title: History of aluminium

text: During World War II, production peaked again, exceeding 1,000,000 metric tons for the first time in 1941. Aluminium was used heavily in aircraft production and was a strategic material of extreme importance; so much so that when Alcoa (successor of Hall's Pittsburgh Reduction Company and the aluminium production monopolist in the United States at the time) did not expand its production, the United States Secretary of the Interior proclaimed in 1941, "If America loses the war, it can thank the Aluminum Corporation of America". In 1939, Germany was the world's leading producer of aluminium; the Germans thus saw aluminium as their edge in the war. Aluminium coins continued to be used but while they symbolized a decline on their introduction, by 1939, they had come to represent power. (In 1941, they began to be withdrawn from circulation to save the metal for military needs.) After the United Kingdom was attacked in 1940, it started an ambitious program of aluminium recycling; the newly appointed Minister of Aircraft Production appealed to the public to donate any household aluminium for airplane building. The Soviet Union received 328,100 metric tons of aluminium from its co-combatants from 1941 to 1945; this aluminium was used in aircraft and tank engines. Without these shipments, the output of the Soviet aircraft industry would have fallen by over a half.


title: History of aluminium

text: After the wartime peak, world production fell for three late-war and post-war years but then regained its rapid growth. In 1954, the world output equaled 2,810,000 metric tons; this production surpassed that of copper, historically second in production only to iron, making it the most produced non-ferrous metal.


title: History of aluminium

text: Earth's first artificial satellite, launched in 1957, consisted of two joined aluminium hemispheres. All subsequent spacecraft have used aluminium to some extent. The aluminium can was first manufactured in 1956 and employed as a container for drinks in 1958. In the 1960s, aluminium was employed for the production of wires and cables. Since the 1970s, high-speed trains have commonly used aluminium for its high strength-to-weight ratio. For the same reason, the aluminium content of cars is growing.


title: History of aluminium

text: By 1955, the world market had been dominated by the Six Majors: Alcoa, Alcan (originated as a part of Alcoa), Reynolds, Kaiser, Pechiney (merger of Compagnie d'Alais et de la Camargue that bought Deville's smelter and Société électrométallurgique française that hired Héroult), and Alusuisse (successor of Héroult's Aluminium Industrie Aktien Gesellschaft); their combined share of the market equaled 86%. From 1945, aluminium consumption grew by almost 10% each year for nearly three decades, gaining ground in building applications, electric cables, basic foils and the aircraft industry. In the early 1970s, an additional boost came from the development of aluminium beverage cans. The real price declined until the early 1970s; in 1973, the real price equaled $2,130 per metric ton (in 1998 United States dollars). The main drivers of the drop in price was the decline of extraction and processing costs, technological progress, and the increase in aluminium production, which first exceeded 10,000,000 metric tons in 1971.


title: History of aluminium

text: In the late 1960s, governments became aware of waste from the industrial production; they enforced a series of regulations favoring recycling and waste disposal. Söderberg anodes, which save capital and labor to bake the anodes but are more harmful to the environment (because of a greater difficulty in collecting and disposing of the baking fumes), fell into disfavor, and production began to shift back to the pre-baked anodes. The aluminium industry began promoting the recycling of aluminium cans in an attempt to avoid restrictions on them. This sparked recycling of aluminium previously used by end-consumers: for example, in the United States, levels of recycling of such aluminium increased 3.5 times from 1970 to 1980 and 7.5 times to 1990. Production costs for primary aluminium grew in the 1970s and 1980s, and this also contributed to the rise of aluminium recycling. Closer composition control and improved refining technology diminished the quality difference between primary and secondary aluminium.


title: History of aluminium

text: In the 1970s, the increased demand for aluminium made it an exchange commodity; it entered the London Metal Exchange, the world's oldest industrial metal exchange, in 1978. Since then, aluminium has been traded for United States dollars and its price fluctuated along with the currency's exchange rate. The need to exploit lower-grade poorer quality deposits and fast increasing input costs of energy, but also bauxite, as well as changes in exchange rates and greenhouse gas regulation, increased the net cost of aluminium; the real price grew in the 1970s.


title: History of aluminium

text: The increase of the real price, and changes of tariffs and taxes, began the redistribution of world producers' shares: the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan accounted for nearly 60% of world's primary production in 1972 (and their combined share of consumption of primary aluminium was also close to 60%); but their combined share only slightly exceeded 10% in 2012. The production shift began in the 1970s with production moving from the United States, Japan, and Western Europe to Australia, Canada, the Middle East, Russia, and China, where it was cheaper due to lower electricity prices and favorable state regulation, such as low taxes or subsidies. Production costs in the 1980s and 1990s declined because of advances in technology, lower energy and alumina prices, and high exchange rates of the United States dollar.


title: History of aluminium

text: In the 2000s, the BRIC countries' (Brazil, Russia, India and China) combined share grew from 32.6% to 56.5% in primary production and 21.4% to 47.8% in primary consumption. China has accumulated an especially large share of world production, thanks to an abundance of resources, cheap energy, and governmental stimuli; it also increased its share of consumption from 2% in 1972 to 40% in 2010. The only other country with a two-digit percentage was the United States with 11%; no other country exceeded 5%. In the United States, Western Europe and Japan, most aluminium was consumed in transportation, engineering, construction, and packaging.


title: History of aluminium

text: In the mid-2000s, increasing energy, alumina and carbon (used in anodes) prices caused an increase in production costs. This was amplified by a shift in currency exchange rates: not only a weakening of the United States dollar, but also a strengthening of the Chinese yuan. The latter became important as most Chinese aluminium was relatively cheap.


title: History of aluminium

text: World output continued growing: in 2013, annual production of aluminium exceeded 50,000,000 metric tons. In 2015, it was a record 57,500,000 metric tons. Aluminium is produced in greater quantities than all other non-ferrous metals combined. Its real price (in 1998 United States dollars) in 2015 was $1,340 per metric ton ($1,940 per ton in contemporary dollars).


title: Actually

text: Actually (stylised as Pet Shop Boys, actually.) is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in North America. According to Neil Tennant and music historian Wayne Studer, "Actually" loosely critiques Thatcherism, the political zeitgeist of the 1980s, and was recorded in anticipation of Margaret Thatcher's re-election.


title: Actually

text: "Actually" is featured in the 2005 musical reference book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and has been recognised in various other 'must-listen' lists. In 2006, "Q" magazine placed the album at number 22 in its list of the "40 Best Albums of the '80s". In 2012, "Slant Magazine" listed the album at number 88 on its list of the "Best Albums of the 1980s". In 2020, "Rolling Stone" placed it at number 435 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".


title: Actually

text: "Actually" was released on 7 September 1987 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by EMI Manhattan in the United States and Canada. In television commercials for the release, Lowe and Tennant were shown in black tie, blank-faced against a white background. The former seems unimpressed by a radio DJ-style Alan 'Fluff' Freeman voiceover listing their previous hits and new singles from "Actually", while the latter eventually "gets bored" and yawns, with the image then freezing to create, roughly, the album's cover shot.


title: Actually

text: "Actually" spawned four UK top 10 singles: the number-one single "It's a Sin", "Rent", "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"—a duet with fellow Parlophone artist Dusty Springfield, which peaked at number two in both the UK and US and led to a resurgence of interest in Springfield's earlier work—and another UK number one in April 1988 with a remixed version of the song "Heart".


title: Actually

text: During this period Pet Shop Boys also completed a full-length motion picture called "It Couldn't Happen Here". Featuring songs by the duo, it was most famous for containing the video for "Always on My Mind" (starring Joss Ackland as a blind priest), which—while not on "Actually—"was released as a single during this period.


title: Actually

text: "Actually" was re-released in 2001 (as were most of the duo's albums up to that point) as "Actually/Further Listening 1987–1988". The reissue was digitally remastered and included a second disc of B-sides, remixes done by Pet Shop Boys and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Another re-release followed on 9 February 2009 under the title of "Actually: Remastered", containing only the 10 tracks of the original release. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 two-disc reissue was discontinued. On 2 March 2018, a new remastered two-disc "Actually"/"Further Listening" edition was released; the content remains the same as the 2001 edition.


title: Actually

text: "Actually" was well received by critics. In December, 1987, Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" praised it as "actual pop music with something actual to say—pure commodity, and proud of it." In his retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "Actually" is the album where "the Pet Shop Boys perfected their melodic, detached dance-pop."


title: Actually

text: Although not released as a single, the track "Shopping" is frequently featured as background music in British television news and current affairs programmes dealing with retail business issues and as bumper music on home shopping shows. This is despite the fact that the song is actually a critique of privatisation in 1980s Britain, and has little to do with actual shopping. "Shopping" was also used in a season 1 episode of the Disney Channel television series "Lizzie McGuire". "King's Cross" served in the Japanese media as a commercial song to the Aurex's (owned by Toshiba) cassette tape recorder model XDR.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: Pablo Fornals Malla (; born 22 February 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club West Ham United and the Spain national team.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: He amassed La Liga totals of 129 matches and 12 goals over four seasons, with Málaga and Villarreal. In 2019, he signed with West Ham United.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: Born in Castellón de la Plana, Valencian Community, Fornals joined Málaga CF's youth setup in 2012 at the age of 16, from CD Castellón. He made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2014–15 season, in Tercera División.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: Fornals' first competitive match with the first team – and in La Liga – occurred on 26 September 2015, when he started in a 0–0 away draw against Real Madrid. Two months and two days later, he scored his first top-flight goal in a 2–2 draw with Andalusian neighbours Granada CF at La Rosaleda Stadium, finding the net four minutes after replacing Duda.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: On 24 July 2017, having paid his own €12 million buyout clause to leave Málaga, Fornals moved to fellow league side Villarreal CF, a club he already represented as a youth, agreeing to a five-year contract. The following 13 January, he scored a late chip after a counterattack to give his new team their first-ever win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (1–0).


