Monday, October 8, 2012
Soraj Hongladarom
If Thai culture is to surge forward and remain responsive to the changes brought about by world conditions, then it has to become adaptive. … If one believes that Buddhism provides every answer, then one does not need to think for oneself. If one believes that the authority that can provide justification for philosophical believes comes from Buddhism alone, then it seems that one is not as responsive to the external circumstances as one should. … To depend wholly on Buddhism, believing that it can provide a real solution, then, would only mask the tendency to stop thinking and finding answers for oneself and for ones own society.
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How is Thai Philosophy Possible?
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http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~hsoraj/web/Thai.html
If Thai culture is to surge forward and remain responsive to the changes brought about by world conditions, then it has to become adaptive. This does not merely mean that Thai culture has to change and embrace elements from foreign cultures; Thai culture is always doing that at the moment. But what needs to change is the feeling of complacency in regarding Buddhism as providing solution to every possible philosophical problem there is. To be complacent in thinking means one is stuck in ones own attitudes and ideas and cannot see beyond them. If one believes that Buddhism provides every answer, then one does not need to think for oneself. If one believes that the authority that can provide justification for philosophical believes comes from Buddhism alone, then it seems that one is not as responsive to the external circumstances as one should. For philosophy does not limit itself only to the primary concerns of Buddhism, it is much broader, and concerns itself more with the complexities of the mundane world than the religion does. Thus, for some vexing philosophical problems having a strong bearing on the lives of people such as the problem of just distribution of limited resources, there does not seem to be a clear cut answer. To depend wholly on Buddhism, believing that it can provide a real solution, then, would only mask the tendency to stop thinking and finding answers for oneself and for ones own society. The present circumstances in the world, with their interconnections of every part and their strongly dynamic activities, demand that members of each society be alert, active and responsive to change. Philosophy, in my conception at least, has a role in creating such an atmosphere.
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