revival of “khang bu ya”, traditional thai communal culture and principle role of buddhist...

The Fifth Lay Buddhist Forum, October 27-20, 2011, Seoul, South Korea

Revival of ‘Khang Bu Ya’, Traditional Thai Communal Culture and Principle Role of

Buddhist Temples and Monasteries

Suwida Sangsehanat

Paper presented at

The Fifth Lay Buddhist Forum

-Monasticism and Lay Buddhism-

October 27-30, 2010

Seoul, South Korea.

Suggested citation:

Suwida Sangsehanat, (2011). “Revival of ‘Khang Bu Ya’, Traditional Thai Communal Culture and

Principle Role of Buddhist Temples and Monasteries” in The Fifth Lay Buddhist Forum: Monasticism

and Lay Buddhism, October 27-30, 2011. Seoul, South Korea. Pages 518-523 (English version) (or

pages 524-529 for Korean version).


Revival of “Khang Bu Ya”, Traditional Thai Communal Culture and

Principle Role of Buddhist Temples and Monasteries

Suwida Sangsehanat1

Abstract

The evolution and development of Thai culture is strongly rooted in Buddhism, and it has a strong

communal tradition. Traditionally, a Buddhist temple or monastery served as the centre of the

community that nurtured and supported the growth of communal culture. But with modernisation,

this traditional Thai culture has gradually eroded, and communalism is abandoned and replaced by

individualism, even temple or monastery has lost its role as the centre of the community. Some

traditional communal traditions like working together, helping one another in organising and

hosting communal activities such as traditional religious festivals and celebrations are disappearing

or have disappeared altogether. Communal culture becomes weakened. People become increasingly

distant from one another, the spirit of camaraderie of a thriving community disappears. Lay

devotees no longer visit the temple or monastery regularly. There is progressive disengagement of

the devotees from their temple or monastery and vice versa so that people are no longer effectively

exposed to learning Buddhist teachings and imbibing Buddhist values as they did in times past.

Their understanding of Buddhism is gradually reduced and this contributes to the erosion of the

relevance, importance and significance of Buddhadharma in their daily lives.

This paper writes about the revival of such a tradition in Lablae district in the Uttaradit province of

northern Thailand, the “Khang Bu Ya” tradition that disappeared more than thirty years ago. Seven

years ago, the people of the Lablae community took up the initiative of reviving the tradition to

strengthen the communal culture, the relationship of people in the community, the relationships of

the lay people with their temples and monasteries in their district, promoting interactions of the

temples and monasteries, and to bring back the principle role and values of Buddhist teachings in

the community life.

Keywords: Khang Bu Ya, strength, traditions, communal culture, temple, monastery, lay, devotees, Lablae,

Uttaradit, northern Thailand.

1 Assistant Dean of Bodhivijjalaya College, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand. Email:

[email protected]


Introduction

The evolution and development of Thai culture is strongly rooted in Buddhism and

community. It has a strong communal tradition. Traditionally, a Buddhist temple or

monastery served as the centre of the community, in which all activities of the community

were planned and conducted; in which all decisions and planning related to the community

and its development were undertaken; in which such thought as a life apart from the temple

or community or the temple apart from the community hardly arose. The community

supported the temple or monastery and the people learned the teachings of Buddha and the

values of Buddhism from the monks in the temple or monastery. The communal nature

endowed the community with a strong social cohesion and mutually supportive solid base

built on the teaching of Buddha and values of Buddhism. But this communal culture that

gives Thai communities so much strength has been weakened over the years since the

process of modernisation began in 1961. This paper describes the revival of a Thai

communal culture, „Khang Ba Ya‟, in Lablae District of Uttaradit Province in northern

Thailand. It is based on the author‟s interview with Mr. Somchai Pongsrichai, a local leader

and his materials and a couple of other internet posts as given in the reference list.

Traditional Communal Culture

Traditional Thai culture was built on Buddhist values and ethics as the core with the temple

playing a significant spiritual guiding role while the community provided the support, each

dependent on and mutually strengthens the other as illustrated in the following figure

(Figure 1).

Thai Culture

Community

Buddhist

monastery

Buddhism

Figure 1. The relationship of Thai culture, community, and monastery .


In the past, all the important days and events in our lives and the life of the community

were marked in the temple or monastery. These include various milestones and events such

as the days of birth, the marking of adolescence as in cutting of hair when one reached nine

year-old, events in our careers, wedding, death, transfer of merits to one‟s ancestors, New

Year celebration, midyear celebration, rice harvest festival, etc, in one‟s life or community.

All these celebrations and marking of important days and events of the individuals or

community were organised and participated as communal events where everybody

contributed and participated together as a community in the Buddhist temple or monastery

as the centre of gathering and communal activities. During these occasions, monks would

give Dhamma talks and spiritual advice. These were the occasions and times the people

learned Buddhist teachings, actively contributed to the monastery, supported Dhamma

activities and strengthened the community spirit. Regular communal activities like these

held in Buddhist temple or monastery as the centre strengthened the relationships between

the temple and the community and the people within the community.

