Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn dedicates much of her time working for the social welfare of the rural people. She is seen constantly accompanying His Majesty the King on his innumerable visits to the remotest part of the country.

An important pant of her work stems from the fact that Buddhism is the national religion and His Majesty the King is regarded as the Supreme Patron of Thai Buddhism. All members of the Royal Family are expected to be devout Buddhists. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Ohakri Sirindhorn does not regard this as purely a duty, but is a firm believer and beholder in the Three Gems of Buddhism. This is clearly demonstrated in a short essay written while she was at secondary school.

"...Human beings may be differentiated from other animals by the fact that man has the wisdom to think and act for the benefit of other beings... However brightly the sun shines. if cannot match the brightness of this wisdom, for light can nevorbe bright enough to illuminate the truth. Therefore. it may be said that the Lord Buddha's proverb, `Light which is as bright as wisdom, does not exist' is very true."

Another well known work on Buddhism is "Poetry from Buddhist Proverbs" which was written in 1974 while she was studying at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. She wrote:

"I consider studying Buddhist proverbs very useful because they help one to understand the truth fdharmal which can be used to guide ones life. So I studied from the book of proverbs written by His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch. Phnce Vajirayanavaroros, reading small sections each day I composed one or two poems a day in order to help myself memorize the proverbs. These poems have been collected together and published in Poetry from Buddhist Pro verbs."

Her Royal Highness has also revived the tradition of sending well wishing cards on Visakha Pusha. Several government agencies, following her wishes. have begun to published the cards. each embellished with a poem from this anthology.

Under the title `Religion and Democracy', she wrote:

"Buddhism plays its part in upholding the principles ofdemocracy. Democracy is the process of governing society by giving the members of that society the right to govern Themselves for the common good and happiness. and not for the benefit ofan individual. In democracy. free dom of speech, equality. and the general consensus of opinions are of prime importance. It may be seen that the Lord Buddha ruled his disciples with full democracy. Each Buddhist monk is entitled to vote within a community in which each monk enjoys absolute equality. belt in decision making or in making known personal opinions."

This extract demonstrates Her Royal Highness' understanding of politics and of society at large. It also demonstrates how religious principles can be applied in everyday life.

One of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's greatest achievements was the restoration of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which culminated in 1982. This royal temple is the most important in the land because it houses the Emerald Buddhawhich is the most venerated Buddha statue ot all. The temple is also important for the fact that it holds the very best of Thai art and crafts. The Fine Arts Department had been undertaking restoration during 1976 - 1978. Much difficulty was encoun tered, and it was unlikely to be completed in time for the bicentennial celebrations ot 1982. Her Royal Highness was appointed Director of the project in 1980. Because of her influence and hard work. restoration was completed in time.

Now Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has become, among other things, a symbol otunity for pious Buddhists in Thailand. She leads the nation on special occasions such as in the circumambulation around the great Buddha at Buddha monthon. In this annual event, she is able to conduct the service without resorting to notes.

Anothergreat achievement related to Buddhism is her masters degree thesis on The Tenfold Virtues of Theravada Buddhism' 119811. This study of Theravada Buddhism as it appears in Thailand entailed in depth research into the Buddhist scriptures and other publications. It has become of great value to literary. religious and social studies

Back to Content

Back to The Thai Heritage Page