title: Pablo Fornals

text: On 26 September 2018, Fornals opened the scoring in a league fixture away to Athletic Bilbao with a dipping volley from 50 yards, in an eventual 3–0 victory.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: On 14 June 2019, Fornals signed for West Ham United on a five-year contract for a transfer fee reported to be £24 million, making him the English club's second most expensive signing. He made his Premier League debut on 10 August, in a 5–0 home defeat by Manchester City coming on as a half-time substitute for Michail Antonio. He scored his first goal for his new team on 27 August, in a 2–0 victory over Newport County for the second round of the EFL Cup.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: On 28 March 2016, Fornals won his first cap with the Spain under-21s by playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win against Norway at the Estadio Nueva Condomina. On 17 May, he was called up to the full squad by Vicente del Bosque for a friendly with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He made his debut 12 days later, replacing Mikel San José in the 3–1 victory at the AFG Arena in St. Gallen, Switzerland.


title: Pablo Fornals

text: Fornals was a member of the team which won the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June. In the tournament held in Italy and San Marino, he scored in group stage defeats of Belgium (2–1) and Poland (5–0).


title: Pablo Fornals

text: In June 2021, Fornals was called up as a standby for Spain’s UEFA Euro 2020 squad following Sergio Busquets' positive test for COVID-19. Making his first start on 8 September, against Kosovo in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier, he scored his first goal for the national side when he opened a 2–0 win in Pristina.


title: West Country English

text: West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of South West England, the area sometimes popularly known as the West Country.


title: West Country English

text: The West Country is often defined as encompassing the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, the City of Bristol, and Gloucestershire. However, the northern and eastern boundaries of the area are hard to define. In the adjacent counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Berkshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire it is possible to encounter similar accents and, indeed, much the same distinct dialect but with some similarities to others in neighbouring regions. Although natives of such locations, especially in rural parts, can still have West Country influences in their speech, the increased mobility and urbanisation of the population has meant that in the more populous counties of Worcestershire, Berkshire, Hampshire (including the Isle of Wight), and Oxfordshire the dialect itself, as opposed to various local "accents", is becoming increasingly rare.


title: West Country English

text: Academically the regional variations are considered to be dialectal forms. The "Survey of English Dialects" captured manners of speech across the South West region that were just as different from Standard English as any from the far North of England. There is some influence from the Welsh and Cornish languages depending on the specific location.


title: West Country English

text: In literary contexts, most of the usage has been in either poetry or dialogue, to add "local colour". It has rarely been used for serious prose in recent times, but was used much more extensively up until the 19th century. West Country dialects are commonly represented as "Mummerset", a kind of catchall southern rural accent invented for broadcasting.


title: West Country English

text: Until the 19th century, the West Country and its dialects were largely protected from outside influences, due to its relative geographical isolation. While standard English derives from the Old English Mercian dialects, the West Country dialects derive from the West Saxon dialect, which formed the earliest English language standard. Thomas Spencer Baynes claimed in 1856 that, due to its position at the heart of the Kingdom of Wessex, the relics of Anglo-Saxon accent, idiom and vocabulary were best preserved in the Somerset dialect.


title: West Country English

text: The dialects have their origins in the expansion of Anglo-Saxon into the west of modern-day England, where the kingdom of Wessex (West-Saxons) had been founded in the 6th century. As the Kings of Wessex became more powerful they enlarged their kingdom westwards and north-westwards by taking territory from the British kingdoms in those districts. From Wessex, the Anglo-Saxons spread into the Celtic regions of present-day Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire, bringing their language with them. At a later period Cornwall came under Wessex influence, which appears to become more extensive after the time of Athelstan in the 10th century. However the spread of the English language took much longer here than elsewhere.


title: West Country English

text: Outside Cornwall, it is believed that the various local dialects reflect the territories of various West Saxon tribes, who had their own dialects


title: West Country English

text: As Lt-Col. J. A. Garton observed in 1971, traditional Somerset English has a venerable and respectable origin, and is not a mere "debasement" of Standard English:


title: West Country English

text: In some cases, many of these forms are closer to modern Saxon (commonly called Low German/Low Saxon) than Standard British English is, e.g.


title: West Country English

text: The use of masculine and sometimes feminine, rather than neuter, pronouns with non-animate referents also parallels Low German, which unlike English retains grammatical genders. The pronunciation of "s" as "z" is also similar to Low German. However, recent research proposes that some syntactical features of English, including the unique forms of the verb "to be", originate rather with the Brythonic languages. (See "Celtic Language Influence" below.)


title: West Country English

text: In more recent times, West Country dialects have been treated with some derision, which has led many local speakers to abandon them or water them down. In particular it is British comedy which has brought them to the fore outside their native regions, and paradoxically groups such as The Wurzels, a comic North Somerset/Bristol band from whom the term Scrumpy and Western music originated, have both popularised and made fun of them simultaneously. In an unusual regional breakout, the Wurzels' song "The Combine Harvester" reached the top of the UK charts in 1976, where it did nothing to dispel the "simple farmer" stereotype of Somerset and West Country folk. It and all their songs are sung entirely in a local version of the dialect, which is somewhat exaggerated and distorted. Some words used aren't even typical of the local dialect. For instance, the word "nowt" is used in the song "Threshing Machine". This word is generally used in more northern parts of England, with the West Country equivalent being "nawt".


title: West Country English

text: Although the English language gradually spread into Cornwall after approximately the 13th century, a complete language shift to English took centuries more. The linguistic boundary, between English in the east and Cornish in the west, shifted markedly in the county between 1300 and 1750 (see figure). This is not to be thought of as a sharp boundary and it should not be inferred that there were no Cornish speakers to the east of a line, and no English speakers to the west. Nor should it be inferred that the boundary suddenly moved a great distance every 50 years.


title: West Country English

text: During the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, which centred on Devon and Cornwall, many of the Cornish objected to the Book of Common Prayer, on the basis that many Cornish could not speak English. Cornish probably ceased to be spoken as a community language sometime around 1780, with the last monoglot Cornish speaker believed to be Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian (Dolly Pentreath was bilingual). However, some people retained a fragmented knowledge and some words were adopted by dialect(s) in Cornwall.


title: West Country English

text: In recent years, the traffic has reversed, with the revived Cornish language reclaiming Cornish words that had been preserved in the local dialect into its lexicon, and also (especially "Revived Late Cornish") borrowing other dialect words. However, there has been some controversy over whether all of these words are of native origin, as opposed to imported from parts of England, or the Welsh Marches. Some modern day revived Cornish speakers have been known to use Cornish words within an English sentence, and even those who are not speakers of the language sometimes use words from the language in names.


title: West Country English

text: Brythonic languages have also had a long-term influence on the West Country dialects beyond Cornwall, both as a substrate (certain West Country dialect words and possibly grammatical features) and languages of contact. Recent research on the roots of English proposes that the extent of Brythonic syntactic influence on Old English and Middle English may have been underestimated, and specifically cites the preponderance of the forms of the verbs "to be" and "to do" in the southwestern region and their grammatical similarity to Welsh and Cornish in opposition to the Germanic languages.


title: West Country English

text: The Cornish dialect, or Anglo-Cornish (to avoid confusion with the Cornish language), has the most substantial Celtic language influence, because many western parts were non-English speaking even into the early modern period. In places such as Mousehole, Newlyn and St Ives, fragments of Cornish survived in English even into the 20th century, e.g. some numerals (especially for counting fish) and the Lord's Prayer were noted by W. D. Watson in 1925, Edwin Norris collected the Creed in 1860, and J. H. Nankivel also recorded numerals in 1865. The dialect of West Penwith is particularly distinctive, especially in terms of grammar. This is most likely due to the late decay of the Cornish language in this area. In Cornwall the following places were included in the Survey of English Dialects: Altarnun, Egloshayle, Gwinear, Kilkhampton, Mullion, St Buryan, and St Ewe.


title: West Country English

text: In other areas, Celtic vocabulary is less common, but it is notable that "coombe", cognate with Welsh "cwm", was borrowed from Brythonic into Old English and is common in placenames east of the Tamar, especially Devon, and also in northern Somerset around Bath and the examples Hazeley Combe and Combley Great Wood (despite spelling difference, both are pronounced 'coombe') are to be found as far away as the Isle of Wight. Some possible examples of Brythonic words surviving in Devon dialect include:


title: West Country English

text: Owing to the West Country's agricultural history, the sound of the West Country accent has for centuries been associated with farming, and consequently with a lack of education and rustic simplicity. This can be seen in literature as early as the 18th century in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play "The Rivals", set in the Somerset city of Bath.


title: West Country English

text: As more and more of the English population moved into towns and cities during the 20th century, non-regional, Standard English accents increasingly became a marker of personal social mobility. Universal primary education was also an important factor as it made it possible for some to move out of their rural environments into situations where other modes of speech were current.


title: West Country English

text: In the early part of the twentieth century, the journalist and writer Albert John Coles used the pseudonym Jan Stewer (a character from the folk song Widecombe Fair) to pen a long-running series of humorous articles and correspondences in Devon dialect for the "Western Morning News". These now preserve a record of the dialect as recalled with affection in the period. The tales perpetuate – albeit sympathetically – the rustic uneducated stereotype as the protagonist experiences the modern world.


