Download king bhumibol adulyadej rama ix

The Great Thai Leaderships Devoting in Early Buddhism
B. Premanode
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Correspondence: [email protected]
Abstract
In this study, the leadership attributes of the mah
who adhered to Buddhist doctrine and
adopted the abhidhamma as a core philosophy for the country’s governance during the early
Sukhothai era is examined to determine the root causes of major problems afflicting modern Thai
society. Many of these social problems are related to strives, disagreements, and disunity, and are a
direct consequence of the absence of mindfulness and the dhamma of the leaders. The application of
Buddhist doctrine as a solution to these social problems in a secular world today is as relevant as it
was during the ancient days. This is manifested in the form of the Sufficiency Economy, promulgated
by none other than one of the greatest, if not the greatest practitioners of the dhamma, the present
King Rama IX the Great (His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej). Leaders must continue to
proactively promote Buddhism and adopt Buddhist doctrines in the administration of the country,
and constantly be mindful to encourage the practice of the dhamma. In this study, specific examples
of laws and regulations that hinder the practice of Buddhist doctrines, the shortfall of Buddhist
infrastructure, and the lack of recognition accorded to the Buddhist monks are examined and the
solutions are proposed. Leaders who are dhamma practitioners and who conscientiously apply
Buddhist doctrines in their governance can take comfort that like their predecessors, the mah
s,
they themselves will be remembered for bringing harmony and well-being to their people.
Keywords: Dhamma; Doctrine; Leadership; and Mah
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I. Introduction
Leadership is one of the most relevant aspects of a country. According to Thai history, during the
early Sukhothai era from 1780 B.E. to 2552 B.E., there were seven mah
s (great kings) who had fully
demonstrated their kingship by leading and protecting Thailand from being invaded or influenced by
neighboring countries and European Imperialism. These leaders inevitably fulfilled three distinctive
functions: a) provided for the well-being and security of the people, b) sheltered the country from external
influences, and c) provided a set of beliefs. Among the characteristics exhibited by Thai leaders are the
outstanding attributes of vision, values, charisma, and intelligence. To achieve Gross National Happiness
(GNH), where the rich may not always be happy1, the leaders maintain a close liaison with their officers,
e.g., privy counselors and prime minister. The leader indeed manages the country through a unique style
that is neither authoritarian nor laissez-faire, but outfitting the country with a transparent system.
As Buddhism is a major religion of Thailand since the Sukhothai era, the Thai kings and their
prime ministers were pious, and have frequently used the abhidhamma as a core philosophy for the
country’s administration. During those days, the prime ministers were somewhat ambitious, tenacious,
energetic, and were full of initiative, honesty, integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge.
However, it is unavoidable to mention that the prime ministers from 2538 B.E. to 2551 B.E. were neither
capable nor transparent, but full of conceit, using their own egos to manage the country. As a result, the
social fabric, capital, and network of the country were deeply damaged.
This paper seeks to demonstrate the absolute leaderships of King Bhumipol the Great and other
Mah
who have imposed strong measures tempered with utmost mindfulness under the guidance of
Early Buddhism.
II. Buddhism in Management
There are seven theories that are often cited for executive failure; and these are: 1) incompetency,
2) lack of up-to-date information, 3) uncertainty in making decisions, 4) insufficient effort and no patience,
5) lack of leadership, 6) lack of resources, and 7) not being in kaly
amittat , i.e., favorable as well as
social or working environment.2,3 The leaders have the advantage to take charge of new assignments
2
without idiosyncrasy.4 Bake and McCanse explained about Paternalism, 9+9 as: “Getting people worship on
the ground you walk on,” which the leaders must understand through a more complete evaluation of its
motivational dimension starting from the fear of repudiation to the desire for veneration, in addition to
being competent in conflict resolution.5 The leaders ought to anticipate reactions by understanding the basic
framework of the relations among nature of action, nature of rivals, and nature (limit) of actor.
