For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 31, click here.

Interview with Wushu Federation Secretary General Mr. Blue and Monkey Mind vs. Sabbai

“When I was nineteen years old, Khun Sam Chon, the ruler of Muang Chot, came to raid Muang Tak. My father went to fight Khun Sam Chon on the left; Khun Sam Chon drove forward on the right. Khun Sam Chon charged in; my father’s men fled in confusion. I did not flee. I mounted my elephant, named Bekhpon, and pushed him ahead in front of my father. I fought an elephant duel with Khun Sam Chon. I fought Khun Sam Chon’s elephant, Mas Muang by name, and beat him. Khun Sam Chon fled. Then my father named me Phra Ramkhamhaeng because I fought Khun Sam Chon’s elephant.”

Face 1 The inscription of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great (1292)

King Ramkhamhaeng the Great is known as “the Great” for several reasons. He was a valiant warrior, a gifted scholar and diplomat and established Buddhism as the religion of Thailand. He also invented the Thai alphabet and a stone stele – quoted above - was built elaborating just some of his accomplishments.

Thailand is a Buddhist country and like Buddhism itself, is tolerant of other beliefs and religions so in Bangkok one can find several churches, mosques, Hindu temples and so on. For example, though many tourists on Khaosan road and the beaches can and do wear shorts, tank-tops and so on, around Bangkok and the country, it’s better to wear long loose pants and at least a T-shirt just to maintain some minimal level of respect. Naturally Thais have their own very unique norms, cultures, traditions and beliefs. I’ve known foreigners visiting Asian countries with the proud attitude that the locals can just “get used to it” – whatever “it” is - but such individuals never fare well or last long in these cultures as they tend to attract the more negative elements in those countries.

Buddhism was first introduced to Thailand a thousand years before King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. That was in about 250 BCE during the time of Indian Emperor Ashoka, another very interesting character in history. At first, Emperor Ashoka ruled his empire much like his grandfather, with infinite cruelty. Even 900 years after the emperor’s death Chinese Silk Road traveler and holy monk Xuan Zang heard stories about Emperor Ashoka’s infinitely cruel prisons. And yet, after the particularly bloody slaughter of a feudal state called Kalinga in 261 BCE in present day Odisha in eastern India, Emperor Ashoka for whatever reason issued an edict regretful of the ultimate suffering he had caused, renounced war and his name became renowned along the Silk Roads as a great patron and propagator of Buddhism.

Thus since ancient times, most Thais have been and remain devout Buddhists with about 95% of the population today identifying themselves as Buddhist. Most boys join a monastery for a day if a family member passes away; most young men join a monastery for a least a few months, and almost all men have lived in a monastery for some time. Most companies allow Thai men three months leave for monastery life if they choose that path for a time.

Those who study Buddhism usually divide the major denominations into Theravada (the doctrine of the elders) and Mahayana (the Greater Vehicle), with Theravada being the more traditional older teachings, most widely practiced in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, as well as in the Islamic nations of Indonesia and Malaysia. Mahayana in some ways represents a more streamlined “modern” understandings of the teachings of Buddhism and is most widely practiced in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. Theravada philosophically is relatively unified, while Mahayana traditions are generally more diverse, though both schools get along well together at least these days. Incidentally Chinese “Chan” (Zen) Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana and China has the largest Buddhist population in the world with some 245 million Buddhists.

Now, 800 years after King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, the vast majority of Thais still follow the Theravada system which is based on the Tipitaka:

1. The Vinaya Pitaka which has all 277 rules which Buddha laid down for monks and nuns

2. The Suttanta Pitaka which contains the Discourses

3. The Abhidhamma Pitaka containing the psychological and ethical teachings of the Buddha

If a foreigner visiting Bangkok wishes to learn about Thai Buddhism, Wat Buddhapadipa (monastery) is known to have English language teachers that can instruct visitors in meditation and other basic teachings of Buddhism, up to and including ordination if the visitor has the spiritual inclination, self-discipline and time to follow the Buddha’s teachings.