title: West Country English

text: There is a popular prejudice that stereotypes speakers as unsophisticated and even backward, due possibly to the deliberate and lengthened nature of the accent. This can work to the West Country speaker's advantage, however: recent studies of how trustworthy Britons find their fellows based on their regional accents put the West Country accent high up, under southern Scottish English but a long way above Cockney and Scouse. Recent polls put the West Country accent as third and fifth most attractive in the British Isles respectively.


title: West Country English

text: The West Country accent is probably most identified in film as "pirate speech"cartoon-like "Ooh arr, me 'earties! Sploice the mainbrace!" talk is very similar. This may be a result of the strong seafaring and fisherman tradition of the West Country, both legal and outlaw. Edward Teach (Blackbeard) was a native of Bristol, and privateer and English hero Sir Francis Drake hailed from Tavistock in Devon. Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta "The Pirates of Penzance" may also have added to the association. West Country native Robert Newton's performance in the 1950 Disney film "Treasure Island" is credited with popularizing the stereotypical West Country "pirate voice". Newton's strong West Country accent also featured in "Blackbeard the Pirate" (1952).


title: 2022 All England Open

text: The 2022 All England Open (officially known as the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2022 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament that took place at Utilita Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England, from 16 to 20 March 2022 and had a total prize pool of $990,000.


title: 2022 All England Open

text: The 2022 All England Open was the fifth tournament of the 2022 BWF World Tour and was part of the All England Open Badminton Championships, which had been held since 1899. The tournament was organized by the Badminton England with sanction from the Badminton World Federation.


title: 2022 All England Open

text: Below is the point distribution table for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF World Tour Super 1000 event.


title: 2022 All England Open

text: The total prize money was US$1,000,000 with the distribution of the prize money in accordance with BWF regulations.


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: Hyderabad district is a most populous district in the state of Telangana in India that contains a part of the metropolitan area of Hyderabad. It is headed by a district collector who is drawn from the IAS cadre and is appointed by the state government. It is the smallest of all the districts in the state, but has the highest human density. Old MCH area, which is central region of Hyderabad city comes under this district.The district share boundaries with Rangareddy and Medhchal districts.


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: Hyderabad district was formed in 1948 after Operation Polo by merging Atraf-a-Balda District and Baghat District. Baghat was previously a Taluk in Atraf-e-Balda District, and was made a separate district in 1931–34 under the subedar of Medak division. After formation of Andhra Pradesh by merging Telugu speaking of Hyderabad state in 1956 Hyderabad district boundary was altered Tandur Taluka which is Telugu speaking region of Gulbarga district was merged in Hyderabad district and Parigi Taluka of Mahabubnagar district and Vikarabad Taluka of Medak District also merged in Hyderabad district. In 1978 Hyderabad district was later split into Hyderabad Urban District and Hyderabad Rural District.Hyderabad Urban District was made by 4 Talukas are Charminar, Golkonda, Mushirabad and Secunderabad Talukas. Hyderabad rural district was later renamed as Ranga Reddy District. Hyderabad Urban district subdivided in 16 Mandals in 1985 and consist of 2 Revenue division


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: Hyderabad District includes the area of the core area Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Secunderabad Cantonment, and Osmania University. There are 16 administrative areas called mandals (or tehsils) in Hyderabad. They are:


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: Hyderabad district comprises 15 Assembly constituencies in the core of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: In the 2011 census Hyderabad district's population was 3,943,323, with a religious make-up of: Hindus (51.45%), Muslims (43.89%), Christians (2.22%), Jains (0.5%), Sikhs (0.29%) and Buddhists (0.03%); 1.58% did not state any religion. This gives it a ranking of 57th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 4.71%. Hyderabad has a sex ratio of 943 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.96%.


title: Hyderabad district, India

text: The collectorate administers the district on behalf of the state government. The Hyderabad District does not have elected officials at the district level due to the absence of a Zilla Parishad (District Legislature) although it has representations at the state (MLA) and Union level legislature (MP). In addition the entire district is contained within the jurisdiction of the GHMC, the city administration. Representatives are popularly elected to various wards of GHMC.


title: Connie Converse

text: Elizabeth Eaton Converse (born August 3, 1924, disappeared August 1974), known professionally as Connie Converse, was an American singer-songwriter and musician, active in New York City in the 1950s. Her work is among the earliest known recordings in the singer-songwriter genre of music.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse left her family home in 1974 in search of a new life and was not heard from again. Her music was largely unknown until it was featured on a 2004 radio show. In March 2009, a compilation album of her work, "How Sad, How Lovely", was released.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse was born in Laconia, New Hampshire on August 3, 1924. She was raised in Concord, New Hampshire as the middle child in a strict Baptist family; her father was a minister and her mother was "musical", according to music historian David Garland. Her elder brother by three years was Paul Converse and her younger brother by five years, Philip Converse, became a prominent political scientist.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse attended Concord High School, where she was valedictorian and won eight academic awards, including an academic scholarship to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. After two years' study, she left Mount Holyoke and moved to New York City.


title: Connie Converse

text: During the 1950s, Converse worked for the Academy Photo Offset printing house in New York's Flatiron District. She first lived in Greenwich Village, then in the Hell's Kitchen and Harlem areas. She started calling herself Connie, a nickname she had acquired in New York. She began writing songs and performing them for friends, accompanying herself on guitar. She began smoking during this time and started drinking; traits strongly contrary to her religious upbringing. Possibly as a result, her parents rejected her music career, and her father never heard her sing before his death.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse's only known public performance was a brief television appearance in 1954 on "The Morning Show" on CBS with Walter Cronkite, which graphic artist Gene Deitch had helped to arrange. In 1956, she recorded an album for her brother, Phil, titled "Musicks (Volumes I and II)". By 1961 (the same year that Bob Dylan moved to Greenwich Village and quickly met mainstream success), Converse had grown frustrated trying to sell her music in New York. That year, she moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where her brother Philip was a professor of political science at the University of Michigan. Converse worked in a secretarial job, and then as a writer for and Managing Editor of the "Journal of Conflict Resolution" in 1963. Following her move to Michigan, she mostly ceased writing new songs.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse was very private about her personal life. According to Deitch, she would respond to questions about her personal life with curt "yes" or "no" answers. Both Deitch and Connie's brother Philip have said it is possible she might have been a lesbian, although she never confirmed or denied this notion. Her nephew, Tim Converse, has said there is no evidence that she was ever involved in a romantic relationship. Her family noted that Connie relied more heavily on smoking and drinking towards the end of her time living in Michigan.


title: Connie Converse

text: By 1973, Converse was burnt out and depressed. The offices of "The Journal of Conflict Resolution", which meant so much to her, left Michigan for Yale at the end of 1972, after being "auctioned off" without her knowledge. Converse's colleagues and friends pooled their money to give her a six-month trip to England in hopes of improving her mood, to no avail. Her mother requested that she join her on a trip to Alaska, and Converse begrudgingly agreed. Her displeasure with the trip appeared to have contributed to her decision to disappear. Around that time, Converse was told by doctors that she needed a hysterectomy, and the information appeared to have devastated her.


title: Connie Converse

text: In August 1974, days after her 50th birthday, Converse wrote a series of letters to her family and friends, discussing her intention to make a new life somewhere else. She wrote, "Let me go. Let me be if I can. Let me not be if I can't. [...] Human society fascinates me & awes me & fills me with grief & joy; I just can't find my place to plug into it." With her letter to Philip, Converse included a check and a request that he make sure that her health insurance was paid for and in good standing for a certain amount of time following her departure, but for him to cease paying the policy on a certain date.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse was expected to go on an annual family trip to a lake, but by the time the letters were delivered, she had packed her belongings in her Volkswagen Beetle and driven away, never to be heard from again. The events of her life following her disappearance remain unknown. Several years after she left, someone told her brother Philip that they had seen a phone book listing for "Elizabeth Converse" in either Kansas or Oklahoma, but he never pursued the lead. About ten years after she disappeared, the family hired a private investigator in hopes of finding her. The investigator told the family, however, that even if he did find her, it was her right to disappear, and he could not simply bring her back. After that, her family respected her decision to leave, and ceased looking for her. Philip suspects she may have taken her own life—he specifically thinks she may have driven her car into a body of water—but her actual fate remains unknown.


title: Connie Converse

text: In January 2004, Deitch—by then 80 years old and having lived in Prague since 1959—was invited by New York music historian David Garland to appear on his WNYC radio show "Spinning on Air". Deitch played some of the recordings of Converse he had made on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, including her song, "One by One". Two of Garland's listeners, Dan Dzula and David Herman, were inspired to track down any additional recordings of Converse. They found two sources for Converse's music: Deitch's collection in Prague, and a filing cabinet in Ann Arbor containing recordings which Converse had sent to Philip in the late 1950s. In March 2009, "How Sad, How Lovely", containing 17 songs by Converse, was released by Lau derette Recordings. That same month, "Spinning on Air" broadcast an hour-long special about Converse's life and music. Garland also explored the mystery surrounding her disappearance with recordings from Philip Converse and readings of her letters by actress Amber Benson.


title: Connie Converse

text: In 2015, "How Sad, How Lovely" was released as an 18 track vinyl recording by Squirrel Thing Recordings, in partnership with the Captured Tracks label. The album has received favorable reviews, including by "Los Angeles Times" music critic Randall Roberts, who wrote, "Few reissues of the past decade have struck me with more continued, joyous affection as 'How Sad, How Lovely'." The Australian singer-songwriter Robert Forster describes the album as "making a deep and marvelous connection between lyric and song that allows us to enter the world of an extraordinary woman living in mid-twentieth-century New York."


