Beyond Localities: Community Development and Network Construction Among the Buddhist Monks in Northern Thailand

Abstract

This chapter examines how Theravada Buddhist monks have survived in the rapid social changes that resulted from modernization in contemporary Thailand from an anthropological perspective. The chapter focuses on the recent phenomenon of network construction among the Buddhist monks in the country with particular attention to the “Community Development Monks’ Network in Northern Thailand (khru’akhai phra nak phatthana chumchon phak nu’a),” which was founded in Chiang Mai in 2001. In the north, many Buddhist monks have engaged in social work such as road improvement, credit union, buffalo bank, HIV/AIDS care, and environmental conservation. However, the areas of work in which they engage now range widely throughout the country. These monks have been called phra nak phatthana or development monks since NGO-led alternative development became influential in Thailand in the late 1970s.