Santi Asoke

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Santi Asoke (after Pali , in Thai สันติอโศก , RTGS : Santi Asok , something like "Peaceful Ashoka ") is a sect of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand , which was founded in 1975 by the former television entertainer and songwriter Phra Bodhirak . It is described partly as a Buddhist reform movement, partly as a fundamentalist group. Santi Asoke advocates a return to the values ​​and practices of original Buddhism, strictly rejects materialism and consumerism and calls on her followers to lead an ascetic lifestyle. The group enjoyed some popularity and great public attention, especially in the 1980s and early 90s, but has since lost its importance.

development

The founder of the sect, Rak Rakphong (* 1934 in Si Sa Ket , northeast Thailand) was of Chinese origin on his father's side and was originally a song composer and television entertainer. At the age of 36 he was ordained a monk in 1970 , took the order name Phra Bodhirak (also written Bodhiraksa or Phothirak) and joined the Thammayut-nikai , one of the two orders of the state-recognized and regulated Thai Sangha . Soon he began to publicly and clearly criticize other monks for their lack of discipline. He left his order in 1973 to form an alternative group which he initially called the Asoke group and which he understands as a fusion of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. It acts as a radical movement that leads back to the forest monks in their simple way of life . Bodhirak mentions the important Thai monk and Buddhist reformer Buddhadasa as an important influence . The hallmarks of the Santi-Asoke monks are brown robes instead of the saffron-orange usually used in Thailand, because the latter are a deviation from the original disciples of the Buddha.

Santi Asoke values ​​a strictly moral community that is committed to the Theravada traditions and has ten other commandments for monks and lay people.

Santi Asoke also developed an economic and development policy concept: According to the group, “correct development” must be culturally and locally located, focused on people's livelihood and livelihood instead of macroeconomic growth, ecologically sustainable and endogenously stimulated (from within), implemented and maintained. It therefore rejects materialism and mass consumption and preaches the principle "eat little, buy little."

In June 1989, Bodhirak and 79 of his followers were arrested for violating the 1962 Sangha Law . The leader and a number of monks were excluded from the official monastic community and thus laicized . This probably irreparably damaged the movement, although it is still present in Thai Buddhism. In 1995, Bodhirak was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison for unjustified behavior as a monk (Article 208 of the Thai Penal Code), but the court suspended the sentence. The Supreme Court upheld the judgment on appeal, but reduced the sentence to 4 years and 6 months.

Santi Asoke has also developed into a political party, the Palang Dharma Party ("Party of Moral Force"). Its leader, the Santi-Asoke supporter Chamlong Srimuang , was governor of Bangkok from 1985 to 1992 and the most prominent leader of the mass protests of the opposition against the military-backed government in " Black May " 1992. In the parliamentary election in September 1992, Palang Dharma was 18 % the second strongest party in terms of votes. However, it then rapidly lost popularity and in 1996 sank into insignificance. Meanwhile, the so-called occurs "Dharma Army" (kong thap tham) as extra-parliamentary political arm of Santi Asoke on, such as the anti-government protests by the "yellow shirts" in 2006 and 2008 and the anti- Thaksin - Motion 2013 . It also works as a grassroots organization that advocates sustainable agriculture in rural areas.

literature

  • Juliana Essen: “Right Development”. The Santi Asoke Buddhist Reform Movement Of Thailand. Lexington Books, Lanham MD / Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-7391-0937-5
  • Marja-Leena Heikkilä-Horn: Santi Asoke Buddhism and Thai State Response. Åbo Akademi University Press, Åbo 1996, ISBN 9529616716
  • Marja-Leena Heikkilä-Horn: Santi Asoke Buddhism and the Occupation of Bangkok International Airport. (PDF; 175 kB) In: Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies (ASEAS) Volume 3, No. 1, 2010, pp. 31–47
  • Marja-Leena Heikkilä-Horn, Rassamee Krisanamis: Insight Into Santi Asoke. Fah-aphai Co., Bangkok 2002, ISBN 974-374-076-7
  • Peter A. Jackson: Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict. The Political Functions of Urban Thai Buddhism. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 1989. Chapter 7, Phra Phothirak (Bodhiraksa) Bhikkhu and Samnak Santi Asok , pp. 159-198.
  • Rory MacKenzie: New Buddhist Movements in Thailand. Towards an Understanding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke. Routledge, Oxford / New York 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-40869-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sanitsuda Ekachai: The Man Behind Santi Asoke. ( Memento of July 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) In: Bangkok Post , July 22, 1988, p. 31.
  2. ↑ Essen: “Right Development”. 2005.
  3. ↑ a b Oliver Freiberger, Christoph Kleine: Buddhismus. Manual and critical introduction. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2015, p. 77.
  4. ↑ Donald Swearer; Charles Keyes, quoted in MacKenzie: New Buddhist Movements in Thailand. 2007, pp. 155-156.
  5. ^ Jeff Haynes: Religious Fundamentalism and Politics. In: Major World Religions. From Their Origins To The Present. Routledge Shorton, London / New York 2003, p. 331.
  6. ^ MacKenzie: New Buddhist Movements in Thailand. 2007, pp. 115-116.
  7. ↑ Jackson: Buddhism, Legitimation, and Conflict. 1989 pp. 164-165
  8. ↑ Essen: “Right Development”. 2005, p. 151.
  9. ↑ Christopher Ives: Liberation from Economic Dukkha. A Buddhist Critique of the Gospels of Growth and Globalization in Dialogue with John Cobb. In: The World Market and Interreligious Dialogue. Cascade Books, Eugene OR 2011, p. 124.
  10. ^ MacKenzie: New Buddhist Movements in Thailand. 2007, pp. 126-127.
  11. ^ Heikkilä-Horn: Santi Asoke Buddhism and the Occupation of Bangkok International Airport. 2010.
  12. ↑ Aim Sinpeng: Who's who in Thailand's anti-government forces? In: New Mandala , November 30, 2013.