Bhumibol has also reigned on the throne longer than any previous Chakri king. King Chulalongkorn, the King's grandfather, reigned for 42 years before passing away, leaving behind a legacy of sweeping legal and administrative reforms that set the stage for Siam to emerge as a modern state.
Prince Chula Chakrabongse's, author of "Lords of Life: The Paternal Monarchy of Bangkok, 1782-1932", characterised the first seven Chakri kings in the first 150 years of the dynasty as the Founder, the Artist, the Ruler, the Enlightened, the Revolutionary, the Liberal and the Philosopher.
The prince did not expand his excellent history book to characterise Rama the Eighth, who passed away prematurely, and did not live long enough to witness the greatness of the reign of Rama the Ninth. He certainly would have ranked King Bhumibol as the greatest of all the Chakri kings.
King
Chulalongkorn faced a dilemma from Western colonialism. If he did not open up Siam to the outside world, the Kingdom would, like its neighbours, be devoured by colonial powers. If he were to open up Siam fully, the colonial powers would also win it all. It was not easy, yet King Chulalongkorn relied on a middle-ground policy of avoiding confrontation and agreeing to huge monetary and territorial settlements to prevent Siam from being colonised.
The reign of King Bhumibol has faced a similar dilemma, first from the Cold War and second from globalisation. While Thailand emerged unscathed from the domino effect of communism, if it had failed to open up in the age of globalisation, it would have been left behind in terms of social and economic development. If it were to open up too much, it would have been taken over by outside interests at the expense of the poor. The little trick was to walk the middle path, or gradualism, which has been the hallmark policy of Siamese kings of the past.
King
Bhumibol has advocated sufficiency, a theory that has been gravely misunderstood by outsiders, as a way to maintain Thailand's integrity amid the forces of globalisation. Sufficiency is to have enough and not to take risks beyond one's ability to survive. Should there be any global shock, Thailand must survive by being able to stand on its own feet.
The King has initiated several thousand projects to help the poor. Although he may be trapped by his office, his mind and his focus are always on the rural people. His 60-year reign can be characterised as a reign of justice and happiness for the rural people.
There are two aspects, which are most of the time intertwined, to the Thais' respect for the King. First, they respect the King as an individual. Second, they respect the institution of monarchy.
In a recent address to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun clarified these two points succinctly.
"I have often said that the status that our King has risen to after 60 years' reign is something that he has earned. It is not a hereditary thing. When he was made a King at the young age of 17 or 18, nobody knew what kind of King he was going to make. But I think that by his diligence and by his determination and dedication, he has developed into a very good King," Anand said.
"When you talk about our King, he is not only a great King, but he is a good King. I make this distinction, for you can be great man with so many shortcomings and so many faults, but when you say he is a good man, to me it means more. So to me, the fact that he is a good King personally means to me much more than that he is a great King. To be a good King, to be a good man, is something you have to earn. You do not inherit [it].
"So if you try to separate the person from the institution, yes, there is a big gap. Be that as it may, the institution of monarchy is very much ingrained into Thailand and into [the] Thai character. I have no doubt that the institution will remain intact and will go on," he said.
Published on August 31, 2007
In praise of ... the king of Thailand
The Guardian, Saturday 3 June 2006
Most monarchies lost their divine status centuries ago and are now little more than titular figureheads. In Thailand the reverse is happening. For even though it officially became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving monarch who celebrates his diamond jubilee next week, is fast becoming a demigod.
Elevation to a celestial plane should contradict democratic norms. But not in Thailand. King Bhumibol is so revered he only has to comment on an issue for everyone to obsequiously follow his every instruction. This was demonstrated in April when he ordered the courts to resolve a crisis and lethargic judges became icons of energy overnight.
King Bhumibol, 78, was not born into this enviable position. The jazz-loving yachtsman who speaks four foreign languages fluently has worked extremely hard to earn the Thai people's adulation. The king has always looked out for the disadvantaged - whether it is the hill tribes of the northern forests or the people of the predominantly Muslim south in what is otherwise a Buddhist-dominated country. He has also initiated scores of economic projects to revitalise deprived areas.
All this has been done with humility. While traditional bureaucrats try to shield him from his subjects, King Bhumibol has constantly tried to break down the barriers, most notably when he ordered criticism of him to be encouraged rather than punished with imprisonment.
STOPPAGE TIMEThe day our monarchy elevated itself even furtherThe only thing kinder than the sun last Friday morning was His Majesty the King's glance from the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. He was happy - we could feel that from his slender yet warm smile.
And when he made that characteristic slight wave of the hand, time stopped, and the tears started to flow.
It was almost a spiritual exchange. The world's longest-reigning monarch embraced the nation he has reigned over for 60 years with a fatherly, compassionate look. In return, his people overwhelmed him with an immeasurable outpouring of love. Shouts of "Long Live the King!" thundered and echoed around the Royal Plaza and far beyond, although many were too emotionally stricken to utter the blessing. Yet if only we could have heard all the Thai hearts elsewhere speaking at that particular instant.
The term "constitutional monarchy" gained new meaning and new implications. What happened at that moment was all but holy, not political. Politically exhausted Thais were not turning to him for help. They did not show up in their hundreds of thousands at the Royal Plaza and pray for his long life because of Thaksin Shinawatra or the People's Alliance for Democracy. The Thai hearts became one simply because Thais love their King.
In fact, the ocean of yellow at the Royal Plaza and the spontaneous display of love and reverence all across the Kingdom caused recent political events to pale into near absurdity. The gathering was four or five times larger than the recent biggest anti-government protests in the same area. It mocked the pro-government demonstrations with the fact that all who were there last Friday came on their own volition. And looking back, one can be bemused and wonder where all the talk about His Majesty's clout being compromised came from.
An effective and powerful political network may be capable of organising that sort of massive assembly. But you can't force such tears of delight and gratitude or the simultaneous and voluntary shutting of a hundred thousand umbrellas when a politician's motorcade moves past the crowds. You can't make petrol-station boys, food vendors and office workers wear yellow on the same day. You can't make just about everyone wear yellow on the same day.
Last Friday morning, we were all witness to and part of some very impregnable clout. Hard-earned and well deserved where Thais are concerned but a somewhat sceptical mystique in the eyes of some Western media. Time magazine was very cautious and not full of praise when analysing the Thai phenomenon, while The Economist went even further in expressing implicit doubts. In a recent commentary on Thailand's political turmoil, the latter magazine said, "Once you start allowing demonstrators who number in the thousands to throw out politicians who have been elected by millions, the fabric of any democracy is bound to fray, let alone one that has existed for only 14 years and still lies under the shadow of crown and gun."
To the Thais, the country's fledging democracy owes its survival and flexibility to their monarch. Without his timely intervention when it mattered and his detachment when all was working well, Thai politics may have taken a far more unpredictable and dangerous course. Last Friday, Thais told the world you can have your kind of democracy, but this is ours, and if there are risks in relying too much on a beloved monarch, then so be it.
And again, what level of politics can produce teary eyes and lumps in the throats on a national scale? Most of those who converged on the Royal Plaza last Friday and others who cried their tears of joy in front of their television sets were not direct benefactors of His Majesty's lifetime work. They were simply glad to have a monarch who has worked for the most underprivileged, with a really noble purpose and in a really meaningful way. They love him knowing he's been doing what he doesn't have to. They love him for the likes of heartfelt royal statements like the one we heard on Monday, that his work and contribution were just his part of being Thai.
People gave various accounts to rationalise their tears last Friday morning. "He looked happy and that filled my heart with delight." "His look on the balcony was so kind." "Thinking of all he has had to go through, my heart went out for him." "I'm just glad we have him as our King." "I was overwhelmed and just cried, like all of the people around me."
An untouchable King? He manages to touch millions of hearts.
Tulsathit Taptim
OVERDRIVE: As a teacher, the King enriches our lives
There are many facets to the personality of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
He is at once a monarch and a ruler, a scientist and an inventor, a musician and a composer, a photographer and a painter, a writer and a translator, a developer and a conservationist, a pragmatist and a theorist, a humanist and an idealist.
In these roles he excels, all in a grand Buddhist tradition.
Even more so, the King is a teacher, a role that has necessarily grown out of his virtuous reign.
He constantly provides counsel, gives direction and exemplifies the righteous path to his people so that they achieve the various tasks of their worldly life in the most simple, yet methodological way.
In this respect, the King is following the path of the Lord Buddha.
The Lord Buddha is quintessentially the greatest teacher of all time.
His teaching provides a moral foundation for the people to live in peace, with a harmony of mind and body.
If one only does good deeds, refrains from doing bad ones and maintains a joyful spirit all the time, he is considered a virtuous man.
And this can be realised without any need of ritual.
