Through the Eyes of a Monk Buddhist Monks’ Perceptions towards Tourism and Tourists at Buddhist Temple Sites in Bangkok, Thailand
Figure 1. Novice Monks on Steps (Praseeratenang, 2016).
Author: Timo Carlito Wolff Student number: 890712969120 Educational Institution: Wageningen University Faculty: Department of Environmental Sciences Chair Group: Cultural Geography Chair Group MSc Programme: Leisure, Tourism & Environment Thesis Code: GEO-80436 Supervisor/Examiner: Karin Peters Examiner: Claudio Minca Date: 7 November 2016
Disclaimer: This thesis is a student report produced as part of the Master Program Leisure, Tourism and Environment of Wageningen University. It is not an official publication and the content does not represent an official position of Wageningen University.
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Foreword
The first time I stepped foot in southeast Asia on a school fieldtrip as part of my bachelor programme of International Tourism Management & Consultancy at the NHTV Breda university of applied sciences, I was immediately sold. I developed a great love for this beautiful part of the world, its people and the Buddhist culture. Being raised Catholic – although not of the hard-core kind – I have never considered myself a religious person for the most part of my life, although something about Buddhism kept pulling me over to this part of the world. After my bachelor I travelled through Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam for a couple of months as a tourist myself, and then again, after I started the MSc programme of Leisure, Tourism & Environment at Wageningen University, I visited Myanmar as part of a tourism development project for GIZ together with some amazing other students. This is where I decided not to go through with my original thesis plan of drawing up a sustainability analysis of the local tour sector of Nyaungshwe. It took quite some time, a week of meditation in a Buddhist forest monastery called Pa-Auk, and some additional time to let all my experiences sink in to finally come up with the idea for this very thesis that has come into existence. It’s been a rocky road, and although this is not quite the final part of my studies, it feels like the last chapter of my life as a student is definitely nearing its end.
During my tourism studies I have always felt like a majority of attention was given to the tourist and that the host was often forgotten. That is why I decided to do research on Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists. At the end of March this year I got on a plane to Bangkok and visited countless Buddhist temples within Thailand’s capital in order to gather data for my research. There have been many people who helped me along the way and who I want to thank warmheartedly. First of all, I want to thank all the monks who made me feel welcome and agreed to share their stories, wisdom and experiences with me that have resulted in this very thesis. I want to thank my local friends Sandy and Jib for their friendship and help with translating those interviews that required translation. I want to thank my other friends at Penpark place for creating a place that felt like a home away from home. I want to thank my supervisor Karin Peters for her constructive feedback and for not losing faith in me. I want to thank my boyfriend for the late night phone calls on lonely days when abroad and I want to thank my friends for always being there and offering me distractions when I needed them, with special thanks to my dear friend Jikke Roefs who kept sending me motivational messages during the last couple of weeks. I want to thank my parents for always supporting me to keep learning and broaden my horizons, and always being there for me even when I’m far away. And, as history repeats itself, I want to thank the website of Soundcloud for the endless stream of great music that has helped me focus during the writing process.
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Table of Contents Foreword ...... 3 Table of Figures ...... 5 Table of Tables...... 5 Executive Summary ...... 6 1. Introduction ...... 8 1.1. Who was The Buddha? ...... 9 1.2. The Main Branches of Buddhism ...... 9 1.3. Life as a Buddhist Monk ...... 10 1.4. Problem Statement ...... 12 1.5. Scientific Objective and Research Questions ...... 12 1.6. Relevance of the Study ...... 12 2. Theoretical Framework: Literature Review ...... 15 2.1. Host Perceptions & Influencing Factors ...... 15 2.2. Gazing ...... 16 2.3. Buddhist & Mundane Worldviews ...... 18 2.4. Theories on Host Perceptions ...... 19 2.5. Conceptual Model ...... 21 3. Methods ...... 24 3.1. Postmodernism ...... 24 3.2. The Research Area ...... 24 3.3. The Interviews ...... 26 3.4. The Translators ...... 28 3.5. Challenges ...... 28 3.6. Data Analysis ...... 29 4. Results ...... 31 4.1. Teachings of the Buddha ...... 31 4.2. Buddhist Values ...... 32 4.3. Teaching Buddhism & Educating Tourists ...... 37 4.4. Interest of the Visitor ...... 39 4.5. Conflicting Habits ...... 41 4.6. Being a Good Monk ...... 47 5. Conclusions & Discussion ...... 52 5.1. The Scientific Objective and the Research Questions ...... 52 5.2. Practical Application of the Results ...... 54 5.3. Proposals for Future Research ...... 55
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References ...... 57 Appendices ...... 61 Appendix 1: Interview question list for Thai Buddhist monks ...... 61
Table of Figures Figure 1. Novice Monks on Steps ...... 1 Figure 2. Monk in Buddhist Temple ...... 7 Figure 3. Proliferation of Buddhism ...... 10 Figure 4. The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism ...... 11 Figure 5. Novice Monks Studying the Dharma ...... 14 Figure 6. Novice Monks in Boat ...... 23 Figure 7. Map of Buddhist Temples in Bangkok ...... 25 Figure 8. Monk and Elephant ...... 30 Figure 9. Novice Monks with Shiny Plates ...... 51 Figure 10. Monk Studying the Dharma ...... 56 Figure 11. Monks and Elephant by the Water...... 60
Table of Tables Table 1. Countries with the Largest Number of Buddhists ...... 24 Table 2. Overview of Demographics of Interviewed Monks ...... 27
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Executive Summary
When it comes to studying perceptions on tourism, previous studies have mainly focussed on the perceptions of tourists on host communities of a tourism destination (Bruner, 1989; Dann, 1996; MacCannell, 1976; Urry, 1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006) rather than vice versa. In fact, studies of host perceptions towards tourism and tourists is something quite understudied (Evans-Pritchard, 1989; Sweet, 1989). More specifically, the ways in which religious hosts experience tourism is close to non- existent (Wong, McIntosh & Ryan, 2013). By focussing on Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok, Thailand, it is the aim within this research to fill this research gap.
Thailand was chosen as a research destination as it is one of the most popular tourism destinations within southeast Asia (“Tourist arrivals in ASEAN”, 2015) and the second largest Buddhist nation on earth – after China – simultaneously. Thailand counts approximately 64,420,000 Buddhists, accounting for 93,2% of the country’s total population (“The Global Religious”, 2012). In 2010, the total number of ordained Buddhist monks in Thailand was 267,000 with another 97,840 being novice monks (“Monastic Education”, 2008).
The objective of this research is to better understand the various ways in which Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites. Through preliminary desk research several concepts and theories – as can be found in the theoretical framework – have been identified in order to help better understand how Buddhist monks form their perceptions as well as conducted field research in the form of in-depth interviews with Bangkok’s Buddhist monks. Details of the complete methodology are found in the methods chapter.
The findings show that Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists are to a great extent influenced by the doctrine of the Buddha. In fact, several character traits closely related to the teachings of the Buddha have been identified and were found to affect the monks’ perceptions as well. Furthermore, tourism is perceived as a way through which the monks can propagate Buddhism and teaching tourists about Buddhism as well as proper ways of behaviour around the temples is something they love doing. When it comes to tourist types, the monks perceive two main groups of tourists; those who show interest in the local culture and those who do not. Although several conflicts due to cultural difference were mentioned, in general the interviewees turned out to be very understanding towards tourists. Overall, the interviewed monks perceived tourism to be mainly positive.
Regarding future tourism planning it is recommended to promote better education on Buddhist culture and tradition among tourists in order to stimulate proper tourist behaviour around Buddhist temple sites. This applies not only to Thailand but to all other Buddhist tourism destinations in the world. Furthermore, it is recommended to continue research on host perceptions towards tourism and tourists in the future in order to help fill the research gap that still exists today.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
Figure 2. Monk in Buddhist Temple (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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1. Introduction
Thailand has been a popular tourism destination for several decades and has seen a heavy influx of tourist arrivals. Between 1957 and 2003 the total number of tourist arrivals has gone up from 44,000 to over 10 million per year (Saispradist, 2005:12 as cited by Morrison, 2013). The country is known for its divine beaches, delicious foods, great hospitality and its beautiful Buddhist culture including thousands of golden temples and stupas with countless Buddha statues not to forget the iconic Buddhist monks in their saffron robes; these are just some of the most important tourist attractions of Thailand. In 1960 a census revealed the population numbers of Thailand which back then counted approximately 25,519,965 people of which a big majority of 94% were Buddhists. The remaining 6% being mostly Muslims and Christians (Kusalasaya, 2006). Images of Buddhist temples and monks are widely used in the destination branding campaigns of countries within southeast-Asia like Thailand. “In these countries tourism promoters choose certain temples or sites, monks or nuns and their rituals, portraying them as emblematic of the cultural otherness that the country offers as a tourist destination – exotic, genteel, oriental” (Wood, 1997 as quoted by Bendle, Lee, Choi, Seo & Lee, 2014:200). Because of increasing tourism, these spiritual places are seeing an increase in visitor numbers of various kinds. Buddhist temples now face many challenges as a place for both spirituality and spiritual learning for monks and laypeople while simultaneously being a place for enjoying heritage and tourism for nonbelievers and tourists (Bendle et al., 2014). Taking into account this wide range of visitor types, it is therefore of utmost importance to consider all their differing perspectives while managing spiritual tourist sites like Buddhist temples and monasteries. The majority of tourism research places a focus on tourists’ perception of local or host communities (Bruner, 1989; Dann, 1996; MacCannell, 1976; Urry, 1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006) and less studies have focussed on the host perception of the guest (Evans-Pritchard, 1989; Sweet, 1989) and the tourism industry (Murphy, 1985 as cited by Zhang, Inbakaran & Jackson, 2006). In particular, the way in which Buddhist monks view tourism at religious sites like Buddhist temples is something which has not been a major focus of tourism research so far (Wong et al., 2013). Furthermore, previous studies state that religious hosts tend to perceive tourism as a threat (Joseph & Kavoori, 2001; Raj & Morpeth, 2007) and think of it as something their religious and spiritual sites need to be protected from. Although generally Buddhists – particularly Buddhist monks – are known to be conflict avoiding and peaceful, even this religious group of people sometimes stands up against tourism development. Although rare, an example is that of the rampaging monks at the Buddhist Famen Temple in Shaanxi province, China. Here, in 2009, over a hundred Buddhist monks teamed up and turned against a brick wall which was built in front of the ancient temple as part of a tourism development project. The monks used their bare hands and sticks, and even got help from tourists in pulling down the wall. The turmoil was a response to the violation of certain previously made agreements between the monastery and the tourism developers. Sadly, the Buddhist monks have little say in the developments taking place around the temple (Li, 2009). Again, it seems that when it comes to tourism, oftentimes the wishes of tourists are deemed more important than those of its hosts. It is therefore clear that there is a need for more research on the religious host’s perception of tourism and tourists. Because of this knowledge gap, within this research the perception of the religious host community on tourism will be emphasized. More specifically, the following thesis is about Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists in Bangkok, Thailand.
