Merit-Making Capitalism

7/24/2019 Merit-Making Capitalism

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MERIT-MAKING CAPTTALISM

Jiernen

Bao

Journal of

Asian American

Sudies.'

Jun

2005;

8, 2;

Multicultural Module

pg.

i15

M

ERIT.MAKI

NG

CAPITALISM

Reterritarializing

California

Thai

Buddhism

in Silicon

ValleY,

jiemen

bao

\ Jrsri-eo

AGATNST GENTLY

RoLLiNc

FoorHltLs,

surrottnded by

live oak,

l\

pirryo.,

pine,

and

eucalyptus trees,

Waf

Thai of

Silicon

Valley, a

Theravada

Buddhist

temple,

glistens

in

the

bright

autumn

sunlight-'The

chapel's

roof

is adorned

with

tiers of

glazed

green-and-yellow

terra

cotra

tiles.

Eight

golden

bird-like

"sky

hooks"

(choS6l

are

affixed to the

top

of

the

gables

and

on the

end of

its

roof.2Above

t}re

chapei

doorwayare

a

pair

of tall,

triangular-shaped

gables

framed

in

gold-colored

wood

carved

to

resemble

a

mystical

serpent,

its

center

inscriled

with

the

insignia

of

Thailand s

Queen

Sirikit.Tko

gold,green, and

redcarved

dragon-like

ser-

pents

flank

the

staircases

on

the

eastern

and western

sides

of

the chapel,

serving

as

sentries

or

guardians. Boundary

stofis,

white

on the

bottom

and

grey

on

the

top, encircle

the

chapel

and

mark the

division between

sacred

and

mundane

space.

Largephotographs

of theQueen

are displayed

to

the

left in

front cf

the

chaPel.

Closer

to

the street

is

a

cheerful one-stsry

residence

surmounted

by

two

satellite

dishes.

This

is

the monks'

chambers.

Its off-white

walls,

trimmed

in

blue,

blend

right

in

with the blazing

white,

pink, and

yellow

roses

encircling

the s6ucture.

A

magnolia

tree

near the

front

entry

planted

by

the

Queen,

is

especially

grand.

On

weekends,

and especially

on big

religious

holidays,

the

temple's

parking

lot

fills,

mostly

with late model

sedans,

SUVs,

and

luxury

cars:

Toyotas,

Hondas'

Yolvo station

wagons'

BMWs,

Land

Rovers, Ford Explorers,

and

|eep

Grand Cherokees-

Many

J*As

JUNE

2OG5

.

115-142

@

rxE.nrns

H@KrNs

uu1/ERstrv

Pmss

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pem*ssion

of

ihe copyright ormer.

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2/27

Figure

1.

The

chapel

at Wat

Thai

of

Siticon

Valley,

California"

Figure

2.

Tne monks'

quarters.

Reproduced

with

permission

of the copyright

owner.

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reproduction

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without

permission


3/27

M'RIT.MAKING

CTFITALISM

l1'omen

are

fashionably

dressed

and

sport

gold

Buddha

amulets

and neck-

lace$ others

are

attired

in

colorful outfits

fashioned

from

Thai

silk. Here

and

there, one

ses

a

fi1a5.

wearing

a

Thai-style

silk

shirt,

occirsionally

wifh

a

gold shoulder-clcth,

but

most

men

are

dressed

in

business

casuai

style

or

infbrmally

in

blue

jeans

and

tennis

shaes-

Cel

phones ring

out,

but

most

are

silenced

before

attendees

remove

their

shoes and

enter

the

chapel.

This

is

fhe

temple

that I

have

been

researching

intermittently

since

1997.

According

to the

U.S.

Census

Bureau

(2000),

rnore than 150,000

Thais

live

i1 the

United States,

with almost one-third

{46,868i

concentrated

in

California.

Thais

are among

the

fastest

growing

Asian

American

popula-

tions,

increasing

by

64.6?a

cver the iast

decade.r

Hcweverr

the current

dominant research

madel

has

cOrrcentrated

On

cclcnized,

yrar-tormented

refugees

from Thailand's

neighbaring

countries'Althoogh

Thais

have

not

suffered

forced

migration,they

have

experienced

relocation and

cultural

disruption.

What

distinguishes

Thai immigrants

from the

Yietnamese,

Cambodial,

Laotian,

and

Hm*ng

refugees

is a

largerproportion

of white-

collar

prolbssicnals

who

have

greater

eccncrnic

reGcurces'

more

educa-

tional

capital,

and

higher

class mobility.

A large

number

of

Thai professionals-entrepreneurs,

medical

per-

sonnel,

pharmacists,

engineers,

and scientists*immigrated

to the

United

States

between

1968 and

1976.aSome came

on

student

visas

but did

not

go

back tc

Thailand.

Instead,

theyfound

white-callar

and

managerial

iobs

or opened

Thai

restaurants

throughout

the United

States.

In

addition,

there

were

a

substantial

number of

inter-racial

marriages between

Thai

women and

American

GIs during

the Indochina

War'r

Because

of

their

wives'

associati*n

with

Thai templest

some

of

tlrese ARrerican

husb*nds

have

been absorbed

into

the

ThaiAmerican

community

Furthermcre.

Thai

Americans continue

to regard

rlr*nks as

moral

authorities.

In contrast,

as

a lingering after-effect

af the war

in Cambo-

dia,KhmerAmericans,forexample,

still find

ithard

to

trust

Khmer

monks

or the

Cambodian

state

while struggling

with their

present

pcver-ly

ard

terrible

memory

of their

recent past.6Unlike

in

the U.S.,

where chnrch

and

state

are

separated,

Theravada

Buddhism

is

Thaiiand's

*tate

religion

and is regarded

as one

of

the three

"pillars"

of Thai

scciety'

Thailand's

king is

constitutionally

required

to be

a

Buddhist.

The

Thai

nation-state

117

'rrrd^ra'J,.

W,aJV'T'

-r"l

-.

r,

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of the

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owner.

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reproduction

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4/27

118

has

long

equated

"being

Thai"

with "being

Buddhist."?

Such identity poli-

tics continues

to

resonate

among Thais

in

the

united

states.

since the

first Thai

American

wat,

or

temple,

was founded

in

Lcs

Angel

es

in 1972,

at least

ninety

others

have been

established.sA

Thai

temple

seryes

a$ a

reiigious,

cultural,

and communify

center

and

is

by far

the

most

influen-

tial institution

among Thai

Americans.

"The

temple

is

at the

center

of

belief;

it is

at the hea6

and in

the

blood,

of the

peoplej'said

the

abbot

of

Wat Thai

of

Silicon Yalley

(henceforth

referred to

as Wat

Thai).

He

ccn-

tinued,

"People

s{pport

the

temple

more

than

any

dub

or

association

because

the temple

helps

people

not only in

this life

but in

the

next life

as

well."e

Today, we are

urged

to

conceptualize

how culturat

beliefs and

prac-

tices

are

simultaneouslybeing"de-territorialized"ard

"re-territorializedjto

]onathan

Inda and

Renato

Rqsado

pcint

out

that"culture

has

bees

seen

as something

rooted

in'soil,"'but

actually

culfure travels.lr

For

cenfuries

Theravada

Buddhism,

one of

the

three main branches

of

Buddhisrn,

has

been

associated

mainly

with

Sri

Lanka,

Cambodia,

Laos,

Burma,

and

Thai-

land.

Mahayana

Buddhism

is associated

largety with

China

and

|apan,

and

Tibetan

Buddhism

with

Tibet.

However,

over the

last

centuty,

as

mi-

grants

have

carried

their practices

with

thern

while

settling

in

new

coun-

tries, these geographic

and cultural

links

have

grown

weaker.

