Santi Asoke
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The Santi Asoke sect of Theravada Buddhism was established by the television entertainer and songwriter Phra Bodhirak after a transcendental experience. Described by Donald Swearer as “a radical sectarian movement” that “reflects the forest tradition’s ideals of simplicity,” the tradition also claimed an early influence from Buddhadasa, which it later rejected.
Santi Asoke adheres to a strictly moral-based community, following the Theravada precepts with ten extra codes for monks and lay followers. It extols the virtues of anti-materialism and anti-consumerism, preaching “eat little; use little” with an emphasis that can be expressed as “work a lot, save the rest for the society”.
More radical than Dhammakaya and Buddhadasa schools, Santi Asoke is anti-establishment, actively questioning the role and actions of the Thai government. The sect split from the Thai sangha in response to disapproval regarding their independent practices, and remains a separate movement. Many Thais embraced the movement’s critique of their society, but others were put off by the “outspoken manner and flagrant disregard for Thai ecclesiastical law” that later led to Bodhirak’s arrest (Swearer,139).
While the movement initially continued to grow, in June, 1989 Phra Bodhirak and seventy-nine other ordained followers were arrested, and a number of monks were defrocked, possibly weakening the movement irreparably, although it still maintains a presence in Thai Buddhism.
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