..续本文上一页ceremonial hall). Por Mah and Maa Pim entrusted their son to the abbot with a predictable mixture of sadness and pride – and Luang Por was now a dekwat. But this was not the beginning of a long and painful separation from his parents; Luang Por had by no means withdrawn into a pinched and cloistered realm. The boundaries between the monastery and the surrounding world were marked not by imposing walls but a rather half-hearted bamboo fence. Indeed, the monastery was the central focus of the communal life of the village rather than a symbol of its rejection. In a sense, he had entered the world rather than left it.

　　Few of the images that the word “monastery” is likely to evoke in a secular Western mind would agree with the reality of a village Wat in rural Thailand. Wat Bahn Gor, where Luang Por had gone to live, might be the abode of monks, but it was considered the property of all. The path in front of the main hall was a public thoroughfare, and the monastery well was used by all the nearby houses. Important public meetings took place in the monastery hall, which also acted as a hostel for passing travellers and was thus the centre for the reception and dissemination of news about other areas. The monastery played a central role in the social life of the village. It was the site for the important festivals that punctuated the hard struggles of the year. With daily entertainment almost nonexistent, every one looked to the lively ngahn wat (monastery fairs) for excitement and fun. Some of the fairs were of specifically Buddhist significance; others were of a more earthy animist character, presided over by the monks and sandwiched by offerings of alms to them.

　　As for the monks, they were not an hereditary elite. In Thai Buddhism, temporary ordination has long been the norm and constitutes a rite of passage for young men. Indeed, a man who has never been a monk would have difficulty finding a wife. Young women would shy away from him as a kon dip, literally an “unripe” person. Customarily, the young men in a village would ordain after finishing their military service, mostly for the three-month Rains Retreat but sometimes for as long as two or three years.

　　Apart from their standing as members of the Buddhist Sangha, the monks also had the extra prestige of being the most educated and knowledgeable people in the community.

　　The result was a fluid monastic community in which serious and dedicated students rubbed shoulders with restless time-servers. One of the great merits of the system was that with every family having members who were or had been monks, the close bond between village and monastery was constantly renewed. The long-term monks would be few in number. They would almost all have been born and raised in the local village and would thus empathize deeply with the daily problems of the local people. They would take participation in village affairs seriously, sometimes as leaders in public works projects such as building bridges, or frequently as the impartial adviser and referee in lay disagreements and disputes. Historically, the Wat was the centre of learning. Apart from their standing as members of the Buddhist Sangha, the monks also had the extra prestige of being the most educated and knowledgeable people in the community. They would learn and transmit many skills such as carpentry, painting, decorative arts, and tile, brick and cement making. Some monks would be herbal doctors and many, notwithstanding the prohibition in the Monk”s Discipline, were astrologers. But of course it was the monastery”s religious role that was, ideally, paramount. Primarily the monks were expected to be, as far as possible, the embodiment of the Buddha”s teachings and to inspire by word and deed moral and spiritual values. They were al…

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