Since the Lord Buddha has attained nirvana, he is completely removed from samsara, the cycle of birth, suffering and death.
Therein lies the Lord Buddha's greatest teaching.
For the Lord Buddha seeks to lead people to attain enlightenment or to arrive at redemption.
For the past 55 years of his reign, the King has developed his role as a selfless teacher.
Through more than 2,000 development projects, he gives his people technical advice – a knowledge he acquires from observation, research and experimentation – on how to improve their livelihood and provides them with moral guidance on how to live sufficiently but happily.
Thais have always had great respect for teachers.
The supreme teacher is the Lord Buddha.
Montri Umavijani keenly observes the role of the Buddha as a teacher in his "Epilogue: My Teacher", published in "Facets of Thai Cultural Life" (Kurusapa Business Organisation, 2000).
"The Thai did not start with a personal god; they started with a personal teacher.
From the beginning, monks figured prominently as teachers, so monks were greatly respected.
"That reverence has been handed down since the Sukhothai period.
Monks do not just teach Buddhist doctrines, they become an integral part of people's lives.
Significantly, they are called Luang Por (father) Luang Ta (maternal grandfather) or Luang Pu (paternal grandfather)," he writes.
Luang Por Khoon from Nakhon Rachasima and Luang Ta Mahabua of Udon Thani are examples of teachers who have a multitude of followers and who cast a great influence over the beliefs of the Thai populace.
"We reach the Buddha through the monks, who are neither paternalistic nor officious.
The Buddha himself is understood to be a monk – to be the teacher he once was and always will be," Montri adds.
Like the Lord Buddha, the King's image is ubiquitous.
He is alive and everywhere, residing in the consciousness of the Thais.
So, on December 4, when he spoke about "disaster", a general decline in Thailand and the prevailing existence of "double standards", the King acted as a teacher cautioning his students, particularly Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on how to improve themselves and accomplish results.
By doing so, the King also set an agenda on a reassessment of the state of the country as a whole.
Since the King reigns with virtue, it follows that he is also a virtuous teacher.
And as a virtuous teacher, he speaks with credibility.
Thanong Khathong The Nation
OVERDRIVE: Respect is just a question of who and 'wai'
By telling Thais not to wai (show respect to someone by putting your palms together) bad people, General Prem Tinsulanonda, the president of the Privy Council, has generated confusion and awkwardness throughout Thai society.
Thais have become used to paying respect to the rich, the uniformed and those who have received accolades and power, regardless of whether these people are good or bad.
Thais associate goodness with money, uniforms, accolades and power.
Prem did not go so far as to suggest that we can skip offering wai to some of those in Government House or Parliament, but it is not difficult to arrive at that conclusion.
In his speech delivered on Wednesday as part of the Chin Sophonpanich Annual Memorial Lecture, Prem, a former prime minister, called for a revaluation of Thai values.
Thais should not wai bad people, particularly those who have been enriched by corruption and the drugs trade, he insisted.
We must pay respect to good people instead, even those who are poor.
"But it [paying respect to good but poor people] is still better than paying respect to the bad people, who have their hands on dirty money," he said.
However, Prem did not provide a manual on how to differentiate between good and bad people.
For all their generosity, Thais never second-guess other people.
Optimistic as they are, they presume that the people with whom they have contact or stand to gain financially from are good.
The more money or power they have, the higher rank or honours they acquire, the better they are.
So the real good people, who follow the path of Dharma, are left with nothing.
Apart from other crises, Thais also are also confronting a crisis of values.
They can't differentiate between good and bad people.
And even if they can tell the difference, they still lack the moral courage to come out and support the good people against the bad.
This passivity in the face of injustice runs so deeply that it can become irresponsibility.
The battle between good and evil is not a new theme, but bad people continue to haunt Thai society insofar as we fail to constrain them.
In an address to mark his Golden Jubilee on December 4, 1996, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej provided a pragmatic approach on how to cope with the bad people.
It is quite helpful to read HM the King again on the classic theme of good versus evil: "It is true, there are many bad people; there are more of them than in the past, but that is because there are more people, meaning the population has tripled; there must be three times more bad people.
If one considers the statistics, usually, these facts are proportional; it means that, now, there should also be three times more good people, which is encouraging, but there are also three times more bad people, which is discouraging.
"These facts must be scrutinised and after that, it will be possible to improve the situation so that in fifty years' time, when the population may further increase, the number of bad people must be prevented from increasing, so that the good people will outnumber the bad ones which will bring about a brighter future.
Usually, the old-timers like to talk of the good old days saying that nowadays is very bad; in fact, it is not so.
If we put ourselves in the shoes of the people fifty years from now, it will be the same situation.
"But if we strive to take great care, from this moment on, to do what is called 'good', I believe that in fifty years, when we meet again, there will be more good people than bad ones.
When there are more good people than bad ones, Thai society will be better off and each one of us will be happier.
".
.
.
The good person can make another person good; it means that goodness will elicit goodness in the society; other persons will also be good.
Evil will make a steadfast good person bad only with great difficulty; however, it is not impossible.
If good people hold on tenaciously to their goodness, it will be difficult for evil people to influence them.
The important thing is the strong will of the good person.
"An evil person will not want others to be bad because, if other people are bad, that bad person himself will suffer.
He knows very well that if a bad person brings out the evil in another person, it will be to his own detriment; that is, the bad person himself will suffer.
Nobody wants that.
That is why there is hope that, fifty years from now, the number of bad people will be less than that of good people because it is more difficult for the evil people to turn good people into bad people.
As for the good people, they can turn bad people into good people; that is not impossible; it can be done.
So there is hope for a bright future.
" THANONG KHANTHONG
overdrive:Revisiting the classics to improve Thai today
Published on August 31, 2007
Speaking the other day to a group of consul-generals and senior Thai diplomats at the Dusidalai Throne Hall, His Majesty the King expressed concern that some Thais who live or study abroad fail to speak Thai properly after they return home.
The
Thai language is a national heritage that every Thai is obliged to preserve because it shows Thailand has been a civilised country longer than most other countries, even some in Europe, the King pointed out.
"You diplomats might feel sad that the Thai people who live abroad for a few days or for a short time can't speak Thai once they return home. Because they think that when they go abroad they have to learn how not to become Thai. I have sympathy for you in this case because you are diplomats. Those who go abroad for a few days, when they meet the ambassadors, they can't speak Thai. But the foreigners who meet you can speak Thai although they stayed in Thailand for only a short time. This sounds very strange," the King said. "But we have to understand that those who might never have thought of travelling abroad but have a chance to go abroad might feel that they have an inferiority complex. But most Thais do not have any inferiority complex. They are proud to be Thai because living in Thailand, becoming a Thai, they can learn that Thailand and the Thai people are good."
Since the King spent most of his youth studying in Switzerland, he had to catch up when learning how to read and write Thai. The King admitted that even when he was 18, he could not read or write Thai well. Fortunately, the Princess Mother always spoke to him in Thai. Later on he studied the Thai language until he mastered it.
If you read the King's books "Nai In Phu Pid Thong Lang Phra", "Tito" and "Phra Maha Chanaka", you recognise immediately that he is a master of Thai prose. He writes in short, succinct and very clear sentences, with comma and full stop markings. You may also call him a supreme prose stylist.
The
King's message is that he would like the Thai people to be proud of their heritage and their civilisation. In fact, the Thai language was invented more than 700 years ago during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng of the Sukhothai period. It had a system of its own. Indeed, 700 years ago America had not been discovered by Europeans. King Ramkhamhaeng's reign coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, during which time that continent was regarded as still being somewhat backward.
"You diplomats must brainwash [those who forget the Thai language] that Thailand has had its own language for a long time. We have had our own culture for longer than several countries in Europe.
"Europe then was still in the 'Dark Ages', which means that civilisation had not yet been fully realised. Thailand was already a civilised country during the Middle Ages of Europe. We also have to tell those who think that Thailand is not a civilised country to have a better understanding that Thailand was already civilised and had its own language during the Middle Ages, while most others did not have their own languages," the King said.
In the late 1980s I visited MR Kukrit Pramoj at his beautiful Thai-style house in Soi Suan Plu. I asked him how he developed his exceptional skill in the Thai language. He told me that as a child in a big family, he was always asked to read for his mother and the other phuyai. He read out loud "Khun Chang Khun Phaen " and other Thai literary classics. "I was reading like a parrot, without knowing the real meaning. But gradually I absorbed these works," he said.
Before Mom Kukrit wrote his novels, he went back to read the old classics, to set his own temperament. He told me that he would have "Sam Kok " or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (Chao Phya Phraklang's edition) and "Rajathiraj" ("The King of All Kings") by his bed all the time. He would read passages from these two books in his head and try to absorb their styles, their expressions, their rhythms and their idioms. So when he sat down to write his novels, he got the "feel" or the flow of the language from these two classics.