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1.1. Who was The Buddha? The Buddha was born as Siddhattha Gautama in the 6th century B.C. He was born into a royal family in the north of India. His father, Suddhodana, was king of the Sākyas (modern Nepal). His mother, the queen, was called Māyā. Siddhattha got married at the age of 16 to a beautiful young princess called Yasodharā (Rahula, 2011). All his life the prince was protected from all forms of suffering, old age, death and disease in a perfectly preserved kingdom where he was only served by the young, talented and most beautiful of people. Everything was arranged for him to have a perfect life (Asian Art Museum, 2015). However, one day Siddhattha was suddenly confronted with the reality of life and saw with his own eyes all the suffering in the world. He decided to dedicate his life to finding a solution to the universal suffering of mankind by becoming an ascetic and left the palace at the age of 29, soon after the birth of his only child Rāhula (Rahula, 2011). For six years he met with many religious teachers and followed their practices but none satisfied him. The prince therefore went his own way which eventually led to him attaining Enlightenment underneath a Bodhi tree one evening during his meditation. Hereafter he was known as the Buddha, ‘The Enlightened One’ (2011). Buddha literally means he who is awake. After he attained enlightenment the Buddha delivered his first sermon to a group of five ascetics and for the following 45 years of his life he shared his wisdom by teaching all those who were open to his teachings. In doing so, he did not make any distinction between caste or social classes. He regarded all human beings as equal. Eventually the Buddha passed away at the age of 80. Today, over 2500 years later, Buddhism is still practiced all around the world by over 500 million people (2011). 1.2. The Main Branches of Buddhism Thus, Buddhism originated in the north of India. Three main branches of Buddhism developed over the centuries since the time of the Buddha: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana (“what are the main”, 2012). Although all find their origin in India and all are based on the original teachings of the Buddha, these three schools of Buddhism have found their way to other parts of (southeast) Asia at different points in time. It is believed that Theravada makes up the oldest branch and it is now prevalent in southeast Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Mahayana developed relatively later and is most dominant in countries like China, Korea and Japan. Lastly, Vajrayana, which is a further offshoot of the Mahayana branch, was later established in Tibet and influenced some parts of southeast Asia and east Asia (2012). The spreading of the main branches of Buddhism is illustrated in the figure below:
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Figure 3. Proliferation of Buddhism (Cancela, 2012).
Because Theravada Buddhism is dominant in Thailand, the focus within this research will be on this particular branch. However, it must be stated that although there are some differences in certain beliefs and practices among the different branches, when it comes to the most important teachings of the Buddha the different schools of Buddhism agree unanimously (Rahula, 2011). Some of these teachings will be discussed later on in this chapter. 1.3. Life as a Buddhist Monk A Buddhist monk devotes his life to the teachings of the Buddha, which is referred to as the dharma (O’Brien, 2015). It must be noted however that the term dharma (or dhamma) encompasses much more than merely the teachings of the Buddha, as Rahula (2011:58) states:
“There is no term in Buddhist terminology wider than dhamma. It includes not only the conditioned things and states, but also the non-conditioned, the Absolute, Nirvana. There is nothing in the universe or outside, good or bad, conditioned or non-conditioned, relative or absolute, which is not included in this term.”
Thus, within Buddhism, dharma is the nature of everything that is; it’s the truth of Buddha’s teachings and within Theravada Buddhism it is occasionally referred to as containing all the elements of existence (O’Brien, 2015). Buddhist monks strive to reach the state of nirvana (enlightenment) in their practises in order to attain the status of Buddha. Buddha literally means ‘he who is awake’ in Sanskrit, which finds its origin in India. Interestingly, the word Buddha may refer to the historical figure (Siddhartha Gautama) as well as any other human being who has reached the state of nirvana or enlightenment, which means the end of suffering. Thus, Buddhists believe that any human being can reach this enlightened state of nirvana by following the teachings of the Buddha (“Buddhism: An Overview”, 2015). In general, Buddhists believe in a distinction between samsara (which is the human realm of suffering in which we all live, die and are reborn again and again) and the previously mentioned nirvana (which is the enlightened state and the end of suffering as well as the end of the cycle of life
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and death). Buddhists strive to escape what they see as this endless cycle of suffering and rebirth through living out the Buddha’s teachings (“Religion Library: Theravada Buddhism”, 2015) and attaining nirvana. In order to do so Buddhist monks study the Four Noble Truths, which make up the heart of Buddha’s teachings (Rahula, 2011). The Four Noble Truths can be summarized as follows:
1. Dukkha (The Noble Truth of Suffering) 2. Samudaya (The Arising of Dukkha) 3. Nirodha (The Cessation of Dukkha) 4. Magga (The Path Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha)
Dukkha is often described as suffering. Rahula (2011) states that this is a very limited translation of the term dukkha which has led many people to think of Buddhism as being a pessimistic religion. However, Buddhism is not pessimistic nor optimistic as it takes a realistic view on life by looking at things in an objective manner. Other than meaning pain, suffering, lamentation, sorrow, misery, dukkha has a deeper philosophical meaning in that it includes ideas such as imperfection, impermanence, emptiness and insubstantiality (2011). However, for now it is sufficient to understand that Buddhists strive to find freedom from these forms of suffering through realizing the four noble truths: to understand that life consists of suffering, to understand how suffering arises, to understand the cessation of suffering and to follow the path leading to the cessation of suffering which means nirvana or enlightenment. This is also known as the eightfold path (2011) and is graphically illustrated as follows:
Figure 4. The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism (Moffitt, 2016).
Thus, through wisdom, right ethics and concentration Buddhist monks devote their lives to finding nirvana and thereby becoming a Buddha. It is believed that only men can reach this status of Buddhahood (Rahula, 2011). In Thailand, serving as a monk is considered an ideal for all males in society. A man can ordain from the age of 20, although younger men can be novice monks before that. Fully ordained monks have to abide by a total of 227 rules or precepts to dictate their behaviour
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within the Buddhist monastery, of which the following 5 are most important and have to be followed by laymen (ordinary Buddhist believers) as well (“The Sangha: Becoming”, 2014):
1. Refrain from destroying living beings. 2. Refrain from taking what is not given. 3. Refrain from sexual misconduct. 4. Refrain from false speech. 5. Refrain from taking intoxicants.
1.4. Problem Statement It is clear that studies on the hosts’ perceptions of tourism and tourists are scarce and more specifically research on Buddhist monks’ perception towards tourism and tourists is close to non- existent. The purpose within this research is therefore to find out how Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourism at Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok, Thailand by taking a look at their perspective on the matter. 1.5. Scientific Objective and Research Questions Objective:
A. To understand the various ways in which Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok, Thailand.
Research questions:
1) a. How do Buddhist monks form their perception on the world? What factors have an influence on their perception? b. What (Buddhist) values are most important in shaping the monks’ perception on tourism? And how do these values affect monks’ perception? c. Do Thai Buddhist monks alternate between a mundane and Buddhist worldview? If yes, which factors could be assigned as ‘mundane’ and which as ‘Buddhist’? 2) a. How do Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourism at temple sites? b. Do Buddhist monks make a distinction between different types of visitors at temple sites? c. How do they perceive these different visitor types? 3) a. How do Buddhist monks respond to the mutual gaze? Do they respond through cooperation, open resistance or veiled resistance? 4) a. To what extent do perceived benefits and costs related to tourism determine how Buddhist monks perceive tourism? b. To what extent do physical and cultural attributes determine how Buddhist monks perceive tourists? 1.6. Relevance of the Study As previously mentioned, within tourism research so far there has mainly been a focus on how tourists perceive the hosts within a particular tourism destination (Bruner, 1989; Dann, 1996; MacCannell, 1976; Urry, 1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006). The ways in which hosts perceive their guests is something quite understudied (Evans-Pritchard, 1989; Sweet, 1989), and specifically the ways in which religious hosts like Buddhist monks experience tourism is very much close to non-existent (Wong et al., 2013). Filling this research gap is expected to be of special significance to those working in tourism development as promoting a healthy relationship between host and guest will be beneficial to everyone involved and will provide for a more sustainable tourism industry. After all, “community tolerance of tourists is vital for pleasurable visitor-resident encounters at destinations
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and one of the major factors in the tourist decision to return to a destination or to recommend it to friends”(Lawson, Merrett, & Williams, 1996 as quoted by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014:369). Therefore, studying the perceptions of Buddhist monks at temple sites in Bangkok could potentially be of great interest to tourism planners in Thailand and the industry itself.