title: Connie Converse

text: Apart from her 1954 appearance on "The Morning Show" and a performance of her music in 1961 by folksinger Susan Reed at the Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York, Converse's music was not available to the public until it resurfaced in 2004. Since the 2009 release of her album, however, Converse's life and music have been the subject of news reports around the world. In addition to the mystery surrounding her disappearance, many of these articles focus on the content and style of Converse's music—and the possibility that she may be the earliest performer in the singer-songwriter genre. According to Garland, "Converse wrote and sang back in the 1950s, long before singer-songwriter was a recognized category or style. But everything we value in singer-songwriters today—personal perspective, insight, originality, empathy, intelligence, wry humor—was abundant in her music." Others cite the feminine experience often explored in her lyrics, as well as the themes of sexuality and individualism found in her songs as the reason Converse's music was ahead of its time.


title: Connie Converse

text: Converse's life and music have served as the inspiration for numerous contemporary artworks, including a play by Howard Fishman, who also produced the album "Connie's Piano Songs" featuring music written but never recorded by Converse. Other works inspired by Converse include the modern dance piece "Empty Pockets" by John Heginbotham, which was performed at the Miller Theater in 2015; British singer Nat Johnson's "Roving Woman" tribute performances; as well as tribute performances of Converse's music by Jean Rohe and Diane Cluck as part of the "Spinning on Air" 25th-anniversary special.


title: Connie Converse

text: In 2017, John Zorn's Tzadik Records released the album "Vanity of Vanities: A Tribute to Connie Converse", featuring new recordings of her songs by performers including Mike Patton, Petra Haden, Karen O and Laurie Anderson. "Memories Of Winter", the final track on Canadian singer-songwriter Dana Gavanski's 2020 debut album "Yesterday Is Gone", is an homage to Converse. "Talking Like Her", a feature documentary first broadcast by SVT in 2021 explored the life, music and disappearance of Converse. Directed by Natacha Giler and Adam Briscoe, the film has been screened at numerous festivals worldwide and has received positive reviews.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Gregory Jennings Jr. (born September 21, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Western Michigan and was selected by Green Bay in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Jennings was named to two Pro Bowls during his seven seasons with the Packers and was part of the team that won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLV. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins. For his accomplishments in Green Bay, was inducted to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2022.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended Kalamazoo Central High School where he was all conference in three sports—football, basketball, and track. Jennings played wide receiver, running back, outside linebacker and defensive back as a four-time letterman for the football team. He was listed 11th on the "Fab 50" rankings of the "Detroit Free Press" as a senior. Jennings finished seventh in voting for Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 2000–01 and scored a school record 50 points in a losing effort against Benton Harbor as a senior.


title: Greg Jennings

text: In track & field, Jennings was one of the state's top performers in the long jump event. He captured the state title in the long jump at the 2001 MHSAA State LP-1 Championships, with a leap of 6.67 meters. He got a PR of 6.92 meters in the long jump. He was also a member of the 4 × 100m (42.20) and 4 × 200m (1:28.50) relay squads.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings attended Western Michigan University and played for the Broncos. He finished his career there with 238 receptions for 3,539 yards and 39 touchdowns. When Jennings was a redshirt freshman, he missed 8 games due to a broken ankle bone. In the 8 games he did play, he caught 10 passes for 138 yards. In 2003, he was second on the Broncos with 56 catches for 1,050 yards and 14 touchdowns. He finished the 2003 season with 1,734 all-purpose yards. He was named to the All-Mid American 2nd team. In 2004, he led the Broncos with 74 catches for 1,092 yards and 11 touchdowns. He tallied 1,415 all-purpose yards. He was named to the All-MAC team. In 2005, he had 98 catches, and led the nation in catches per game, with 8.91. He had 1,259 yards with 14 touchdowns, and earned the 2005 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. His 5,093 all-purpose yards is a WMU record, and ranks 8th in MAC history. Jennings became only the 11th player to gain over 1,000 yards in at least three seasons of a college career. He also competed on their debate team, becoming President of the American Parliamentary Debate Association his junior year. Jennings graduated from WMU in 2010 after completing the 16 credits he needed through self-instructional classes.


title: Greg Jennings

text: The Green Bay Packers drafted Jennings in the second round (52nd pick overall) of the 2006 NFL draft. On July 24, 2006, he signed a contract with the Packers.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings was named the starting wide receiver, along with Donald Driver, which put Robert Ferguson in the slot, for his first professional regular-season game Green Bay Packers by head coach Mike McCarthy on September 2, 2006. Jennings led the NFL in receiving yardage during the 2006 preseason. He had 1 catch for 5 yards in his first game.


title: Greg Jennings

text: On September 24, 2006, he caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre against the Detroit Lions. It was Favre's 400th touchdown pass for his career, a milestone reached only by Favre, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers. This was also Jennings's first 100-plus-yard game, as he finished with 3 catches, 101 yards and 1 touchdown. Jennings was voted NFL Rookie of the Week for games played September 24–25, 2006, the only time he received this honor. Jennings was also named to the NFL All Rookie team at the end of the season.


title: Greg Jennings

text: On September 23, 2007, Jennings caught a game-winning 57-yard TD pass from Favre with less than two minutes to play to help beat the San Diego Chargers 31–24 at Lambeau Field and improve the team's record to 3–0 in 2007. This was Jennings' first touchdown catch in 2007, as well as Favre's 420th career touchdown pass, tying him with Marino for the most TD passes in NFL history.


title: Greg Jennings

text: A week later on September 30, 2007, during a 23–16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Jennings caught a 16-yard pass from Favre that opened the scoring ten minutes into the first quarter, and broke the all-time touchdown pass record Favre had shared with Dan Marino. On October 29, 2007, Jennings caught an 82-yard touchdown pass from Favre to defeat the Denver Broncos 19–13 in overtime, tying him for the second-longest overtime touchdown in NFL history. Then the following week, he caught the game-winning touchdown pass that went for 60 yards to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. Against the Cowboys on November 29, 2007, in a game broadcast on the NFL Network, Jennings hauled in the first ever touchdown pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings and running back Ryan Grant each had a touchdown during a 33–14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on December 16, 2007, making it the first time two Packers players have each scored a touchdown in the same four consecutive games. Jennings collected 80 receptions for 1292 yards and 9 touchdowns in the 2008 season.


title: Greg Jennings

text: On June 23, 2009, Jennings received a new three-year extension which paid him $26.35 million and included $16 million guaranteed. It also included a $11.25 million signing bonus. Jennings caught a game-winning pass on September 13, 2009, on a 3rd and two play, where the Packers ran a play action fake and rolled Aaron Rodgers out to the left, who then threw a 50-yard pass to Jennings to defeat the Chicago Bears in the season opener. In the Packers 2009 Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals, Jennings had 8 receptions for 130 yards, scoring 1 touchdown.


title: Greg Jennings

text: In Super Bowl XLV, on February 6, 2011, Jennings caught four passes for 64 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Packers' 31–25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings played the first 13 games of the 2011 season before going down with a sprained MCL in week 13 against the Oakland Raiders. During the season, he collected 69 receptions for 949 yards, including a season-high 149 yards on 7 receptions, and a touchdown in a week 7 game at the Minnesota Vikings. He returned for the Packers' divisional round playoff game against the New York Giants and recorded 4 receptions for 40 yards in a Packers' loss.


title: Greg Jennings

text: In 2012, Jennings sat out most of the early season due to a groin injury, and was scheduled to have surgery in Philadelphia, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.


title: Greg Jennings

text: On March 15, 2013, Jennings signed a 5-year, $47.5 million ($18 million guaranteed) contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Jennings got his first two touchdowns as a member of the Vikings against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 34–27 win. Jennings made his first return to Lambeau Field on November 24, 2013 in a 26–26 tie between the Packers and Vikings.


title: Greg Jennings

text: Jennings is a Christian. Jennings is married to Nicole Jennings, also of Kalamazoo, and they have three daughters named Amya, Alea and Ayva. On October 5, 2012, they welcomed their son Aice Gregory.


title: Greg Jennings

text: On May 5, 2010, Jennings made an appearance on the CBS prime time hit show "Criminal Minds". He portrayed a lab technician working at a crime scene. Jennings is also in discussions to appear on BET's "The Game". He appeared as himself on the July 6, 2011, episode of "Royal Pains" and the 2013 "The League" episode, "The Near Death Flex-perience". He is also the main actor and star of "Old Spice" 'Smelf' ad campaign.