Subsequently, the basic framework will then cover what to response, who takes charge, to which action, to
whose action, and how fast.6
With respect to Buddhism studies, the leader shall either have a comprehensive understanding of
or be mindful of, at least but not limited to, the following:
1.
kaly
amittat : the noble friend.
2.
yonisomanasik ra: reasoned attention, systematic attention, analytical thinking, critical
reflection, thinking in terms of specific conditionality, thinking based on causal relations or
problem-solving.7
3.
appam da: responsibility, earnestness, diligence, and heedfulness. 8 “Decay is inherent in all
component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!” This is the last word of the
Buddha.9
4.
lokap la-dhamma: virtues that protect the world, in which it comprises hiri: moral shame;
conscience; and b) ottappa: moral dread.10
5.
sati-sampajañña: mindfulness, awareness, clear comprehension, and temperance. 11
6.
tilakkha a: the three characteristics of existence or signata are impermanence (anicca),
suffering or misery (dukkha), and non-self (anatta).12 All formations and consciousness are
impermanent, subject to suffering, and without a self. Therefore, it will not last perpetually.
7.
brahmavih ra: promotion of his relatives and people with connections to serve in important
positions (lacking sublime states of mind that comprises a) metta: loving-kindness or friendly
or goodwill; b) karu a: compassion; c) mudit : sympathetic joy or altruistic joy, and d)
upekkh : equanimity, neutrality or poise).13 Buddhaghosa explained that the four are related to
each other: “like a mother with four sons, namely a child, an invalid, one in the flush of youth,
and one busy with his own affairs; for she wants the child to grow up, wants the invalid to get
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well, wants the one in the flush of youth to enjoy for long the benefits of youth, and is not at
all bothered about the one who is busy with his own affairs.”14
8.
sa gahavatthu: base of social solidarity, sympathy, act of doing favor, principles of services,
or virtues for group integration and leadership. It consists of a) d na: giving, generosity, and
charity; b) piyav
: kind speech or convincing speech; c) attacariy : useful conduct or
rendering services or life of service or doing good; and d) sam nattat : even and equal
treatment or participation and behaving oneself properly in all circumstances. 15
9.
ja-sa gahacvatthu: royal acts of doing favor or striving for national integration, which
consists of a) sassamedha: shrewdness in agricultural promotion, b) purisamedha: shrewdness
in promotion and encouragement of government officials, c) samm
sa: a bond to bind
men’s hearts, act of doing favor consisting of vocational promotion as commercial investment,
and d)
10. va
japeya: affability in addressing or kind and convincing speech.16
hana-mukha: channels of growth or gateway to progress, which consists of a) rogya:
good health, b) sil : moral conduct and discipline, c) buddh numata: conformity or access to
the ways of great enlightened beings, d) suta: much learning, e) dhamm nuvatti: practice in
accordance with the dhamma or following the law of righteousness, and f) al nat :
unshrinking perseverance.17
11. ariyasacca: The Four Noble Truth which consists of a) dhukkha: suffering or
unsatisfactoriness, b) dukka-samudaya: the cause or origin of suffering, c) dukkha-nirodha:
the cessation or extinction of suffering, and d) dukkha-nirodha-g min pa ipa
or magga: the
path leading to the cessation of suffering. However, there are ways for practicing the Four
Noble Truths in the respective order; and are as follows: statement of evil; location of the
problem; diagnosis of the origin; prognosis of its antidote or envisioning the solution; and
prescription of the remedy or program of treatment.18
12. iddhip da: path of accomplishment or basis of success, which consists of a) chanda: will,
zeal, or aspiration, b) viriya: energy, effort, exertion, or perseverance, c) citta: thoughtfulness,
active thought, or dedication, and d) vima sa: investigation, reasoning, or testing.19
13. nivara a: hindrances, which consists of a)
machanda: sensual desire, b) by
da: ill will,
c) th na-middha: slot and torpor, d) uddhacca-kukkucca: distraction, remorse or flurry, worry
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or restlessness, and anxiety, and e) vicikicch : doubt or uncertainty.20 We may compare these
five hindrances with the following: sensual desire is water mixed in manifold colors, ill will
with boiling water, sloth and torpor with water covered by moss, restlessness and anxiety with
agitated water whipped by the wind, and doubt with turbid and muddy water.21 If the water is
not clearly seen as a crystal, one cannot discern one’s own benefit clearly.
