6.4. Ratanakosin Period

The fourth dynasty of Thailand is Ratanakosin which was established by the founder, King Phra Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok. It was King Rama I who established Bangkok as the capital of Thailand and was also the founder of the Chakri dynasty of which the present ruling King Bhumibol Aduldej who is regarded as the present King and ninth King^[1].

1. During the reign of King Rama I

Having administrated the public service for the Thai people as being a Thai King, King Phra Buddha Yod Fa Chulalok (Rama I, 1782-1809) dedicated to provide the rehabilitation of the development of Buddhism, which declined since downfall of Ayudhya^[2]. Due to the ecclesiastical education under the control of King, King had developed the administration of the ecclesiastical education, focusing on the Tipitaka, the sacred scripture of Theravada Buddhism. The Tipitaka was the curriculum of ecclesiastical education of olden days in Thailand. In 1788, King Rama I had the Tipitaka revised at the Mahadhatu Monastery 218 well-versed Buddhist monks and 32 lay scholars were appointed for the responsibility of proceeding the task. They took five months to complete the Tipitaka revision.

Later, King ordered the skill-writer copy another Royal Set of the Tipitaka, the so called Chabab Thong Yai so that it would easily be copied from monastery to monastery as the fundamental text of Buddhism and the curriculum of the ecclesiastical education in Thailand.

It was said that the revision of the Tipitaka made the Buddhist scriptures correct and complete once again since most of the scriptures had been destroyed by five or lost when the country was plunged into a state of chaos following the ruin of Ayudhya.

2. During the reign of King Rama II (1809-1824)

King Phra Buddha Lert La Nabhalai (Rama II, 1809-1824) was the son of King Rama I^[3]. It was said that the Tipitaka named Chabab Thong Yai^[4], which was borrowed/copied time after time, became too old. Some such textbooks of the Tipitaka disappeared. So King Rama II had another one copied and rewritten. The Tipitaka was called the Chabab Rod Nam Daeng because its cover was of the red line.

3. During the reign of King Rama III (1824-1851)

King Phra Klao was the son of King Rama II by a junior wife, Chao Chom Manda Riam.^[5] He succeeded to the throne in 1824 and ruled up to 1851. During his reign, the Tipitaka as the curriculum of ecclesiastical education, was re-copied into seven sets. Five sets were kept in the Grand Palace while the rest were sent for being copied from monastery to monastery. We are told that ecclesiastical education progressed during his time. It was partly because Prince Mongkut (later, King Rama IV) had been a monk for a long time and had been greatly interested in the acquisition of Buddhist knowledge. Undoubtedly, since it was because the educational programmes and activities were in charge of Vajiranana Bhikkhu, this resulted in more progress in the field of Buddhist education than ever before.

It is interesting to note here that according to the History of Buddhist Order, during the reign of King Rama II, Buddhist missionaries were sent to Sri Lanka to reach for some Buddhist scriptures that were still lacking in Thailand. Later in the reign of King Rama III, two other groups were again sent out entrusted with the same objective. These ventures contributed much to the study and practice of Buddhism to these days.^[6]

4. During the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868)

The Brief story of King IV vis-a-vis Buddhism deserves to be mentioned here King Mongkut (Rama IV; 1851-1868) was the son of Queen Sri Suriyendra (1767-1836) and King Rama II. Since King Rama III had no queen and thus had no children of the Chao Fa rank,^[7] and so on his death, on April 2, 1851, the succession passed to his half-brother, King Mongkut. The reign of King Rama IV was really a milestone in the development of the country, both in the ecclesiastical affairs and those of the state. As far as ecclesiastical education was concerned, never did it progress as much as it did during his reign. Prior to ascending the throne, King Rama IV had been a Bhikkhu for 27 years. Thus, he was well-versed with religious affairs and knowledge. As soon as he became the King, he lost no time in authorising several deligations to Sri Lanka in order to bring back the holy scriptures for the purposes of comparison with those in Thailand. The Mon scriptures were also included in his research work. Besides, he had the Tipitaka called Chabab Lod Chang copied. The Tipitaka was rather covered by gold leaves.^[8]

As a monk, he had done regular training in the scriptural field and become a profound scholar of Pali. It is important to note that he was the first member of the royal household who had taken the Pali examination. He passed the fifth grade of Pali course with King Rama III as the president of the function. Then he was promoted to the coveted Ceremonial Fan of the First Class.^[9] He studied hard and was able to distinguish clearly between right and wrong in the Buddha's teachings. He realized that Buddhist monks of older times were not strict in observing the Vinaya, rules and regulations as laid down by the Buddha himself. He searched for a real monk in Buddhism. One day, he met a Mon national senior monk named Sai Buddhavamso^[10] who stayed at the Bovorn Mongkol monastery.^[11] The senior monk was extremely strict in the Buddha's doctrine. He had strong faith in him. Then he moved from the Mahadhatu Monastery to the Samor Rai Monastery.^[12] Here he was re-ordained to confirm the former ordination with Buddhavamsa Bhikkhu as the Preceptor (Upajjhaya).