Most people would say that his "Si Phaen Din " ("The Four Reigns") represents the crown jewel of Thai prose. But Kukrit told me that "Phama Sia Muang " ("The Burmese Lost Their Country") was his best. "Just read carefully and you'll feel that it has all the language of Rajathiraj," he told me.
Among contemporary Thais, I like to listen to MR Thanatsri Svastivat's way of speaking Thai. He has the Thai outlook and all the idioms in his Thai usage. I also used to have conversations with Chirayu Issarangun Na Ayutthaya, the director of the Crown Property Bureau. His manner and his way of expressing the Thai language was also very unique.
I feel ashamed that my Thai is very bad. I really need to go back to the classics and other old Thai writings to brush up my Thai - in thinking, style and substance.
Thanong Khanthong
Festive mood, happy memories thanks to His Majesty
Published on June 23, 2006
More than a week after the royal ceremonies ended, the festive mood in Thailand over His Majesty the King's diamond jubilee celebrations has not waned at all.
It seems this mood could linger until the celebration of His Majesty's birthday on December 5.
Posters of the King and the royal ceremonies of the jubilee celebration are in big demand.
It really is phenomenal.
This reminds me of my brief audience with His Majesty about 25 years ago.
If my memory serves me right this would be in 1981, one year before the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bangkok.
I was a third year student at Thammasat University's Faculty of Liberal Arts.
As a member of the TU Band, I played the electric organ.
There were more than a dozen members in the band, as well as four or five singers, and we had regular concerts.
We could perform all kinds of music, from luk thung (Thai traditional music with distinct rhythms), luk krung (modern Thai music), to western music and, of course, university songs such as Yung Thong, written to glorify Thammasat.
One day, the Chitrlada Radio Station invited the TU Band to perform a live concert.
The station, located within the Chitrlada Palace in Dusit, was one of His Majesty's experimental projects and broadcast quality programmes for the public.
The invitation was quite an honour for us.
Traditionally, the CU Band of Chulalongkorn University was closer to His Majesty the King than the TU Band.
The King, an avid musician, used to perform regularly with the CU Band.
We loaded our instruments onto a truck and took a 20-minute drive from Thammasat to the Chitrlada Palace.
Moving the instruments was quite labour intensive as we did not have anyone else to help us.
It was a warm afternoon as we reached the Chitrlada Palace's radio station building.
The one-storey building was spacious enough to have a dining area.
The broadcast studio was also large enough to hold 20-30 people.
We immediately set up our instruments and equipment -drums, organs, brass, amplifiers, microphones - and waited for the time to perform.
The
n an official told us that His Majesty was about to arrive and we should line up to greet him.
This was totally unexpected.
We all felt quite excited at this very rare opportunity to meet the King in person.
At the same time, we took a critical look at ourselves and asked whether we were properly dressed.
But it was too late to do anything.
We proceeded to the front of the radio station, formed a straight line and waited for the arrival of the King.
The
honorary head of TU Band then was Sung Autawasri.
We all called him Khru Sung (Teacher Sung).
He has already passed away.
Khru Sung played the violin and belonged to the same generation as Khru Ua Sunthornsanan, the leader of the Suntharaphorn Band.
Khru Sung joined us in time to greet the King.
The
n a Mazda car arrived.
It had a tall antenna spiking into the sky.
The King was driving the dark grey car himself, with an aide wearing a full military uniform sitting beside him.
The car stopped right in front of us.
We were feeling rather nervous.
Then the King emerged from the driver's side.
Our hearts almost stopped beating.
He was such a beautiful man in his mid-fifties.
He had a tan skin, almost dark to me.
He had strong muscles in his hands.
His shoulders were broad.
He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and grey trousers.
He held a walkie-talkie in his hand, which he talked into briefly before walking toward us.
We all bowed our heads.
His Majesty the King greeted Khru Sung.
He asked Khru Sung about his health and his age.
I could not hear everything as I was standing almost at the end of the line.
The
n Khru Sung dropped to his knees and waied the King.
His head almost touched the King's shoes.
Then the King walked toward our band leader, Phi Veeraphong.
Phi Veeraphong told the King something about our TU Band.
The King thanked us for coming over to perform at his radio station.
Then he walked into the radio station building.
An official, in uniform, dropped to his knees to help the King take off his shoes.
The King disappeared into one of the rooms in the radio station.
We all went back into the radio station building.
The official told us that food was ready to be served in the dining area.
We were glad.
One of us said jokingly: "Well, I cannot believe that I am going to eat Palace food.
" We all laughed.
The food was khao kaeng.
And it turned out to be one of the most memorable khao kaeng dishes in my life.
After the meal, we were ready to perform.
And we did perform rather well for about an hour, which was broadcast live.
Then we packed up and returned to Thammasat.
I still recall the happy memories of this event sometimes.
It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Thanong Khanthong
The
OVERDRIVE: A lesson for us all: hearing is believing
On
e of the main themes of His Majesty the King's speech on the eve of his 77th Birthday on December 4 was his concern about the hearing problem of the young generation.
HM the King said Thai youths aged 15-16 were spending so much time in noisy discotheques that they were developing hearing problems.
The government's Bt30 healthcare scheme would never be able to cover the budgetary shortfall that would occur in the event that large portions of this generation suddenly found they had to rely on hearing aids, he said.
If this were the case, the Thai youth could not be expected to grow up and succeed in their careers.
The King's message was subtle.
He would like the Thai people to develop their faculty of hearing.
Most people listen to music and other information, but they do not appreciate style and content or hear the underlying messages.
Indeed, listening is one of the most important faculties with which human beings have been endowed.
These days most Thai people get their knowledge about the outside world through their eyes, while their ears are under-utilised.
As the old saying goes, seeing is believing.
Thai people tend to be more impressed with what they see than what they hear.
Because their ears are not trained to listen to good music or sound information, the Thai people miss the aesthetic aspects of life and lack a good foundation for acquiring knowledge.
In short, if you have a good ear, listening is believing, too.
During his speech, HM the King recounted his experience at a recent encounter with a jazz group from New Orleans, Louisiana, the original hotbed of jazz music.
When he played jazz with the New Orleans ensemble, HM incorporated the ramwong style as he improvised his part.
Ramwong literally means Thai dance.
But it really represents a uniquely traditional form of Thai music played on a Thai scale, with a peculiar rhythm to accompany the festive dancing of villagers.
At the same time, the New Orleans players improvised their own parts, though using Western scales.
In this performance, Bangkok ramwong jazz and New Orleans jazz were suddenly interwoven.
We all know that HM the King is a jazz enthusiast and one of Thailand's pioneers in this lively style of music, as evidenced by his numerous, excellent compositions.
As a jazz musician, you have to have mastered your instrument.
In musical terms, you have to be a virtuoso.
A musical virtuoso is one who plays with flawless technique and imagination.
Jazz musicians improvise most of the music they play.
When a jazz musician improvises, he doesn't read notes, but plays according to his musical instincts.
Jazz ensembles only agree broadly on the scale or some chord progressions when they play together, and yet this is normally enough to turn out a dazzling performance.
When the performance with HM the King was finished, HM asked the New Orleans players whether they realised that he had been playing ramwong music with a Thai scale.
(The Thai scale is different from the standard scale developed by Western music.
) "They said they knew it because their ears were good.
They knew that it was ramwong music, although they did not know what ramwong was.
But they said when they travelled to Japan, they also played jazz in the Japanese style," HM the King said.
"In Japan, they have good jazz musicians.
I can't help listening to them.
When they play jazz, it really comes out with the Japanese scale.
So I said this was the Thai way.
We played jazz the Thai way, the Thai scale.
They were interested.
Now they have gone home and I understand that they will be studying the ramwong style of Thai jazz.
They said that next time they would play jazz in the New Orleans and Bangkok style," HM the King said.
"If they can really do it, we can be proud that we helped them to listen to Thai music.
They are good.
Their ears are good.
They play by ear.
They do not play by eyes.
They don't read notes.
They play by ear.
When I played with them, I also had to play by ear, not by eyes.
It was quite fun.
" HM the King's speech should inspire us to help the young generation develop their ears.
They should be guided to listen to good music and learn to differentiate good music from bad music.
There is an oceanic gap between a Bach fugue and a pop song.
Music is a discipline that helps us to appreciate beauty in its highest form.
If you want to know the truth, you go for science.
If you want to know virtue, you go for religion and philosophy.
If you want to know beauty, you go for the arts.
And of all the arts, music, which speaks to your senses as intelligently as words do, brings you the closest to the highest ideals of beauty.
