Buddhist Heritage With(out) Borders: The Mahābodhi Temple in the Thai National Imagination and Cultural Practices

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article seeks to examine Thailand’s involvement in the revival of Bodh Gayā, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment during the twentieth century, and shed light on the motives and results stemming from Thai cultural practices. To this end, I will analyse the specific elements of Thai culture at the original site, primarily through the symbolism of Thai Buddhism, art, and the theory of the righteous rulership, and explore the virtual evocations of the Mahābodhi in Thailand. I argue that the re-invention resulted in two things. On the one hand, it provided tools for the legitimation of the Thai monarch through the concept of righteous kingship, as well as for the demonstration of Thailand as the paramount contemporary Buddhist centre of the world. On the other hand, it has revived and popularised the practice of constructing life-size replicas in Thailand, thereby enriching, and changing previous habits of pilgrimage.