is almost impossible. Add to that a common enemy,
and Prayuth has a royal-flush in the making. In this case, the common
enemy is Islam, or more specifically the Malay-Muslim insurgents in the
south of the country who have contributed to growing anti-Islam
sentiment after a rekindling of their insurgency left over 6500 people
dead since 2004.
Perhaps concerns would not be quite so prevalent were the views of the
likes of Phra Apichart largely isolated affairs. However, there is a wave of
Buddhist extremism sweeping the entirety of that particular religions
South and Southeast Asian strongholds at present. In Myanmar, for
example, the Buddhist establishment has as good as sanctioned the
murder of hundreds of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, while the
Burmese government itself has imposed legal restrictions upon interfaith marriage.

Controversial Buddhist monk Wirathu, who is accused of instigating

sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims through his sermons
in Myanmar. Pic: AP.
In Sri Lanka, a similar state of affairs exists, with hundreds of attacks
reported on non-Buddhists over the last few years. Such precedents
neatly, and very worryingly, allow Thailands already very insular junta to
follow suit; pointing to the war that is being waged all around Thailands
borders against Buddhism in order to divert the attentions of those who
have been a little more willing to ask questions of the ruling elite than
have most.
With a probable two years of Prayuths reign still ahead of us, these
matters are, unfortunately, only likely to take a turn for the worse.
Posted by Thavam