1 In coining the phrase “law as a cultural system” and in the discussion that follows, my purpose is not to present a simple restatement of Geertz's ideas. Rather, I am using my reading of his essays to generate insights that will be useful for my own purposes.

2 For an excellent discussion that develops this point see O'Connor 1980.

3 The early development of this notion, which is basic to any adequate understanding of Theravada Buddhism in general and Thai Buddhism in particular, is spelled out in my tide essay in Obeyesekere, Reynolds, & Smith 1972.

4 For an excellent discussion of Vinaya discourse that deals with both dimensions, see Holt 1981.

5 This myth tells of a time when Mahasammata (the first king, whose name or title means “Great Elect”) confronts the need to restrain the chaotic conditions that had developed among his people. According to the story, an adviser named Manu enters into a meditative state, travels to the wall of the universe in which we live, and finds there—written on the wall—the legal code that he is seeking. When Manu emerges from his meditative trance, he remembers what he saw and proceeds to make available the Dhammathat or Dhamma commentary.

6 In the Theravada kingdoms where the Dhammathat was established as the basic code of law, it was supplemented by additional laws enacted by kings and their advisers. I discuss the kinds of supplementary laws and the differences among various Southeast Asian traditions in Reynolds 1990.

7 Premodern Thai kings were also closely involved with religions other than Buddhism. In most cases they supported certain aspects of Brahmanism and certain aspects of the local spirit-cult traditions. They also had connections of varying intensity with non-Buddhist traditions, such as Islam and Christianity. See Yoneo Ishii's essay in this volume.

8 A Thai word for “custom” is thamniam, whose direct linguistic association with Dhamma is obvious.

9 The Phi Bun were charismatic leaders who were perceived to have great supernatural power because of the great merit they had earned in past lives.

10 Geertz takes his contrast between “normal” (or “standard”) discourse and abnormal“ (or nonstandard) discourse from the philosopher Richard Rorty. In passages quoted by Geertz (1983:222–23), Rorty defines normal discourse as ”any discourse (scientific, political, theological or whatever) which embodies agreed upon criteria for reaching agreement“ and abnormal discourse as ”what happens when someone joins in the discourse who is ignorant of these conventions or sets them aside.“

11 For a general discussion of civic religion and the relevant Thai material, see Reynolds 1971, 1977.

12 The emergence of the notion of a differentiated form of civic religion in the context of the Western Enlightenment and the French Revolution is discussed in Robert Bellah's famous essay, “Civil Religion in America,” in Bellah 1970.

13 The association between the notion of a constitution and the notion of Dhamma is signaled by the inclusion of Thamma (the Thai rendering of Dhamma) in the word Ratthathammanun itself.

14 According to traditional practice, a monk can come under the jurisdiction of the secular authorities only after he has been defrocked by the order of monks.

15 In recent years there has been much debate on the status of “nuns” within the Sangha in Thailand. The debate includes discussions of the mae ji (white-robed women who have taken Buddhist vows)—who have been a part of Thai Buddhism for several hundred years at least—and disagreements over the attempts, on a very small scale so far, to establish an order of bhikkuni (fully ordained Buddhist nuns). The bhikkuni order played an important role in early Buddhism but never—so far as can be determined—was a part of traditional Buddhism in Thailand. For a discussion of these very important matters from the point of view of an involved feminist see Chatsumarn Kabilsingh 1991, esp. pp. 36-66.

16 For an excellent account of this incorporation in the north of Thailand, see Keyes 1971.

17 The meditative technique, which seems to have close affinities with certain practices of Esoteric Buddhism, involves a process through which the practitioner attains a vision of the Dhammakaya (the Dhamma body of the Buddha, equated with Ultimate Reality). With further meditation on the Dhammakaya, the practitioner is able—according to the Dhammakaya teaching—to achieve the highest Buddhist goal: Nibbana, or Release.

18 The emphasis in the Dhammakaya is not exclusively nationalistic. To the contrary, the strong emphasis on Thai nationalism is combined with an evangelistic mission to spread its Buddhist message worldwide.

19 Chamlong Srimuang, who is an outspoken member of Santi Asoke, is a successful political figure who was for many years the governor of Bangkok. His affiliation with Santi Asoke is well known, and his integrity and ascetic life-style are widely praised and admired. According to a national poll taken in early 1992, he was, among possible candidates for the post of prime minister, the one who—apart from the incumbent—had the most popular support.

20 I have taken the term from a publication by Sulak Sivaraksa (1988).

21 Although Buddhism in mainland Southeast Asia developed its own system of secular law, this situation is not typical of Buddhism as such. In most areas at most times, Buddhists have more or less accepted the secular law of the society in which they live. Muslims, throughout most of their history in most areas where they have lived, have, in contrast, insisted very strongly on utilizing their own Islamic tradition of secular law.

22 I am limiting my discussion of these issues because the most relevant points are treated in some detail in the excellent essay by Yoneo Ishii in this volume.

23 For example, public warnings were issued, and the police ransacked the house of the local leader of the group.

24 An interesting situation developed in Chiang Mai in the early 20th century when the responsibility for the still-active cult of the regional phi, previously maintained by the descendants of the local kings, was transferred to villagers in the area where the central rituals were performed. It is very probable that further research would reveal developments of this type in other areas of the country.

25 Rosalind Morris, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, expects to complete her research on these urban cults in Chiang Mai late in 1994.

26 Cornelia Kammerer first mentioned this point to me in a discussion about the Akha. The idea that this very revealing translation practice might apply in the case of other tribal groups was confirmed in a subsequent conversation with Sue Darlington.

27 Insofar as Cornelia Kammerer's (1990) analysis is relevant to the issues that concern us here, it suggests that the inherited religious traditions that encompass both religion and law are being—in some cases at least—replaced by a more differentiated pattern that combines two distinct elements. The first is a religious commitment to a distinctively Akha Christianity, which (like most other forms of Christianity) allows for the concentration of the central practices of the religious life in a specifically religious sphere. The second is an acceptance of many aspects of Thai culture, including the modern Thai system of secular law.