The newly established (thirteenth-century) Thai king-
doms of La ̄nna ̄ in northwestern Thailand and Sukho ̄thai in
central Thailand assumed the reigns of power from their
Mon predecessors in areas formerly defined by the ancient
Dva ̄ravat ̄ı civilization. Like their Mon predecessors, the
Thais also venerated Therava ̄da traditions. But during the
mid-fourteenth century, Mon Therava ̄da traditions had to
make way for a Sinhala reformist movement that spread from
a center at Martaban in Lower Burma to several Thai capitals
including Ayutthaya ̄, Sukho ̄thai, and Chiangmai (La ̄nna ̄).
Therava ̄da monasteries continued to proliferate
throughout the region. By the latter part of the fifteenth cen-
tury the La ̄nna ̄ capital of Chiangmai had emerged as one of
the major intellectual centers in the Therava ̄da world. In cen-
tral Thailand, where the locus of power gradually shifted
from Sukho ̄thai to Ayutthaya ̄, the Therava ̄da presence was
consolidated. Farther east in Cambodia, Therava ̄da gradually
displaced the deeply entrenched traditions of Hinduism and
Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism, a transition facilitated by the aban-
donment of the old capital of Angkor in the mid-fifteenth
century. According to chronicle accounts, Therava ̄da became
the preeminent tradition in Laos beginning with the conver-
sion of a Laotian prince during his exile in the court of Ang-
kor in the mid-fourteenth century. He subsequently became
the ruler of the powerful Laotian kingdom of Luang Pra-
bang. Through the entire area during this period, appropria-
tion of reformist Therava ̄da influence from Sri Lanka contin-
ued. Indeed, by the beginning of the sixteenth century,
reformist Sinhala fraternities dominated in all of the major
royal centers and in many of the lesser ones as well.
Throughout the later premodern period in Southeast
Asia there were a number of Therava ̄da kingdoms that held
sway over various geographical areas for varying periods of
time. A succession of such kingdoms constituted and fos-
tered a loosely linked “national” tradition in Burma, and a
more stable Thai kingdom was governed from Ayutthaya ̄. A
series of leading Therava ̄da kingdoms succeeded one another
in Laos, and in Cambodia still another royal center was es-
tablished. Since the pattern and development of Therava ̄da
religion, both monastic and civilizational, varied from area
to area and from kingdom to kingdom, generalizations are
necessarily problematic. However, at least two important
characteristics can be observed across the entire area.
First, monastic history, punctuated as it has been by re-
form movements, has necessarily also been subject to the
considerable tensions intrinsic to that process. In Southeast
Asia a continuing tension, more or less explicit, characterized
relations between reformist movements and other Therava ̄da
traditions that continued to coexist with them. Reformist
groups vied with each other and indigenous groups over the
purity and authenticity of their monastic observances. An ex-
tremely sensitive matter, monastic factionalism could readily
be interpreted as a sign of the king’s inability to maintain
order in his kingdom (and often was). By way of demonstrat-
ing their authority to rule, royal sponsors had to act judi-
ciously to balance the often contradictory demands of mo-
nastic purity and unity.Generally speaking, the reformists were associated with
Sinhala fraternities and sooner or later with royal sponsors.
On the other hand, the Therava ̄da fraternities that resisted
these reforms (fraternities that were often themselves the
products of earlier reforms) typically maintained their own
traditions about monastic discipline and the propriety of mo-
nastic wealth. In some instances these latter groups preserved
texts and practices originally derived from Sanskrit Buddhist
schools that had once exerted considerable influence in the
area. They were often involved with localized modes of sa-
crality and were very resistant to attempts from the capital
to exert centralized authority. In addition, they often utilized
both Pali and vernacular texts, as well as mystical and magical
modes of practice, that were clearly Tantric in character. It
should be noted, however, that beliefs in the magical power
of properly intoned sounds—especially Pali words—to effect
order or secure protection seem to have been common to
both groups.The second characteristic of the premodern Therava ̄da
tradition throughout Southeast Asia was the distinctive man-
ner and extent of its civilizational role. Like the Therava ̄da
sangha in Sri Lanka, the Therava ̄da sangha in Southeast Asia
maintained symbiotic relationships with the various kings
who ruled in specific areas. The sangha supported the venera-
tion of thu ̄pas and Buddha images that had connections with
political and social life at every level. Also like the Therava ̄da
sangha in Sri Lanka, the sangha in Southeast Asia developed
a textual tradition in Pali and in the various vernaculars
(some translated, some originally composed) that addressed
the religious, social, and moral concerns of all groups from
court to village. But in Southeast Asia there was a special
practice that further enhanced the civilizational impact of
Therava ̄da, namely, the temporary participation of a signifi-
cant segment of the male population in the life of the monas-
tic order. In some areas this involved a temporary ordination
as a novice. In other areas it involved temporary ordination,
or several temporary ordinations, as a full-fledged member
of the Order. But whatever form this practice took, it provid-
ed the context for a monastic acculturation that has given the
societies of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos their dis-
tinctive Therava ̄da flavor.
THERAVA ̄DA BUDDHISM SINCE 1750. During the past two
and a half centuries Therava ̄da Buddhism has retained its
basic structure, and the major regional traditions have main-
tained many of the particularities that had come to character-
ize them during premodern times. However, during this pe-
riod there have been important developments in the
Therava ̄da world, some the result of internal dynamics and
others the result of the external pressures of colonialism and
“modernity.” Since most of these developments have ap-
peared throughout the Therava ̄da world, we will pursue our
discussion thematically. However, since these developments
took very different forms in different areas, it will be neces-9150 THERAVA ̄DA