The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXI, Part 1-2, 1983 - Khamkoo

REDEFINING THE SANGHA'S ROLEiN NORTHERN THA1LAN:b
. 93
duced into Chiang Mai by a ranking monk sent by Prince Patriarch
. , Wachirayan. .To this day its. abbot is not a northern Thai. A
non~northern monk was also sent as religious instructor to Wat Pbra
Sing, the other most important wat of the city. This QlOnk subse~
quently became the ecclesiastical bead of the district of Com Thong, in
Chiarig Mai province, and has recently been chosen as the abbot of Wat
PhraSing itself.
The Wat Chedi Luang and the Wat Phra Singh. which played :such a seminal
role in the ecclesiastical struggles between Bangkok and Chiang Mai,. ~ere included in
this investiga~ion. . The former is the centre of Dhammayut development activities in
the province, and its Deputy Abbot continues the tradition indicated by Keyes in that
he maintains strong links with the Capital. But whereas ~eyes, writing in the early
seventies, describes a: historical context whereby the Bangkok ecclesiastical authorities
maintained tight control over the northern provincial wats, the relationship now appears
to have undergone a significant shift in that Chao Khun Rajavinayaporn, who is Deputy·
Abbot of both the Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai and the prestigious Wat Bovornives
in Bangkok, far from representing the cold dead hand of national ecclesiastical confor~
mity, is one of the most charismatic and radically innovative members of the Sangha!(!l)
At the time of the questionnaire and interview investigation there were eight
monks and 15 novices in residence at the Wat Cbedi Luang, plus appro;ximately 50
luksits, many of whom were from the hill tribes. Reference has been made in an
earlier article to the work of Phra Maha Tawin and Phra Thanajun Guttadhammo,
both Dhammayut monks at the Wat Cbedi Luang, among the Meo and Karen, and the
role of the Wat itself as a springboard for development activities in remote parts of the
north. 0 °> .
Maha Nikai wats are much more . numerous, and it is not so easy to identify
.apy particular -one as a -focal point for development work. Klausner and others,
writing in the early seventies, ascribe a major developmental role to the Wat Phra
Singh, and Keyes offers historical reasons why this should be the case. But although
this Wat was included in the survey, it was not felt to be particularly active in the field
of development, and . only 12 of· its residents (five monks and seven novices) could be
persuaded· by the Abbot to complete questionnaires! Discussions with lay workers and
academics at Chiang Mai University confirmed the view that there was not much deve~
lopment work going on there. . · . · ' .• · ' .
_8. Charles F. Keyes, Op. cit. (5), p. 63.
9. A more detailed account of this remarkable monk is given in an earlier and more descriptive
...... article .. Se.e :d.L •. Gosling,_O.p, cit. m..... . .. .. ---.. - ..... ~ ___ .. . _ . . . .. . ..
10. D.L. Gosling, Op. cit. (2),