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Chapter 2 – Theoretical Framework
Figure 5. Novice Monks Studying the Dharma (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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2. Theoretical Framework: Literature Review
Within the following theoretical framework, the concepts relevant to studying the perceptions of Thai Buddhist monks on tourism and tourists at temple sites will be explained in detail. Firstly, the concept of perceptions will be discussed together with some important factors which have been found to influence host perceptions (2.1). Secondly, the extensively discussed tourist gaze and its relatively new counterpart – namely the local gaze – will be discussed. Together they form part of the mutual gaze, which is discussed in relation to the three main responses to the phenomenon of the mutual gaze (2.2). Thirdly, differing perspectives of Buddhist monks based on previous research are introduced; the Buddhist and Mundane worldviews (2.3). Fourthly, several theories on predicting host reactions to tourism are proposed, of which social distance theory and the theory of social exchange are most relevant to this thesis research (2.4). In conclusion, these concepts and theories will be combined and graphically illustrated in the conceptual model at the end of this chapter (2.5). 2.1. Host Perceptions & Influencing Factors As has been discussed in the introduction chapter of this thesis, studying tourists’ perceptions of the host has been prioritized within tourism studies thus far (Bruner, 1989; Dann, 1996; MacCannell, 1976; Urry, 1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006) whereas host perceptions on tourists is something which has been focussed on considerably less (Evans-Pritchard, 1989; Sweet, 1989). In addition, studying host perceptions on the tourism industry has had little attention as well (Murphy, 1985 as cited by Zhang et al., 2006). When it comes to religious tourist sites, Wong et al. (2013) argue that only a few academic studies looked at the religious host perspective at sacred sites and that only a limited number of these studies included Buddhist hosts. It is therefore very important to place a bigger focus on Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists as conflicts may arise when the monks’ views and opinions are not taken into consideration. Current studies show that religious hosts are likely to perceive tourism as a threat (Joseph & Kavoori, 2001; Raj & Morpeth, 2007) and want to protect their religious sites from this as a result, like the Buddhist monks at the Famen Temple in Shaanxi province, China, where over a hundred Buddhist monks directed their anger against a brick wall that was built as part of a tourism development project in 2009 (Li, 2009). In contrast, the findings of Wong et al. (2013) indicate that tourism is not so much perceived as a threat by the monks and nuns at Pu-Tuo-Shan, China. What will be the case for Buddhist monks in Bangkok, Thailand? Will they perceive tourism and tourists as a threat? Or perhaps in a more positive way? Questions like these will be addressed within this thesis.
What exactly is meant by Buddhist monk’s perceptions? According to ‘Oxford Dictionaries’ (2016) perception involves “the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses” or “the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted”. Another definition of ‘Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries’ (2016) states that perception comprises “an idea, a belief or an image you have as a result of how you see or understand something”. Thus, perception generally involves the understanding and interpretation of something through the senses. Within the scope of this research this includes the various ways in which Buddhist monks see tourists, the mental perceptions they have of them, the opinions they form about tourists and the ways in which they interpret everything they know and think of tourists.
When it comes to forming perceptions about tourism, many different factors play a role. Researchers have found that some of these influential factors include sociodemographic aspects such as gender, age and ethnicity (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Liu & Var, 1986; Milman & Pizam, 1988), whereas community attitudes towards tourism are also determined by place of residence in relation to the tourism areas
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(Belisle & Hoy, 1980), the length of residency in a tourist area (Liu & Var, 1986), degree of social interaction between host and guest (Cohen, 1984; Liu, 1986; ), economic dependency on the tourism industry (Liu, Sheldon, & Var, 1987), tourist systems and behaviour of tourists (Cohen, 1984) and attitudes towards tourism may be determined through personal experience and the way in which the media portrays the tourism industry (Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014). Furthermore, community attitudes are also shaped by cultural differences between host and guest, the ratio of hosts to guests and the stage of tourism development of the particular tourism destination (Hofstede, 1997 as cited by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014). Lastly, and of particular interest within this thesis research, religion may play a significant role in shaping one’s attitude towards tourism (Delener, 1994; Essoo & Dibb, 2004; Fam, Waller, & Erdogan, 2004). Needless to say, it is clear that forming one’s perception towards tourists and the tourism industry is dependent on a highly complex multitude of elements and dimensions. One can imagine that the perception on tourism of a 75 year old monk who has spent all his life in a quiet forest monastery is probably quite different from an 18 year old monk, new to one of Bangkok’s highly renowned and most touristy temple sites. Within the following thesis research an attempt is made to find out whether this is indeed the case, although the scope of this research is bound to limitations which will be discussed in the following chapter on the research methodology. Apart from taking a look at the perceptions of monks, factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, duration of monkhood and place of residence will also be taken into consideration as it turns out each significantly impacts host perceptions. 2.2. Gazing The “tourist gaze” has been widely discussed in tourism studies ever since Urry first coined the term (1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006). It refers to the “power and authority Western tourists hold and exercise over the inhabitants of the places they visit” (Maoz, 2006: 222). Moreover, it has the potential to “discipline and normalize” (2006: 222) the ways in which locals behave and is exercised by the Western, prosperous, heterosexual, capitalist, white male (Aramberri, 2001; Pritchard and Morgan, 2000). Local peoples (especially those living in developing countries) are influenced by this power of the tourist gaze and objectified by it. Maoz (2006) introduces a new term – the local gaze – which is complementary to the tourist gaze. Where the tourist gaze comprises the ways in which tourists ‘gaze’ at locals, the local gaze is about the various ways in which local people ‘gaze’ at tourists. Moreover, the local gaze is more complex as it exists next to the tourist gaze and therefore creates a scenario in which both gazes interplay and interact. Maoz calls this phenomenon “the mutual gaze” (2006). It is important to mention here that ‘the gaze’ does not necessarily relate to the eye or sight but is also about mental perceptions. It is about “the ways guests and hosts view, grasp, conceptualize, understand, imagine, and construct each other” (Maoz, 2006: 222). Thus, when it comes to the local gaze, it is not about the ways in which tourists perceive locals, but about the ways in which locals perceive tourists: a understudied perspective within tourism research as has become clear previously. Heeney (2015) argues that the term ‘mutual’ is perhaps not fitting to describe the interrelatedness of the tourist and local gazes as the term implies that both gazes are reciprocal, which is not always the case in every tourism destination. If the perception of host on guest is not shared vice versa, there is no mutuality in their gazes. Heeney does not propose another term however, and as it is clear what is meant by the term, the interplaying between the tourist and local gazes will be referred to as the mutual gaze within this research. Within tourism destinations, locals are constantly gazed upon and they are very much conscious of this tourist gaze. In contrast, tourists are most often unaware of the gaze that locals exercise back on
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them. Maoz argues that this is mainly the case because tourists “arrogantly dismiss its presence” (2006: 229). They do not realize that they are being gazed upon and therefore act freely as this is how they perceive the environment. Hereby many tourists conform to certain stereotypes locals hold of them without being conscious of this. Whereas the tourist gaze is mainly constructed through the media and prior to the actual guest-host encounter (Abate & Berrien, 1967), as these are the main sources through which tourists acquire their information prior to visiting a certain destination, the local gaze is based on the actual and real- life encounters between host and guest that have taken place in time. Thus, the local gaze is based on real, human and cross-cultural interactions. Of course locals only get to see certain segments of tourists which by definition means that their image of tourists is an incomplete picture of reality, just like the image tourists hold of locals is an incomplete picture of reality, but it is probably more accurate nonetheless because of it being based on real life encounters.
Maoz discusses three ways in which locals respond to the workings of the mutual gaze: cooperation, open resistance and veiled resistance (2006). In the case of Israeli backpacker tourists in India, the author found that some hosts respond through cooperation. Because the Israeli tourist gaze has the tendency to create fear among host communities in India, many locals choose to cooperate with the Israeli tourists who go there. This fear arises as the host perceives them to be aggressive, impolite and militant in character. Therefore they cater to every need in terms of offering specialized accommodation types, specific food items and any other products needed by the Israelis; all in order to satisfy them (2006). Although the tourist gaze can create fear among the host, this is not necessarily the case for every tourism destination. In the small island community of Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, Grenada, a peaceful relation exists between the host community and visiting ocean cruisers. The attitudes and behaviours of both host and guest are reciprocal, few tensions exist and power structures are fairly balanced. The local community enjoys the vibrancy that the yacht tourists bring to their island and are dependent on the income they gain from them. (Heeney, 2015). Positive experiences and perceptions therefore result in cooperation in this case. One major difference between this study and that of Maoz however, is that ocean cruisers often spend considerable time in one destination which means there is higher probability and opportunity for them to build a – in this case positive – relation with the local community. Whereas backpackers usually visit many different places in little time, the relation between backpackers and hosts remains more shallow like in the case of Israeli tourists in India (2006). Joseph and Kavoori (2001) provide another example of cooperation in the Hindu pilgrimage destination of Pushkar, India which traditionally used to be a centre for religious tradition and pilgrimage. However, more recently the destination has been attracting wealthy international tourists. Although this has resulted in tensions among the host community, many embraced the opportunity to gain additional income as tourists spend at least four times more money than pilgrims. Much like the case which Maoz (2006) described, many locals in Pushkar surrender to all the needs of the Western tourists by offering food items like brown bread, salads, pancakes, pastas and pizza. In addition, some temples even encourage photography in places where this should not be done ordinarily; all in order to satisfy the tourists (Joseph & Kavoori, 2001).