Dissatisfied with the old practices of Buddhism and having gained a reputation for being a reformer influenced his preceptor, Vajiranana Bhikkhu launched a reform programme to bring Thai Buddhism as close to the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism as possible. This involved the reform of monastic discipline, changes in details of rituals, and he redefinition of the Canon. One of the most important consequences was the establishment of the new Dhammayuttika Nikaya Order (in 1829) within the Thai Sangha. The new Older has been highly regarded ever since for its displinary strictness and its close association with the Royal family.^[13]

5. During the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910)

Having succeeded to the throne, King Rama V recognised that the provision of education was a vital factor in the development of the country. In order to carry this out, the king provided support to the educational administration both in the secular and ecclesiastical field.

His strong determination is clear from the following:

"All children, right from my own down to those of my subjects from all walks of life, will have the equal opportunity of education. Therefore, it will be generally known that education throughout the country is of prime importance which I intend to develop the best and provide it for my populace the soonest I can."^[14]

With regard to the ecclesiastical education, the king was determined to develop its administration by ways of providing the educational system of common and Buddhist subjects to Buddhist monks and novices. During the reign of King Rama V, the administration of ecclesiastical education in Thailand was regarded as having attained new heights. Here, we shall discuss in a nutshell, various outstanding features of ecclesiastical education during his reign.

During the first half of his reign, i.e. till 1888, the ecclesiastical education was administered on the lines of the earlier Ratanakosin Period. As we have seen in the earlier portion of this work, there had been some serious drawback in the educational administration, especially in the studying and teaching method. The examination system too, suffered from various ailments and created all kinds jof confusion besides being very harsh on the students. That is why, in 1889 an ecclesiastical institution called the Mahadhatu Vidyalaya was founded by King Rama V at the Mahadhatu Monastery. This was regarded as the starting point of the administrative system of ecclesiastical education in its modern and standard form. The ecclesiastical education in this time was divided into two categories, i.e. (i) The Former Pariyattidhamma Study (ii) The New System of Ecclesiastical Education.

6. During the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925)

King Rama VI paid attention to all aspects and levels of education, and he took active steps for its promotion. He realized that the more the people were educated the better it would be for the development of the country.

Regarding the government education, His Majesty the King proclaimed a new national scheme of education in 1913, whereby a primary school had a threeyear ordinary course of study and a two-year vocational course, while a secondary school had an eight-year course. After completing an ordinary course in a primary school, a boy or girl who did not wish to continue schooling at the secondary level could enroll himself/herself in a vocational course. A private schools Act was put on the statute book in 1918 and ultimately, a Primary Education Act of 1921, enforcing compulsory education, was announced, requiring boys and girls from the age of 7 to 14 to attend primary schools free of charge. However, if they finished the ordinary course before the age of 14, they were allowed to leave school.^[15] Thus, Thailand became the first country on the mainland of Asia to initiate compulsory education.^[16] Regarding university education, which was contemplated in the national scheme of education, presented to King Rama V in 1898, King Rama V turned the Royal Pages School into the Service College. The School had been charged with imparting a general education with emphasis on training in government administration while the Civil Service College planned to offer the Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Engineering, Foreign Service, Law, Medicine and Public Administration as part of curriculum. On March 26, 1917, the status of the Civil Service College was raised to that of a university and given the name of Chulalongkorn University as a memorial of King Chulalongkorn.^[17]

7. During the reign of King Rama VII (1925-1935)

As King Rama VI had no male heir, his younger brother Prince Prajadhipok succeeded to throne after his death in 1925. The new King Prajadhipok (Rama VII; 1925-1935) began his reign at an unevitable junction both in Thai and world history. The global economic depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's forced the Thai government to take economics measures, which led to some discontentment. On April 6, 1932, the country celebrated the sesquicentennial of the Chakri dynasty and two months later a coup d'eatat was staged with the eventual transfier of power to a legislative assembly. Thus, the 150-year absolute rule of the Chakri Kings came to an end and the constitutional monarchy of the present day was born without any bloodshed or wholesale changes in its society and economy. On December 10, 1932, King Rama VII granted a constitution to the Thai people and just over two years later, on March 2, 1935 having gone to live in England in order to received medical treatment, he abdicated throne. King RamaVII died in England or May 30, 1941, during World War II, and his widow Queen Ramphaiphanni brought his ashes back to Bangkok, in 1949.^[18]

In spite of the retrenchment mentioned above, King Rama VII still realised the importance of education. His Majesty the King handed over responsibility of the ecclesiastical education to the eleventh Supreme Patriach (Jinavornsiriwat; 1921-1937). Broadly speaking, during his period, the study of Phrapariyattidhamma (Pali and Naktham Courses) developed gradually.

