CSEAS Friday Forum Lecture Series

In the Buddhist kingdom of Thailand, the monastic order is under attack. After the 2014 coup, the junta has intervened in the monastic affairs through a series of increasingly coercive measures, including adverse amendments of the sangha law, obstruction of the Supreme Patriarch nomination, siege of an immensely popular temple, and finally the forced disrobing of senior ecclesiastic monks. These developments surprise many because the sangha is considered as part of the status quo and has histor