Once you know truth, virtue and beauty, you are a complete person.
Again, hearing is believing too.
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The Monarchy. The Monarchy is above politics and above the polarisation. The Monarchy favours political stability, rule of law and prosperity for the country. If there is political stability, the Monarchy will also enjoy stability. If there is political instability or social upheavals, the Monarchy will also suffers from the instability.
The Monarchy feels uncomfortable everytime Thailand faces instability. This is an important fact. The Monarchy can't favour any parties because it will lose its impartiality. The Monarchy was disturbed by a request for a royally appointed prime minister in 2006 because that could not be constitutionally done. The Monarchy is now disturbed by all parties in conflict at the moment because they don't use their wisdom or make self sacrifice for the country to move ahead again in a proper fashion.
The Monarchy observes the constitutional rules. Contrary to what some books would like us to believe, a weak democracy and a weak rule of law equally undermines the strength of the Thai Monarchy. In short, if there is balance in the Thai system and the Thai people are happy without any divide, the Monarchy will also enjoy stability. The Monarchy can co-exist with genuine democracy in the Thai context.
The Monarchy does not prefer political instability so that it could side with the Military to defend its "privilege and interest" as the wrong-headed The Economist magazine has wrongly claimed. The political instability undermines the Monarchy's stability too.
Similarly, Thailand's interest is to see political stability in its neighbours such as Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia or Burma. Thailand does not enjoy stability if its neigbours face political instability or economic hardship. If Thailand's neighbours achieve stability and prosperity, Thailand will also benefit from that neighbouring stability and prosperity.
The United States also prefers a healthy and stable Mexico rather than enjoying seeing another peso crisis.
The Monarchy system of Thailand should also be seen in this context regarding its relationship with other domestic institutions. If there is balance in Thai society and all the domestic institutions are strong under the rule of law, the Monarchy will enjoy stability.
His Majesty the King's role is impartial. He strictly follows the tradition and the Constitution. He has several times warned the Thais to unite and to use their wisdom to prevent the country from sliding into calamity. The King has used the word "calamity" or lom jom several times.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat leader, called for the former prime minister Samak Sundaravej to dissolve the House to defuse the political crisis. By implication, if the politicians could't resolve the political crisis, they had to return the power to His Majesty the King.
After the election was completed, the King would return the power back to the people through Parliament. In this sense, there is always continuity of power in Thai politics, with the Monarch as the ever-present institution.
When King Prachadipok, or Rama VII, lost his Absolute Monarchy in 1932, he did not hand his sovereign power to anybody or any particular group of people. He simply wrote a blank cheque of his sovereign power to the Thai people.
Whenever the Thais can't settle the political crises among themselves, they return the power to the Monarch before they try to move ahead again with the blessing of the Monarch. This is how Constitution Monarchy is working in Thailand, with the King as the benovalent Monarch.
Forbes has recently published a survey finding that the Thai King is the world's richest Monarch with a wealth of US$35 billion. This is a total misunderstanding.
The magazine does know the difference between the assets of the Crown Property Bureau and the assets of His Majesty the King. Any personal assets belonging to His Majesty were derived before he ascended the throne. After he became king, all the assets belong to the Crown. The Crown Property Bureau is a public institution, like the State Railway of Thailand or Egat, owned by the Thai people. The Royal Grand Palace is a property of all the Thai people.
Of the vast landholdings of the Crown Property Bureau in Bangkok, only 17 per cent of the holdings is developed with commercial purpose. The rest is being rented out to government agencies and organisations and the local communities at charity rates.
One just can't calculate President Bush's wealth by adding the White House to his net worth.
overdrive:Revisiting the classics to improve Thai today
Published on August 31, 2007
Speaking the other day to a group of consul-generals and senior Thai diplomats at the Dusidalai Throne Hall, His Majesty the King expressed concern that some Thais who live or study abroad fail to speak Thai properly after they return home.
The
Thai language is a national heritage that every Thai is obliged to preserve because it shows Thailand has been a civilised country longer than most other countries, even some in Europe, the King pointed out. "You diplomats might feel sad that the Thai people who live abroad for a few days or for a short time can't speak Thai once they return home. Because they think that when they go abroad they have to learn how not to become Thai. I have sympathy for you in this case because you are diplomats. Those who go abroad for a few days, when they meet the ambassadors, they can't speak Thai. But the foreigners who meet you can speak Thai although they stayed in Thailand for only a short time. This sounds very strange," the King said. "But we have to understand that those who might never have thought of travelling abroad but have a chance to go abroad might feel that they have an inferiority complex. But most Thais do not have any inferiority complex. They are proud to be Thai because living in Thailand, becoming a Thai, they can learn that Thailand and the Thai people are good."
Since the King spent most of his youth studying in Switzerland, he had to catch up when learning how to read and write Thai. The King admitted that even when he was 18, he could not read or write Thai well. Fortunately, the Princess Mother always spoke to him in Thai. Later on he studied the Thai language until he mastered it.
If you read the King's books "Nai In Phu Pid Thong Lang Phra", "Tito" and "Phra Maha Chanaka", you recognise immediately that he is a master of Thai prose. He writes in short, succinct and very clear sentences, with comma and full stop markings. You may also call him a supreme prose stylist.
The
King's message is that he would like the Thai people to be proud of their heritage and their civilisation. In fact, the Thai language was invented more than 700 years ago during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng of the Sukhothai period. It had a system of its own. Indeed, 700 years ago America had not been discovered by Europeans. King Ramkhamhaeng's reign coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, during which time that continent was regarded as still being somewhat backward. "You diplomats must brainwash [those who forget the Thai language] that Thailand has had its own language for a long time. We have had our own culture for longer than several countries in Europe.
"Europe then was still in the 'Dark Ages', which means that civilisation had not yet been fully realised. Thailand was already a civilised country during the Middle Ages of Europe. We also have to tell those who think that Thailand is not a civilised country to have a better understanding that Thailand was already civilised and had its own language during the Middle Ages, while most others did not have their own languages," the King said.
In the late 1980s I visited MR Kukrit Pramoj at his beautiful Thai-style house in Soi Suan Plu. I asked him how he developed his exceptional skill in the Thai language. He told me that as a child in a big family, he was always asked to read for his mother and the other phuyai. He read out loud "Khun Chang Khun Phaen " and other Thai literary classics. "I was reading like a parrot, without knowing the real meaning. But gradually I absorbed these works," he said.
Before Mom Kukrit wrote his novels, he went back to read the old classics, to set his own temperament. He told me that he would have "Sam Kok " or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (Chao Phya Phraklang's edition) and "Rajathiraj" ("The King of All Kings") by his bed all the time. He would read passages from these two books in his head and try to absorb their styles, their expressions, their rhythms and their idioms. So when he sat down to write his novels, he got the "feel" or the flow of the language from these two classics.
Most people would say that his "Si Phaen Din " ("The Four Reigns") represents the crown jewel of Thai prose. But Kukrit told me that "Phama Sia Muang " ("The Burmese Lost Their Country") was his best. "Just read carefully and you'll feel that it has all the language of Rajathiraj," he told me.
Among contemporary Thais, I like to listen to MR Thanatsri Svastivat's way of speaking Thai. He has the Thai outlook and all the idioms in his Thai usage. I also used to have conversations with Chirayu Issarangun Na Ayutthaya, the director of the Crown Property Bureau. His manner and his way of expressing the Thai language was also very unique.
I feel ashamed that my Thai is very bad. I really need to go back to the classics and other old Thai writings to brush up my Thai - in thinking, style and substance.
Thanong Khanthong
Festive mood, happy memories thanks to His Majesty
Published on June 23, 2006
More than a week after the royal ceremonies ended, the festive mood in Thailand over His Majesty the King's diamond jubilee celebrations has not waned at all.
It seems this mood could linger until the celebration of His Majesty's birthday on December 5.
Posters of the King and the royal ceremonies of the jubilee celebration are in big demand.
It really is phenomenal.
This reminds me of my brief audience with His Majesty about 25 years ago.
If my memory serves me right this would be in 1981, one year before the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bangkok.
I was a third year student at Thammasat University's Faculty of Liberal Arts.
As a member of the TU Band, I played the electric organ.
There were more than a dozen members in the band, as well as four or five singers, and we had regular concerts.
We could perform all kinds of music, from luk thung (Thai traditional music with distinct rhythms), luk krung (modern Thai music), to western music and, of course, university songs such as Yung Thong, written to glorify Thammasat.
One day, the Chitrlada Radio Station invited the TU Band to perform a live concert.
The station, located within the Chitrlada Palace in Dusit, was one of His Majesty's experimental projects and broadcast quality programmes for the public.
The invitation was quite an honour for us.
Traditionally, the CU Band of Chulalongkorn University was closer to His Majesty the King than the TU Band.
