Word: srivaraksa
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...crisis long in the making. According to Sulak Srivaraksa, a social critic and Buddhist activist, its roots lie in the rise of materialism and state control of the religion. Both began in earnest half a century ago when Thailand started fervently pursuing Western-style development. The military government employed slogans such as "work is money, money is happiness." Those messages were antithetical to Buddhism, which teaches that suffering is quelled by rejecting material desires. In its constitutional role as protector of the state religion, the government began co-opting the clergy into supporting its new consumer culture...
| 1 |