404 Part V: Southeast Asia
The free-floating phii are dangerous and cause suffering. They have an
opposite number in benevolent angels, thewada, who flutter down from heaven
if called by the village priest (not monk), for example to bless a marriage.
Thewada were never human and are always on the side of good fortune and
protection. The heavens have other residents of importance to Thai beside
thewada. There are the gods, mostly the old Hindu deities like Indra, who go on
residing in their Heavens, though overshadowed by the shining figure of Bud-
dha, who is not god but a pure and omniscient, transcendent human. With his
death, or Parinirvana, which is frequently depicted in Buddhist art, he became
extinct, but his teachings remain to instruct not just mortals but the gods as
well who are also working out their liberation. Though Buddha is not a god,
his relics, clothing, jewels, and texts have tremendous power to help humans;
they are “fields of merit” where humans can improve their own accumulation
of merit toward the next life. There is also the dangerous figure of Mara, Bud-
dha’s great demon antagonist who tried to tempt him as he sat meditating
under the Bodhi Tree and continues through the aeons to tempt people to sen-
sual pleasures and thus to death and destruction.The Monkhood
On the other side of the village, in the sections of the wat where laypeople
do not go, the Buddhist monk (bhikku) is governed by rules laid down in the
early period of Indian Buddhism. The rules of conduct, the Patimokkha, are a
part of the first book of the Pali Canon, the Vinaya Pitika.
Laypeople are not totally exempt from these rules. The first five apply to
them: they must abstain from taking life, stealing, committing adultery, speak-
ing falsely, and consuming liquor. These are the panch sila, the Five Renuncia-
tions. On Buddhist ceremonial occasions, they will abstain from three more
things: eating after midday; witnessing music, song, and dance; and using
scents and garlands. And a final two renunciations may be observed by very
pious, and usually elderly laypeople who are more intent than others on their
next life: using seats or beds above a certain height and receiving gold and sil-
ver (Tambiah 1975).
But for the monk, there are 227 specific rules to be followed. These rules
appear to be aimed primarily at avoidance of all forms of sensual enjoyment
and at living in harmony within the monastic community.
A monk who commits a serious case of theft, who commits homicide or
incites to suicide, who engages in sexual intercourse, or who falsely claims to
be an arhat (a fully enlightened monk with supernatural powers) is expelled
from the monastery.
A large number of rules are aimed at guiding a monk in the practice of
asceticism, while still fulfilling his obligation to accept gifts from laypeople to
advance their merit-making. He must not accept gold or silver (though it can be
given to the wat). He can accept only simple robes, and only as many as he
actually needs. He is explicitly forbidden certain luxury items like silk rugs,