By

dwelling

in

the

United

States,

Thais have

keenly

experienced

Buddhism,s

displace-

ment.

For years

the

T-hai

Americans

of Wat

Thai

have

continuously

asked

themselves,

"

f..ts

of

different

socio_economir

and

culrrrt"l

cnn4itisns

mrke

it

imfrrac_

ticable

to copy what

thev did

jn

&ailand

Insread,

they

have

to

crsare

strategies to

establish Thai

Buddhism

in their

new

home,

therebyenpress-

ing

their cultural

and

middle-class

identity

and

differentiating

themselves

from

"underclass"

refugees.

"Class

is not

prior

to or outside

of

discourse

and

performance,"

Mark

tiechty

points

out,

"but

an emergent

cuitural

project

wherein people

attempt

to

speak

and act

themselves--and

their

new

socioeconomic

existenc+-into

cultural

'realit'

or

coherencej'n

In

other words,

class

is

neither

a

fixed noticn,

nor

does

it

consist

merely

of

economic

criteria

such

as

occupation

and income;

rather,

it

is

an every-

day practice

informed

by dynamic

socio-eccnomic

and

anltural

forces.

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5/27

,{tri

\)"

N

,F.

.]

J1*'

,it

MERIT-MAKIII|G

CAPffALISM

Wat

Thai

started

from

scratch

in

1983

ald

over

the

next

decade

raised

and

spenr

more

rhan

$1.2

milliondollars

to

build

an

eye-catching

fu.il I'

By

thiind

of

1999,

the

temple

was

completely

debt-free.

In

August

20O4,

wat

Thai

purctrased

an

adjoining

piece

of

properfy

for

$t,6

millicn

as

an

investmelt

a1d

for

future

expansion.

In addirion,

tlre

iemple

enjr:ys

a

geo-

graphic

advantage:

four

of

the

top

twenty

highest-earning

zip

codes

in

the

country

tbased

on

the

number

of

households

earning

$100'000

or

more)

arewithin

mmmuting

distance.'l

its

financial

situation

reflects

not

.just

the

local

economy

but

also

the

communitls

eqcnomic

clout and

de-

,.JUJL

Urt

rV@

ulvrrvrtrt

-l

-

\-

(

termination

to raise

its class

and

cuhural

visibility'\

\-

, r ,r:-L

Wat

Thai

capitalizes

on the

Buddhist

belief

of

imaking

merit"

and

in

re-

territorializinq,

Theravada

Buddhism.

Nevertheless,

it

has

not

received

the

best

description

of

different

types

of

capital:

The

social

world

can

be

conceived

as

a

muhidimensional

space

that

can

be

constnrcted

. .

. by discovering

the

pcwer

or

farms

a{

c*pit*l

which

are

or can

become

efiEcient,

like aces

in

a game of

cards,

in this

particular

universe,

that

is, in the

struggle

(or

competition)

for the

appropriation

of scarce

goods of

which

this

universe

is fle

site'

"

'

ln a social

universe

like

French

society.

and

no

doubt

in

the

America

n

society

of today,

these

fundamenta

s*cial

powers are

. . . firstly

ewnomic

capital,

in

its

various kinds;

secondly

eultural

capilal,

or

better,

informational

capital,

again

in ix

different

kinds;

and

thirdly

tw+

forms

of

capital

that

are

vry

strongly

correlated,

sqqrli

capllat'ryhrib

9 gg

gf-reqq {g*19{9tlgLqqcrrgss-3ldgrssp-slsmbcrSb'andsymbolic

capital,

*hi.r,

i* th.

form

the

different

types

of

capital take

once

they

are

perceived and recognized

as

legitimate-'6

According

to

Bourdieu,

cppllal

ita&ryLgj

po}'-e{;

different

capitals

indi-

cate

different

kinds

of

power

and

resources

from

different

institutions,

and they

are

interconnected

and

convertible.

But,

this

conveltibility

has

{thaibun},"giving

gifu" to

the monks

and

the

temple'

and

"doing

good

things"

throughout

one's

life

Merit-making

has

long been

the most

popu-

lar

everydaypractice

amcngThai

Buddhists

for

accumglating

good karma

and

positively

influencing

a

perscn's current

and

future lives'ta

In:{me,ri-

attention

it deserves.ts

simultaneous

6d

social.

Pierre

Bourdieur

provides

perhaps

the

Reproduced

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owner.

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permission'


6/27

120

limits: there

are

more than one

set

of criteria

for

potential

conyertibility

in

a

heterogeneous

society-a

point

which Bourdieu

failed

to

recognize.rT

For

example, in the

U.S. Christianiry is

the

dominant

religion.

Thai Bud-

dhist

beliefs, such

as

merit,

karma, and rebirrh,

are

unfamiliar

to a

vast

majorify

ofAmericans. Although

Buddhism may

be

less

stigmatized than,

say, Islam in

contemporary American

society,

Thai

monks and their

fol-

lowers

find that the religious

privilege

they

enjoyed

in Thailand,

where

over 90

percent

of

the

population

call themselyes

Buddhistg

goes

unrc-

ognized

in

the

U.S.

because

oftheir

fareign, or

"outsider

within,"

status,

their marginalized

"Thai-ness,"

and their

dislscated

Buddhism.

To understand how Thai

Americans

re-territorialize

Buddhism,

I

will

explore the

ways

in

which

"local"

professional

Thai Americans

have

conflated

the Thai Buddhist

practice

of

merit-makin g

with

capitalist

prac*

tices

in

the

process

of

fundraising.

"Capitalist

activities,"

Michael

Blim

claims,

"are-and

should be*related

to the

fulfillment

of

our

fundamental

needs,"

and all capitalisms

have

their local

characteristics.rtWhile

capital-

ism

in China

and Taiwan is

often

labeled guanxi

capitalism

because its

activities

are

conducted through personal

connections,

gifts,

and favors,re

I

refer

to Thai

Americans'capitalist

activities

as

"merit-making

capital-

ism."

The Thai Americans

of

W'at

Thai have combined

Buddhist

beliefs

and capitalist

practices

to expres$

who

they are

and, in

the

process,

rede-

fine

their

relationships

with Thailand

and

the United States.

I

contend

that

they continue to

be

shap@,

unO

ilJiffi

of Thailand, the country they left

behind,

and

the United

States,

the

cou:n-

try in which

fhey now dwell.

a

rultural and

e dass

srrugg,le.kamining

their

hybrid

cultur*land

capi-

talist

practices,

networks,

and discourses

in different

conterls will

help us

in their own

Who

are

the

key players

integrating Thai Buddhism

and

capitalism

at Wat

Thai?Temple

members are mostly Thai, together

with

scme

eth-

nic Laotians, mainland

Southeast

Asian

Chinese,

European

Americans,

cambodians,

Burmese,

X.}3$:j'3Egryi,

and v:1:19T.

Amons

demonstrate

are

not

iust

their

:lUftr*yJhus,

practicing

@,

I

suggest,

is both

to understand how

Thai

Americans use

Reproduced

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owner.

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7/27

MERIT#AruNG

CAP'TAL'SM

nine and fundraisins.

The

first

and most impartant

step in

building

this

temple

was

draft-

ing

dernocratic

bylaws,

that is,

choosing

to

participate in

representative

democracy.

Two of the temple's founding

members, a

Thai

American

and

a

]ewish

American,

drafted

the

bylaws. Sombun,

an

engineer

who worked

for the

Bay Area's subway

system,

c

'

emphasiziag

that they were

written

to

insure that no individual could

monopolize the

temp'rle's

governance,

Thi*

it

u

tigtifi*t

d*pu.turc

conventional

sees

a temple's

internal affairs. Sombul continued,'the

monlrs and

lay

@r,

support each

other,

and barance,

*n-

trclling each

other to make

the

organizatian

work

effectively."'0The boa4l

ngaglqgi4rPa&ttan'

Board members are elected according to

ability not ethnicity. Over

the

years,

the

board

of directors

has

included

ethnic Thai,

Thai

Isan

{who

are ethnic

Lao), Chinese Thai, European Americans,

and Hispanic men

and

women.