Whereas some willingly cooperate with tourism, in a second scenario some hosts may openly show resistance against the tourist. To come back to the example of Israeli tourists in India (2006), this often happens as the tourist gaze shows signs of perceiving the host in an inferior way. Subsequently, the host starts acting superiorly to the tourist. As a result both the tourists and the locals try to educate each other on behaving in certain ways. Some examples of open resistance include hanging out educational signs outside of restaurants and other businesses, forbidding entry of certain premises and asking for a deposit prior to offering services. One restaurant frequently visited by
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Israeli tourists printed the words “if you give respect you get respect” (2006: 231) on its menu. In Pushkar, signs that state behavioural rules are not uncommon either. However, local political parties take open resistance to tourism a couple of steps further than that (Joseph & Kavoori, 2001). They criticize tourism by systematically organizing attacks against foreigners who opened up a tourism business in Pushkar. Local activist groups actively protest to the ‘invaders’ whom according to their view came to India in order to recolonize it. This form of resistance even goes as far as projects that lead to the removal of accommodation from the ghats, which are steps that lead to a river which is perceived as a religious and holy place by the local population (2001).
As a third option, some hosts choose a response of veiled resistance. By making use of clever techniques locals try to manipulate the tourist into getting what they want. Hosts use their knowledge to exercise power and control over the guest and find ways of making good profit out of selling their culture which is staged for this purpose, which MacCannell calls “staged authenticity” (1973). Maoz gives an example of veiled resistance with Indian hosts turning their spirituality into cultural commodities as a clever way to trick Israeli tourists into spending lots of money on this whereas they are actually being deceived by the host. Many Indians change their occupation to become impostors and make the Israeli backpackers – who are in search of spirituality – think that they are real life spiritual Masters or Gurus in order to gain a much higher income through the selling of specific images the Israeli tourists hold of them in their tourist gaze. Maoz argues that the Israelis, in search of authentic tourist experiences, are unaware of the local gaze thereby not recognizing forms of staged authenticity which makes them easy targets of manipulation for the Indian hosts (2006). Another example of veiled resistance as a response to the mutual gaze is that of commodification of culture for tourism purposes in Cuba as a way through which local empowerment is achieved for local actors (Kaifa Roland, 2010). Which brings us to the question: how do Thai Buddhist monks respond to tourism at temple sites? Do they cooperate, openly resist tourism or perhaps show signs of resistance in more subtle and sophisticated ways? And is their perception the same towards all kinds of tourists, or does their perception differ when it comes to different types of visitors? These are all questions that will be addressed within this thesis research. 2.3. Buddhist & Mundane Worldviews Wong et al. (2013) performed a study on the perceptions of monks and nuns at the monastic community of Pu-Tuo-Shan in China. The study revolved around perceptions on tourism and visitors at both the monasteries and nunneries of Pu-Tuo-Shan. After interviewing 19 monks and 6 nuns, between the age of 20 and 80 years old, they found out that almost all interviewed members of the monastery had two different perspectives on the visitors and often alternated between these perspectives in the interviews with the authors. Specifically, the perspectives or worldviews are referred to as the mundane perspective and the Buddhist perspective:
“The mundane perspective is a way of understanding social phenomena through one’s cognitive construction of reality in an ordinary social situation. The Buddhist perspective is for a Buddhist the worldview from which phenomena are understood from the perspective of Buddhism.” (Bhikkhu, 2007; Karmapa, 2008 as quoted by Wong et al., 2013: 222)
Thus, the mundane perspective is secular, whereas the Buddhist perspective is shaped by Buddhist religion. When it comes to the findings of Wong et al. (2013), from the Buddhist worldview, all visitors were regarded Buddhist, although in different developmental stages of their Buddhist-self. From the mundane worldview, however, a distinction was made between four different visitor types. The authors refer to these visitor types as ‘Leisure Tourists, Shinshis, Xiankes and Jushis’ with various levels of devotion and understanding of Buddhism and development of Buddhist’s ‘seed
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germination’. Leisure tourists are considered the non-religious visitors of the monastery mostly interested in culture and sightseeing. From the mundane perspective they are not considered Buddhist although they have the potential to become future Buddhists as the monks and nuns believe that they have planted a ‘Buddhist seed’ which may germinate in the future. The Shinshis are also called Buddhist believers as they somewhat believe in Buddhism although they are still primarily tourists. Xiankes are more devoted to Buddhism and therefore know more about Buddhist values and principles. Lastly, the visitors referred to as Jushis comprise those who are the true practitioners of Buddhism as perceived by the interviewees (2013). Furthermore, the authors argued that most of the monks and nuns were aware of the fact that they took on different worldviews (i.e. mundane and Buddhist) whenever they gave their opinion on tourism and tourists. They often literally expressed speaking from a mundane or Buddhist perspective by saying things like “from my understanding as a Buddhist” and “from the secular world’s perspective” (Wong et al., 2013: 223). The degree to which either one of the worldviews is adopted by the monks and nuns is explained by the authors as follows:
“It is argued that when the generalized ‘self’ of a monk or nun has been largely ‘Buddhalized’ (highly enlightened) through the socialization and transformation induced by Buddhist training and education, praying and meditating, he/she may think automatically from a Buddhist point of view without actually adopting a role because the ‘self’ of a monk or nun, at that phase, is almost congruent with the identity of a Buddhist” (Karmapa, 2008:99 as quoted by Wong et al., 2013:223).
Thus, as argued by the authors the monastic community of Pu-Tuo-Shan shows varying levels of Buddhist enlightenment in their perceptions towards tourism and tourists. Enlightenment or ‘nirvana’ refers to a spiritual achievement in which one is believed to end the endless cycle of birth and death and is free from all forms of suffering, thereby reaching the status of a Buddha (Rahula, 2011; “Buddhism: An Overview”, 2015), as discussed in the introduction chapter. Buddhists believe that there are different stages in the development towards nirvana, and Wong et al. (2013) argue that the monks and nuns at Pu-Tuo-Shan showed various stages within their Buddhist development, much like the monks and nuns perceived different stages of Buddhist development in the visitors of the Buddhist temple. It is yet to be examined how Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists, and to what extent these findings will be in line with those of Wong et al.. Will the Thai monks make the same distinctions in visitor types at the Buddhist temple sites? Even though this thesis research is not about drawing up a visitor typology, theories on different worldviews such as the Buddhist and mundane can potentially be helpful in considering how Buddhist monks’ perceptions are formed, and realizing that monks may also make distinctions in those who visit a Buddhist temple site. This determines the different views or local gazes enacted by them and may be an important factor on how the monks perceive tourism and tourist at Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok. 2.4. Theories on Host Perceptions Apart from numerous factors influencing perceptions, several theories examine host reactions to tourism. Firstly, ‘social distance theory’ is about the idea that people get along best with tourists who share physical similarities and who have similar cultural values (Thyne, Lawson & Todd, 2006). In their study, the researchers conducted a questionnaire among New Zealand residents on their preferences of tourists including North American, European, Australian and Asian visitors. Within the questionnaire different scenarios were presented to the respondents including descriptions of different tourists in terms of age (young or old), type of tourist (backpacker or bus tour) and nationality (Japanese, Australian, German or American). Subsequently, the respondents had to state
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their preferences. The authors found that nationality was the most important factor in determining tourist preferences for the host community. Moreover, their research showed that the host prefers tourists who are both physically and culturally similar to themselves like the Americans and Australians whereas German and Japanese tourists are least preferred because they are culturally and physically the least similar and are more likely not to speak English for example. A study by Ye, Zhang, Shen and Goh (2014) on Hong Kong residents’ attitude towards tourism development and mainland Chinese tourists showed that their findings were in line with social distance theory in the sense that some negative attitudes were formed due to perceived cultural difference between host and guest, as some respondents stated that Hong Kong is more Westernized than mainland China, resulting in different norms, values and lifestyles which occasionally clashed. Specifically, it was found that Hong Kong residents were deemed more civilized and well-mannered compared to the Chinese tourists.
Secondly, ‘the contact hypothesis’ holds the idea that different people and cultures coming together can be something good and highly valuable (Reisinger & Turner, 2003 as cited by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014) as long as there is mutual respect and appreciation for one another (Bochner, 1982 as cited by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014). Thus, whereas social distance theory states that hosts tend to favour tourists who are similar to themselves in terms of physical and cultural characteristics, the contact hypothesis states that differences between the host and the tourist can lead to positive outcomes. In this way, tourism can be a mechanism through which cultures can be enriched and both the host and tourist can learn from one another as it encourages international communication among both parties (Fisher & Price, 1991; Vogt, 1977). Moreover, it has the potential to alleviate negative stereotypes and discrimination in terms of race or nationality (Cohen, 1971; Robinson & Preston, 1976). It must be stressed however that this only occurs under the right circumstances. Although the contact hypothesis might be very interesting in relation to the host- guest interactions of Buddhist monks and those who visit Buddhist temple sites, it will be left out in this research as it goes beyond the concept of perceptions and is therefore too complex within this research as well as far beyond its scope.