14. pañca-s la: The Five Precepts or rules of morality, which consists of a)
to abstain from killing any living being, b) adinn
anything without permission, c)
misconduct,
d)
mus
sur mmerayamajjapam da
mesumiccah
verama i:
to
abstain
tip
verama i:
verama i: to abstain from taking
verama i: to abstain from sexual
from
false
speech,
and
e)
verama i: to abstain from whisky and intoxicants causing
heedlessness.22
15. up saka-dhamma: accomplishments of the Buddha’s teaching or qualities conducive to the
progress of a lay disciple, which are: a) not to fail to see the monks, b) not to neglect the
Teaching, c) to train oneself in high virtue, d) to be full of confidence in the monks, whether
elder, newly ordained, or mid-term, e) to listen to the dhamma to criticize, and f) not to seek
the gift-worthy outside of the Buddha’s teaching, and to render his first service in a Buddhist
cause.23
16.
jadhamma: virtuous duties of the king or virtues of a ruler are: a)
na: charity, liberality,
or generosity, b) la: high moral character, c) paricc ga: self-sacrifice, d) jjava: honesty or
integrity, e) maddva: kindness and gentleness, f) tapa: austerity, self-control, or nonindulgence, g) akkodha: non-anger or non-furry, h) avihi
, non-violence or non-oppression,
i) khanti: patience, forbearance, or tolerance, and j) avirodhana: non-deviation from
righteousness and conformity to the law.24
“Suppose a spike of rice or a spike of barely were wrongly directed and were pressed
upon by the hand or the foot. That could pierce the hand or the foot and draw the
blood………… …..A bhikkhu develops right view, which is based upon seclusion,
dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release ……….. A bhikkhu with a rightly directed
view, with a rightly directed development of the path, pierces ignorance, arouses true
knowledge, and realizes nibb na.”25
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The
ha gika-magga: Noble Eight Path (see Section III) is the absolute factor or path leading to
the attainment of the ultimate goal of mankind, the nibb na. From the Buddha’s doctrine items 1–16
mentioned earlier, one must realize that the dhamma is also suitable for the secular world, and is not
exclusive for the ascetics who may deny the facts of impermanent globalization.
III. Great Thai Leaderships with Buddhism Practice
In any reign where the leaders are unfaithful in the dhamma, the country becomes inundated with
unpleasant issues and is hardly able to survive the world recession. Without an absolute understanding and
practice of the magga26, mindfulness cannot be altered, and the crisis could not be overcome. As the
dhamma is sandi hiko40, to be seen for oneself, and timeless, ak liko40, the leaders should not challenge it
by employing a new unproven management to govern the country. With the hiri4, moral shame or
conscience, and ottappa4, moral dread, embedded intrinsically in the leaders, the virtue karma as a
becoming existence will always be there. Hence, the country under their administration will always flourish
with good governance.
The leadership doctrine in Thai society must somehow use a single standard with the dhamma and
good governance. The leader should strictly adhere to the Five Precepts and the brahmavih ra14 and
magga,26 taking charge of the roles under the Constitution. The magga represents the eight intellectual
items, namely samm di hi: right view or right understanding, samm sa kappa, right thoughts,
samma
: right speech, samm kammanta: right action, samm -ajiv : right livelihood, samm
ma:
right effort, samm sati: right mindfulness, and samm sam dhi: right concentration. With the essence of
understanding and practicing the dhamma doctrines listed in Section II, the leader’s mindfulness will be
tranquilized, being able to surf through unforeseen circumstances.