Among its fifteen

members,

about thirty

percnt are non-

Thai

who

married Thai

women, and

thirty

percent are women. Although

these

percentages

vary

from year

to

year, tftere

have

atwrys

been Amagq

and non-Thais on the board.

The

abbot

heads

the

board

of directors

and

supervises

the

temple's

daily operations, Many

people

call him

"Luang

Pho," an

affectionate term of re$pect for a senior

monk

so

I,

too,

will

address

him in

this fashion.Thai Americans,

including Buddhist monks,

to use Renato F.osaldo's

words,

"live

at

the

intersection

cf

multiple

sub-

ject

positions."?r

Their networks antl activities

reach beyand

the

lacal

ta

different

parts

of

the

United

States and to

Thail*nd,

although

in an

un-

even manner.

lYlenr-Mnrnc:

T$E

Smmua

MonnL Onorn

A

Europearr

Anerican

novice wha recently was

crda ined

at a

rural

temple

inRajburi

Province,Thailand,

describes

the alms-rounds

that Thai

monks

practice

daily:

421

nal

ionals

are the most

infiuent9.l, forjlhevare the

contribute

innovative

ideas

about

master

plan-

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owner.

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8/27

L22

There

are

four routes,

and

two monks

ccver

each

route,

,

,

.'W.e

walk

barefooted,

and

the road

takes

you through beautiful

rural

areas

with

papaya

andmango plantations.When

reaching

ahouse

people

will

already

be kneeling

by the

roadside,

holding

the tray

with fqod

over

the

head.

Firstly

they

will

offer

the

rice

and

then

the

curry

in

a

plasric

bag,

so it

doesn't

mix with

the rice.

Often

rhey

will

also

give

flowers,

cakes,

and

fruit.

...

It

should

be noted

that

the

monls

are never

begging

for

food

on

the daily

alms-round.

They never

ask

for

anything,

but acrept

whatever

is

put

into

the

alms-bowl

in

silence-

@

to

give

lay

peaple

an

opporfi*tity

to

make

ment3

lvlerit

{bun},as

5.

J.

Tambiah

comments,

is

gained

not

just

by.giving

per

se but

is

'acquired'

by

the

willingness

of

the monks to

receivei'?]

As

"fields

of meritj'the

monks

(the

gift-receivers)

are

located

in

a far

more

superior position

than

the

merit-maker (the

gift-giver).This

emphasis

reminds

laypeople

to

be humble

and happy

that

their

gifts

are

graciously

accepted.

As Thomas

Kirsch

points

out,

"The

main

focus

of

merit*mak-

ing activities

is

the

monk,

or

more

generally,

the

sangha,

which

is

rrbiqui-

tous

throughout

Thailand.

The

sangha

stands

as

the

proximate

enemplar

and

symbolic

centr

of Buddhism;

the

mank

stands

at

the

apx

of the

Thai

religious

and

social

order.":{

From

a Theravada

Buddhist

point

of

view,

a

monk

is

not

someone

who

lives

off of

charity.

In

Buddhist Thailand,the

sangha

enjoy

social

prestige.A

shaved

head

symbolizes

a

monk's

detachment

from

his

family

and this

worldly

life,

and

his safffon-colored

robe embodies

merit

as a

symbor

of Buddhism,

I-"A*"rt."l

r".t.tf

fs*reqlkdnint$r:dtqw:

.

.f.n

b..-rr. ht-

*tl#ousqndslmlolicqpial

eqhgg1gggry={,

t"a..a,

-"tt

r

"la

r

theymay

also

experience

greatercultural

misunderstanding

&an

Thai

civilians-

one

monk

told

me that

he

was

mj$4en

fqlaEarcX$$bqa

and

had

roeks

thrown

at

him.

Emily,

a Buddhist

nun,

told

me that

on Halloween,

a

young

woman'

intrigued

by her shaved

head

and

white robe,

asked

her,

"what's

the

costume that

you're

wearing?'"This

is my

uniformi

Emity

replied.

?s

Another monk

recalled

a

yonng man asking

if

he

would

teach

him mar-

fial

arts.

These

Americans

apparently

saw Buddhist

mon&s

and

nuns

through

their

own

culture-bound

frames

of reference,

such

as

cul*,

HaI_

loween

ccstumes,

and

Kung

Fu

movies,

Reproduced with

permission

of

the

copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


9/27

M

ERIT.MAKING

CAPITALTSM

s{tA

Themonks

have

hadto

modifr

their

monastic

discipline,for

example,

tfr"

"i66ffia"@

Iandscape.

This

necessity

was

especially

true

in

the

1980s'

During

that

time'

one

monk

chose

to

wear

"a

very

dull

color,

a

kind

of

maroon-brown

color"

robe

while

at-

tending

classes

at

U.C.

Berkeley,

because

the

earth-tone

robe

was

*less

eye

catching."?6

Chatting

about

different

cclored

robes'

Bhikkhuni'

a

Euro-

pean

American

female

monk,

said

that

"Americans

are not

familiar

with

TheravadaBuddhistrobes.Thedarkorangeralreslaokn:orelikethe

catholic

one,

so

it is

more

familiarl2TWhether

oless

eye

catching"

or

"more

familiari,

the

botrom

line

is not

the

color

itself

but-$$ffereglcultsr4

ln

t

would

be

verY

difficult

for

the

*orrt

*

*t

o

wear

these robes

to

practice

daily

alms-rounds

in

the

subur-

123

ban

neightlorhoods

surroundingwat

Thai.

Religious

freedom

is

a

consti-

tutional

right"

but

it

does

not insure

thar

all

religions

are

treated

equally.

Althoush

the

Thai

moral

order

it

ch4lenged

in

4ry*n:an

soti

.e*.*=*;ilil*f"Uhai

lmericans

convey

their

respect

for

Buddhist

;""k

h

a,aiingthat

is,

by

placing the

palms of

the

hands

together

at

chest

level

and

bowing

rhghtly.{gg E

d" g@

car$e

of

his

reljgious

cadt

e'

Tf,lis

will

rilG"tpf.,

*ft*

ffi

at

a

height

iower

than

h

monk+gai-ilp

r

are

woven

into

the

fabric

of

Thai

American

communities

andhelp

maintain

and

reproduce

the

Thai

moral

order

in

their

new

home.

Merir-making

is

gender-specific

rather

than

value-free'

-Tlgrr9ggl44

women

are

continuouslv

soci-alized

ts

acsumulate

meriljli&Igt]]$j'

Mo-

**rtia

,a*ir.

is believed

to transform

a

"lad

man

into

a

mafitre

one

(khonsuk}.s:vrenareexpectedtoenteraBuddhistmcnasticordera$noY-

ices

or

monks;

the

length

of service

can

vary'

from

days

to

weeks'

or

even

years,

depending

on

individual

circumstances'

Men

mayleave

the

Sangha

virtuaily

at

will.lndeed,

former

monks

are

often

regarded

as

desirable

spouses,

especially

in

rural

areas.

lndividual

status, such

as

being

born

male

rather

than

feaq4glis

understood

to

reflect

the

merit,

that

is

the

nol,t".

k"r*a-that

aperson

inherits

from

previous

lives.Karma

is

taken

uy''*y"*afundamentaltruthofBuddhism.Actionsinone,sprevious

Reproduced

with

permission of

the copyright

owner.

Furlher

reproduction

prohibited

without

permission'


10/27

IAAS;

lives and the resulting accumulation

of

(de)merit

exert influence

upcn

one's

current

life

situation.