Lastly, ‘social exchange theory’ proposes that the host tends to accept tourism whenever the benefits exceed the costs (Ap, 1992; Perdue, Long, & Allen, 1990). In the study of Ye et al. (2014) this theory was indeed supported through the findings as the benefits brought to Hong Kong by Chinese tourists were perceived to exceed the costs. This mainly concerned economic benefits. Another example where hosts experienced more benefits than costs is that of tourism destinations Sare’in and Masooleh in Iran where Zamani-Farahani and Musa (2012) looked at the relations between Islamic religiosity and host perceptions on tourism impacts. Some mainly perceived socio-cultural benefits included destination image, development of facilities and infrastructure, and overall perceived quality of life for the residents. Although perceptions were mainly positive among the local residents, they were even more so for those employed within the tourism industry. Of course, the question is how Thai Buddhist monks experience the benefits and downsides of the tourism industry and how they perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites. Therefore, within this thesis research, both social distance theory and the theory of social exchange will be used in order to better understand how perceptions of the Buddhist monks are constructed. For social distance theory this will be done by taking a look at Buddhist monks’ perceptions of tourists in terms of physical appearance, cultural background and potential preferences they might have for both of these. For social exchange theory this will be done by studying the benefits and costs related to tourism from an economic as well as socio-cultural perspective, as perceived by the monks.
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In conclusion, by focusing on social distance theory, the theory of social exchange and their relation to monks’ perceptions, the mutual gaze and the Buddhist and mundane worldviews, it is expected that the ways in which Buddhist monks’ perceptions are constructed will become clear through carrying out this research. Although one’s perception may be extremely difficult if not impossible to predict, taking into account as many of these factors and theories in studying host perceptions on tourism and tourists is worth getting a clearer view on what determines host perceptions. 2.5. Conceptual Model The conceptual model illustrates the main concepts that are discussed in the theoretical framework. The chosen concepts include the mutual gaze, the Buddhist and mundane worldviews as well as social distance theory and social exchange theory. Firstly, as argued by Maoz (2006) tourists do not only gaze at the host within tourism – a phenomenon referred to as the tourist gaze – but the host, in its turn, gazes back at the tourist. The latter is called the local gaze. These two gazes are interrelated and together they form the mutual gaze. In addition, Maoz describes three possible ways in which locals respond to the workings of the mutual gaze: cooperation, open resistance and veiled resistance (2006). The concept of the mutual gaze, together with these three possible outcomes will be used within this research as a means to better understand how Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites. Secondly, from the literature it was found that Buddhist monks tend to perceive tourism and tourists from two different perspectives: the Buddhist worldview and the mundane worldview (Wong et al., 2013) and that monks may alternate between the two. It is the aim of this study to find out whether this also applies to Buddhist monks in Bangkok, Thailand. Thirdly, social distance theory and social exchange theory will be used in order to get a better understanding of Buddhist monks’ perceptions. Social exchange theory proposes that hosts tend to get along better with tourists who share both physical as well as cultural attributes (Thyne et al., 2006). Therefore, the influence of physical appearance as well as cultural background of tourists on the monks’ perceptions will be studied. Lastly, social exchange theory states that hosts tend to accept tourism when the benefits of tourism are perceived to be greater than the costs (Ap, 1992; Perdue et al., 1990). Within this study, the benefits and costs of tourism – as perceived by the Buddhist monks – will be examined in order to help better understand their perceptions towards tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites. The formerly discussed theories and concepts are illustrated in the conceptual model below:
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Conceptual Model: Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists
- Physical (dis)similarities Mundane Buddhist - Cultural (dis)similarities Worldview Worldview - Tourism Costs - Tourism Benefits
Buddhist Monks’
perceptions
The Mutual Gaze
Open Cooperation Resistance
Veiled Resistance
Tourists
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Chapter 3 – Methods
Figure 6. Novice Monks in Boat (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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3. Methods
In this chapter the methods applied within this thesis research are discussed. Firstly, the researcher’s epistemological approach to research is discussed as well as the corresponding research methods and data sources used (3.1). Secondly, the choice of research area is explained (3.2). Thirdly, the sample of the research is examined (3.3). Fourthly, the help received of local translators is discussed (3.4). Fifthly, challenges encountered during the period of fieldwork are highlighted (3.5), and lastly, the methods of data analysis are discussed at the end of this chapter (3.6). 3.1. Postmodernism This thesis research is in line with the paradigm of postmodernism. Ontologically speaking, postmodernism is characterized by discussing multiple realities without any privileging of position and there’s a scepticism towards a universal truth (Jennings, 2009). When it comes to the epistemology within postmodern work, postmodernists believe that truth is relative to a particular culture or historical period and is therefore socially constructed and only true within particular contexts (Gorton, 2010). Within postmodern methodologies, qualitative research techniques are applied (Jennings, 2009). Therefore, this research has been carried out using qualitative techniques; namely semi-structured in-depth interviews. The choice of semi-structured interviews was based on the fact that within this type of interview structure there would be enough room for moving deeper into a particular topic or subject during the interview whenever this seemed relevant. 3.2. The Research Area The city of Bangkok, Thailand was chosen as research destination for this master thesis. This choice occurred quite naturally as Thailand is the second largest Buddhist nation on earth after China, with a population of about 64,420,000 Buddhists accounting for 93,2% of the country’s total population, as measured by 2010 as can be seen in the table below:
Table 1. Countries with the Largest Number of Buddhists (“The Global Religious”, 2012).
In fact, when it comes to the Theravada branch of Buddhism it could be said that Thailand is the most Buddhist nation within this branch as the Chinese are prevalent practitioners of the Mahayana branch.
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When it comes to the choice of the research area specifically, Bangkok was chosen because it counts more than 400 temples (or ‘wats’ in Thai) as well as some of the mostly visited ones within the country of Thailand such as Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Arun and Wat Pho (“10 Must-See”, 2016). In addition, Bangkok is a city visited multiple times by the researcher in the past and at the time of planning the fieldwork it was expected that many English speaking monks would be found in the Bangkok area due to the city’s highly globalized character. This turned out to be a bit more of a challenge but this will be elaborated on in the challenges section within this chapter. During the period of fieldwork, the researcher was mostly situated in the central areas of the touristic city centre of Bangkok with some visits being a little further away from the centre. Other than the formerly mentioned arguments, financial factors played a significant role as well in choosing the research destination. Prior to departure an attempt was made to contact as many Buddhist temple sites as possible in order to schedule some interviews. However, it turned out that most temples were only contactable by phone. Therefore, eventually all interviews were arranged on the spot. This was mostly done by visiting numerous temple sites and starting a conversation with the monks there. Oftentimes this was a bit of a challenge, although eventually English speaking monks were found here and there. Other than visiting many temples, some contact was made with the help of local friends, friends of friends, through interviewees and even Facebook. An overview of the locations (temples) where the interviews took place is shown in the figure below:
Figure 7. Map of Buddhist Temples in Bangkok, Thailand where Interviews were conducted.