The life of the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great, of the Maurya dynasty, who ruled most parts of
South Asia from 270 B.E. to 311 B.E., was engaged in the battle fields all the time; but at the end of his life,
he supported and propagated Buddhism as a prime cause. Ashoka the Great had a strong faith that
Buddhism would be beneficial for all human beings as well as animals and plants, and
“He built 84,000 stupas, sangharama, viharas, chaitya, and residences for Buddhist
monks all over South Asia and Central Asia. Ashoka also invited Buddhists and non-Buddhists for
religious conferences. Ashoka inspired the Buddhist monks to compose the sacred religious texts,
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and also gave all types of help to that end. Ashoka never tried to harm or to destroy non-Buddhist
religions, and indeed gave donations to non-Buddhists.”27
Buddhism migrated from India and Burma (Myanmar) to Thailand sometime during the 6th century
A.D. through the idea of the dhammar
, which states that the King shall rule his people in accordance to
the dhamma and teachings of the Buddha. When King Ramkhamhaeng came to the throne, he administrated
the country under a concept of “paternal rule”, in which the King governed his people as a father would
govern his children.28 Definitely, the brahmavih ra14 featured prominently as a core philosophy of his
management style. During the Ayutthayan period, the Great Kings, Narai and Narasuen, contributed to
civilization and sustained the country’s sovereignty29 and had strategized their thrones by adopting the
sampajañña5, iddhip da9, and at least but not limited to, va hana-mukhasati10. In 2310 B.E., Taksin the
Great realized the benefits of up saka-dhamma15, detailed in Section II, in addition to the majority of the
magga to free the occupation of a Burmese army30. The Chakri Dynasty was established shortly after the
passing away of Taksin the Great in 2325 B.E. Though emphasizing protection of the sovereign, King
Rama I the Great built Wat Phrasrirattanasasadaram as a center of Buddhism in Siam, where his religious
ceremonies were performed31. The tipi aka versioned in Early Buddhism was brought from Shan state to
commensurate as a part of the Triple Gems. King Rama V the Great modernized the country by embracing
many European ideas32. More schools teaching Buddhism were built all over the country, shortly after
Rama V established the first two Buddhist Universities, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and
Mahamakut Buddhist University in 1889 and 1893, respectively33. With his collective leadership, Thais
called him “Phar Piya Maharaj” which translates to “The Great King who we (Thais) love”. In addition, he
had many kaly
amitta from the various countries he visited; and these include, Tsar Nicolas II of Russia
and Louis XVIII King of France34. All the past and present kings during the Chakri Dynasty were great
Buddhists and adopted the dhamma to rule their people.
Like his predecessors, King Rama IX the Great (His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej) lives his
life in accordance with the dhamma doctrine. With the samm
ma26 and samm -ajiv
26
, he is an expert
in many fields, e.g., radio engineering, survey, irrigation, music, sailing boat, etc35. He also wrote a novel
“Phra Mahajanaka”, referring to one of the ten great
taka of the Buddha36. His analytical skill and
knowledge in the Nobel Truth, ariyasacca18, have been applied towards understanding his people by
knowing their suffering (dukkha)18, attaining the cause of the suffering (dukka-samudaya)18, cessation of the
suffering (dukkha-nirodha)18, and implementing the cessation of suffering with the eight paths depending
7
on local conditions and environment (dukkha-nirodha-g min pa ipad or magga)18. He overwhelmingly
operates his routine work under the
ja-sa gahavatthu16 by consistently promoting agricultural livelihood
of the farmers (sassamedha)9. For example, he gave up his space in the Dusit Palace for agricultural
research projects, so-called Royal Chitralada Projects37, in which many R&D programs including rice
breeding, dairy farming, and at least but not limited to, food processing, are conducted. He also initiated
many irrigation projects, particularly in building national water reservoirs and dams for generating
electricity to support modern agriculture and households. Based on his purisamedha16, the King has granted
royal decorations to compliment honest and successful officials, and has given guidance to cabinet
ministers, senior bureaucrats, and military officials from time to time. His samm
sa9 is depicted by
spending more than 30 years visiting the rustic in the rural areas to help them solve their problems38. During
his visits, he usually pays respect to the local scholar priests, up saka-dhamma15, and discusses theories and
practices in Buddhism with them. His speech is always filled with loving kindness and full of moral
support, and these demonstrate his
japeya9. The following is a part of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi
Annan's citation in presenting the award to H.M. the King regarding Sufficiency Economy 39:
"...His Majesty's "Sufficiency Economy" philosophy emphasizing moderation, responsible
consumption, and resilience to external shocks is of great relevance to communities
everywhere during these times of rapid globalization. The philosophy's "middle path"
approach strongly reinforces the United Nation's own advocacy of a people-centred and
sustainable path toward human development..."