The King, an avid musician, used to perform regularly with the CU Band.
We loaded our instruments onto a truck and took a 20-minute drive from Thammasat to the Chitrlada Palace.
Moving the instruments was quite labour intensive as we did not have anyone else to help us.
It was a warm afternoon as we reached the Chitrlada Palace's radio station building.
The one-storey building was spacious enough to have a dining area.
The broadcast studio was also large enough to hold 20-30 people.
We immediately set up our instruments and equipment -drums, organs, brass, amplifiers, microphones - and waited for the time to perform.
The
n an official told us that His Majesty was about to arrive and we should line up to greet him.
This was totally unexpected.
We all felt quite excited at this very rare opportunity to meet the King in person.
At the same time, we took a critical look at ourselves and asked whether we were properly dressed.
But it was too late to do anything.
We proceeded to the front of the radio station, formed a straight line and waited for the arrival of the King.
The
honorary head of TU Band then was Sung Autawasri.
We all called him Khru Sung (Teacher Sung).
He has already passed away.
Khru Sung played the violin and belonged to the same generation as Khru Ua Sunthornsanan, the leader of the Suntharaphorn Band.
Khru Sung joined us in time to greet the King.
The
n a Mazda car arrived.
It had a tall antenna spiking into the sky.
The King was driving the dark grey car himself, with an aide wearing a full military uniform sitting beside him.
The car stopped right in front of us.
We were feeling rather nervous.
Then the King emerged from the driver's side.
Our hearts almost stopped beating.
He was such a beautiful man in his mid-fifties.
He had a tan skin, almost dark to me.
He had strong muscles in his hands.
His shoulders were broad.
He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and grey trousers.
He held a walkie-talkie in his hand, which he talked into briefly before walking toward us.
We all bowed our heads.
His Majesty the King greeted Khru Sung.
He asked Khru Sung about his health and his age.
I could not hear everything as I was standing almost at the end of the line.
The
n Khru Sung dropped to his knees and waied the King.
His head almost touched the King's shoes.
Then the King walked toward our band leader, Phi Veeraphong.
Phi Veeraphong told the King something about our TU Band.
The King thanked us for coming over to perform at his radio station.
Then he walked into the radio station building.
An official, in uniform, dropped to his knees to help the King take off his shoes.
The King disappeared into one of the rooms in the radio station.
We all went back into the radio station building.
The official told us that food was ready to be served in the dining area.
We were glad.
One of us said jokingly: "Well, I cannot believe that I am going to eat Palace food.
" We all laughed.
The food was khao kaeng.
And it turned out to be one of the most memorable khao kaeng dishes in my life.
After the meal, we were ready to perform.
And we did perform rather well for about an hour, which was broadcast live.
Then we packed up and returned to Thammasat.
I still recall the happy memories of this event sometimes.
It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Thanong Khanthong
The
OVERDRIVE: A lesson for us all: hearing is believing
On
e of the main themes of His Majesty the King's speech on the eve of his 77th Birthday on December 4 was his concern about the hearing problem of the young generation.
HM the King said Thai youths aged 15-16 were spending so much time in noisy discotheques that they were developing hearing problems.
The government's Bt30 healthcare scheme would never be able to cover the budgetary shortfall that would occur in the event that large portions of this generation suddenly found they had to rely on hearing aids, he said.
If this were the case, the Thai youth could not be expected to grow up and succeed in their careers.
The King's message was subtle.
He would like the Thai people to develop their faculty of hearing.
Most people listen to music and other information, but they do not appreciate style and content or hear the underlying messages.
Indeed, listening is one of the most important faculties with which human beings have been endowed.
These days most Thai people get their knowledge about the outside world through their eyes, while their ears are under-utilised.
As the old saying goes, seeing is believing.
Thai people tend to be more impressed with what they see than what they hear.
Because their ears are not trained to listen to good music or sound information, the Thai people miss the aesthetic aspects of life and lack a good foundation for acquiring knowledge.
In short, if you have a good ear, listening is believing, too.
During his speech, HM the King recounted his experience at a recent encounter with a jazz group from New Orleans, Louisiana, the original hotbed of jazz music.
When he played jazz with the New Orleans ensemble, HM incorporated the ramwong style as he improvised his part.
Ramwong literally means Thai dance.
But it really represents a uniquely traditional form of Thai music played on a Thai scale, with a peculiar rhythm to accompany the festive dancing of villagers.
At the same time, the New Orleans players improvised their own parts, though using Western scales.
In this performance, Bangkok ramwong jazz and New Orleans jazz were suddenly interwoven.
We all know that HM the King is a jazz enthusiast and one of Thailand's pioneers in this lively style of music, as evidenced by his numerous, excellent compositions.
As a jazz musician, you have to have mastered your instrument.
In musical terms, you have to be a virtuoso.
A musical virtuoso is one who plays with flawless technique and imagination.
Jazz musicians improvise most of the music they play.
When a jazz musician improvises, he doesn't read notes, but plays according to his musical instincts.
Jazz ensembles only agree broadly on the scale or some chord progressions when they play together, and yet this is normally enough to turn out a dazzling performance.
When the performance with HM the King was finished, HM asked the New Orleans players whether they realised that he had been playing ramwong music with a Thai scale.
(The Thai scale is different from the standard scale developed by Western music.
) "They said they knew it because their ears were good.
They knew that it was ramwong music, although they did not know what ramwong was.
But they said when they travelled to Japan, they also played jazz in the Japanese style," HM the King said.
"In Japan, they have good jazz musicians.
I can't help listening to them.
When they play jazz, it really comes out with the Japanese scale.
So I said this was the Thai way.
We played jazz the Thai way, the Thai scale.
They were interested.
Now they have gone home and I understand that they will be studying the ramwong style of Thai jazz.
They said that next time they would play jazz in the New Orleans and Bangkok style," HM the King said.
"If they can really do it, we can be proud that we helped them to listen to Thai music.
They are good.
Their ears are good.
They play by ear.
They do not play by eyes.
They don't read notes.
They play by ear.
When I played with them, I also had to play by ear, not by eyes.
It was quite fun.
" HM the King's speech should inspire us to help the young generation develop their ears.
They should be guided to listen to good music and learn to differentiate good music from bad music.
There is an oceanic gap between a Bach fugue and a pop song.
Music is a discipline that helps us to appreciate beauty in its highest form.
If you want to know the truth, you go for science.
If you want to know virtue, you go for religion and philosophy.
If you want to know beauty, you go for the arts.
And of all the arts, music, which speaks to your senses as intelligently as words do, brings you the closest to the highest ideals of beauty.
Once you know truth, virtue and beauty, you are a complete person.
Again, hearing is believing too.
---------------------
Man of century
December 5, 1999 -- As he marks the Sixth Cycle Celebration today and looks forward to the 55th year of his reign, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has become the world's most popular and revered living monarch.
For more than half the century, he has become the living symbol of unity and stability, guiding Thailand through the uneventful period, from the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the domestic military and political upheavals, the struggling democracy to the economic crisis of the late 1990s.
Under his reign of constitutional monarchy Thailand has come mostly under the military regime. There have been 17 coups, of which seven are successful. The last one was staged in February 1992. And there have been a total of 23 prime ministers swearing an oath of office before him and struggling to form governments one after another.
As the political leaders may come and go, the monarch, as an institution, endures. For the King's existence and charisma guarantee the legitimacy of the existing social and property order. It also renders a necessary sense of continuity of the nation as a whole.
In the face of the periodic threats, from either the outside or the inside, to divide the country, the King has stepped in each time, privately or publicly, to provide the crucial leadership. In this way he acts as a pillar of political authority, albeit in a non-political way. And in doing so, he achieves the delicate task of asking for all contradictory elements to reconcile.
This is the essence, if not the mystique, of his kingship, forged through the years of his determination to attain perfection of all the virtues.
As keeper of the Buddhist faith, he reigns his country with the moral authority and righteousness.
Greatest Thai of the Century
Virtually, there are no other figures in the 20th century who have come to dominate the Thai life, the Thai institutions and the Thai culture like King Rama the Ninth of the Chakri Dynasty.
King Rama the Fifth, who abolished slavery and engineered the reform process that transformed Siam into a modern state, was considered one of the greatest Chakri kings and one of the most admirable figures of the 20th Century. Like his father, King Mongkut, or King Rama the Fourth, King Chulalongkorn had to deal with the colonial powers. He guided the old Siam through the dangerous period with shrewd diplomacy, helping the country to narrowly escape colonisation.
But, as pointed out by David K Wyatt in his Studies in Thai History, King Chulalongkorn, who reigned for 42 years until the year 1910, was largely a 19th Century figure, ranking among such world leaders as Garibaldi, Bismarck, Gladstone, Disraeli, the Meiji Emperor, Li Hung-chang, and Abraham Lincoln.
