Page 59 - JMSD Vol.1 No.2 - 2016

วารสาร มจร การพัฒนาสังคม
ปีที่ 1 ฉบับที่ 2 พฤษภาคม - สิงหาคม 2559

than before; they can keep a living on without any help from the government. At
the same way, many communities are looking forwards to such communal leader
to improve their standard of living. Meanwhile, a number of educated monks
target to work as a missionary in oversea like the United States of America and
other European countries. At the same time, the researcher expects nothing from
such useless idea because they just only go for the Thai Buddhists in oversea;
but they never work for non-Buddhist. Although lots of foreigners want to know
more about Buddhism, especially how to practice meditation, but unfortunately
few numbers of the Thai Buddhist missionary can properly do this duty. It would
be better for the Thai Buddhist missionary to study harder and harder and get
particularly trained before going for the oversea job. While monks joined the Phra
Dhammajarik Programme are doing a fine job somehow, but they still need to
get more technical trains.
Thus, it can be said that the roles of Thai Sangha cover all aspects of
the Thai life style. As Tawee Sutraromlugsh (1994: 17) has summarized the roles
of monks and monasteries that monastery is everything of the Thai society and
also the spiritual centre of ordinary people. Meanwhile, monks as on behalf of
monastery are the spiritual leaders of people and also the centre of respects and
cooperation between people in society. In regard to this, it should be said that
monastery has been the security of national solidarity.

The Sangha’s Administrative System
The Administrative system of the Thai Sangha Society, which is divided
into two main sects, i.e., Mahanikaya and Dhammayuttika, is well known as the
Ecclesiastical Honorific System referring to a similar system to feudal system
in the state administration of the former Thai Kingdom. In regard to this, it has
been influenced since the Ayutthaya period and still inherited from generation
to generation for many decades.
The Sangha society consists of the administrative structure similarly to
the governmental one chaired by His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch, as the
ex-officio president, serves as the consultative council to the Supreme Patriarch.
The said council is the administrative body of all Thai Buddhist Monk, consisting
of all Somdej Phra Rajagana, Phra Rajagana, Chaoganachangwat, Chaogana
amphur, Chaogana tumbon, and Chao awasa respectively. The Thai Sangha
Council called Mahathera Samakom comprises of His Holiness the Supreme

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