The Sufficiency Economy has somewhat reflected His Majesty’s yonisomanasik ra2 and
appam da3, which he had described in 1998 as “Sufficiency means to lead a reasonably comfortable life,
without excess, or overindulgence in luxury, but enough.”39
IV. Conclusion and Discussion
Under the theoretical considerations of western management and essentially the dhammapada as
explained in Section II, almost all of Thai Mah
mentioned in the previous section relied upon the
doctrine in Early Buddhism. By far, the Kingdom and Thai citizens have become civilized, and are
becoming more and more prosperous in both mind and body.
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V. Acknowledgments
The authors deeply thank the two venerable monks from Praram 9 Temple, namely, Than Chao
Khun Sri Piyasobol and Venerable Pasano (Boat) for their inspiration.
VI. References
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[14] Visuddhi-magga IX, ?108, trans. Ñy amoli (sic) The Path of Purification, 2nd ed., Colombo, 1964.
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[18] P.A. Payutto, “Dictionary of Buddhism”, ISBN 974-8357-89-9, 2550 B.E., pp. 155-156.
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[20] P.A. Payutto, “Dictionary of Buddhism”, ISBN 974-8357-89-9, 2550 B.E., pp. 167.
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[22] Nyanatiloka, “Buddhist Dictionary”, Buddhist Public Society, ISBN 955-24-0019-8, 2004, pp. 201.
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[23] P.A. Payutto, “Dictionary of Buddhism”, ISBN 974-8357-89-9, 2550 B.E., pp. 188.
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[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka_the_Great#As_an_Administrator, logged on Sep. 9th, 2009
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[30] Tanakit,“The history of Great King of Thailand”, Piramit Press, 2543, pp. 211-218 (in Thai)
[31] Tanakit,“The history of Great King of Thailand”, Piramit Press, 2543, pp. 144 (in Thai)
[32] Committee for The Rattanakosin Bicentennial Celebration to Commemorate The Rattanakosin
Bicentennial, “The Chakri Monarchs and The Thai People: A Special Relationship”, 1982, pp. 24.
[33] Tanakit,“The history of Great King of Thailand”, Piramit Press, 2543, pp. 258. (in Thai)
[34] Paladisai Sittitatkit “The Revolution of Siam”, Good Morning Press, 2547, pp. 174-175 (in Thai)
[35] The Royal Institute, “Under The Throne of King Jakarin –Rabadin –Siammin -tirat”, 2547, pp. 63.
[36] The Royal Institute, “Under The Throne of King Jakarin –Rabadin –Siammin-tirat”, 2547, pp. 42
(in Thai)
[37] The Royal Institute, “History and Activities of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej: The Sixtieth
Anniversary Celebration of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne”, Platinum press, pp.136 (in Thai)
[38] The Royal Institute, “History and Activities of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej: The Sixtieth
Anniversary Celebration of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne”, Platinum press, pp. 98
(in Thai)
[39] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Khamhaeng_the_Great, logged on Sep. 22nd, 2009
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[40] S. Janthagul, “A Manual of Buddhist Studies through the Sacred Book of Buddhist Chants Pali-ThaiEnglish Transaction’, Thammasapa, ISBN: 9 789749 973 592, pp. 4.
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