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3.3. The Interviews All interviews were conducted within the period of March 26th and May 4th 2016. Prior to the time of fieldwork the researcher planned to conduct a total of 20 in-depth interviews. However, during the fieldwork period the target aim was lowered to a total of 15 interviews. In the end, the total number of interviews acquired was indeed 15 and the interviews were gathered at 13 different temple sites in the Bangkok area. Although all temples visited were either within or just outside of the tourist centre of Bangkok, it became clear that within the sample both very touristic temples as well as temples hardly visited by tourists were included. An overview of the interview questions can be found in the appendix. All interviewees were males and were aged between 30 and 93 at the time of conducting the interviews. Those interviewed had varying levels of life experience as a Buddhist monk. Specifically, this ranged from under a year to over 40 years of monkhood. All with the exception of one were born Thai. All interviewees have been Buddhists since birth. When asking permission for audiotaping the interviews, only one monk responded negatively. Therefore 14 interviews have been audiotaped with a total of about 14 hours of recorded material; the shortest interview lasting only 16 minutes whereas the longest interview took 110 minutes. Recording was done both with a Philips voice tracer as well as the standard recording function of the researchers’ laptop in order to guarantee a backup in case either one would not function properly. Furthermore, one monk preferred to stay anonymous in the thesis report. Therefore no name is used in this case. An overview of some of the monks’ demographics is shown in the table below:
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Table 2. Overview of Demographics of Interviewed Monks
Residency Born in this Contact with Interview Monk Name Temple Name Age Ethnicity Monkhood Buddhist temple tourists 1 Phrasuputh Chainikom (Kosalo) Wat Mahathat 76 Thai 20 Years Yes 19 Years Daily 2 Worn Varattito Wat Bowonniwet 93 Thai 18 Years Yes 18 Years Weekly 3 Manit Wat Anongkharam 48 Thai 26 Years Yes 6 Years Sometimes 4 Noo Wat Samphrayah 54 Thai 34 Years Yes 34 Years Not often 5 Phra Maha Udon (Makdee) Wat Samphrayah 39 Thai 18 Years Yes 17 Years Not often 6 Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno Wat Chana Songkhram 59 Thai 13 Years Yes 13 Years Not often 7 Phol Wat Sangvej Witsayaram 53 Thai 40 Years Yes 33 Years Often, but not daily 8 Ananda Wat Paknam 30 Bangladesh 20 Years Yes 5 Years Not often 9 Phra Visuthi varaphorn Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan 49 Thai 29 Years Yes 24 Years Sometimes 10 Paitool Kosipawanno Wat Intiawihan 68 Thai 10 Years Yes 9 Years Hardly 11 Anonymous Wat Saket 37 Thai 14 Years Yes 14 Years Almost daily 12 Phrakhrusitthithammongkon Praphan Wat Makut Kshattriyaram 48 Thai 35 Years Yes 25 Years Hardly 13 Phra Mahachaiyon Wat Ben 50 Thai 29 Years Yes 7 Years Sometimes 14 Pramaha Udom Wat Pho 56 Thai 40 Years Yes 40 Years Sometimes 15 Kitt Kittanuk Wat Ben 32 Thai 1 Year Yes 1 Year Daily
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3.4. The Translators Because not all interviewees could express themselves well enough in English and because some did not speak English at all, 6 out of 15 interviews were conducted with the help of a local translator. 5 Out of these 6 interviews were translated with the help of the researcher’s local friends Jib & Sandy of which the majority of 4 interviews were translated with help of Jib. Thus, Sandy helped with the translation of 1 interview and the sixth interview was conducted with help of Yos; a former monk and tourist guide himself. All other interviews were simply conducted through the researcher interacting directly with the monks. It is expected that some data is lost through translating the monks’ response from Thai to English. It is also taken into account that some questions might have been misunderstood due to misinterpretation on part of the translator as well as difficulty in translating from English to Thai. Although it was the main job of the translators to translate from English to Thai and vice versa in order to obtain relevant data from the interviewees, on one occasion the translator’s opinion was used in the results chapter as the information was deemed too important to leave out of the analysis. 3.5. Challenges Once arrived in the research destination, some challenges occurred that had to be dealt with. Firstly, communication in English turned out to be quite a challenge. Contrary to expectations, many monks spoke only Thai and the level of English was very low among most of the monks; something which was highly overestimated by the researcher. Because of this, the planned research sample of 20 interviewees had to be reduced to a total of 15 interviews after consultation with the thesis supervisor. Many temples had to be visited and a lot of contact had to be made in order to successfully complete this new sample within the 5 week frame. In addition, a big part of this problem was overcome with help of Jib and Sandy; two local girls the researcher became good friends with not long after arriving in Bangkok. Jib helped translating during 4 interviews and Sandy helped with the translation of 1 interview. Without Jib and Sandy a lot of money would probably have to be spent by hiring a professional translator to do the work. In fact, English turned out to be a challenge even in interviews with some of the monks who did speak English. Some questions needed to be asked multiple times and with help of easy synonyms (see appendix) before the interviewees understood what was being asked. On some occasions even the help of Google translate was required. Another factor that made finding interviewees more challenging was that the time frame within the monks were available was quite limited. Due to a strict schedule of alms gathering, meditation practise, chanting and more meditation the time during which the monks were to be found with some spare time was limited to a couple of hours during the afternoon; mostly between 12:00 and 16:00 hours. This made finding an English speaking monk and actually conducting an in-depth interview quite hard. Moreover, this mostly meant that it was nearly impossible to conduct multiple interviews in a single day. However, this was done twice during the period of fieldwork, both times on the days that Jib helped out the researcher with translation. When it comes to the planned observations at temple sites, it was decided not to go through with this part of the research plan. The main reasons for this were that the monks and tourists were mostly not to be found at temple sites simultaneously, which made observing interaction between the two close to impossible. Furthermore, it was believed that observations would not add a lot of new data to the data acquired during the interviews. Therefore the decision was made to focus solely on conducting enough in-depth interviews.
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3.6. Data Analysis After conducting all the interviews and returning back home from Thailand the gathered data was analysed. Firstly, all recorded audio material from the 14 audiotaped interviews was transcribed word by word to make sure that no important data was left out in the analysis. All the data was combined into 199 pages of transcripts. One interview was typed out on the spot during the actual interview due to the fact that this particular monk did not want for the interview to be recorded. No specialized software was used but the standard Windows ‘Groove Music’ software for playing the other audio files and subsequently all the interviews were written out in a Word document. Although time consuming, this was very manageable due to the good quality of the recordings. After all interviews were transcribed, a technique of coding was used in order to select relevant data from the text. Specifically, open coding was used as this technique encourages a thematic approach (Boeije, 2010) which was most fitting to this kind of qualitative research because it encourages one to categorize the data into relevant themes. In doing so, coding software MAXQDA was used to facilitate the process of analysis. All transcribed data was scanned and all relevant fragments were assigned a code resulting in a coding scheme which is a list of codes (2010). It took several drafts of the coding scheme before the definite coding scheme was designed as some codes had to be added, deleted or rephrased and combined. Where appropriate, coding was done with gerunds (i.e. verbs that end with –ing) as advised by Charmaz (2006 as cited by Boeije, 2010) in order for the codes to be more active, thereby staying close to the original data. For example, ‘perceiving benefits of tourism’ was chosen as a code instead of ‘perceptions of tourism benefits’ and ‘perceiving tourist motivations’ was chosen over ‘perceptions of tourist motivations’. In the end, the final coding scheme included a total of 54 codes. Subsequently, links were established between some of the codes and several main themes were found from the coded material as described in the results chapter. These main themes are: Buddhist teachings and values, teaching Buddhism, interest of the visitor, conflicting habits and being a good monk. Each theme is supported by fragments from the interviews. It is important to note here that some of the fragments have been rephrased in order to make them easier to read, as some of the interviewed monks were not fluent in English. In doing so, the researcher has stayed close to the original data by making as little alterations as possible. Further analysis of the themes is done in the following chapter in order to provide answers to the research objective and research questions. Finally, conclusions were drawn based on the provided answers to the research questions.
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Chapter 4 – Results
Figure 8. Monk and Elephant (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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4. Results
The main objective of this research is to understand the various ways in which Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites. In order to provide answers to the research questions related to this objective we will now take a look at the results of the qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in Bangkok. Based on the analysis the following themes will be discussed: teachings of the Buddha (4.1), Buddhist values (4.2), teaching Buddhism (4.3), interest of the visitor (4.4), conflicting habits (4.5) and being a good monk (4.6). 4.1. Teachings of the Buddha The interviewed monks had between less than 1 year to over 40 years of experience as ordained Buddhist monks. For many of those interviewed this means that they have been dedicating a big part of their lives to Buddhism with all its teachings and rituals. In fact, more than half of the interviewees have been ordained monks for over half of their lives. One can imagine that practising Buddhism on such a deep level has a great effect on how one perceives the world. Therefore, now attention will be given to some of the most important Buddhist teachings according to Bangkok’s monks in order to better understand the ways in which these teachings affect Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists. Although greatly simplified, the most important Buddhist teachings can be summarized in three elements according to some of the interviewees: restraining from performing bad deeds, performing good deeds and purifying the mind. The following fragment illustrates this:
“I can summarize for you only three. Number one: not doing bad things. Number two: you have to do good deeds. Number three: purify your mind. This is the summarization of the doctrine of the Buddha. You don’t want to do bad things, like you don’t want to kill, you don’t want to steal, something like that. So we have precepts. See? And then, if you have precepts, if you’re not doing bad deeds it means you try doing good deeds right? That’s not enough for you. So you have to know how to clean and clear your mind. How to purify your mind. Only Buddhism teaches about this. You can’t find anything from.. like this, how to purify your mind, from other religions. It’s a total difference.” - Phrasuputh Chainikom (Kosalo), age 76, Wat Mahathat
93 Year old Worn Varattito, the oldest monk interviewed, answered the same when asked about the most important Buddhist teachings:
“The principle of the Lord Buddha teachings. This is threefold. Not to do bad. To do good. Purify your mind.” - Worn Varattito, age 93, Wat Bowonniwet
In addition, he often spoke out of a Buddhist worldview (Wong et al., 2013) during the interview in answering questions on tourism and tourists by referring to several Buddhist teachings and principles throughout the interview. Worn Varattito has been an ordained Buddhist monk for the past 18 years of his life. Although he ordained relatively late in his life, it is argued here that his perception is highly ‘Buddhalized’ as derived from the study of Wong et al. (2013) as he takes on a full Buddhist view on many aspects of life; including tourism. Furthermore, as age has been found to exercise an effect on host perceptions of tourism (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Liu & Var, 1986; Milman & Pizam, 1988), it is argued here that both the monks’ age and level of Buddhist development are important factors in shaping his perception:
Lord Buddha said the mind is our master. So that it’s necessary to practise meditation. To uhh.. to bring the mind in concentrate and calm. – Worn Varattito, age 93, Wat Bowonniwet
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In order to live according to the teachings of Buddhism, a set of rules or precepts has been designed dating back to the time of the Buddha. Although Buddhist monks have to abide by a total of 227 rules (“The Sangha: Becoming”, 2014), for the ordinary Thai Buddhist there are five precepts which are considered most important in order to live a happy and peaceful life:
“I just tell you about the five precepts. Number 1: no killing. Number 2: no stealing. Number 3: not committing sexual adultery, it means if you have a wife you have only one wife. Number 4: you don’t want to tell lies. Number 5: no drinking alcohol. You can imagine, if the population in the world has only five rules. How do you think? This world would be peaceful.” - Phrasuputh Chainikom (Kosalo), age 76, Wat Mahathat
One of the most important teachings within Buddhism is that of loving kindness, which is a form of meditation through which positive attitudes of mind are stimulated for oneself as well as the development of mental states of altruistic love (Pannyavaro, 2016). Therefore, loving kindness is in line with the principle of doing good deeds. It is about cherishing positive feelings of love and compassion towards all other living beings:
“Yes.. Buddhism.. also teach us about loving kindness. Ok. We consider tourists as human beings. Ok. As human beings. […] most of the Thai people being influenced by the Buddha’s teachings.. they think of the tourists in a positive way. And they are ready to help them, I believe. It is because of ‘metta’ or loving kindness. Being taught by Buddhism. […] Metta means loving kindness. Spreading loving kindness. Doing good deeds for others.” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
Considering the three most important elements of Buddhist teachings, the five precepts and the principle of loving kindness, it can be said that Buddhist monks try to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated:
“In Buddhism they teach us to understand the other people as ourselves. To treat them like we treat our friends. This is the point.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
Prior research has indicated that religion may play a significant role in the shaping of one’s perspective towards tourism (Delener, 1994; Essoo & Dibb, 2004; Fam et al., 2004). Therefore it is argued that Buddhism and the level to which this is practised by the Thai Buddhist monks has a significant effect on the shaping of their perceptions towards tourism and tourists. Although there are numerous teachings within Buddhist religion, the ones mentioned here are considered most important by the interviewed monks. If loving kindness and performing good deeds, not performing bad deeds and purifying the mind are said to be the most essential elements within Buddhism as perceived by the interviewed monks, it is therefore argued here that these elements influence the monks’ perception to a great extent as well.
