Millennialism, Charisma and Utopia: Revolutionary Potentialities in Pre-modern Lao and Thai Theravāda Buddhism

Abstract

With reference to (mainly Pāli) textual imaginaries and historical data on outbreaks of millennial movements in southern Laos and parts of Thailand around the turn of the twentieth century, this essay discusses the revolutionary potentialities embedded in Theravāda Buddhist thought and its localised cosmologies. The essay begins with an examination of the various sources of charisma and the roles of charismatic leaders in these movements, focusing on the tension between institutionalised state Buddhism and peripheral figures such as lay ascetics, holy men or forest monks who are more likely to be involved in millennial movements. Next, eschatological visions of the decline of the dhamma, utopian imaginaries of renewal and the (re-)instantiation of righteous kingship are discussed. I argue that many of these movements can be understood as forms of ‘restorative millennialism’. In order to better understand the rebellious and revolutionary features of the cases presented, in the final section I discuss theories relating to potentialities and messianic time, and suggest that the activation and actualization of millennial imaginaries are – despite failure and disenchantment – always immanent to society and reflect the friction between its actual and virtual dimensions.