After King Chulalongkorn, the Chakri Dynasty, founded in 1782 by Phra Phutthayodfa Chulalok or King Rama the First, became weakened. In 1932, during the reign of King Prachathipok, or King Rama the Seventh, a revolution was staged and successfully toppled absolute monarchy. The Thai monarchy system, embedded for more than 700 years successively in the long Thai history, was in deep peril.
One of the leaders of this revolutionary movement was Pridi Phanomyong, father of the Thai democracy and another towering figure of the 20th Century. His main problem was that he was too far ahead of his time with his brilliant political and social ideas. Later Pridi became a subject of a political purge and ended his tragic life in exile.
The circumstances under which King Bhumibol Adulyadej came to the throne in 1946 were precarious. This followed the sudden death of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol or King Rama the Eighth. It was only 14 years after the Revolution. World War II just ended a year before. The military virtually dominated the political landscape.
As Anand Panyarachun, a former prime minister, told Asiaweek (Dec 3, 1999): "The current King came to the throne soon after the so-called revolution - the transformation of absolute power to constitutional democracy. He was in the picture at the most critical and sensitive times during this transition period. He had to walk the tightrope. And he has always delivered."
King Bhumibol Adulyadej set his sight on recreating the monarchy institution literally from scratch. He had virtually no economic, military or political support. But that allowed him, in his own unique way, to render a new dimension to the kingship he inherited. He reached out to the Thai people directly by focusing on social and economic development. He played a key role in introducing technology on farmland and water resource management to help improve the people's living conditions.
His charisma immediately earned him popular and unquestionable support from the Thai people.
It is from this stronghold of the grass-root support that the King has gradually strengthened his kingship and transformed it into a pragmatic monarchy institution, unprecedented in the modern era. In other words, he has been able to adjust his kingship, change it with time and retain its mythical attribute. Other institutions have found it more difficult to go through the structural changes.
Old Traditions vs Modernity
Two important events this year exemplify how the King stands at the centre of the two confrontational forces: the old traditions and modernity. As part of the Sixth Cycle Celebration, the King, on Nov 4th, revived the ancient tradition of a royal procession down the Chao Phya River with the glittering barges.
By doing so, the King revived the ancient tradition that dated back to the Ayudhya period. The King set sail on the Suphannahongse in the afternoon from the Vasukri pier to preside over the Kathin merit-making ceremony, marking the end of the Buddhist Lent, at the Temple of the Dawn.
Thousands of Thais flocked both sides of the Chao Phya River to witness this spectacular and most colourful event. There were a total of 52 barges featuring different august animals. Some had tears brimming in their eyes when they saw their King float by in the Suphannahongse. They almost unconsciously held their hands in the wai position.
In one of the old Thai tradition, parents, particularly the mothers, weep with joy when they witness their sons entering the monkhood. For the mothers believe that they can hang on the yellow robe of their sons to enter heaven after their death.
In this similar metaphor and imagery, the Thai people held their King at once as a symbol of a profound religious experience. The pictureque procession of the barges was almost surreal, like a mural painting that had been brought alive. Travelling from the Vasukri pier to the Temple of the Dawn, the King symbolically led the Thais from the realm of the world to the realm of the sacredness as part of the aim to attain supreme tranquility.
This royal ritual established a sense of identity, offering a transcendental experience into which the future and the past unite.
Another event was the commission, Nov 25th, of the Pasak Jolsid Dam, which provides irrigation and feed thousands of Thai families in the Pasak River Basin. The project, of which the King is so proud, covers Lopburi and a part of Saraburi.
Under his reign, the King initiated thousands of reservoir projects, mostly small and medium scale. But the Pasak Jolsid Dam is one of the large-scale projects, which can hold a maximum water level of 960 million cubic metres. The commission of this dam reinforces his readiness to employ modern technology to help improve the quality of life of his people.
About 70 per cent of the Thai are living in the agricultural sector, which however accounts for only 12 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. It is this sector of the population that he so cares about.
In 1993 the King made it known that he would like the dam built. Then he issued a prophetic note. He said by the time the dam was completed in 1999, he would be 72 and that he would go to Lopburi to open it if his health permitted.
His wish has been fulfilled.
"One-Reign" Subjects
When King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascended to the throne in 1946, there were only 20 million Thais. Now the Thai population has mushroomed to 62 million. Assuming that half of the 20 million born before his Coronation Year passed away, this means that some 52 million Thais are proud to claim that they are "one-reign" subjects, born in 1946 or thereafter.
Still, most of the now surviving 10 million of the 20 million must have been very young at that time. They have no way of remembering or can hardly recall how the Ninth Reign began. In this respect, the Ninth Reign has been embedded in the consciousness of the living Thais since the very beginning.
His pictures are placed on the walls practically in all the Thai homes. It is an enduring image, like the image of the omnipresent Buddha that all Thais grow up with.
It was the late MR Kukrit Pramoj, a former prime minister and a staunch royalist, who expounded how the Thai people identify their life span with the reign of the Thai kings, not with any other particular epochs. (Bill Clinton, the US president, identifies himself as a generation of baby-boomers born after World War II.)_
In his classic novel, The Four Reigns, Kukrit chronicled a life of a Thai lady, Ploi, whose life spanned between the reign of King Rama the Fifth and King Rama the Eighth. Ploi witnessed changes in the different reigns, from which she formed her frame of mind and values. It was an order that kept the Thai life together.
The fiction, based on a true story, ended by Ploi's receiving the news of the sudden demise of King Ananda Mahidol. She was completely shattered with the loss of this old order, could not cope with it and passed away shortly afterward. The Four Reigns is one the crown jewels of the Thai literature.
In the same spirit of The Four Reigns, the King Bhumibol has continued to provide the order for the Thai life through his longevity and the length of his reign.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej is well on his way to surpass King Rama the First in longevity. King Rama the First demised when he was 73 years old. Today, King Rama the Ninth observes his Sixth Cycle Celebration - each cycle comes with 12 years - or 72nd Birthday.
For the Thais, each cycle marks significant transformation of their life. When you reach 12, you are entering puberty. When you are 24, you are about to reach full adulthood and get ready for a marriage. When you are 36, you are at the height of your career and strength. When you are 48, your life is fully mature. When you are 60, you reach retirement. When you are 72, you are a complete man.
The year 1995 marked the 50th reign of His Majesty the King. But it was not until 1996 that he celebrated his Golden Jubilee. Now he is ending his 54th year of his reign and looking forward to the 55th year in the first year of the new millenium, or 2543 in the Thai Buddhist calendar.
King Bhumibol has already surpassed King Chulalongkorn in the length of his reign. He has become the longest reigning monarch of the Chakri Dynasty.
By Thanong Khanthong
On the eve of his 80th birthday, King Bhumibol Adulyadej finds himself even more popular and respected than ever.
In June last year, a sea of yellow - shirts, caps and scarves worn by almost a million Thais - greeted him during a public appearance on the 60th anniversary of his reign. The atmosphere was so electrifying that one could feel a shiver run through one's body.
The reserve power surrounding King Bhumibol is so awe-inspiring, beyond any worldly explanation, that any Thai is ready to fall on his or her knees to pay utmost respect to him. They love their King knowing full well that he is a good King; it's as simple as that.
Monarchs and heads of states from all over the world who were invited to bear witness to the grand celebrations of the King's 60th anniversary were amazed by his magnetic popularity among his people, a phenomenon that cannot be found elsewhere.
"My Thai girlfriend keeps on talking about the popularity of the King," said a foreign analyst working in Bangkok. "I am sure if a poll were to be held, his popularity would be almost 100 per cent."
About month ago, Thais gasped with worry over the health of His Majesty. The King was hospitalised at Siriraj Hospital, where incidentally HRH Princess Galayani Vadhana, his elder sister, had also been undergoing treatment. The people were relieved when His Majesty was discharged in good health, able to walk by himself.
The King's emergence from the hospital in a smart pink jacket instantly became a fixed and powerful image. There followed a public frenzy for pink T-shirts, which were quickly snapped up and declared out of stock.
The King has since returned to Siriraj Hospital to visit Princess Galayani, alternately wearing green and blue jackets. Again, Thais have been following news of the King's visits every step of the way.
The Ninth King of the Chakri Dynasty is the world's longest-reigning monarch. He has also broken all the records of his predecessors in the Chakri Dynasty. He has outlived all the previous Chakri kings. King Rama I, who founded Bangkok as the new capital in 1782, lived the second longest until 72 years of age.