Nevertheless, one can

improve

one's

karma

by

performing

meritorious deedcAccarding

to

Thai

Buddhis*

teachings,

a

person's

status

is fluid

rather

than fixed.

For

a

woman,

marriage symbolizes

her

fransfannrtion intc

a

ocom-

plete

personi'2eWomen

are

prohibited

from

becoming monks,

yet

they

care

for

monks

by

contribudng

food,

clothing, medicine,

and

daily

ne-

cessities,

or

by

providing

shelter.toAlthough

a

man

is

expected

to serlre as

a monk

at

some

time

in his life,

men

are

not upected

tc visit

temples

as

frequently

as women do. Most lay

men

sfTer

alms

only

on special

occa-

sions

such as birthdays

or

important

Buddhist holidays.3t

Offering alms

is

the most

common waythat

vromen make

rnerit.Childbearing,

mcther-

hood,

and

nurturing

are regarded as mora-l

actions

&at

lead

ta improv-

ing a woman's

karma and

maturity.l,Clearly,

the moral

order reveals

the

relationship

between

the

Sangha

and

laities

as

well

as

gender-specific

ex-

pectations

and

relationships.

Fnoil

rHe

Gnoufls

Up

In 1983, a

rented

house was

canverted

into Wat

Thai.

The

first twenty

temple

members, all white-collar professionals,

each

donated

$25

to

pay

the

first

mantht rent.

Almost

immediately,

Wat Thai

encountered

the most

common

probjem

that Buddhist

temflles

face

in

thg-U.S.:

neighbors'.rnm-

in&tt

is hard

to

imagine

someone in

Thailand

complaining

about

a

"noisy"

temple.

Chanting

and

heavyvisi-

tor

traffic

are

considered a

"normal"

part

of daily

life

there, But

here, the

neighbors

demanded that the

temple respect their

individual

rights

and

privacy.A policeman

living

nearby

&equently

issued cftations

to tempie

visitors

for

parking

violations

and

even

threatened tc

Sle

a lawsuit.

What

some

did nct explicitly state, but

obviously

felt,

was

a

fear of Buddhism.

Some were

afraid that their

children

would be

"brainwashed."Although

the rent

was

cheap, the

board

of

directors

decided

to

move.

A

Vietnamese American realtor,

whase

Thai wife

was

a

temple

mem-

ber,

found

an ideal

locatian:

a

1,48

acre

parcel

of

land,

which included

a

house

and a dilapidated horse-barn,

surrounded by

trees and

overrun

with

bushes.

But having

been

in

existence for less

than

two

years,

Wat

Reproduced

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of the

copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission


11/27

M ERIT.MAKI NG CAPITALISM

125

Thai

had

Sombuns

and

a

Thai

w-ornan

and

her Hispani-c

husb?Ir{::9-signed

a

loan

and

purchased

the

properfy for

$290,0L0

cn-behalf

of

the

ternple.

This

-----:+'----+

proffi-brought the

community

one

step

closer

to

its

goal

of

building

an

"authentic"

temple.As

Luang

Pho said

to

rne,

"It

is

a

Thai temple;

tt

9{-

to

be in

the Thai

style."33The

temple

thus

was

conceived

of as a special

site

for articulating

Thai-ness.

l{Eppv

Buslusss

It

took the

comrnunity

ten

more

years

of

hard

work

to finally

raise enough

money to

begin

constrrrction.

In 1997,LuangPho

explained

the

temple's

fundraising

efforts

to me:

This

is a religious

business.

It's

different

from

pure

business

because

it

makes

people

I

appy.Thepeople

donate

money and

goods

to the

temple

because

they

need

to

be

happy. . .

.

Monks

are

laborers'They

have

no

salary.When

people see

the

monls

working

for

the

community

and

a

prosperous

temple,

then

they are

happy

to

give.

The

ternple can't

just

take

the money

and

put

it

in

the banlc

The

temple

must

give

it back

What

the

people

give

us belongs

to

the community.

Peaple tmst

the

monks.sa

The

term

"religious

business,"

whicfr

Luang

Pho

said

in

Engiish' reflects

the

interlocking

nature of Buddhism

and

capitalism.

Merit-making

is

sup-

posed

to mean

giving

with

compassion and

without

expecting

anything

in

return.

Yet,

i1

practice,

happiness and

a

peaceful

mind are

associated

with

generous

giving.

Buddhism

and business

are

more

intertwined

than

it

may first appear.There

is a

well-known

paradoxical

relationship

be-

tween monks

and lay

people:monks make

merit

by helping

people de-

tach

from

the

material

world, while

lay

pecple make

merit

hy

'seeking'a

long

life,

good health,

prosperiry a

happy

marriage and

family-avatiety

of

goals

that indicate

their Iirm

attachment

to things of

this world""s

It

is

very challenging

to

reconcile

Buddhist

detachment

with the desire

for

more

within

a

capitalist

systeffi,

in which

a

quest

for sccio-economic up-

ward mobility

is the

overriding

orientation,

and

materialism

and con-

sumerism

are

so

pervasive. Slrictl)"

speakinq,

thg effort

to-build an

au-

thentic

temple

t

th"

Reproduced

with

permission

of

the copyright

owner.

Further

reproduction

prohibited

without

permission.


12/27

monks

and devotees need

a

place

to worship,

and the community

needs

a

place

for

socialization.It

is

more

realj$

of bui

affachments

Monks have to vrsrk wthin

the_,existing

capi together with

-

he Thai American

community.

Moreover,

the monks are

not

judged

solely

by

religious

criteria, or

religious

capital but

also

by their

productiviry as

Luang

Phc

pointed

out

earlier

when he ruid,"

are

infl

simulta-

nigusly by Buddhist

gglg $gIgulq-

oriented

ideologies.

Fuliy

aware

of

the

laity's expectations, Luang

Pho

had

spoken

from

the

perspective

af

prcduction

and

had claimed

&at

manlrs

were

a

bargain

fcr

the

canmuniry

that monks

provided

free

iabarThe

monks'moral worth, therefore,

has

been

rearticulated

based

upon a com-

bined

religious

and

economic

calculation.

In

this

regard,

the

monks,

too,

have been

transformed in

the

host

sccietp

So, it

should

colne

as no

sur-

prise

that

a Th*i

American temple's

reputation is

often measured

not only

by its religious

practices

trut by haw

beautiful

the

physical

space

of

the

temple

is,

by

the

number of

adherents

it

attracts, and

by the amount of

noney

that

the

temple

can raise.

The monks

at Wat Thai

have gone

far

beyond the conventional

"fields

of merit-nraking"; they

are

religious

au-

thorities,

conrrnunity builders, and fundraisers.

Money embodies worldly

attachment,

so,

in

theory,

a

monk who

di-

rectly

touches

money transgresses

monastic rules; a

lay

perscn

is sup-

posed

to handle money

on

a mcnk's

behalf.35

A

good

monk

is

expected to

be detached

from,

and uninterested in, mcney. Only

a

few

decades ago, a

monk could live

in

rural

Thailand withcut having to handle

cash, which

was the

symtrol of a

luxurious

life

sryle.

He could find shelter

when

he

traveled,

rirr.,

pr*ti.ulh

*rl,

oitt.gq

buJ

there was

no

temple, he

could stay

in a

public

space

such

as a

forest

or a

cemetery;monks

received

alms for

their daily food, and often

traveled

orl

foot. But todax it

is

impractical

for monks not to

handle

monev.

The

Thai

government

recently

increased

the monthly stipend for

monks who

achieve

a

level-nine

proficienry

in

Pali,the language

of

Theravada

Bud-

monks to conduct the than

Reproduced with

permission

of the copyright

owner.