4.2. Buddhist Values During the interviews, some character traits were found to be quintessential amongst the interviewees as they kept coming up within almost every interview. Those interviewed turned out to be very kind, calm, helpful, generous and loving in character as well as understanding, tolerant, forgiving and willing to teach others; based on how the monks answered the questions of the researcher and due to the fact that some monks described themselves as such. The argument here is that many of these character traits or values are very much intertwined with the teachings of the Buddha. Specifically, all character traits discussed here point in the direction of at least one Buddhist teaching formerly discussed. Some examples will be given here in order to illustrate this. Kosalo explains how he wants to make others happy by helping them. Over the years he has met many tourists and according to him, many of them had ‘mental problems’ as he called it. By mental
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problems he means that they have sadness, sorrows and lamentations. He explains how he always wants to help them solve their problems when these tourists visit him. In his 20 years of experience as an ordained Buddhist monk he has proudly helped countless people find more peace and happiness in their daily lives. It was found from previous research that the degree of social interaction between host and tourist may have a significant effect on how perceptions are formed (Cohen, 1984; Liu, 1986). As Kosalo speaks English very well it was no surprise that he has contact with international tourists on a daily basis. This means that he expectedly has a very different perception of tourists compared to a monk who does not speak English at all. Furthermore it creates the ability for him to help tourists with ‘mental problems’ because of his ability to interact with them on a higher level. The argument here is that his understanding of the English language, together with his helpful attitude, exercise a big effect on how he perceives tourists:
“You know, I just try, my idea is, I try to make them happy. How can I help them? A lot of people they came here. They have sadness. Sorrows. Lamentation, and then I try to solve the problems for them. They came here with tears. Talking and crying, crying, crying. They go back with this happiness. Smiling. That is what I did for a lot of people. See, that is one thing I’m very proud of in my life. I can promise that anyone who came to see me with tears they went back with a smile. With happiness. That’s what I did. ‘Thank you very much’, they said.” – Phrasuputh Chainikom (Kosalo), age 76, Wat Mahathat
This attitude of being helpful is shared by other interviewees. Being kind and helpful is very much in line with the principle of doing good deeds as becomes clear here:
“Normally, the temple and the monks and the Buddhists should be kind and help the people.” - Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
Another value which comes forth in many of the interviews is tolerance and understanding. As becomes clear from the interviews, Buddhist monks are very tolerant and understanding in many ways. They understand that tourists might not know about some Buddhist cultural habits. Therefore, some occurrences that might be perceived as impolite by some are accepted by the monks because they understand that it was not intentional on behalf of the tourists. In this example, Noo does not blame the tourists for dressing the ‘wrong’ way because they are foreign and might not know about traditional Thai behaviour:
“Because of the weather he or she wears a thin shirt. Weather makes tourists dress impolite, because it’s very hot. In their own culture, tourist can point at things by using their feet. In Thailand this is not respectful because the foot is the low organ. Head is the top organ, the feet are low. Thai people should not point with their feet. Also, using their head for pointing is impolite. Using the finger to point, depends on whom you talk to. When you are the same age, you can. But for people who are older than yourself, you should use the whole hand; five fingers. I don’t think of you as bad or good, you’re an exception because you are foreign. So this goes for Thai people. Don’t get upset. Don’t blame him or her. Understand they’re foreigners. – Noo, age 54, Wat Samphrayah
Like kindness and understanding, forgiveness turned out to be a key characteristic within Buddhism, as mentioned by some of the monks. Instead of dwelling on feelings of blame, resisting something that happened, or other negative states of mind, Buddhist monks attempt to improve the situation by forgiving others when they have done something bad so things can move forward. This applies to all those who cross paths with the Buddhist monks, including tourists:
“Normally, for Buddhist monks or Buddhism in Thailand, we really expect the people, even when he is bad, or good, or anything, if you’re good then we really appreciate it and are
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happy for that, but if you’re bad, then we are ready to or we always would like to forgive you. […] I am ready to forgive you if you do something wrong. And if you open your mind to learn, then I’m ready to teach you also. […] We are really like this, we don’t make a discussion. We just forgive and try to make it better.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
This view is shared by other monks:
“Let’s learn to forgive. That is all. Because.. the other people done this thing to you because they don’t know. Just forgive them!” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
One who has visited a Buddhist temple in Thailand has undoubtedly noticed that Buddhist monks are like the embodiment of peace and calmness. As a big part of their daily rituals involves silence and training the mind this does not come as a surprise perhaps. In the interviews this calmness of the monks also clearly came to the surface. Calmness is very much in line with the Buddhist principle of ‘purifying the mind’ in which attention is paid to positive thoughts rather than thoughts of negativity. Moreover, it is something which can be considered very much as a ‘Buddhist perspective’ (Wong et al., 2013). This is illustrated by the following fragment in which the oldest of the interviewed monks was asked whether he sometimes worries about tourism and tourists. He very much adopted a full Buddhist view on this, again confirming that his perception shows a high degree of Buddhalization (2013) as was previously discussed:
“I do not, I do not worry. No. To worry, it means to create anger. Anger, you know? It’s like fire. Anger is the fire, that burns our sense world.” - Worn Varattito, age 93, Wat Bowonniwet
Whereas Worn Varattito expressed how he does not worry, other monks express their feelings towards tourists out of a more mundane or secular perspective which is less intertwined with teachings of Buddhism and therefore more personal and ordinary (Wong et al., 2013). Pramaha Udom explains how he is worried that tourists do not learn about the proper ways to behave around the temple prior to their visit which may lead to situations which are regarded as improper and disrespectful:
“But I worry about the tourists. Maybe they come and they don’t know. Some people don’t know, like one lady kissed a young monk. She didn’t learn before. That’s the problem: learning the culture, the rules in that place, what the people do. […] That’s what I worry about, what they are doing in that place. What they are doing.” - Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
Another example in which a mundane perspective is taken up by one of the monks is the following, in which the monk expresses feeling uncomfortable after being asked how he feels about tourists who are not familiar with proper ways of respecting the monks. Instead of keeping calm like Worn Varattito, Makdee admits to feeling uncomfortable in this situation which is his own “cognitive construction of reality in an ordinary social situation” (Bhikkhu, 2007; Karmapa, 2008 as quoted by Wong et al., 2013: 222), rather than him understanding it from a Buddhist perspective, and therefore his view is in line with the mundane worldview:
“I will not be comfortable because then I must be careful about myself, especially for women. So I must explain and be careful.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
One of the translators made a point about the monks and their feelings and emotions. She explains how Buddhist monks – although on their path to reaching enlightenment and the status of ‘Buddha’
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– are human just like everyone else. Therefore, alternating between a Buddhist perspective and mundane perspective when perceiving tourism and tourists is only natural:
“I think [feeling uncomfortable] is normal for a human. It’s because he’s not a Buddha yet. He has feelings or emotions.” – Jib, translator
Another thing that became clear during the interviews is that Buddhist monks are often very generous and like to take care of tourists. Again, this is in line with the principle of performing good deeds, which is considered one of the most important teachings within Buddhism:
“Sometimes I tell them ‘ok, today I have free time, I will take you to see another temple’. I pay for taxi, for ticket, for him. Many, many time.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
The interviewed Buddhist monks often expressed feeling very welcome towards the tourists that visit the temples. This is in line with the fact that Buddhist monks are very kind towards all living beings as previously discussed as one of the most important teachings within Buddhism:
“We welcome them always. Ok. They come to our country. […] It seems that Thailand is very open for tourists. Very much open for tourists. If compared to other countries. […] When you come to me or people like me.. we are welcome. […] When they come to the temple they are most welcome.” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
The fact that the monks are very welcoming towards tourists is perhaps not surprising as they perceive tourism as a way through which Buddhism can be propagated:
“I think the more tourists come, the more I welcome them. Because it’s the meaning of the temple, to be well-known.. everyone can come.” – Anonymous monk
Phol expresses his generosity towards tourists and explains how he perceives contact with tourists as a way through which he can learn from them:
“I like them to come and stay with me. We’re going to have a good chance to speak English. […] Usually I don’t know them before. They come ask me to stay with me, I stay with them. I allow them to stay with me. I provide everything for them, like food, even money also. I can give them many things [laughing].” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
Pramaha Udom emphasized how the temple is open to everyone who wants to visit. No distinction is made in terms of nationality, culture or religion. Relating this to social distance theory, it becomes clear from this example that looking at both physical and cultural attributes of the visitor – on which the theory is based (Thyne et al., 2006) – is not quite helpful in understanding the monks’ perception towards tourists as these factors do not seem to play a role in how he perceives the different visitors that come to the temple:
“The temple is open for the public. For every culture. For every religion. […] For everybody in the world. Not just for Buddhist people, not just for Thai people.. […] Open for the public.” – Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
Other than feeling very welcome towards tourists, the interviewees turned out to be very accepting of tourism in general. In fact, every single interviewed monk said that they accept tourism when they were asked whether this was the case for them. According to social exchange theory, the host – in this case being the Buddhist monks – tend to accept tourism when they perceive the benefits of
