Join us via Zoom for the next Jun Zhou Lecture in Theravada Buddhism, delivered by Brooke Schedneck: “‘Worship the Robes, Not the Wearer’: Lay Buddhist Scrutiny in Contemporary Thailand” 

The lecture will be March 8 at 5pm EST and will be delivered via Zoom. 

Brooke Schedneck, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Millard Professor of Religion, Rhodes College

Dr. Schedneck has taught at Rhodes since 2017. She teaches courses on Buddhism, Asian religions, and in the Life program. She also leads the Maymester in Thailand. Before coming to Rhodes, she taught study abroad students as a lecturer in Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for four years. She has been invited to give research presentations in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. In 2020, Dr. Schedneck published a co-edited volume titled Buddhist Tourism in Asia and her second monograph, an ethnography of Buddhism in Chiang Mai, was published by the University of Washington Press in 2021.

Her work broadly concerns contemporary Buddhism in Thailand, where she has lived and conducted research for over eight years. Further interests include global Buddhism, religions of Southeast Asia, gender in Asian religions, and religious tourism. Previous research has explored the modern vipassana meditation movement in Thailand’s international meditation centers and tourist encounters with Buddhism in Northern Thailand. Her current research focuses on monastic scandals and the monastic body within Thai Buddhism. She is also writing a book on contemporary, lived Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia.

Abstract: In contemporary Thailand, a significant topic of discussion is monastic behavior. Details matter for Thai Buddhist laity, who evaluate monks based on their appearance and physical comportment within the monastic robes. The monastic body, in essence, is judged by its difference from the non-monastic, ordinary, or secular body. Transgressions of appropriate monastic behavior are omnipresent in Thai media. Major monastic scandals involving sex, drugs and money, as well as minor, everyday scandals of misbehaving monks appear regularly in Thai media outlets. One significant form of inappropriate behavior for male monks is femininity. Effeminate or kathoei monks have generated considerable public discourse concerning Thai Buddhist monasticism. Feminine gestures and appearances are captured in Thai social media, revealing the extent of surveillance surrounding male monastic bodily performance. I label this regulation by Thai Buddhist laity onto male monastics as the Thai Buddhist lay gaze. The prominence of social media and smart devices has allowed for not only journalists, but also regular Thai citizens to catch Buddhist monks at inopportune moments. With this level of suspicion and regulation of the monastic institution, this presentation investigates the tension between the well-known phrase, ‘worship the robes, not the wearer,’ and preferring some monks over others. Utilizing analysis of Thai media from 2010-2021 along with a survey conducted during May-July 2021 of 60 Thai lay Buddhist participants, I argue that Thai Buddhists perceive the current moment to be a precarious time for their religion, where the trust between monks and laity is breaking down. Yet, my findings also reveal that there remains confidence in the Buddhist teachings, the necessity of support for the religion, and especially good monks

For details and the registration link, please visit our Buddhist Studies page.