Further

reproduction

prohibited

without

permission.


13/27

MERIT.MAKTNG

CAPITAL$N4

dhism,

to 3,200 baht

(U.S.

$77):

a

financial

reward

for

having attained the

highest level

of

Pali expertise. Nonetheless,

in

Thailand

monks

still

handle

cash much less frequentiy

than lay

people

do;

motB ._dqao -nced a.-by

food;

they

live

in

euarter$

at a

temple; they

r-eceive

fiee medical

care

at

govemmenthospitals;

*d h"f

Jt

In American soci is reouired for

ins

and

cur

is

not

a mbolof

Buddhist

adherents make merit,

sali' on

their

birthdap at

a

ng,

a funeral,

or on the

anniversary

cf a

loved

one's

death, they

prepare

separate

sealed

envelopes u.ith

money

inside. One envelope

goes

to the temple, typicaily forty to a

few hundred

dollars in

cash,

depending

on individual circumstances.

Each

monk who

participates

in the ritual

usually receives

an

envelope

containing ten or

twentf

dollars to be used

as

pocket

money.

But,

some

monks

give

this

money

back

to

the temple.

For example,

in August 2ffi4

a

monk donated

a

thousand

dollars

to

Wat

Thai before returning

to visit

Thailand. The

laity

saw this act

as

evidence

of his being a

good

monk detached

from

the allure of money.

\lgbt

now

use

credit

cards.

Usins a credit card

is

considered

different than di-

t

"rd

h-lt-

seriously,

"it

gilie


14/27

8:2

drive

the

temple

van, and the temple

pays

for

insurance, gas,

and

repairs

(In

Thailand

monks

areprohibited from driving

out of concern

avertheir

depends

on

hav 4g3

car.).

Merit-making

is a collective cultural struggle

and financial calcula-

tion.I

witnessed

one of Wat

Thai's

biggest merit-making

events when the

Boundary

Stane Laying

and

Demarcation Ceremonie$

were held at the

temple

on

Iune

12-15, 1997.

Underneath

several

white

awnings, female

volunteers sold beautifully

gift-wrapped

pacftages

as offerings

for

the

monks.

A

$10

package included

a spool of

thread, needles,

pencils, and

some

gold

leaf.

The

thread indicated a long

life; needles symbolized

intei-

ligence;

a

pencil

indicated

the

ability

to

learni

and

the ten

pieces

of

gold

iea{

each

about

one inch square, were

used

to

gild

the

boundary stones.

A

$.50

package also

included

a rcbe,

canned

fcod, more threado soap, sugar,

paper,

and

envelopes. The most expensive

gift-basket

sold

for

$150,

and

included

$50

in

cash

along

with all the

items

previously

mentioned.

The

price of

a

gift-basket

was much higher than

its manetary value,

but

the

items

in

the

basket were

imbued

with symbolic

capital.

After

purchasing

a

basket, adherents

tsok it

to

the chapel and

pra*nted

it to the monks,

and, in return,

received

a blessing. These baskets,

howevet,

ltlere never

opened.

Instead,

theywere brought

back

out to

be

resold

over

and over again.

Merit-making

is

both

an

individsal

and

a

group

activity. To

"help

th"t

*

Sombun,

the engineer,

pointed

out

that, "Satisfaction

daes

not come from m*king

money but

from what

we

have

done with the temple

for the

community

and for the

younger generation."ao

Refusing to

contribute

is

regarded

as

ungenerous

and morally wrcng. Furchasing

these

gift-baskets

also

can

be

read

as a

sign

of soiidarity

and

of being

a"gocd

Buddhist."

On

big

religious holidays,

qaxbolic

alms-giving

is

held

at

the ternple.

Before

giving

alms,

people

take

offtheir shoes.

When

receiving

alms,

monks

also

go

barefoot;

however, they neither

have to say

"thank

you" nor make

eye contact

with

the gift-giver.

Canned

food,

tangerines,

and

flowers, items

used

for

alms

offerings,

are

sold on the

grounds.

During

the

Rains

Retreat

rite

in

2004, for example,

sales of

alms-offerings

raised

$I,650

fcr

the

ternple.al

Reproduced

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permission

of

the

copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


15/27

MEfi

IT.MAKING CAPITALISM

'fears

ago,

when

the temple was still

small,

adherents brought

home-

made fslod

to

offer the monks.After

the

monls

finished their

meal,lay

temple-goers

ate

the rest

of the food-like a

big

pctluck party

{No

lay

people

would

eat with

the monks

or

before the

monks

had eaten. This order

of

consuming

focd is

also

part

cf

the

rncral crder.

).

Toclay,

Wat Thai's hand-

ful of monks

cannot

possibly consume all

the

food brought

in by

the

hundreds

of

pecple

who

come

to

make

merit

on

a

big

religious holiday.

Therefore,

canned

food, which the monks

seldom

eat, is used because

it

can

tre

easily stored

for long

periods

sf time

and, $ke

the

gift-baskets,

can

be resold

over

and aver

again.-Yisitors car b'By

lun

unteer-rufl

$unday

e-temPk.

{,{@re

organized along

the

principle of low cost and

high

return.'American-ness

is

warking

here,"

Luang

Pho

said

in

another

context,

referring fo fundraising."

Institutional

strategies

for

accumulating

economic capital

have

changed

over

the

years. After

each

big

religious

holiday or

folk

festival,

Luang Pho

would

calculate

"how

many

showed

up this time,

haw

much

money

the temple raised

flis time, and

vrh*t

were the

problems."a3In the

pas

Wat

Thai held

an annual beauty

pageant

to

raise money-

Entrepre-

neurs

sponsored

contestants

in

exchange

for advertising.Contestants

wore

sashes with

the

names of restaurants or

other

businesses

written

across

them,

Since

1993, harsever,

&e temple has replaced

the beauty contest

with

"Thai

Classical

Nighe"

Claslical Thai mueic

and

dance

are

performed

by

students and

teachers

of

the temple's Sunday

Schoal

to

improve cul-

tural understanding

and communication

between

the Thai community

and local

residents,

ald,

of

course,

to

raise money.

In

2004,

the Eleventh

Thai Cl*ssicat

Night

grossed

$14,762,

including

ticket

sales

cf

$7,830.e

The tearple's

main

filndrcising activities

are

scheduled

aro$nd ten

major

religious

and

pcpularGstivals,

i*cluding

the

King's

ald

the

Queen's

birthdays.

Donors

get a

receipt,

which

include$

the

temple's

tax ID num-

ber and

a

statement

that the donation

is

tax

deductible.

The Temple

News-

letter details

the

names

of donors and

the amount

that

each

person gives.

Thus, this

list

serves

as

a

site

for

artisulating

class

identity

and

for

con-

verting ecslomic

capital

into

symbolic capital.In

additis,n, the Nex'slet-

ter

states

how

the

money

will be used. Such

transparency

is

important

Reproduced

with

permission

of the copyright

owner.


prohibiled

without

permission.


16/27

Figure

3. Monks receive atms.

Figure 4. Offerings are sold

at

the temple.

Reproduced with

permission

of

the copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


17/27

MERIT.MAK'NG

CAPITALISM

not only

for the

sake of athacting even larger donations

in the future, but

also for

buitding

trust

and avoiding any

possibility

of

waste

or improper

use

of

the money.

Tna*snanoxAr MERlr-fVlA*rt*G

In 1993,

on

the occasicn

ofcelebratingWat Thait

tenth anniversary

Queen

Sirikit

dedicated

an

"auspicious

stone"

tsilaloek)

for the future

chapel,

planted

a magnolia tree,

and donated

$2,000,

thereby

bestcwing her

pa-

tronage upon the temple

and

prcviding

it

with symbolic labar ard

eco-

nomic

capital.