Just for the record, there is no doctrine in Buddhism which states that one must or even should “worship” the Buddha. Indeed, many regular Buddhists and monks speak of God, and don’t confuse Buddha with God. Buddha simply taught the steps and stages to enlightenment, the great Nibbana (Nirvana: “never born again”) where one can be freed from the illusions of this temporary life. True, Buddhists bow to the image of Buddha, but in Korea and Japan people bow to each other and in many Asian countries, children kowtow to parents and other respected elders on special holidays, with none of that implying worship, just deep respect. All that aside many Buddhists do worship Buddha and that’s fine too for them.

Interview with Wushu Federation of Thailand Secretary General Mr. Blue

October 1, 2019 - We’ve been in Thailand for almost a week now and today got to meet the Secretary General of the Wushu Federation here Mr. Blue. He’s a lively gentleman, and though he’s seventy years old he looks and acts at least 20 or 30 years younger. He speaks Thai and Chinese quite fluently and English very well also. Why? One reason is he’s a 3rd generation Chinese Thai, which means he’s Thai, speaks Thai fluently as it was his first language, but he also has roots in China. I asked how he learned Chinese and found out he started studying Chinese in primary school – two hours every morning and two hours every afternoon. How did he learn English? “During the 1960s and early 1970s during the Vietnam war there was a large U.S. military base here and so the schools were teaching English.”

He started learning Wushu at age 12 here in Thailand. Curious about the history of the Wushu Federation of Thailand I asked specifically who founded the federation and wasn’t terribly surprised to find out he was one of the founding members back in 1989. He’s also done extensive traveling in China, studied and trained with various masters and even the legendary Wu Bin was one of his teachers. For those not familiar with Master Wu Bin he trained more champions than any other teacher in China, including several superstar movie actors like Jet Li and National Wushu Team Coaches like Japan's National Team Coach Sun Jianming, and in Vietnam Nguyen Hi, usually called My Duc. Currently Wu Bin is the president of the Beijing Wushu Institute, Director of the Beijing Wushu Team, works closely with the Chinese Wushu Association, Asian Wushu Federation, International Wushu Federation, and the World Fighting Martial Arts Federation (WFMAF).

Over the decades Mr. Blue has seen the huge growth of Wushu’s popularity around Asia and the world. For example, the 1998 Asian Games were held in Bangkok and that was the first time Wushu was included as a competition sport in those games. Wushu’s development in Thailand however is not without its challenges as Muay Thai kickboxing is THE national sport here and training in Wushu might seem a bit unpatriotic to some Thais. “There is a lot of Chinese culture celebrated here, and people do enjoy it, but Muay Thai is special,” Mr. Blue said. He’s certainly right about both points as we learned during our week here. On one hand, China and Thailand are like brothers, on the other hand people are – naturally enough - sensitive about protecting and promoting their own unique culture and cultural arts.

I asked how the Thai Wushu team has done in international competition and he reported: “Not very well. We have a very limited budget and don’t send teams to many international events. Of course, we’re working on funding, but for the time being we do the best we can.” When all is said and done there are certain practical realities that must dealt with. I certainly hope more funding can find its way to the Wushu Federation of Thailand because I’m sure with the martial and artistic excellence of the Thai people and culture, they can excel in Chinese wushu or any martial art they so desire.

In any event, Mr. Blue did treat us to a fine lunch and was even so kind as to give us a ride back to our hotel after the interview.

In the first part of this two-part story on Wushu in Thailand I briefly mentioned beaches and Bangkok, but saved the best for last, as the “real” Thailand is not likely to be found in either location, but rather in the rural countryside where tourists don’t usually go. There one will find the majority of people working in farming, mostly potentially back-breaking hard rice farming but also possessing genuine smiles, not the forced smiles of so many of those who work in Thailand’s large tourist industry. Also, in the rural countryside one will find monkeys, lots of them, busily going about their monkey business which sometimes includes some of the more aggressive adult males taking people’s bags and, in some cases, even biting them. The “monkey mind” is described by Phra Peter Pannapadipo in his book about becoming a monk in Thailand, as “the mind that must be trained to stop its constant movement before it can know real peace.” And so, it is also in the countryside that one is more likely to discover what the Thais call sabbai:

“I felt totally at peace and perhaps for the first time understood the much-used Thai word, Sabbai. It can mean healthy, well or comfortable, depending on the context, but it can also mean much more. It can be a deep inner feeling of wellbeing and contentment, being at peace with oneself and with the environment...”