8. During the reign of King Rama VIII (1935-1946)

King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII; 1935-1946), the elder son and second child of His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol Adulydej, Prince of Songkla, was born on September 20, 1925. He succeeded his uncle, King Rama VII, on March 2, 1935 at the tender age of 10. King Rama VIII spent his early years in Switzerland where he received his education. However, during his stay in Switzerland, he did make occasional trips to Thailand. As he was a minor besides staying abroad, the National Assembly appointed a Council of Regency to act on his behalf. He returned to Bangkok at the end of World War II. However, his life and his reign came to an abrupt end when he died on June 9, 1946.^[19]

During the reign of King Rama VIII, Thailand was inevitably one of the countries involved in the World War II between 1941-1945^[20] and also a signatory member of East asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It may be said that various activities in Thailand, especially the academic work came to a standstill. During this period "the teaching at all levels of education, from universities down to primary schools, was disorganised, thus, at the order of the Ministry of Education, students who had 60% attendance in the academic year were given pass,"^[21] and "In view of the intensified bombing of Bangkok by enemy towards the end of the war, students were evacuated to schools outside the metropolitan area where all universities and schools remained closed from June 1944 to November 1945."^[22] Ecclesiastical education also suffered the same fate. It was hence assumed that there was no major change in the administrative policy of ecclesiastical education during the reign of King Rama VIII.

9. During the reign of King Rama IX (1946-Present)

King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX; 1946 till date), the present King of Thailand ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, King Rama VIII, in the year 1946. In 1956, His Majesty, a devoted Buddhist, temporarily renounced the throne for the purpose of ordination. During his monkhood he attentively studied practical and theoretical aspects of Buddhism. This moved the people to a general appreciation and rejoicing and on this occasion a general amnesty was declared for prisoners. After having disrobed, His Majesty has supported various Buddhist activities in many ways. He established two Buddhist Universities, with complete paraphernalia required for modern univesities. These two universities are Mahamakut Buddhist University and Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist Univeristy.

Even though His Majesty Rama IX, the character of ecclesisastical education is rather complicated in many ways. However, the main system can be catergoried as follows:

i. The Ecclesiastical Educational System organised only by the Sangha is sub-divided into four parts:

(a) The Phrapariyattidhamma Study in the section of Nakdham Course.

(b) The Phrapariyattidhamma Study in the section of Pali Course.

(c) The Phrapariyattidhamma Study in the form of Sanghadhikara (Ecclesiastical Administrative Officers) School.

(d) The Phrapariyattidhamma Study in the form of Opromkhrupariyattidhamma (Ecclesiastical Teachers Training) School.

ii. The Ecclesiastical Educational System organised by the Sangha and approved by the Government is sub-divided as follows:

(a) The Study of two main Buddhist Universities: Mahamakut Buddhist University and Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University^[23].

The ecclesiastical education conducted only by the Sangha (especially at (a) and (b) of the first category) has to be received by all the Thai monks and novices. It is simply regarded as the ecclesiastical education of Thailand in the direct way, whereas the rest of the subjects are treated as elective for those monks and novices who wish to go for further studies and have to seek permission from their abbots^[24].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Damrong Rajanubhab, A History of Buddhism in Siam, p.95.

[2]:

Ibid, p.105.

[3]:

Somboon Suksamran, Buddhism and Political Legitimacy, pp.48-49.

[4]:

The Big Gold.

[5]:

Later she became Queen Sri Sulalaya (1770-1837).

[6]:

Mahamakkut Rajavidyalaya. History of Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya under the Royal Patronage., p. 45.

[7]:

Deputy King.

[8]:

Sumalee Suwannasaeng, An Educational Administration of the Thai Sangha., p. 34.

[9]:

Pad Yod Parian Ek in Thai.

[10]:

Later, he was appointed as Phra Sumedhamuni.

[11]:

Approximately 2 kms, north of the Grand Palace.

[12]:

Later, it is Rajadhivasa at present, opposite to the Bovorn Mongkol Monastery across the Chao Phraya River.

[13]:

Somboon Suksamran, Buddhism and Political Authority: A Symbolic Relationship. In B.J. Terviel (ed.). Buddhism and Society in Thailand., p. 38.

[14]:

Royal Gazette of Thailand Vol. I, p.l28.

[15]:

Rong Syamananda. A History of Thailand., pp. 142-149.

[16]:

Sukich Nimmanheminda. An Historical Note on the National Education Plans., p. 92.

[17]:

Rong Syamananda. A History of Thailand., p. 150.

[18]:

Ibid, pp. 158-166.

[19]:

Ibid, pp. 166-168.

[20]:

On January 1942 Thailand declared war against Great Britain and the United States of America.

[21]:

Rong Syamananda, Ibid., p. 174.

[22]:

Ibid, pp. 174-175.

[23]:

Department of Religion Affair., History of Thai Sangha., Ibid., p.85.

[24]:

Jane Bunnag, Buddhist monk, Buddhist layman: A Study Of Urban Monastic Organization In Central Thailand, Cambridge University 1973, pp.25-27.