In return, Luang Pho,

representing

the

Sangha, blessed

Queen

Sirikit

and reaprocated

with the

gitt of an ancient and sacred

Buddhist

amulet. The

Queen's

visit was much

more than a mere local

evenl It involved

the mayor, the

U.S. Secret

Service,

the Thai

government,

and

numerous Buddhist institutions.

How should

best

use

the money danated

by the

Queen?At

the

sug-

gestion of

Luang Pho, each

$100

bill

the

Queen

donated

was placed

in

a

frame and sold as

royal memorabilia for

$500.

"lct

money

make

mond'-

Figure

5. Contestants

for the annual

Beauty

Pageant.

Reproduced

with

permission

of the copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


18/27

132

this

is capitalism's

golden rule.

The symbolic

capital attached to a bill

handled

bythe

Queen

was

thus converted

to

economic

capital.Not

only

did the temple

turn her

$2,00S

donation

into

$I0,00S,

but individuals

could

display

the framed

bill

as a memnto.

Like

the recirculating

gift

packages

that

we discussed

earlier,

Thai

cultural

and symbolic capitals

are

continuously being

accumulated and converted

into

economic capi-

tal inside the

templg

although

the value

of

these

capitals may go

snrec-

ognized

by the larger society.

Queen

Sirikit is

regarded as the rnother of all

her Thai

subjects

in the

nationa.l discourse, so her

birthday,

August

12,

is

celebrated

as

Mothert

Day,

a public

holiday.

Often,

holidays

in Thailand

and in the

U.S.

fall

on

different

days. So,

**at

really matters is acknovrledging and celebrating

her trirthday,

althcugh not

necssarily

on

the

exact date of her birth. In

2004,

the temple

celebrated the

Queen's

TZ"dbirthelay

three times; on

lune

27,

in conjunction

with

celebrating the temple's

21s anniversary; on

Au-

gust

15, and

then again on

October

21,

during

the K*rhin,

or

robes

pre-

sentaticn

ceremony-

Celebrating the

Queen's

birthday,

whatever the date,

srves as

a source

of

symbolic

capital,

highlights

the

temple"s

identity,

expresses

affection

for

the

monarchy,

and demansffates

the far-reaching

influence

that the monarchy

has

sn

Thai

Americans.

One

wayinwhich the

King

support$ his

overseas

subjects

is

by grant-

ing

"royal

robes"

to tlre monks.

I

was

tqld

&at

more flran twenty

Thai

temples in the U.S.

havereceived royalrabes from the

King,amuch

higher

percentage

than in

Thailand.Although the King

does

not

present

t}:e

mbes

to

the

monks himself, royal

robes

carry great

symtrolic capital

{An

indi-

vidual

patron can spon$or a

temple;

the temple

fcrward* the request to

the

appropriate Thai authorities, wha

ask

for

the Kingt

permission.).In

November2004,

for

example,

a female

Thai Americ*n

entrepreneur from

Las

l/egas made

an offering

of royal

robes at\,Vat

Thai.

In

the

cpening

ritual of &e

presentation, peoplestood

in front of the

King's and

Queen's

portraits

and

sang

a

song

called

"Paying

Homage

to

the

King

and

the

Queen."Through

such ceremonies,

Thai

Buddhist insti-

tutions

and the Thai monarchp in

both

its

religious and

ix

rayal

author-

ity,

are

reinforced.

Merit-making

is

becoming

an increasingly transnaticnal

phenonr-

enon in

Thailanditln

1996,

the

King's

former

daughter-in-law

made

merit

Reproduced

with

permission

of the

copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


19/27

MERIT-MAKING CARTAUSM

at

Wat Thai by adding

a

"sky

ta$sel" tc the

roof. The sky tas:el signifies

symbolic

Thai-ness. She

and

two

otJrer

princesses aiso

planted

trees in

the

tempie's

courtyard.

These

trees,

together

wit}r

the magnolia

tree

planted

bythe

Queen

and other

treesplantedbytwa high-ranking

Buddhist

monks

and

a

general,

grow together along

with

the

community.Wat

Thai's

land-

scape, threfore,

symbalically

embodies

the re-territorializing

of

Thai

Buddhism in

the United

States.

Like

members

of

the monarchy,

many

Thai American msnks travel

extensively

within

the

U.S.

and

betrveen

the U.S.

and Thailand.In Thai-

land,

a

temple usually

has at least

fr:ur

fu

lly-ordain

ed

monks. Thai Ameri

-

can

ternples,however,

often

are

facedwith

ashortage of monks.WatThai

started

with

a

single

monk,

expanded

to

three

monks, and now

it has four

monks.

Yet,

nine

is the

ideal

number

of

monks to

conduct religious

ritu-

als.Accarding

to Tambiah,the

rn*ndal*-a

Buddhist cosmological con-

cept-is

composed of

a

nine-unit

system

of geometric points.a6Nine

also

is

conceived

as the largest

numtrer, v,'ith

terr

restarling

fram

zerc. Linguis-

ticall5

nine implies

"making

progress

in

all

directions"

(kaona

kaolang).

For

many Thais,

the number

nine

is

troth

a

lucky number and signifies

Figure

6.

Offering

royal robes.

Reproduced with

permission

of

the

copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


20/27

8:2

Thai-ness

(Some

use

luclcynumbers

by donating

$99.99,

or other

amounts

with

nines

in

them, when they

make

merit.).

To

have

nine

monks to

con-

duet rituals, one

temple often

must

"borrow"

monlcs

from

another temple'

Given

such

shortages,

the

dates chosen

to have

a big

ceremcny

or

ritual

needs

to

be coordinated

far ahead of time,

depending

to

a

great

extent

upon

the availability

of the

monks.

Luang Pho

gften

referred to himself

as

"thonkran

phu

basanl which.

rneans

an

"irrtermediary"

or

"middle

**n."

E

lut intggft

d 5-1qlg-*

that of

a mediator

between

the Sangha

and

the

lairy

between

Thais and

.fmericans,

and

between

Thais in the

U.S.

and t]rose

who live in Thailand.

He

has

lived

in the

U.S.

for

over

twentyyears

andtravels

back to

Thailand

at least

tlree

times

very

year,

in

part

because

he

is affiliated

with

two

temples

thers

his village temple

i*

northeastern

Thailand, the

pocrest

region

in

lhe

ccur*ry

and

Wat Rapurana

in Bangkok'

where

he

serYes

as

associate

abbot.

A novice

in

a

village

temple

at age

|

1,

he

was

ordained

in

Bangkok

at

age

20,

attaining

a

level-seven competence

in

Pali

as well as

earning

a degree

in

Buddhism

in

India. Luang

Pho

warked at

several

ternples

in &e

United

States

before

being

invited lo

srve as

W'at Thai's

first

monk.

He speaks

fluent

English and

reads

the

lscal

newspaper eYsry

day.

In

addition,

Luang

Pho

reaches out to locals

by

teaching

meditation

and

Buddhism

at homeless

shelters ard.at

a federal

prison

in

Pleasanton,

CaliforniaAt

the same time,

he

maintains

wide-ranging

networks in

Thai-

land and

in

the United

States.It

is no coincidence

that

Wat Thai

is the

cnly

Thai

temple in the

United States

where

Queen

Sirikit

has laid the

silaloek

stane.

instead

of

seeing

national boundaries

as

an obstacle,

Luang

Pha

tses

thern to his

advantage.When

Wat Thai desperate$

needed

moaey to

pay

for its

constructiott,

he sought

support from

high-ranking monks and

donations

fr.om

millionaires

who

were friends

of temple-members.After

the chapel

was

built,

he

raised"over

a millionbaht"

(approximately$26'000

U.S.

dollars)

from

this community

with

its diverse

popuiation

of

all dif-

ferent religious

and racial backgrounds

to he$

improve the

lives

af over

200 households

in

the village where

he was

born.aTTo

increase agricul-

tural

production

and enhance

the environment,he

setup

afu*dforplant-

ing

tree

nurseries.