title: Greg Jennings

text: The Greg Jennings Foundation was started by Jennings to attempt to benefit underprivileged children and youth organizations. The entire charity organization raises money through organizational events, donations, and fund raisers. The organization allows people, groups, and organizations from either Michigan or Wisconsin to apply for grant money. The headquarters of the foundation are in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by 95 percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated with folk religion (Bon) as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thai Buddhism also shares many similarities with Sri Lankan Buddhism. Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Buddhism is believed to have come to what is now Thailand as early as the 3rd century BCE, in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka. Since then, Buddhism has played a significant role in Thai culture and society. Buddhism and the Thai monarchy have often been intertwined, with Thai kings historically seen as the main patrons of Buddhism in Thailand. Although politics and religion were generally separated for most of Thai history, Buddhism's connection to the Thai state would increase in the middle of the 19th century following the reforms of King Mongkut that would lead to the development of a royally-backed sect of Buddhism and increased centralization of the Thai sangha under the state, with state control over Buddhism increasing further after the 2014 coup d'état.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Thai Buddhism is distinguished for its emphasis on short-term ordination for every Thai man and its close interconnection with the Thai state and Thai culture. The two official branches, or Nikayas, of Thai Buddhism are the royally backed Dhammayuttika Nikaya and the larger Maha Nikaya.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The edicts of Ashoka mention that during the reign of Ashoka (c. 268 to 232 BCE), monks were sent to spread Buddhism to Suvannabhumi, which is somewhere in Southeast Asia.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Thai scholars believe that the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati (c. 6th to the 11th century) is likely to have received Buddhist missionaries during this era. This is because numerous archeological finds in the ancient Dvaravati cities like Nakon Pathom point to an early Buddhist presence.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: These finds include Dharma wheels, Buddha footprints, crouching deers and Pali inscriptions. Thus, Dvaravati Buddhism was probably an Indian form of Theravada (or at least a non-Mahayana) Buddhism. The Dvaravati style has been compared to the Amaravati style and may be influenced by it. It has been suggested that the original structure of the ancient Phra Pathom Stupa (which has been covered by restorations and a spire that was added later) was of similar design to the Stupa of Sanchi.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Later finds at Nakon Pathom and nearby cities also include Buddha images in the Gupta style. The spread of Buddhism in Southeast Asia may have arrived with merchant ships traveling the key maritime trade routes with India.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Various Southeast Asian kingdoms that ruled over parts of modern Thailand, such as the Khmer Empire (c. 802–1431 CE) and the Mon Lavo Kingdom (c. 450–1388 CE), were influenced by Indian Buddhist trends, which included Mahāyāna Buddhism and the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The Mon Kingdom of Hariphunchai with its capital at Lamphun was also a Buddhist realm, with famous temples like Wat Haripunchai (1040) and Wat Chamadevi (1218).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The religious arts of the Indonesian Kingdom of Srivijaya (c. 650–1377), which controlled part of Southern Thailand, depict numerous figures from Indian Mahāyāna. Archeological finds in Southern Thailand (such as at Phra Phim and Nakon Sri Thammaraj) attest to the practice of Mahāyāna Buddhism in this region.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Starting at around the 11th century, Sinhalese Theravada monks gradually led the conversion of most of Southeast Asia to the Sinhalese Mahavihara sect of Theravāda. This was supported by powerful Southeast Asian kings, such as the Burmese Anawratha (1044–1077), who promoted Theravada throughout the Bagan Kingdom, which included parts of Thailand that he conquered.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Beginning in the 7th century, Thai people gradually migrated from China to Southeast Asia. They eventually began conquering Southeast Asian kingdoms like Hariphunchai and adopting the practice of Buddhism which had existed in the conquered regions. The first ethnic Thai kingdom was the Sukhothai Kingdom (13th-15th century), which was founded in 1238. At first, both Theravāda and Mahāyāna were practiced in this new Thai realm, as well as Khmer Brahmanism.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the 13th century, Thai monks traveled to Sri Lanka to ordain in the Sinhalese Mahavihara Theravada sect (known as Lankavamsa/Lankavong in Thailand) lineage and to study the teachings. Lankavong monks also traveled to Thailand to teach Theravada Buddhism. Archeological evidence suggests that the most active region for the initial spread of Sinhalese Theravada was at Nakon Sri Thammarath (in South Thailand).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: King Ram Khamhaeng ( late 13th century) gave royal support to the Lankavong Theravāda monks in Nakon Sri Thammarath. He invited them to his capital, built monasteries for them, and subsequently sent more monks to Sri Lanka to study. This royal support increased the prestige and influence of Theravāda in Thailand. During Ram Khamhaeng's reign, stupas were built, reflecting the Sri Lankan influence. One of these is Wat Chang Lom. Thai travelers to Sri Lanka also brought back the root of a Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha attained emlightenment, which began the Thai tradition of venerating Bodhi trees. Sukhothai style Buddha statues also reflect Sri Lankan art styles.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Under the reign of Ram Khamhaeng, the position of sangharaja (leader of the monastic community) was created and tasked with the administration of the sangha, the orders of monks and nuns. Other monks were also given lower-level administrative positions.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Later Sukhothai kings would continue this policy of supporting Lankavong Theravāda, and numerous monasteries, Buddha images and stupas were built during the Sukhothai period. The study of Pali Buddhist texts was also promoted. Thai kings also inherited the concept of Buddhist kingship from the tradition. This was based on the idea that the Buddhist "Dhamma king" ruled in conformity with the Dhamma (the universal law and the Buddha's teaching which points to it), particularly the ten kingly virtues mentioned in the "Aggañña Sutta," which include giving alms, morality, liberality, gentleness, non-anger, and non-harming.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Mahathammaracha I (r. 1346–1368) was a Sukhothai king known as a great scholar and patron of Buddhism, who even became a monk for a brief period of four months. A treatise on Buddhist cosmology, the "Tribhumikatha" ("Trai Phum Phra Ruang", "The Three Worlds According to King Ruang"), has been attributed to him, and is one of the oldest traditional works of Thai literature. During the reign of Mahathammaracha I, another group of monks arrived from Sri Lanka, led by Somdet Phra Mahasami (Sumana), who was associated with a Sri Lankan forest monastery named Udumbaragiri.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Further north, in the Thai Lan Na Kingdom (c. 1292–1775), Theravāda also flourished. Lan Na kings built unique wats (monastaries) which show a blend of Mon, Indian, Burmese and Khmer styles. Some important early Lan Na wats include Wat Ku Kham (Temple of the Golden Chedi, c. 1288) and Wat Chiang Man (c. 1297) both built by the first Lan Na king Mangrai (1238–1311).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: King Pha Yu (r. 1345–1367), continued promoting Buddhism. He shifted the capital to Chiang Mai and built Wat Li Chiang. His successor, Keu Na (1367–1385), invited the forest monk Somdet Phra Mahasami to Lan Na to introduce his Sri Lankan forest sect. Mahasami arrived with relics which were enshrined at the newly built Wat Suan Dauk. This wat became the headquarters of the Sri Lankan forest sect. Wat Phra Singh (c. 1385) is another example of classic Buddhist architecture of the Lan Na kingdom.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In the reign of Sam Fang Kaen (1411–42), a controversy broke out between the Sri Lankan sect of Somdet Phra Mahasami and another Sri Lankan order newly arrived from Ayudhya, which criticized the old order for accepting money and owning rice lands.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Sam Fang Kaen was deposed by Tilokaraj (r. 1441–1487), who placed his support behind the new, more rigorous forest sect and allowed it to become the dominant sect in the kingdom. He is known for building several monasteries for the new Buddhist order, including Wat Chet Yot and Wat Pa Daeng. The king also enlarged Wat Chedi Luang to house the Emerald Buddha. During his reign, in c. 1477, a Buddhist council convened to review the Pali Canon. It is considered the eighth Buddhist council in the Thai tradition.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Lan Na Buddhism reached its climax during the reign of Tilokaraja's grandson, Phra Mueang Kaeo (1495-1528). His reign saw great achievements in Pali literature, as attested by works like the "Jinakalamali" (a historical chronicle, c. 1517), and the great commentary, "Mangalatthadipani".


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Even though Theravada was now becoming the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand during this era, Mahayana and Brahmanism also continued to be practiced.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the 14th century, Thai power shifted south with the founding of the Kingdom of Ayudhya by King Uthong (r. 1351–1369). Its capital of Ayudhya was a major center of Buddhism, with many temples and monasteries. There, Buddhist culture adopted both Sukhothai and Khmer elements.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Ayudhya kings continued to focus their royal patronage on the Lankavong Theravada sect. They saw themselves as defenders of the religion, which they advanced by supporting the sangha. During the reign of Indraraja I (c. 1422), a new sect of Sri Lankan Theravada, the Vanaratnavong (a.k.a. Pa-Kaeo) sect, was formed by a group of Thai monks who had ordained in Sri Lanka. It mainly differed from the older Lankavong sect in that it was stricter in its practice.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The reign of king Borommatrailokkanat (1431–1488) was a golden era for Thai Buddhism. He encouraged the arts and literature, as well as building numerous monasteries in Ayudhya. He also ordained as monk for eight months at Wat Chulamani. During his reign, the Vanaratnavong group also grew in prominence. A major literary work of this era is the "Mahachat Kham Luang" (Thai: มหาชาติคำหลวง), an epic poem of the "Great Birth" of Vessantara Bodhisattva, which combined Pali verse with Thai poetry. To this day, the Vessantara Jātaka is one of the most popular stories of one of Gautama Buddha's past lives. It tells the story of a very compassionate and generous prince, Vessantara, who gives away everything he owns.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the late 17th century, French visitors described a state examination system under King Narai that was administered to Buddhist monks to test their knowledge in the Pali language and in Buddhist doctrine. Those who could not pass were relesed from their monastic vows and returned to lay life. Those who excelled achieved high social status and officially recognized ranks ("barian").