King
Bhumibol has also reigned on the throne longer than any previous Chakri king. King Chulalongkorn, the King's grandfather, reigned for 42 years before passing away, leaving behind a legacy of sweeping legal and administrative reforms that set the stage for Siam to emerge as a modern state. Prince Chula Chakrabongse's, author of "Lords of Life: The Paternal Monarchy of Bangkok, 1782-1932", characterised the first seven Chakri kings in the first 150 years of the dynasty as the Founder, the Artist, the Ruler, the Enlightened, the Revolutionary, the Liberal and the Philosopher.
The prince did not expand his excellent history book to characterise Rama the Eighth, who passed away prematurely, and did not live long enough to witness the greatness of the reign of Rama the Ninth. He certainly would have ranked King Bhumibol as the greatest of all the Chakri kings.
King
Chulalongkorn faced a dilemma from Western colonialism. If he did not open up Siam to the outside world, the Kingdom would, like its neighbours, be devoured by colonial powers. If he were to open up Siam fully, the colonial powers would also win it all. It was not easy, yet King Chulalongkorn relied on a middle-ground policy of avoiding confrontation and agreeing to huge monetary and territorial settlements to prevent Siam from being colonised. The reign of King Bhumibol has faced a similar dilemma, first from the Cold War and second from globalisation. While Thailand emerged unscathed from the domino effect of communism, if it had failed to open up in the age of globalisation, it would have been left behind in terms of social and economic development. If it were to open up too much, it would have been taken over by outside interests at the expense of the poor. The little trick was to walk the middle path, or gradualism, which has been the hallmark policy of Siamese kings of the past.
King
Bhumibol has advocated sufficiency, a theory that has been gravely misunderstood by outsiders, as a way to maintain Thailand's integrity amid the forces of globalisation. Sufficiency is to have enough and not to take risks beyond one's ability to survive. Should there be any global shock, Thailand must survive by being able to stand on its own feet. The King has initiated several thousand projects to help the poor. Although he may be trapped by his office, his mind and his focus are always on the rural people. His 60-year reign can be characterised as a reign of justice and happiness for the rural people.
There are two aspects, which are most of the time intertwined, to the Thais' respect for the King. First, they respect the King as an individual. Second, they respect the institution of monarchy.
In a recent address to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun clarified these two points succinctly.
"I have often said that the status that our King has risen to after 60 years' reign is something that he has earned. It is not a hereditary thing. When he was made a King at the young age of 17 or 18, nobody knew what kind of King he was going to make. But I think that by his diligence and by his determination and dedication, he has developed into a very good King," Anand said.
"When you talk about our King, he is not only a great King, but he is a good King. I make this distinction, for you can be great man with so many shortcomings and so many faults, but when you say he is a good man, to me it means more. So to me, the fact that he is a good King personally means to me much more than that he is a great King. To be a good King, to be a good man, is something you have to earn. You do not inherit [it].
"So if you try to separate the person from the institution, yes, there is a big gap. Be that as it may, the institution of monarchy is very much ingrained into Thailand and into [the] Thai character. I have no doubt that the institution will remain intact and will go on," he said.
Thanong
Khanthong Published on August 31, 2007
Speaking the other day to a group of consul-generals and senior Thai diplomats at the Dusidalai Throne Hall, His Majesty the King expressed concern that some Thais who live or study abroad fail to speak Thai properly after they return home.
The Thai language is a national heritage that every Thai is obliged to preserve because it shows Thailand has been a civilised country longer than most other countries, even some in Europe, the King pointed out.
"You diplomats might feel sad that the Thai people who live abroad for a few days or for a short time can't speak Thai once they return home. Because they think that when they go abroad they have to learn how not to become Thai. I have sympathy for you in this case because you are diplomats. Those who go abroad for a few days, when they meet the ambassadors, they can't speak Thai. But the foreigners who meet you can speak Thai although they stayed in Thailand for only a short time. This sounds very strange," the King said. "But we have to understand that those who might never have thought of travelling abroad but have a chance to go abroad might feel that they have an inferiority complex. But most Thais do not have any inferiority complex. They are proud to be Thai because living in Thailand, becoming a Thai, they can learn that Thailand and the Thai people are good."
Since the King spent most of his youth studying in Switzerland, he had to catch up when learning how to read and write Thai. The King admitted that even when he was 18, he could not read or write Thai well. Fortunately, the Princess Mother always spoke to him in Thai. Later on he studied the Thai language until he mastered it.
If you read the King's books "Nai In Phu Pid Thong Lang Phra", "Tito" and "Phra Maha Chanaka", you recognise immediately that he is a master of Thai prose. He writes in short, succinct and very clear sentences, with comma and full stop markings. You may also call him a supreme prose stylist.
The King's message is that he would like the Thai people to be proud of their heritage and their civilisation. In fact, the Thai language was invented more than 700 years ago during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng of the Sukhothai period. It had a system of its own. Indeed, 700 years ago America had not been discovered by Europeans. King Ramkhamhaeng's reign coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, during which time that continent was regarded as still being somewhat backward.
"You diplomats must brainwash [those who forget the Thai language] that Thailand has had its own language for a long time. We have had our own culture for longer than several countries in Europe.
"Europe then was still in the 'Dark Ages', which means that civilisation had not yet been fully realised. Thailand was already a civilised country during the Middle Ages of Europe. We also have to tell those who think that Thailand is not a civilised country to have a better understanding that Thailand was already civilised and had its own language during the Middle Ages, while most others did not have their own languages," the King said.
In the late 1980s I visited MR Kukrit Pramoj at his beautiful Thai-style house in Soi Suan Plu. I asked him how he developed his exceptional skill in the Thai language. He told me that as a child in a big family, he was always asked to read for his mother and the other phuyai. He read out loud "Khun Chang Khun Phaen " and other Thai literary classics. "I was reading like a parrot, without knowing the real meaning. But gradually I absorbed these works," he said.
Before Mom Kukrit wrote his novels, he went back to read the old classics, to set his own temperament. He told me that he would have "Sam Kok " or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (Chao Phya Phraklang's edition) and "Rajathiraj" ("The King of All Kings") by his bed all the time. He would read passages from these two books in his head and try to absorb their styles, their expressions, their rhythms and their idioms. So when he sat down to write his novels, he got the "feel" or the flow of the language from these two classics.
Most people would say that his "Si Phaen Din " ("The Four Reigns") represents the crown jewel of Thai prose. But Kukrit told me that "Phama Sia Muang " ("The Burmese Lost Their Country") was his best. "Just read carefully and you'll feel that it has all the language of Rajathiraj," he told me.
Among contemporary Thais, I like to listen to MR Thanatsri Svastivat's way of speaking Thai. He has the Thai outlook and all the idioms in his Thai usage. I also used to have conversations with Chirayu Issarangun Na Ayutthaya, the director of the Crown Property Bureau. His manner and his way of expressing the Thai language was also very unique.
I feel ashamed that my Thai is very bad. I really need to go back to the classics and other old Thai writings to brush up my Thai - in thinking, style and substance.
Thanong
Khanthong Merits of sufficiency economiccs
His Majesty the King has once again urged the Thaksin government and the Thai public to adopt his sufficiency economic theory as a way out.
In his address on Sunday on the eve of his birthday, the King said: "People who are in trouble should take a look at royal projects based on the sufficiency economy.
The prime minister and spouses of some Cabinet ministers have practised it well and there seems to be nothing to worry about.
As regards to some deputy prime ministers, they might not have yet got into sufficiency economy since they are more accustomed to a big-spending economy.
"The prime minister and the first lady might be able to advise them on how to practise sufficiency economy to help the country save money.
The prime minister himself might also educate the House on sufficiency economy and the latter can subsequently educate other people.
" We are expected to hear more about sufficiency economy between now and next year, when the King celebrates his 60th anniversary on the throne.
Sufficiency economy is a precious gift from the King to the Thai people.
Indeed, the King understands the dangers of unfettered capitalism and had been sending warning signals in this regard since 1996.
In 1997, while Thailand was suffering badly from the economic crisis, the King emphasised his sufficiency economy, in which Thailand should avoid borrowing beyond its ability to pay, learn to live within its means and learn to utilise natural resources in order to obtain optimum results.
In short, regardless of any external shocks, Thailand should be able to stand on its own feet.
Sufficiency economy helps reduce the unwanted effects of globalisation.
According to the King's idea, it would be sufficient if we can reduce our dependence on the outside world from 100 per cent to 75 per cent.
In 1997, Thailand suffered from an economic crisis because the country had been living beyond its means.
It had borrowed too much short-term foreign money.
It invested too much in projects that did not yield returns.
When investors lost confidence in the country, they took their money out en masse, creating a severe credit crunch.
The baht crashed and the banking system collapsed.
This year the King has reminded us again about how not to get carried away by big money, big projects and big borrowing.