The

oid

viilage

kad.i,or

house

where the monks dwell,

134

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without

permission


21/27

MERrI+4AKINS

CAPITALISM

was renoyated, and

a new health

center

was built. An

"Occupation

Devel-

opment

for

Housewives"

fund

was set

up to

provide poor women

with

no-inferest

loans.

Over 100 students,

ranging from grade

one

to

grade

six,

have

benefitted

from his free

school"tunch ProjecC'dt

the

same time,

teachers and students plant vegetables,

raise chickens, and

fish

to

provide

a

steady supply

of food for the

school's kitchen.

Middle

and

high school

students

can

apply fsr

scholarships

to

help them

iinish

their education.

Ta

make sure

that

the

funds are used

appropriately,

Luang Pho

specified

that the fund's

principal

should

not

be

touched

and that

the casts

for

all

projects

must be supported

only

from

the interest

earned.

tegaliy,

this

approach insures that

the fund

will benefit

the

village for

generations

to

come.In

2SSQ

Luang Pho

received

the

title

Chaakhun

fr*m

the

King,

in

recognition

of his accomplishnrents

both

within

and outside

Thailand.

Out of approximately

300

Thai

monks in the United

States,

tuang Pho is

one

of the

five granted

this title.

Under Luang Pho's

leadership,

monks at Wat Thai not

only interact

with fellow Buddhist

monks

but

also

with other

religious

groups.

On

Buddha's

Day

irtlgg7,lobserved

monl


22/27

8:2

Many

of

the

monks who

have served

the

temple

have

brought

with

them wide-ranging transnational

experiences.

One

monk

had

taught

Buddhism to one of the

Thai princesses.

When

he

found out that I

was

from China,

he switched from

speaking Thai to speaking Mand*rin Chi-

nese

and told me that

he

had studied

Chinese

in Thiwan.An

abbot

from

Chicago overheard our

conversation

and volunteered

that

he had recently

visited

China

for 20

days

and

that

"the

trip

was

sponsortrl

by Bangfcok

Bankl'ae

Clearly,

sponsoring

a

favorite

monk's

trip

to China had

became

a

way

to

make merit.Mthin

the

transnational gift-giving

economy, we also

can

see

how

qresenting

ditrret

k

While

an elderly lady

mightbe able to offeroniy

an

alarm

clockand atwenty-dollarbill,Bangkok

Bank

can

provide

a mankwith

an

expensive

overseas

teur.AsThaiAmeri-

can

monks

engzge

in

establishing Buddhism in the U.S.,

they thus be-

come the embodiment of transnational

subjects,

Rs-TsnnroRnuzrt{c Buoonlslu: A CULnTRAL Ar{D

CL{ss $mueeu

It

was

approaching 7

p.rn.

in late

autumn

2004 when

|ennifer,

a European

American

professional

woman

in

her early fifties, walked

quickly

toward

Wat Thai's

chapel

door.

At the entrance

she

removed her

shoeq entered

barefoot, knelt,

and kowtowed

tlree

times to the

Buddha

statue

looming

in the center of

the

hall,

holding

her

palms

fae

up

*nd touching her fore-

head

to the

floor.Afterpayinghomage

fothe

Buddha,she

r+rre.dthe

monka

then

greeted

fellow

participants

with a

smile while walking

over

to

a

cabi-

net and

picking

up

a

chanting

pamphlet

in which

Pali

is

transcribed

into

En

glish.

At 7

p.m,,

an

hour-long meditation

began:

half

an

hcur

of

chant-

ing followed

by silent

meditation.

Iennifer

is a C,atholiq

however,

she has been attending

evening medita-

tion

at Wat

Thai for

more

t}ran

ayeaL

Sitting

together

on

a

balcony

out-

side the chapel on a

Sunday

afternoon,

after

the ritual

presenting

the

royal

rrbes

was over,

I

asked

her

how

she

reconciled being Catholic

with

prac-

ticing

Buddhist

meditation.

She

replied

"I

think my Gcd and

Buddha

would be

good friends.

My

priest

also

thinks so"

I

know

of

nc

other

place

where I can meditate. This is

so

close

to my home. Why not?"s

So

|enni-

Reproduced with

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owner.

Further

reproduction

prohibited

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permission.


23/27

MERIT.MAKING

CAP}TALISM

BOA

fer, supported by

her

priest,

sees

no

contradiction

in

believing

in

both

God and Buddha.

American

natives wha chant and

practice Buddhist

meditation

are

primarily

affiuent,

educated, well-traveled European

Arnericans.5r There

are an estimated

1.4

-

4

million

Buddhists in the U.5., althcugh scholars

have had some

difficulty in classif ing

"Buddhists."s?

Since the

first

Theravada Buddhist temple was

established

in Washington,

D.C.

in 1966,

hundreds of

Theravada temples

have

been

built throughout the United

States

by

South

and Sontheast Asian immigrants

and refugees, ranging

from

multi-millian

dollar

monasteriesto

"baby

temples" in rental

houses.

In

recent

years, the media

has portrayed Asian Arnericans

as

"model

mi-

nsrities"

and

Buddhism

as

othe

model

minority

religicn.*51Nevertheless,

Buddhism is continuously

being

marginalized

as a

"mincrity'religion.

Classarrd

race

haveplayed an important role

in

developing

Buddhism

in

the

United States.

Sherry

Ortner

argues

that "the

race

and

ethnicity

."t

gorier-*l*ost

"l*"y,

."rry

u hidd.n_.Ilr,

."&r"4v{ASPS

huGTGi

$een

as

"upper

class"l

jews

have been associated

with

the

"middle classi

Catholics

with the

"working

class,"

and African Americans with the

"lower

class."sThai American

professionals

of

Wat Thai

are

well

awars that their

middle

or

uppff class

status

often

becomes

invisible

in the United

States.

Through building a multimillion-dollar temple,

however,

they

heighten

ccmmunity-building,

class consolidation,

and

group

visibility.

I

contend that

Thai Americans do

not

merely adapt to

American

so-

ciety,

but

influenceAmerican society through

their everyday practice$.A

we

move

into

the

twenty-first century monks

at W'at Thai

wear arange

royal

robes

and no longer

seem

to

feel the

need

to

change

i*to

a dark

brown robe when

they

leave

the

temple.

Compared

to

tn'entf

yealrs

ago,

Americars' suspicion or fear of Buddhism

has decreased.

Cabriel becarne

the first European

American monk

atWat Thai

ihe

was

first ordained

as

a

novice in 2000 and t}ren

as

a

monk in 2Afr2.).

He plays

an active role,

interacting with non-Thai

speakers

and

with high school

and college

stu-

dents and

teachers who are interested

in

Buddhism and Thai culture.

fteraYadaBlrddhi

onkwiththeir

shaved heads

and saffron-colored robes,

along

with the architecture

of

137

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of the copyright

owner.

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24/27

8:2

5v,,wt"b

*

+$on

Buddhist

temples,

add

color

and

meaning

to

the American

landscape.

]ust

as

a

drop of

seawater

may

tell

us

the

flavor

of

the

ocean,

Wat Thai

reflects

the

impact

af

the

dual

quality of

de-territcrialization

and

re-ter-

ritorialization.

such

transnational

experiences

have

significantly

reshaped

Thai

American

identityformation.Identification

is

more than

just

sharing

the

same

language,

religicn,

or other

cultural

codes;

identification

is a

never-

ending

process

of

being

and becoming

as

it

changes

over

dme.55

Thai

Americans

ofWat

Thai

articulate

and

re-interpret

theirThai*ness

through

.^*-"-rr--U.

