Sulak Sivaraksa, Premier Thai Buddhist Social Activist

In 1997 and 1998, I had the opportunity to meet with Ajaan Sulak Sivaraksa, the preeminent Thai Buddhist social activist. He came to the Asheville area on the invitation of a mutual friend of ours and, during this time, gave public lectures and spoke to classes and spiritual groups on campus. It was through Ajaan Sulak that I became introduced to Thai culture and the issues that face Buddhism in Thailand during this time of rapid growth and transformation of Thai culture. Once I began my sabbatical research, I discovered that in every article or book I would read, Ajaan Sulak was mentioned as the moving force behind much of what is happening with regard to reform of Buddhism in Thailand.

Ajaan Sulak is most noted for the publishing of a journal in 1963, The Social Science Review. This journal became a major vehicle for the engendering of discussion about the military dictatorship and the need for democracy in Thailand. Along with the journal, Ajaan Sulak called together cell groups of students to discuss the current state of affairs in Thailand. Many see the journal and these groups as a major way of activating the student resistance movement that led to the overthrow of the military dictatorships and several bloody coups that occurred in the 1970's and 1980's. Furthermore, Ajaan Sulak has been active in forming a series of non-governmental organizations throughout Thailand that deal with a variety of issues: development, alternatives to consumerism, spirituality in education, etc. His Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute continues as a major force for consciousness-raising in Thailand. He runs a publishing house and book store and has an ashram just one hour south of Bangkok where people live and work, in a sustainable fashion, to provide opportunities for lay people, monks, and activists to utilize the ashram for education and retreat. He is a prolific author, having authored more than twenty books, most of them in both Thai and English. As part of his work, every year for the past three years he has called together Buddhist monks, nuns, and lay persons from all over the world to discuss the nature of the discipline (vinaya) within the Sangha at the annual "Ariyavinaya" meetings. Since Ajaan Sulak, "bases his philosophy of social activism in Buddhist teachings and seeks to reinterpret them in a personally and socially relevant manner" (Swearer, 1995) efforts like this are key forums for bringing together leaders from around the world in their attempts to reform Buddhism. In addition to this work with Ariyavinaya, Ajaan Sulak is also one of the co-founders, with The Venerable Thich Naht Hanh of Vietnam, of the "International Network of Engaged Buddhists" (INEB).

When Ajaan Sulak first came to Warren Wilson, he was in the midst of a court case concerning his earlier accusal of "lese majeste." In Thailand, one can be punished for defaming the king and Ajaan Sulak has, own several occasions, been accused of going too far with his public opinions. He was, however, exonerated from this charge. In the midst of the most tense periods of recent Thai history, he has had to flee the country by night to escape physical harm and has lived in exile in the United States for over a year at a time. When we flew into Bangkok during my second visit to Thailand, Ajaan Sulak's statements in criticism of the current government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were featured in the front section of the largest circulating English newspaper, The Nation. In that article, he was noted as calling the Prime Minister to task for his failure to serve the poorest in Thai society. He indicated that the Prime Minister's days were numbered in this role and that the people were demanding real change. All of this was occurring during a time when the government in Thailand is cracking down on NGO's, seeking to discredit them as "unpatriotic" because they take a great deal of foreign monies, primarily from countries such as Germany and Denmark. The NGO's in Thailand, of which Ajaan Sulak's form some of the greatest numbers, are the organizations that are doing the most direct work to alleviate the oppression and exploitation of the poor in Thailand and are, as a result, being leaned on by the government. For instance, NGO's who work with the Burmese refugees who are fleeing from the military oppression within Burma (a Thai ally despite their lack of democracy and gross human rights violations) were, during our time in Thailand in January 2003, being closed down by the Thai government.

Current conditions in Thailand with regard to the crucial issues of development, environment, women's issues, corruption and reform of the Sangha, and Burmese relations are at one of the hottest times in recent Thai history. Ajaan Sulak finds himself in the midst of just about all of these controversies. Some see him as an "anarchist," others merely call him a "gadfly." Ajaan Sulak sees himself as one who is extremely loyal to the Thai people, believing that, as his autobiography's title suggests, Loyalty Demands Dissent.

During the current academic year (2002-2003), Ajaan Sulak has been serving as a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his time in the states, we had the opportunity to have Ajaan Sulak return to the college for the third time. While on campus, he delivered a public address entitled "A Buddhist Response to 9-11" (click here for a transcript of that address), he spoke to several classes and co-led a workshop on non-violence with a local Christian theologian, Dr. William Everett. As always, the students found him to be engaging, challenging, and passionately committed. As part of a journaling assignment for one of my classes, students were asked to meditate upon a picture of Ajaan Sulak as a young monk and a picture of the mature, Nobel Prize Nominee, winner of the King of Sweden's "Right Livelihood Award." They were to ask themselves how it is that a young life can be so shaped toward a life of commitment for social change and to wonder about their own commitments. His visit on our campus proved, once again to be academically and personally challenging to many of us.

Unfortunately, because of Ajaan Sulak's travel schedule, we were not able to visit with him at his Ashram, during the 2003 visit. I was, however, able to do so at his home in Bangkok and at his ashram, during the 2002 "Ariyavinaya" conference. One evening, my husband, daughter and I traveled by cab to his home. He lives in a modest home right in the heart of the city, near his bookstore. Next to his home, he has moved his mother's traditional Thai house and has placed it next to his own home. His wife graciously cooked us a tremendous meal, and Ajaan Sulak showed us around some of his memorabilia, including his collection of canes. A few weeks later, I hired a taxi and driver and traveled from Bangkok to the ashram early one morning. The drive took about one hour. As I arrived closer to the ashram, I realized that it is located in an area of nurseries. Trees, flowering plants and herbs lined the sides of the roads that lead to his place. Once there, I was left on one side of the river. A small raft was parked near the riverbank. A rope was strung across the river. To get to the other side, one had to pull the rope that worked as a kind of pulley to take you over the water. On the other side, I found a simple complex of buildings: several kutis (sleeping huts), a library, several meeting halls, a dining area. Dogs roamed freely on the grounds, dogs that were in much better condition than most of the temple dogs.

The conference itself was quite interesting. It began with a report from the previous day's meeting of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. A new slate of officers was elected at the end. Then, the meeting progressed toward conversations about Buddhist identity in the modern world and structural violence. A panel of Buddhists from France, the United States, Thailand, etc. gave their presentations. A series of topics were suggested for discussion afterward, such as structural violence, youth issues, women's issues. I attended the section of the Women's Forum and learned about the rapid growth of the female monks in Thailand, the challenges that face Buddhist nuns in places like Laos, Cambodia, and Japan.