Phra Farang, An English Monk in Thailand by Phra Peter Pannapadipo, 1997, 2005

Also, in this book he wrote:

“Of course, generosity should not be restricted within denominational limits and they remain the same virtuous acts whether they come from a Buddhist heart, Christian heart or Muslim heart, and to whomever they are extended...”

Phra Farang, An English Monk in Thailand by Phra Peter Pannapadipo, 1997, 2005

Good governance has a long history in this part of the world.

“In the time of King Ramkhamhaeng this land of Sukhothai is thriving. There are fish in the water and rice in the fields. The lord of the realm does not levy tolls on his subjects. They are free to lead their cattle or ride their horses to engage in trade; whoever wants to trade in elephants, does so; whoever wants to trade in horses, does so; whoever wants to trade in silver or gold, does so. When any commoner or man of rank dies, his estate — his elephants, wives, children, relatives, rice granaries, retainers and groves of areca and betel — is left in its entirety to his son. When commoners or men of rank differ and disagree, the King examines the case to get at the truth and then settles it justly for them. He does not connive with thieves or favor concealers of stolen goods. When he sees someone’s belongings, he does not covet them; when he sees someone’s wealth, he does not get envious. If anyone riding an elephant comes to him to put his own country under his protection, he helps him, treats him generously, and takes care of him; if someone comes to him with no elephants, no horses, no men or women, no silver or gold, he gives him some, and helps him until he can establish a state of his own. When he captures enemy warriors or their chiefs, he does not kill them or beat them.”

Face 1 (continued) The inscription of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great (1292)

In the first part of this Wushu in Thailand story, interpreter Ma Huang, and Maritime Silk Road explorer and diplomat Zheng He were briefly mentioned. Unknown to most, Zheng He’s extensive diplomatic voyages were sponsored and directed by Third Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di (1402 to 1424) also called the Yongle Emperor. He was an extraordinary international diplomat and worked consistently to lift the burdens from ordinary people. Zhu Di ordered local officials not to accumulate money by unfair means or launch battles at will. He often sent officials to inspect people’s living conditions, to examine the magistrates and to punish officials who arbitrarily increased the people’s burden. He developed empire wide land reclamation and reform and greatly developed and promoted domestic and international trade and commerce.

The three examples of benevolent leaders mentioned in this article, Thai King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, Indian Emperor Ashoka (after he “saw the light”) and Chinese Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di were included partly because of the teachings of a Chinese friend I knew back in the early 1970s (Chin Lin) who taught me that a Kung Fu practitioner should also learn medicine to maintain the balance of Yin and Yang. How do benevolent leadership and medicine relate to each other? I’ve noticed a growing cynicism among people these days, and even heard that the “world has always been governed by the ‘laws of the jungle.’” I see cynicism as a disease which can be treated with reality-based hope, and the three great leaders mentioned in this article also demonstrate that there have been great leaders in history that promoted peace and trade, especially along the ancient Silk Roads. Thus, the “law of the jungle” has not always ruled and if history is any teacher, it reminds us of the old proverb: “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

In sum, it’s best to keep an open mind and a good clean heart when ruling and/or traveling, for one never knows what one will find – even possibly very good things, maybe even Sabbai.*

“If everyone in the world will love universally; states not attacking one another; houses not disturbing one another; thieves and robbers becoming extinct; emperor and ministers, fathers and sons, all being affectionate and filial -- if all this comes to pass the world will be orderly. Therefore, how can the wise man who has charge of governing the empire fail to restrain hate and encourage love? So, when there is universal love in the world it will be orderly, and when there is mutual hate in the world it will be disorderly.”

Mozi (470 – c. 391 BCE)

* I think the Thai word “sabbai” may be “damai” in Indonesian/Malaysian languages. Both may be loan words from Sanskrit or Pali.

 

For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 33, click here.