The

struggle

for social

recogni-

tion inAmerican

society

is a

fundamental

dimension

of

theirtransnational

encounter.

Yet

articulating

Thai-ness

does

not

preYent

them

frcrn

incor-

porating

elements

of

"

3

such

as

d.*o..u.y,

*otkqg

*ithin

"

g"pit"lit

establishing

accounebility

andtrffirency

in

their

financial

operalgry'utd

,l$ggdgss

4liances

wllh well-established

nsfromdi&rentef bqiur-tgfagal-pqPs

wfriarious

cultural

and

religious

backgronnds.

The

temple

communify

selectively

iotgrates

aspects

of Buddhism

and

capitalism

tc

forge

some-

thing

new

which

is

meaningful

to them.

Thus,

they

are

part of the

Ameri-

can

cultural

mosaic

and

should

not be

mis-categorized

merelyas

"ethnic

Buddhists,"

just

as

Buddhisrn

should

not

be

mis-represented

as

a

"model

minority

religion.'

Thai

Americans

find

it

practically

impcssible

to

dra'ar a

liue

between

the

local

and

the

transnational,

for they

frequentlyengage

simultaneously

with local and

transnational

networks

and

often

find

that

one

contains

the

other.

However,

as

Akhil Gupta

and

|ames

Ferguson

haye

noted,

all

too

often

"anthropological

approaches

to

the

relation

between'the

lccal'

and

somet}ing

that

lies beyond

it

(regional,

national,

international,

glc-

bal)

have

taken

the

local

as

given, without

asking

how

perceptions

of

lo-

cality

and

cornmunity

are

discursively

and

historically

constructed;'s

Thus,

it

is important

to

pay attention

to

local,

trals-local,

national,

and

transnational

connections and boundaries

that

people

in

that

particular

place

have

established

around

them.

Byforging

multiple

conneciians

with

their

neighbors,

the

local

authorities,

and

other

religious

and

lay com-

Reproduced

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owner.

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permission'


25/27

MERIT+4AKING

CAPFALISM

munities in the

U.S.

and

in Thailand,

@

pr"g

socid

".m*s, r

erit-making,

for example, connects various resources

and

people

who live in

different

parts

of the world.

While merit-making is

"eminently

social,"t? we should remember

tlrat

it

is also an

economic act.Emphasizing

Thai

identity and the

notion that

generous

giving

leads

to happiness enables

the temple to effectively accu-

mulate economic capital. Nevertheless,

Thai Amerisns 6nd

that their

capital

convertibility

is constraine

d co?ttsctullly.Within

national

space,

Thai Ameri

sFmbolic and

sori"l

rapitrl.

At

thelevel e*ernple-spaeq-hs*vever,

sucll

?"".tttbtttfrtllt

ke

.More-

over, when the

pawer

dynamic

changes between the community

and the

larger

sociery

the scope of

c*nvertibilitf

$hifu

accordingly.

Convertibil-

iry

like locality

and identity,

is

not

fixed;

we

thus

need to

understand it

as

the

product

of both a specific

moment and a

particular

context.

l{otes

l.

I

am

gratefid

to Nancy Smith-Hefrrer

and

Gary

Pahner for

their helpful

comments

and

suggestions

on

an earlier

version of

this

paper.

I would

also

iike

to acknowledge Luang Pho, the other

monks, and all the men and

women

of

Vy'at

Thai for

generously

supporting this

project,

and

especially

for

including

me

in

various activities

within

and

oulside the femple.

It is

to

them

that

my greatest debt

of

thank

is owed.

Interviews

cited

in

the

paper

were

canducted

bythe

author in

Silicon

Valley,

California.

Specific cities have

not been

identified,

so

as

to protect

the

privacy

of

both

the

temple

and the interviewees.All

names used

in

this essay, except

for

Queen

Sirikit

and

Somdeche

Prarnaharajmanghalajar,

are

pseudonyms.

For

Thai,

I follow

the

system

in

Romanizatian

uide

far

Thai

Sarrpe Bangkolc

Royal

lnstitute,

1968, except

for terms that are in common

us*ge,

U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000,

"U.S.

Asian

Population, 2000i'

fElectronic

Documentf

,

http:

/lwwwceusus.govfmain/wwwt*n2ffiA,hwl

{Retrireed

7

December 2004).

Nantawan Boonprasat

kwi s,

"

Th

ai," in' David

l*vbson

and

Melvin

Ember,

eds., .Americcn Immigrant

Cubures, Builderc

of

a

Nation,

Valame 2,"

tNew

York Simon

&

Schuster

and

Prentice

Hall International,

1997),883.

Thanh-Darn Truong

Sreq luloney

and

Morality: Prostiturton andTourism

in

Sautheast Asia(London:

Zed Books,

1990),

8

1-82.

Nancy

Smith-Hetner,

Khmer

Americans,

(Berkeley:

University

of

California

Press, 1999),

?5-28.

5.

7

3.

Reproduced

with

permission

of the copyright

owner.


prohibited

without

permission.


26/27

8:2

7

.

Charles

Keyes,

"Buddhism

and

National

Integration

in fiailand,"

laurnal

of

Asian

Studies30:3

(May

1971J:567.

8.

The

Royal

Thai

Embasry

homepage,"Buddhist

Templ*

in the

USA:

Directaryi

[Electronic

Documentl, http://www.thaiemMc.org/direciry/wat-e.htm

(Retrieved

2t

jamrary

2005).

9.

Interview

conducted

&pri|27,1997.

10.

Jonathan

Inda and Renato

Rosaldo,

"Introduction:

a

World in

Motioni

Jonathan

Inda and Renato

Rosaldo,

eds., in

The

Anthropaloy

of Glabalizatian:

A

Resder,

(Malden,

MA: Blackwell,2001),

10-12'

It.

Ibid.,11.

12. Mark

Liechty,

"Camal

Economies:

The Commodjfcation

of

Food

arrd.Sex

in

Kathmandu

i

Culturel

AnthrapalagyAb:l

{2005):

3.

I 3. See Katherine

A"

Bowie,

"The

Alchemy

of Charity

of

Class and

Buddhism in

Northern

Thaihndl'

Aaerican Anthropologisr

100: 2

(

1998): 469-481

;Apinya

Fuengfusakul,

"Empire

cf

Crystal and

Utopian

C,ommune:

Twa

Types

of

Contemporary

Theravada

Reform

in Thailandi'St'our*

8:l

(193)r

l5}_

183; Richard

A. O'Connor,

"Merit

and the

Market

Thai

Symbolizations of

Self-interest"

The

Jaurnal

of

the

Siam Society,

Ta

tl986i:

62-82;

Stanley

J.

Tambla\,

Buddhism

and

the

Spirit

Cults

in North-East

Thaikttd.

(Cambridge:

Cambridge

University

Press, 1

970).

t4. See

Wendy

Gdge,

Heartwoad:The

First Generation

af

'Ikeruttda

B*.ddhism

in

America,

iChicago:

University of Chicago

Fress"

10S5h Paul David

Numrich, And

Wisdom

in

the Ncrr

World:

Americanization

in

Two Immigrant

Tlrcravada

BuddhistTewples,

{Knoxville,

TN:

University

of Tennes'qee

Press.

t9e6).

1 5 .

Les

Christie,

"Six-figure

Zip

Codes,' CNN/Mar

ey

A*line,November

I

8, 2004,

IElectronic

Document],

Jrnp;

llmoney.can.eomfpflfeatur*llkxlhig -incame-

zipsl

(Retfieved

13

March

2005).

16. Pierre

Bourdieu,

*What

makes

a

Social

Class?

On

the Theo

Documents

Merit-Making Capitalism