SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt

The Meaning of Sufficiency Economy
International Conference
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parts of the establishment, had been practising and promoting sufficiency economy
decades before the economic crisis in 1997. 5
The most important element of the Asoke self-sufficiency ideas is to switch to
organic agriculture from the chemical-intensive agriculture. Asoke group has also
been promoting the idea of integrated agriculture, where different plants are mixed
in a mutually beneficial way. Many of these Asoke policies can be traced back to the
ideas of Buddhist Economics as presented by E.F. Schumacher in his path breaking
article “Buddhist Economics” in the book “Small Is Beautiful” from 1973.
BUDDHIST ASOKE MOVEMENT
The Buddhist Asoke group has been somewhat of a pioneer in Thailand in
practising self-sufficiency in the village community level. The group has been highly
successful in its endeavour and has become a showcase to various Thai
governments, particularly after the disastrous collapse of the “bubble economy” in
1997, and after the famous speech by H.M. the King, in December 1997, supporting
and encouraging the Thai society to become more self-sufficient.
The Asoke is a Buddhist group, established by a Buddhist monk Bodhiraksa , 6
who ordained in the state sangha forty years ago. He was not impressed with the
practice of the mainstream Buddhist monks and ended up forming his own group of
disciples. The group is strictly vegetarian, puts emphasis on the monastic vinaya
rules, ordains women as Ten-Precept nuns (Sikkhamats), and presents sometimes
very radical interpretations of Buddhist Pali concepts, thus annoying the state
Buddhist monastic authorities, the Council of Elders (Mahatherasamakhom) and the
traditionally rather lax and fun-loving Thai monks and lay Buddhists.
Asoke group’s economic visions, however, have been met more positively. The
group was founded in the 1970s, and the first Thai books and articles about the
group, usually classified the Asoke group as “Utopian”. 7
The group has several well-established Buddhist centres in various parts of
Thailand: Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Sisaket, Ubon
Ratchathani, Nakhon Sawan and Chiang Mai. Several new budding centres are
5
The Asoke group is perceived as extremely controversial in Thailand, partly due to the
group’s strict vegetarianism and initial rejection of Buddha images. Recently, the group also joined
the anti-Thaksin ‘yellow shirt’ demonstrations. See Heikkil?-Horn (2010).
6
In Thai he is known as: Samana Phothirak or Pho Than Phothirak.
7
Suwanna Satha-anand (1990) refers to the two articles written earlier in Thai by Sombat
Chantronwong “The Pathom Asoke Community. A Study of Buddhist Utopia.”, and Prawet Wasi
“Suan Mok, Thammakai, Santi Asok” both from 1988. Apinya Fuengfusakul used the same term as
late as in 1993 in her article “Empire of Crystal and Utopian Commune: Two types of contemporary
Theravada reform in Thailand”. Recent scholarship also regards the Asoke group relatively
positively in terms of their live style; see Essen (2005) and Kanoksak (2008).