However with modernisation set rolling by the implementation of the First Economic

Development Plan introduced in 1961, traditional community-supported form of labour-

intensive agriculture gave way to „green revolution‟ or so-called modern agricultural

practice that is capital-intensive, relying heavily on monocropping and heavy use of

agrochemicals and machineries. Communal culture became unnecessary. People in the

community became more individualistic. As communal culture weakens and individualism

grows, people become more distanced from one another and from the community‟s temple

or monastery. The role of the temple or monastery diminished over time. New generations

grow up without the benefit of a supportive communal culture and guidance on Buddhist

teachings and values as their lives and the community are no longer closely associated with

the community‟s temples or monasteries. Lacking regular spiritual guidance, present day

youths lose their roots in the Buddhist communal culture, and they are now easily

influenced by modern‟ western‟ or „pop‟ culture to which they are constantly exposed

through easily accessible media of all kinds in this globalised world.

Revival of „Khang Bu Ya, in Lablae

Lablae is a district in Uttaradit Province in the lower part of northern Thailand. Like other

parts of Thailand, the communal culture and strength in Lablae has weakened


tremendously. Over the more than thirty years of modernisation, many communal

traditions have disappeared. New generations are increasingly distanced from communal

life and from the temple or monastery and Buddhist teachings. They are losing the cultural

roots and find it easier and „natural‟ to follow indiscriminately any „modern‟ trends in

fashions and life styles that come with globalisation. They easily assimilate „pop culture‟.

Seven Years ago, in 2004, the communities of Lablae people began reviving a communal

tradition called „Khang Bu Ya‟. This is a tradition in which the people of the communities

get together to prepare and make dana (offerings) to the monks of the community‟s temple

or monastery. A particularly attractive feature of this tradition entails the preparation and

presentation of „wish-granting trees‟ (like the wish tree of Kuvera, the Buddhist God of

Fortune) to the temples or monasteries. These trees would be filled with money and

agriculture produces which the people would like to offer to their ancestors. When the

preparation of the trees is completed, the trees would be carried in a procession to the

temples or monasteries for the ceremony of offering to their ancestors. The tradition teaches

people to remember and pay respect to their ancestors, to be humble and ask for forgiveness

for their misdeeds. The occasion gives people of the community an opportunity to work

together and cooperate and interact socially in meaningful and beneficial ways, and to

practice generosity in giving to the temple or monastery.

In Lablae district, the local community is responsible for the temples and monasteries in the

community. The community organises a roster of lay households to be sponsors (main

donors or hosts of the event) of „Khang Bu Ya‟. Each year, there will be about ten or more

occasions of „Khang Bu Ya‟. The sponsoring household will organise a team to prepare the

wish-granting trees or „Khang Bu Ya‟. This team usually comprises sponsors‟ neighbours

and relatives. They gather together and arrange all their offerings on the wish-granting

trees. The materials for offering include foods and dessert, books, stationary (writing

implements such as pencils, books), local produce such as chilli, red onion, garlic, rice,

„dollar or Baht‟ bills of any denomination are folded into the shape of a fan or any other

attractive shapes and hung on the trees. The sponsors and friends would work and help one

another decorate the wish-granting trees, usually a day before the actual day of celebration

of „Khang Bu Ya‟. Every other household in the community also prepares and presents

“Gua-Salaak”, a small bamboo basket of produce for offering on that day.


On Khang Bu Ya Day, there will be a colourful procession of the lay people of the

community who have come together to help one another in carrying the wish-granting trees

and Gua-Salaak from the host‟s house to the temple or monastery selected to be the venue

for that day. The participants wear local costume and perform Thai dance as part of the

celebration. A leader or respected person in the community would be asked to recite a local

poem for the hosts and people present. The wish-granting trees would be presented to the

monks and the monks would lead the ceremony in „sending‟ the wish-granting trees to their

ancestors. On this occasion, monks would give Dhamma talks. The event thus gives the

monks an opportunity to transmit Buddha‟s teachings to the lay people. It also gives the

lay people a chance to listen to Dhamma, learn the Dhamma, perform and share the merits

of their good deeds. In this way, the practice of the tradition helps nurture communal

culture and strengthens the community.

Apart from the individual households that take turn in hosting the event, every school in the

community is also assigned responsibility to host one wish-granting tree every year.

Students, teachers and parents work together to decorate a wish-granting tree with all the

offerings collected and join the local host in celebrating the event in the monastery. In this

way, the new or the younger generations are given the opportunity to learn more about

meaningful traditions, the value of communal activities and culture and Buddhist teachings

that promote social cohesiveness and celebration of good wholesome deeds for oneself and

others.

On Khang Bu Ya day, the host temple or monastery invites monks from other temples

(usually three to four temples in the neighbourhood) to join the celebration. Each

participating temple or monastery will bring back one wish-granting tree. In this way, the

monastics from various temples share the dana offered by the lay people. This event thus

also promotes, renews or refreshes and strengthens the interrelationships among the various

temples in the district and the devotees of the communities in the district.

Khang Bu Ya is celebrated during the period between August and October of each year

during new moon days, first quarter moon days and full moon days. The hosting of the

event rotates among all the communities and monasteries in the Lablae district. Khang Bu

Ya is also sometimes known as the festival of brother- and sisterhood that aptly reflects the

communal culture and community spirit promoted by the event.


References:

Suwida Sangsehant, Author‟s interview with Mr. Somchai Pongsrichai, a respected person

in Lablae District on July 28, 2011.

Somchai Pongsrichai. “Twelve Months‟ Tradition of Lablae.” Unpublished document used

as teaching material for Wat Nam Sai School.

<http://www.xn--l3cjf8d8bveb.com/blog-season-ประเพณีถวายค้างบยูา> accessed on July 30,

2011.

<http://www.taklong.com/north/show-north.php?No=411295> accessed on July 30, 2011.

http://www.ไปไหนดี.com/blog-season-ประเพณี

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