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Another later influential king was Boromakot (r. 1733–1758), who ruled during a peaceful time and was a great patron of Buddhism, founding numerous temples. During his reign, Thailand sent 25 monks to Sri Lanka to re-establish higher ordination (which had been lost due to warfare on the island). The Thai monks helped found the Siam Nikaya, which remains one of the main monastic orders in Sri Lanka to this day.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Numerous major Thai literary compositions were composed during the late Ayudhya era. One of these is "The Legend of Phra Malai" (), a Buddhist epic composed by Prince Thammathibet in 1737. Other Buddhist pieces from this era include the "Sue-ko Kham Chan" (, c. 1657) and the "Samutta-Kōt Kham Chan" (, c. 1657) by Phra Maha Raja-Kru. Both are kham chan poems based on the Paññāsa Jātaka.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Though Ayudhya's main religion remained as Theravada Buddhism throughout its history, many elements of the political and social system were incorporated from Hindu traditions and numerous rites were conducted by Brahmins. The kingdom was also home to religious minorities practicing Mahayana Buddhism, Islam and Catholicism.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Though we know little of the practices of the Theravada forest monks during the Ayudhya period, it is possible that at this time monks were developing esoteric practices similar to those found in a later Sinhalese work called the "Yogāvacara's manual". These esoteric Theravada practices would produce a tradition called Southern Esoteric Buddhism, also known as Borān kammaṭṭhāna ('ancient practices').


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: This esoteric Theravada tradition remained a mainstream Buddhist tradition in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand well into the modern era. An inscription from northern Thailand with esoteric elements has been dated to the Sukhothai Kingdom of the 16th century. Kate Crosby notes that this attestation makes the southern esoteric tradition earlier than "any other living meditation tradition in the contemporary Theravada world."


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Furthermore, numerous pre-Buddhist animist practices called Satsana Phi continued to be performed by Thais. "Phi" () are spirits of buildings or territories, natural places, or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits that protect people, and can also include malevolent spirits. The "phi", which are guardian deities of places or towns, are celebrated at festivals with communal gatherings and offerings of food. They are an important part of Thai folklore and local folk religion.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: From the 16th to 19th centuries, there were numerous wars between Thailand and Burma. The Thai capital was destroyed in 1767, leading to the loss of numerous historical records, literary and religious texts and marking the fall of the Ayudhya kingdom proper. As such, there is scant historical information about Thai religion during this period.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Anthropologist-historian S. J. Tambiah has suggested a general pattern for that era, at least with respect to the relations between Buddhism and the sangha on the one hand and the king on the other hand. In Thailand, as in other Theravada Buddhist kingdoms, the king was in principle thought of as a patron and protector of the religion (sasana) and the sangha, while sasana ( teaching, practice, discipline and doctrine) and the Sangha were considered in turn the treasures of the polity and the signs of its legitimacy. Religion and polity, however, remained separate domains, and in ordinary times the organizational links between the Sangha and the king were not close.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: After the fall of Ayudhya, Thailand was reunited by King Taksin under the Kingdom of Thonburi, but he was overthrown in 1782 by Rama I.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Rama I (reigned 1782–1809) of the Chakri Dynasty (which remains the current royal family of Thailand) founded the Rattanakosin Kingdom. Under Rama I, new temples were constructed at the new capital of Rattanakosin (modern Bangkok), such as the royal wat, Wat Phra Kaew, where the Emerald Buddha is enshrined.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Rama I also appointed the first Supreme Patriarch of Thai Buddhism which has the authority to oversee the Thai Buddhist sangha. Rama I also encouraged the translation of ancient Pali Buddhist texts. Furthermore, under Rama I, the Buddhist canon (Pāli Canon) was collected and reviewed within the framework of another Buddhist Council (which is known as the 9th council as per the Thai tradition). It was attended by over 250 monks. A new edition of the Pali Canon was published, the "Tipitaka Chabab Tongyai." Rama I also issued several royal decrees which governed the conduct of monastics"." Furthermore, Pali examinations for monastics were revived under the auspices of the supreme patriarch Somdet Phra Sangkarat (1793–1816), which covered the oral translation of Pali Canon passages from Pali to Thai.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Under Rama I, some new laws overseeing the Buddhist sangha were passed. Every abbot was required to prepare a register of the monks and novices under them. Furthermore, the king decreed that every monk had to carry a document of identification. Furthermore, the state reserved the right to defrock monks who were not following the monastic rules. 128 corrupt monks were known to have been defrocked.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Rama II established a new modern ecclesiastical education system for studying Theravada doctrine and the Pali language"." This examination system was further revised with nine grades of exams. It remains the standard up to this day. Rama II also sent various missions to Sri Lanka to spread the teaching, since he feared that, under British rule, it would begin to decline there.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The third Chakri monarch, Rama III (reigned 1824–1851), was also a devout Buddhist. More than 50 temples were built and repaired in his reign. These include the first Chinese style temple at Rajorasa, the stupa at Wat Arun, the Golden Mount at Wat Sraket, the Metal Temple at Wat Ratchanadda, and Wat Pho, the site of the first university in Thailand.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In 1851, King Mongkut (r. 1851–1868) ascended the throne. He had been a monk himself for twenty-seven years and was a distinguished scholar of Buddhist scripture in the Pali language. He was also known for his study of western science and the humanities, having learned Latin and English. He had also spent his early monastic years at Wat Samorai, a forest monastery renowned for meditation and spiritual practices.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During his monastic years, numerous monks immigrating from Burma introduced the more rigorous monastic discipline of the Mon sangha. Influenced by this and his own understanding of the Tipitaka, Prince Mongkut (as a monk) began a reform Buddhist movement by founding a new monastic order at Wat Samorai. This was the Dhammayuttika ("yoked to the Dhamma") Nikaya, which kept a stricter monastic discipline than the rest of the Thai sangha. This included not using money, not storing up food and not taking milk in the evening.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The Dhammayuttika movement was characterized by an emphasis on the original Pali Canon and a rejection of some postcanonical Buddhist literature (including the "Traibhumikatha"). They also stressed the rationalism of Buddhism and tried to return to the way it was understood during early Buddhism before heterodox popular beliefs had transformed it.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: As a king, Mongkut promoted his religious reformation through the new Buddhist order and through state power. Dhammayuttika monks became a clerical vanguard of a movement promoting the king's form of Buddhist modernism, one that sought to modernize the religion by removing irrational folk beliefs and returning to the Pali Canon. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, in Bangkok, became the administrative center of the Thammayut order and the center of Pali studies in Thailand.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During Mongkut's reign (1851-1868) the new order also spread into Laos and Cambodia, though it remained a minority sect in comparison to the larger Thai Mahanikaya order which contained over 90 percent of monks. King Mongkut also re-organized and tightened the organization of the Sangha by establishing a new administrative system. A 1859 law which he formulated included eleven articles such as requiring the registration of all monastic residents in royal monasteries.The administrative and sangha reforms that Mongkut started were continued by his successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868–1910) who made the new sangha hierarchy formal and permanent through the Sangha Law of 1902, which remains the foundation of Sangha administration throughout the history of modern Thailand (though it's been amended numerous times).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The act divided the religious administration of the kingdom into four main divisions: north, south, center and Dhammayutika Nikaya (with further subdivisions). Each division was assigned one patriarch who also had a deputy under him. All these elders together formed the Sangha Council of Elders (Pali: "Mahāthera Samāgama"), the highest body of the Thai Sangha. The act created a graduated bureaucracy of monastic leaders, from abbot, to leaders of regional sub-divisions, all the way up to the president of the council of elders. There were also posts for professors and instructors.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The act recognized three types of monasteries: royal, common, and monastic residences (which lack a "sima", a consecrated border). A survey conducted in 1900 reported 7206 monasteries in Thailand (with only 117 royal monasteries). Ultimate responsibility for each monastery was granted to the abbot, who could punish offenders, mediate disputes and grant or refuse residence. The Sangha Act also required monks be assigned to a monastery (vagrant monks not belonging to a monastery were arrested) and to carry identification documents when traveling away from their monastery. Also, any establishment of new monasteries had to be approved by the state (Article 9).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Aside from the need to reform the sangha's administration, the king and other Thais also felt that there was a need to standardize Buddhist doctrine and study. They addressed this in different ways. Prince Wachirayan Warorot (Pali: Vajirañāṇavarorasa, 1860–1921) wrote a basic textbook of Buddhist doctrine (the "Nawakowat") which became a sort of Thai Buddhist catechism at the time and was promoted by the king. Rama V also promoted the publishing of the Pali Canon in Thai Script for the first time (c. 1893). He also founded Chulalongkorn University and the Mahāmakuṭa Royal Academy providing higher education in Buddhist doctrine along with secular subjects.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the reign of king Rama VI (1910–1925), the king introduced the official use of the Buddhist Era dating system. The Thai Buddhist Era year of 2455 began on 1 April, 1912. Prince Wachirayan Warorot (1860–1921) became the head of the Thammayut sect and the supreme patriarch of Thai Buddhism from 1910 to 1921. There were also further efforts to centralize the Thai sangha from the capital at this time.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Wachirayan also led a reform in Buddhist education, mainly by writing new textbooks for the study of Pali (in six volumes), known as the "Bali Waiyakon", which provided an easier way to learn Pali than the traditional grammar books. Wachirayan also wrote some other influential Thai Buddhist doctrinal works, including "Phuttasasana Suphasit" (Selected Buddhist proverbs), "Phutthaprawat" (Life of the Buddha), and "Winayamuk" (Entrance to the Vinaya). He also established "Dhammacakṣu", the first Buddhist journal in Siam. Due to his extensive scholarly achievements, Prince Wachirayan has been called "the leading intellectual of his generation in Siam" by historian David K. Wyatt. Because the prestigious state examinations relied mainly on Prince Wachirayan's works, his doctrinal interpretations became the orthodox doctrine of official Thai Buddhism. The new examinations and curriculum eventually spread throughout the provinces where the prince sent learned monks to promote the new education system.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: A new national system of written exams for monks was introduced in 1911, known as the Mahamakut system to raise the standards of doctrinal learning. Prince Wachirayan's "Nawakowat" was used as the main textbook. It remains an influential textbook in Thai Buddhist doctrinal studies today. The examinations were divided into two levels, ordinary (which focused on doctrine, not Pali) and advanced (including knowledge of Pali). The textbooks of Wachirayan provided Thai monastics with the means to understand the Buddhist doctrine in their own language.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The new national examination system was influenced by the passing of the nation's first military service act, which included an exemption for "monks and novices knowledgeable of the Dhamma." Because of this, it was vital to have a proper legal definition for this statement. After the death of Wachirayan in 1921, exams for la ypersons were introduced in 1929. The Thai examination system remains widely influential in Thai Buddhism today, and are a matter of focus for many monks and novices.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the early 20th century, a new Thai Buddhist tradition was beginning to take in northern Thailand (mainly Isan), outside of the elite and royal circles of Bangkok. This was a back to the forest movement of strict monasticism and became known as the Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition. Led by figures such as Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto (1870–1949), and Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo (1861–1941), forest tradition monks focused on asceticism ("dhutanga") and meditation, seeking to achieve awakening. They criticized the text based approached of city monks, and there was initially some tension between them and the official monks in the sangha hierarchy.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Another Buddhist council was held in Bangkok during the reign of Rama VII (1925–1935). This council saw a new edition of the Pali Canon published which was distributed throughout the country.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Rama VII was also the last absolute monarch of Thailand, which transformed into a constitutional monarchy in 1932. During this period, the Thai writer Kulap Saipradit (1905–1974) wrote "Phajon Barb" (Facing Sin), a religious novel.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: After the Siamese revolution of 1932, there was a creation of a constitutional state. In parallel to these developments, a group of monks began to organize in an effort to democratize the sangha administration. In February 1935, two thousand monks from twelve provinces converged on the capital to petition for sangha administration reform.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: These pressures led to the Sangha Act of 1941, which introduced democratic elements into the sangha's administration. However, the act also provided for the appointment of a sangharaja (supreme patriarch of the community) by the king at the head of the Thai sangha. The sangharaja served for life. The ecclesiastical assembly was composed of 45 members, all of whom were elder monks of high rank.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Another major event of the constitutional period was the translation of the entire Pali Canon into the Thai language. This was completed during the reign of Rama VIII (1935–1946). In 1946, the long reign of Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej (1946–2016) began. In 1956, the 2,500th Buddha Jayanti (anniversary of the Buddha's nirvana) celebrations were held throughout the nation and were subsidized by the state.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Beginning in 1949, there was a major dispute in the Thai sangha between the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika orders. The sectarian conflict began during an attempt by Dhammayutika monasteries in the provinces to break off from the control of Mahanikaya officials. There was also long-standing resentment on the part of Mahanikaya monks, since even though their sect constituted the overwhelming majority of monastics, the Dhammayutika monks controlled most of the high ecclesiastical offices.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The struggle for power continued for years, and led a disgruntled Sarit Thanarat (a general who seized power in a 1957 coup d'état), to pass another Sangha Act in 1962. The act removed most democratic provisions from the sangha administration and centralized power around the sangharaja. It affirmed that "absolute rule" of the sangha by one leader was best and allowed the sangharaja to appoint from half to two thirds of the elders in the supreme council. The act also allowed for the removal of the sangharaja by the secular authority, practically subordinating the sangha to the state in the most direct manner possible.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Sarit Thanarat also saw the sangha as a way to promote national development. As such, the sangha's role was expanded into more secular realms, and this was welcomed by many monks who saw this as a way for the sangha to remain relevant in the modern age. One example of this was the expansion of the curriculum of the Buddhist universities (Mahachulalongkon and Mahamakut) to include numerous departments focused on secular subjects like education, psychology, library science, mathematics and physical science.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: From 1966 to 1970, monastic graduates from these universities were sent to the provinces to improve education in rural areas. They helped with local development projects as well as providing more traditional Buddhist guidance associated with scriptural study and meditation. Part of their role was also to convert rural peoples, such as the hill tribes in the north, to Buddhism. However, studies by the anthropologist Charles F. Keyes argued that these efforts mostly transmitted fragments of overt behavior, such as how to give alms to monks, without teaching proper Buddhist doctrine.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the 20th century, the Thai forest tradition continued to grow, with charismatic figures such as Ajahn Maha Bua, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Thate and Ajahn Lee (all students of the now famous Ajahn Mun) developing influential monastic communities.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Ajahn Chah's tradition was particularly influential in the dissemination of Thai Buddhist monasticism to the western world. Wat Pah Nanachat, a monastery built specifically for international monastics attracted various figures who would later go on to spread the Thai forest tradition to the west, founding their own monasteries in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and the United States.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The forest tradition was heavily affected by the extensive deforestation that took place in Thailand in the closing of the 20th century. In the 1990s, Members of the Forestry Bureau deeded tracts of land to forest monasteries in an effort to preserve wilderness. These monasteries along with the land surrounding them, have turned into sort of "forested islands".