Sometimes sufficiency might put us in an uncomfortable situation because we have to live within our means and try to save money.
Yet it will protect us from bankruptcy and external shocks.
A close look at the Thaksin government's policies clearly shows that they are all about big projects and ambitious targets.
It used to brag about achieving economic growth rates of 7-8 per cent (where were these government people when we faced the 1997 crisis?).
Now it is highlighting mega-projects of more than Bt1.
3 trillion.
This government has been spending money wastefully on other pet projects that have little impact on the country's long-term growth.
Corruption is rampant.
The quick-fix mentality is still there.
The Thai people have saddled themselves with more debt.
Consumerism is unchecked.
Initially, the Thaksin government tried to cope with globalisation through its dual-track economy.
The dual-track economy calls for a balancing out between domestic demand and exports.
As it turns out, domestic demand, buoyed by easy money, has led to indebtedness among rural people.
And it has been proved that over the past four years, the Thai economic recovery has been boosted mainly by exports.
The Thaksin government, through its populist policies, has failed to invest in people and in projects that create jobs and raise incomes.
It has only succeeded in boosting consumption and indebtedness.
To maintain Thailand's high economic growth rate, you might have already noticed that the Thaksin government has shifted its policy toward further economic liberalisation.
Bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) have become the weapons of choice for stimulating trade and investment.
Nobody has studied the impact of the FTAs, yet this government has already taken Thailand down the path of no return.
Second, the dual-track economy of the Thaksin government has failed in the face of globalisation.
It can't keep economic growth going.
And you have also begun to notice that the key economic policy of this government is to boost foreign direct investment, exports and tourism.
Third, democracy has also become a big challenge to the Thaksin government.
The Sondhi phenomenon has forced the government to totally rethink its approach on public policy and governance.
The King must have foreseen the difficult road ahead for Thailand if it keeps on engaging the world like this without realising its limits and potentials.
Sufficiency economy is not only the way out for the country but also for society, companies and families.
Thanong Khanthong
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------thanong khanthong <thanongkhanthong@gmail.com> Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 12:28 AM To: thanongkhanthong@gmail.com, naiisan@hotmail.com Majestic splendour
November 5, 1999 -- THE grandeur of the reign of King Rama IX was further enhanced yesterday by the revival of the ancient tradition of a Royal procession down the Chao Phya River with glittering barges featuring different august animals.
There is perhaps nothing more picturesque than this Royal Barge Procession, which is at once a festival of colour and mythical splendour. The procession evokes a sense of continuity just like the great river, a connection with the glories past, the grandeur that was Ayudhya and the magnificence that is Krungthep. It is an awe-inspiring event that reflects the rich cultural heritage of Thailand.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, upholder of the Buddhist faith, used the traditional transport by setting sail on the Suphannahongse in the afternoon from the Vasukri pier to preside over the Kathin merit-making ceremony, marking the end of Buddhist Lent, at the Temple of the Dawn.
A slight drizzle at the beginning of the ceremony gave it an auspicious, tranquil and refreshing prelude. By the time the procession sailed from the Vasukri pier, the sky had cleared. On both sides of the river, Thais and foreigners marvelled at the spectacle. Tears of joy brimmed in many eyes as the beloved monarch pointed his camera at his loyal subjects.
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn also accompanied the King in another barge, the Narai Song Suban, in the procession that was made up of a total of 52 vessels and extended to about one kilometre.
The spectacular procession moved in parallel rows, a formation evolved from traditional military manoeuvres on rivers. Some of the barges were also equipped with cannons, a demonstration of the power of the Kingdom.
The Suphannahongse glided elegantly on the mighty Chao Phya River or River of the Kings, reminiscent of a poem in the famous Royal barge songs composed by Prince Thammathibes, the foremost poet, during the Ayudhya period.
Prince Thammathibes wrote:
Golden Hansa with pendant
Delicately rests on the water,
Like the bird-carriage of the Great Brahma,
Gorgeously making its way.
And when the Suphannahongse began its journey, at times looking as if it was skimming the surface of the water, a boat song composed by Commander R N Thongyoi Saengsingchai was sung in extended rhythm to glorify the occasion. This was also reminiscent of Prince Thammathibes' Royal Barge songs, which go as follows:
''Music is loud and cacophonous
Amongst singers and revellers
Shouting and merry-making
Everybody is enjoying.
The magnificent fleet sails out
From the capital city;
It delights the heart to see
Fish of all species in great number.
In the old days, between the end of the Buddhist Lent to the day of the full-moon, which lasts about a month, the Ayudhya Kings traditionally performed the presentation of robes to monks in the Kathin Ceremony as part of the Buddhist ritual.
During this period of high tides, the Kings travelled by barge to the royally-patronised temples to fulfil their duties.
The Kathin Ceremony is of great significance to the Kings, considered the paramount keeper of Buddhism. The occasion also permits oarsmen, mostly sailors, to work on their muscles and their craft in preparation for unexpected wars.
The Royal Barge Procession, which can be traced back to the Sukhothai period, was in vogue until 1932, the year of the revolution that ended the absolute monarchy.
The procession on water served three purposes: the Kings going to war against enemies, the Kings' travelling to royally-sponsored temples to participate in the merit-making ceremony and the Kings' making a pilgrimage to Buddha's Foot Print in Saraburi.
It was King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who in 1959 revived the royal procession on water. The King sees in this procession a great tradition that must be safeguarded to dignify Thailand.
Still, the Royal Barge Procession is a rare event, having taken place only five times, including yesterday's, during his reign.
It also served as an overture to the grand celebration of His Majesty the King's birthday on Dec 5. Already His Majesty has surpassed all other Kings in the Chakri Dynasty in the greatness of his reign.
By Thanong Khanthong
OVERDRIVE: As a teacher, the King enriches our lives
There are many facets to the personality of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
He is at once a monarch and a ruler, a scientist and an inventor, a musician and a composer, a photographer and a painter, a writer and a translator, a developer and a conservationist, a pragmatist and a theorist, a humanist and an idealist.
In these roles he excels, all in a grand Buddhist tradition.
Even more so, the King is a teacher, a role that has necessarily grown out of his virtuous reign.
He constantly provides counsel, gives direction and exemplifies the righteous path to his people so that they achieve the various tasks of their worldly life in the most simple, yet methodological way.
In this respect, the King is following the path of the Lord Buddha.
The Lord Buddha is quintessentially the greatest teacher of all time.
His teaching provides a moral foundation for the people to live in peace, with a harmony of mind and body.
If one only does good deeds, refrains from doing bad ones and maintains a joyful spirit all the time, he is considered a virtuous man.
And this can be realised without any need of ritual.
Since the Lord Buddha has attained nirvana, he is completely removed from samsara, the cycle of birth, suffering and death.
Therein lies the Lord Buddha's greatest teaching.
For the Lord Buddha seeks to lead people to attain enlightenment or to arrive at redemption.
For the past 55 years of his reign, the King has developed his role as a selfless teacher.
Through more than 2,000 development projects, he gives his people technical advice – a knowledge he acquires from observation, research and experimentation – on how to improve their livelihood and provides them with moral guidance on how to live sufficiently but happily.
Thais have always had great respect for teachers.
The supreme teacher is the Lord Buddha.
Montri Umavijani keenly observes the role of the Buddha as a teacher in his "Epilogue: My Teacher", published in "Facets of Thai Cultural Life" (Kurusapa Business Organisation, 2000).
"The Thai did not start with a personal god; they started with a personal teacher.
From the beginning, monks figured prominently as teachers, so monks were greatly respected.
"That reverence has been handed down since the Sukhothai period.
Monks do not just teach Buddhist doctrines, they become an integral part of people's lives.
Significantly, they are called Luang Por (father) Luang Ta (maternal grandfather) or Luang Pu (paternal grandfather)," he writes.
Luang Por Khoon from Nakhon Rachasima and Luang Ta Mahabua of Udon Thani are examples of teachers who have a multitude of followers and who cast a great influence over the beliefs of the Thai populace.
"We reach the Buddha through the monks, who are neither paternalistic nor officious.
The Buddha himself is understood to be a monk – to be the teacher he once was and always will be," Montri adds.
Like the Lord Buddha, the King's image is ubiquitous.
He is alive and everywhere, residing in the consciousness of the Thais.
So, on December 4, when he spoke about "disaster", a general decline in Thailand and the prevailing existence of "double standards", the King acted as a teacher cautioning his students, particularly Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on how to improve themselves and accomplish results.
By doing so, the King also set an agenda on a reassessment of the state of the country as a whole.
Since the King reigns with virtue, it follows that he is also a virtuous teacher.
And as a virtuous teacher, he speaks with credibility.
Thanong Khathong The Nation
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