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

94 David t. Gosling
By contrast the Wat Bupparam, situated in the centre of Chiang Mai town,
was a hive of activity. This was largely due to the dynamism and imagination of its
Abbot, Phra Khru Mongkol Silawongs, who is also Chao Kana Am pur (District Sangha
Governor) of the 82 ¥aha N:ikai wats in the Doi Saket sub-district of Chiang Mai
Province. Ninetet?n monks and 17 novices at the Wat Bupparam answered questionnaires.
Phra Khru Mongkol's charismatic impact on Maha Nikai wats in the Chiang
Mai area is sufficiently significant to merit a more detailed account of his views, which
inevitably influenced the attitudes of Maha Nikai questionnaire respondents. He
believes that whereas the monk in Thai society has traditionally fulfilled the roleof
thura vipassana (practitioner of meditation) and thura kanta (practitioner of learning),
he must increasingly become a thura patana (practitioner of development). His
development programmes in Doi Saket include weaving, sewing, flower and toy making,
fruit growing, and a wide range of agricultural skills~ Electricians are trained, and in
the hill areas people are taught oy the monks to dig wells and· roads. Unlike the
officials of the Government-sponsored Dhammajarik Programme based on the Wat Si
Soda, Phru Khru Mongkol does not se~ development work as an adjunct to conversion
to Buddhism-with all the political overtones that some writers see in thisUl l He feeis
that development work must be done for its own sake and because it was enjoined by
the Buddha on his followers. But he works in close cooperation with local Government
Departments and their trained perso~el, many of whom are extremely willing to assist
in the training of the monks. The same local Gover~ment employees together with
teachers and academics at colleges and the University of Chiang Mai, are responsible
for the Adult Education classes which are proving increasingly popular with the monks
and which are frequently held in wat compounds.
One of the most striking features of Phra Khru Mongkol's work is his mettanaree
schemes which enable young women to learn sewing, weaving, and similar skills ..
These programmes are proving extremely popular and· take place within the compounds
of various wats. The goods are marketed in Chiang Mai. Chao Khun Rajavinayaporn
·also supervises similar schemes a.t rural wats under his jurisdiction. (In addition to
being Deputy Abbot of the Wat Chedi Luang he is also Chao Kana Changwat (Provincial
S~ngha Governor) of all Dhammayut wats north of Nakorn Sawan). · The sight of
brightly dressed metta-naree trainees cheerfully operating Singer sewing machines in
the forefront of wats . administered by these two exceptionally talented monks is
extremely refreshing, and represents a radically innovative aspect of the monks' role as
11. S. Suksamran, Op cit. (1).