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Since the 1950s, there has been an increased interest in the practice of Buddhist meditation throughout Thailand, especially among lay persons. Meditation is now practiced in monasteries throughout Thailand by Thai lay people, and this is one of the biggest changes in Theravada Buddhist practice since the second world war. This influential meditation movement (which grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s) was sparked by the introduction of the Burmese Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw, by figures such as Phra Phimolatham, who was the ecclesiastical minister of the interior and the abbot of Wat Mahathat (the center of the Mahanikai order).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The rival Thammayut order, led by Somdet Phra Mahawirawong, also promoted meditation in their monasteries. This led to the widespread celebration of the teachings of the forest tradition as well which had previously been an insignificant part of the Buddhist order in Thailand. As such, a broad slew of meditation methods and teachings developed during the second half of the 20th century.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: From the 1970s onwards, there has been several new Buddhist movements in Thailand who are outside of the traditional Thai monastic orders. Some of the most influential ones are Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Shanti Asoke. Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a new Buddhist sect which developed out of the Dhammakaya tradition. It's a practice of meditation that may have been influenced by the esoteric Yogavacara tradition. The most important aspect of this meditation is the focus on the center of the body, which leads to the attainment of the Dhammakāya, the Dhamma-body, found within every human being. Shanti Asoke (meaning "Peaceful Asoka") is a movement which focuses on simplicity and self-sufficiency.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: There is also a Buddhist environmental movement, which arose as a response to deforestation. One of their main forms of protecting their environment has been to "ordain" trees by wrapping a monk's robe around the tree.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The 21st century saw the rise of a few ultra-nationalist anti-Muslim Buddhist monks. This is mainly a phenomenon in southern Thailand, where there is much tension among Buddhists and Malay Muslims. Some even carry weapons and are known as "soldier monks" ("thahan phra"). Some of these extremist nationalist monks, like Phra Apichart Punnajanto (who called for the burning down of mosques—a pārājika offence), have been forced to leave the monastic order.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Common Thai Buddhist practices revolve around the monastic sangha. A major practice among lay persons is donating to the sangha, a practice that generates merit ("tham bun"), which is a beneficial and protective force that leads to good results in this life and in lives to come.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Meditation practice, which only became widespread in the 20th century, is also an important part of contemporary Thai Buddhism, and it is practiced by both monastics and by lay persons.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: There are numerous traditional rites of passage in Thai Buddhism, such as the childbirth ritual, inviting Buddhist monks to bless the union before a marriage, and rites for the dead (which include chanting throughout the night). Entering the monkhood for a short period of time is also a common practice for Thai boys as it prepares them for adulthood and generates merit.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: There are also various holidays that lay persons take part in (usually at a Buddhist temple), these include specifically Buddhist holidays like Makhabucha (February), Wisakhabucha (May), and Kathina Festivals (mid-October to mid-November) as well as holidays like the Thai new year. Thai lay persons may also go to a temple or practice Buddhism during the four monthly holy days ("wan phra," Pali: "Uposatha").


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Various major forces have influenced the development of Buddhism in Thailand. By far the most dominant and influential tradition is the Theravada school, which arrived from Sri Lanka during the medieval era. Because of this, Thai Buddhism has close ties with the Buddhism of other Southeast Asian countries, like Burma. They not only share the same religious language (Pāli) and same scriptural canon (the Pāli Canon), but they also share many practices.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The second major influence on Thai Buddhism is Hindu beliefs which came from Cambodia, particularly during the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom. Hinduism played a strong role in the early Thai institution of kingship, just as it did in Cambodia, and exerted influence in the creation of laws and order for Thai society as well as for Thai religion. Certain rituals practiced in modern Thailand, either by monks or by Hindu ritual specialists, are either explicitly identified as Hindu in origin, or are easily seen to be derived from Hindu practices. While the visibility of Hinduism in Thai society has been diminished substantially during the Chakri Dynasty, Hindu influences, particularly shrines to the god Brahma, continue to be seen in and around Buddhist institutions and ceremonies.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Folk religion—attempts to propitiate and attract the favor of local spirits known as "phi"—forms the third major influence on Thai Buddhism. While Western observers (as well as Western-educated Thais) have often drawn a clear line between Thai Buddhism and folk religious practices, this distinction is rarely observed in more rural locales. Spiritual power derived from the observance of Buddhist precepts and rituals is employed in attempting to appease local nature spirits.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Many restrictions observed by rural Buddhist monks are derived not from the orthodox Vinaya, but from actions derived from the practice of folk magic. Astrology, numerology, and the creation of talismans and charms also play a prominent role in Buddhism as practiced by the average Thai, practices that are censured by the Buddha in Buddhist texts (see Digha Nikaya 2, ff).


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Additionally, more minor influences can be observed stemming from contact with Mahayana Buddhism. Early Buddhism in Thailand is thought to have been derived from an unknown Mahayana tradition. While Mahayana Buddhism was gradually eclipsed in Thailand, certain features of Thai Buddhism—such as the appearance of the bodhisattva Lokeśvara in some Thai religious architecture, and the belief that the king of Thailand is a bodhisattva himself—reveal the influence of Mahayana concepts.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In modern times, additional Mahayana influence has stemmed from the presence of Overseas Chinese in Thai society. While some Chinese have "converted" to Thai-style Theravada Buddhism, many others maintain their own separate temples in the East Asian Mahayana tradition. The growing popularity of Guanyin, a form of Avalokiteśvara, may be attributed to the Chinese presence in Thailand.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: While Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, it inherited a strong Southeast Asian tradition of Buddhist kingship that tied the legitimacy of the state to its protection and support for Buddhist institutions. This connection has been maintained into the modern era, with Buddhist institutions and clergy being granted special benefits by the government, as well as being subjected to a certain amount of governmental oversight. Part of the coronation of the Thai monarch includes the king proceeding to the chapel royal (the Wat Phra Kaew) to vow to be a "defender of the faith" in front of a chapter of monks including the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In addition to the ecclesiastical leadership of the sangha, a secular government ministry supervises Buddhist temples and monks. The legal status of Buddhist sects and reform movements has been an issue of contention in some cases, particularly in the case of Santi Asoke, which was legally forbidden from calling itself a Buddhist denomination, and in the case of the ordination of women attempting to revive the Theravada bhikkhuni lineage have been prosecuted for attempting to impersonate members of the clergy.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Since 2002, the Thai Senate has reviewed and revoked the secular law from 1928 banning women's full ordination in Buddhism as unconstitutional for being counter to laws protecting freedom of religion. More than 20 Thai women have since ordained in temples, monasteries and meditations centers led by Thai bhikkhunis emerging in Samut Sakhon, Chiang Mai and Rayong. The stance of the Thai sangha hierarchy has largely changed from one of denial of the existence of bhikkhunis to one of acceptance of them as of foreign (non-Thai) traditions. However Thailand's two main Theravada Buddhist orders, the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya, have yet to officially accept fully ordained women into their ranks. Despite substantial and growing support inside the religious hierarchy, some opposition to the ordination of women within the sangha remains.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: To obtain a passport for travel abroad, a monk must have an official letter from Sangha Supreme Council granting the applicant permission to travel abroad, a Buddhist monk identification card, a copy of house or temple registration and they must submit any previous Thai passport or a certified copy.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In addition to state support and recognition — in the form of formal gifts to monasteries made by government officials and the royal family (for example, Kathin)—-a number of special rights are conferred upon Buddhist monks. They are granted free passage on public transportation, and most train stations and airports have special seating sections reserved for members of the clergy. Conversely, ordained monastics are forbidden from standing for office or voting in elections.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In 2007, calls were made by some Buddhist groups for Buddhism to be recognized in the new national constitution as the state religion. This suggestion was initially rejected by the committee charged with drafting the new constitution. This move prompted protests from supporters of the initiative, including a number of marches on the capital and a hunger strike by twelve Buddhist monks. Some critics of the plan, including scholar and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, claimed that the movement to declare Buddhism the national religion is motivated by political gain, manipulated by supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The Constitution Drafting Committee later voted against the special status of Buddhism, provoking religious groups. They condemned the committee and the draft constitution. On 11 August 2007, Sirikit, the Queen of Thailand, expressed her concern over the issue. She said, in her birthday speech, that Buddhism is beyond politics. Some Buddhist organizations halted their campaigns the next day.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: No law directly prohibits a member of any Buddhist institution, such as a monk, a novice and a nun, from being a candidate in an examination for recruitment of government officers. Though both the Council of Ministers and the Sangha Supreme Council, (the supervising body of Thai Buddhist communities), have ordered such prohibition on grounds of appropriateness, according to the Memorandum of the Cabinet's Administrative Department No. NW98/2501 dated 27 June 1958 and the Order of the Sangha Supreme Council dated 17 March, 1995.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Members of the Buddhist community and the communities of other religions are not entitled to elect or be elected as a holder of any government post. For instance, the 2007 constitution of Thailand disfranchises "a Buddhist monk, a Buddhist novice, a priest or a clergy member" ().


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: The Sangha Supreme Council also declared the same prohibition, pursuant to its Order dated 17 March, 1995. At the end of the Order was a statement of grounds given by Nyanasamvara, the Supreme Patriarch. The statement said:


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Buddhism in Thailand came under greater state control following the 2014 coup d'état. After seizing power, the military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), set up the National Reform Council with a religious committee led by former Thai senator Paiboon Nititawan and former monk Mano Laohavanich. Calls for reform were spearheaded by right-wing activist monk Phra Buddha Issara, who had close ties with junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha, and was known for leading the protests in Bangkok that led to the coup.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: State influence over several aspects of Thai Buddhism increased under the NCPO, with the junta's new constitution stating that the Thai government is to directly support Theravada Buddhism specifically. In 2015, the junta's National Reform Council made several proposals to give the state greater control of Buddhism, including requiring temples to open their finances to the public, ending short-term ordinations, requiring monks to carry smart cards to identify their legal and religious backgrounds, increasing control of temples bank accounts, increasing control of monastic disciplinarians, changing the abbots of all temples every five years, putting the Ministry of Culture in charge of controlling all temple assets, controlling monastic education, and taxing monks.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In 2016, Phra Buddha Issara requested that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) investigate the assets of Thailand's leading monks, the Sangha Supreme Council. This resulted in an alleged tax evasion scandal against Somdet Chuang, the most senior member of the council who was next in line to become supreme patriarch. Although prosecutors did not charge Somdet, the incident postponed his appointment and led to a change in the law that allowed the Thai government to bypass the Sangha Supreme Council and appoint the supreme patriarch directly. This allowed the ruling junta to effectively handpick Thailand's supreme patriarch. In 2017, Somdet Chuang's appointment was withdrawn, with a monk from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya appointed instead. The appointment was made by King Rama X, who chose the name from five given to him by NCPO leader Prayut Chan-o-cha.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In February 2017, the junta used Article 44, a controversial section in the interim constitution, to replace the head of the National Office of Buddhism with a DSI official. The DSI official was removed from office a few months later after religious groups called on the government to fire him because of his reform plans, but was reinstated after a few months.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: In May 2018, the NCPO launched simultaneous raids of four different temples to arrest several monks shortly after a crackdown on protesters on the anniversary of the coup. To the surprise of many officials, one of the monks arrested was Phra Buddha Issara. The right-wing monk was arrested on charges brought against him in 2014, including alleged robbery and detaining officials, however, his most serious charge was a charge of unauthorized use of the royal seal filed in 2017. Police did not state why he was then being arrested for charges filed as far back as four years. One observer described the arrest of Buddha Issara as trying to cover up the true motives or because Buddha Issara knew too much about the rulers and was seen as a threat. Another said that the junta may regard him as a loose canon politically and that the junta is virtue signaling—deserving continued political power—to the new Thai monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. All the monks arrested in the May raids were defrocked shortly after being taken into custody, and detained before trial.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Anthropologist Jim Taylor argues that the arrests were the "ruling palace regime" trying to consolidate royalist power by eliminating non-royalist high-ranking monks. Taylor pointed out that the suspects of the investigations were innocent until proven guilty, yet were all defrocked before trial and stripped of decades of monastic seniority only for being accused of the crimes. The only royalist monk arrested was Buddha Issara. In July 2018, the junta passed a law giving the Thai king the ability to select members of the Sangha Supreme Council, the governing body of Thai monks, instead of the monks themselves. The alleged scandals of the 2017–18 Thai temple fraud investigations and the resulting arrests were cited as the reason for the change.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: As in most other Theravada nations, Buddhism in Thailand is represented primarily by the presence of Buddhist monks, who serve as officiants on ceremonial occasions, as well as being responsible for preserving and conveying the teachings of the Buddha.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: During the latter half of the 20th century, most monks in Thailand began their careers by serving as temple boys ( "dek wat", "children of the wat"). Temple boys are traditionally no younger than eight and do minor housework. The primary reason for becoming a temple boy is to gain a basic education, particularly in basic reading and writing and the memorization of the scriptures chanted on ritual occasions. Prior to the creation of state-run primary schools in Thailand, village temples served as the primary form of education for most Thai boys. Service in a temple as a temple boy was a necessary prerequisite for attaining any higher education, and was the only learning available to most Thai peasants. Since the creation of a government-run educational apparatus in Thailand, the number of children living as temple boys has declined significantly. However, many government-run schools continue to operate on the premises of the local village temple.


title: Buddhism in Thailand

text: Boys now typically ordain as sāmaṇera or novitiate monks ( "samanen", often shortened to "nen" ). In some localities, girls may become sāmaṇerī. Novices live according to the Ten Precepts but are not required to follow the full range of monastic rules found in the Pātimokkha. There are a few other significant differences between novices and bhikkhus. Novices often are in closer contact with their families, spending more time in the homes of their parents than monks. Novices do not participate in the recitation of the monastic code (and the confessions of violations) that take place on the uposatha days. Novices technically do not eat with the monks in their temple, but this typically only amounts to a gap in seating, rather than the separation observed between monks and the laity. Novices usually ordain during a break from secular schooling, but those intending on a religious life, may receive secular schooling at the wat.