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tourism to exceed the costs (Ap, 1992; Perdue et al., 1990). Therefore it is argued here that as all the interviewed monks firmly stated that they accept tourism, they all perceive the benefits to be greater than the costs:
“Yes, of course [I accept tourism]. Humans from all over the world should be connected.” – Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, Age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
Other than supporting social exchange theory, it was found from the interviews that some of the monks spoke of the acceptance of tourism from different worldviews. The following example is in line with the Buddhist worldview as Wong et al. (2013) argue that this worldview looks at phenomena from a Buddhist perspective. The monk states how he perceives all tourists in a positive way which is in line with the teaching of the Buddha in which all living beings should be regarded as equal:
“I accept tourism. Whether they [tourists] come from the East or the West. I see good in everyone.” – Noo, age 54, Wat Samphrayah
However, one of the monks spoke of accepting tourism from a more mundane worldview, which according to Wong et al. (2013) is secular and therefore free of Buddhist thoughts and principles. In contrast to the previous fragment, which illustrated tourism benefits from a socio-cultural perspective, the following quote provides an example which is related to economic benefits:
“We accept all tourists. Because the main income of Thailand comes from tourism.” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
Thus, according to the findings, Buddhist monks have a very accepting nature. During the period of fieldwork it was not only found that the monks are very welcoming and accepting of tourists and tourism in general, but also that most interviewed monks regard every person as equal and no distinction between different nationalities is made. This again makes social distance theory (Thyne et al., 2006) irrelevant in understanding the monks’ perceptions towards tourists. This is what one of the monks answered when asked about having a favourite nationality of tourist:
“Let me think.. [moment of silence]. Hm.. I cannot, I cannot.. I cannot choose like this. For I think because.. I think.. Hm.. Hm.. I cannot talk about tourists from this country are very good, from this country are not good, I cannot talk about this because.. I think there are good and bad people anywhere [laughing]. […] I always think this is true of the world. So I cannot choose the best people are from this country, I think same same.” – Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
To sum up this section, it is argued here that many character traits of the Buddhist monks (e.g. helpfulness, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, calmness, generousness, acceptance) are in line with the most important teachings of the Buddha. Therefore, these character traits can be referred to as Buddhist characteristics or values and are considered very important in shaping the monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists. Although the interviewed monks strive to live by the teachings of the Buddha and behave accordingly, they take on both the Buddhist worldview as well as the mundane worldview in different situations. The fact that the interviewees do not always take on a Buddhist worldview is due to the fact that Buddhist monks are human and therefore alternate between the Buddhist and mundane worldviews as they are not fully identified with Buddhism.
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4.3. Teaching Buddhism & Educating Tourists Thus, from the analysed data it is argued that Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists is in part shaped by the doctrine of the Buddha and some character traits which follow out of this doctrine. Although many other factors play a role in shaping one’s perception (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Liu & Var, 1986; Milman & Pizam, 1988; Cohen, 1984; Liu, 1986; Liu et al., 1987; Zamani- Farahani & Henderson, 2014; Hofstede, 1997 as cited by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014), the teachings of the Buddha and the Buddhist values related to these teachings were some of the most evident factors. Findings show that the interviewed monks perceive tourism as an instrument through which they can teach others about Buddhism, as was briefly stated previously. It turns out that they oftentimes see tourism as a way through which they can propagate the teachings of the Buddha which are of such great importance to their own way of living. In order to actually propagate Buddhism to tourists, the level of English of a monk should be high enough to be able to personally do so. Moreover, the degree of social interaction between monk and tourist is an important factor for the perception of the host on the tourist (Cohen, 1984; Liu, 1986). It is therefore argued that the following monk’s perception is in part shaped by the fact that he talks to tourists very regularly and therefore perceives tourism as a chance to share Buddhist knowledge with them:
“Yeah! It’s a one way of the propagate the Buddhism.” – Anonymous monk
Although they might perceive the spreading of Buddhism as something very positive, this is never forced upon tourists at temple sites by the monks, as found out during the interviews and as observed by the researcher himself. The opportunity of teaching and informing tourists about Buddhism is merely perceived as a beneficial side effect of global tourism:
“They come to Thailand, they should, they should not miss a good chance to learn Buddhism. Ok. It doesn’t matter whether they be converted to become a Buddhist or not. Ok? […] Because Buddhism is being considered as one of the most important religions in the world.” - Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
Apart from teaching Buddhism, the findings show that some monks emphasized the benefits of learning about meditation practise, which makes out a major part of Buddhist tradition and revolves around the principle of purifying the mind as was mentioned in the previous section. The point here is that these monks perceive tourists as people who can learn many good things through meditation practise whether they perceive themselves as Buddhists or not:
“I think it’s a good time […] because meditation is [good for] international tourism I think. International tourists. Not only Buddhists. Whether you are Jew, you are Christian, Catholic, Muslim, you can practise meditation. Meditation can support you in life. I think it’s a very good way.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
Thus, the monks enjoy teaching tourists about Buddhism and meditation, but Buddhism is not the only field in which the monks like to teach. Something which was mentioned by many of the interviewed monks was that they like to educate tourists on what to do and especially what not to do around the temples:
“But, you see, if I saw or see any tourism practise in not a good way I try to teach them.” - Worn Varattito, age 93, Wat Bowonniwet
One of the most important reasons for the monks to educate the tourists on good behaviour was found to be about respecting the temple and for the tourists to adjust to the culture of the Thai Buddhists. This indicates that being respectful towards Buddhism is one of the most important
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motivations for the monks to teach those who do not know because it creates more respect and understanding towards Buddhist culture and tradition among unknowing tourists:
“I was unhappy when I saw some women wearing really short and nudy clothes and they were sitting on the Buddha building, being disrespectful. I sat with them and let them wear like you, to cover the legs, like that first. To wear more polite. I must tell them to let them know the rules and have respect for the temple.” - Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
The importance of providing good information to tourists was emphasized numerous times and the following monk made a suggestion in order to be better able to do so, which indicates how important he perceives the ability to teach others about Buddhist religion to be:
“When tourists visit the temple, the temple should have a monk who can speak English and take care of the tourists, and present about Buddhist religion. Present about the temple. It’s very good I think if every temple can do this. Very good, very good for tourists.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
The topic of impolite clothing and improper ways of behaviour came up many times during the interviews with the monks. It seemed that they couldn’t stress enough how important it is for tourists to know the rules of the temple. It was found many times that tourists are perceived to be in need of education on several rules:
“When the tourists come to visit the temple, they should wear polite clothing. No shorts, not too short, but what Thai people wear. And then about the Buddha image, Thai people do not only look, but we pray. We respect. We pay respect to the Buddha. […] We pray, we respect. Old or young; we respect. Not, not just for looking. Not, not just for seeing. So first, about the Thai culture, Thai custom in the temple, wear proper clothing. Be polite. And for talking, speak in a polite manner. And don’t touch anything.” - Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
Moreover, it was found that the monks see it as their task to teach others, although it is up to the tourists to make proper use of the information provided to them:
“The monk tells what to do. The monk tells the way. Do like this, good, do like this, not good, like the Buddha taught. But it depends on that person. The monk just teaches and tells the good way to the people. But they do not control anybody. It depends on you and me. Yes.” - Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
The fact that monks perceive teaching to be a very important task became clear in many other accounts:
“The duty of the monk, teaching. Teacher.” - Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
As has been discussed here, on the one hand, Buddhist monks perceive tourism as a way through which they can propagate Buddhism, although this is not done in an aggressive manner. They simply see this propagation of Buddhism as a favourable side-effect of international tourism. On the other hand, the monks’ willingness to teach others becomes apparent through the ways in which they perceive tourists as those who are in need of education on proper and respectful behaviour around the temples. In addition, teaching others is perceived as one of the most important duties of being a monk. Through educating the tourists on proper behaviour, more respect for Buddhist culture and tradition is gained subsequently.
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4.4. Interest of the Visitor Many Buddhist monks expressed their positive views on tourism. It was found that the monks are proud of their own culture and really appreciate it when tourists show their interest in Buddhism by visiting Bangkok’s temples:
“It’s really good because.. when they come it means they’re really interested about our culture.” - Phrakhrusitthithammongkon Praphan, age 48, Wat Makut Kshattriyaram
Specifically, tourists who visit the Buddhist temples in Thailand were perceived as positive. The fact that tourists show their interest in Buddhist culture makes the monks perceive them in a positive way. This seems to be in line with the fact that some of the monks mentioned how tourism itself can be a tool for introducing people all around the world to Buddhism:
“I am happy, I feel happy to see tourists come to Thailand, especially to see them come to wat Thai; Thai temples. They come to important places. In the north of Thailand, in the eastern parts of Thailand. Many, many provinces have a good place to show the tourists. I like that they are interested in Buddhist culture.” – Noo, age 54, Wat Samphrayah
In addition, the taking of photos is regarded as something positive for the same reasons as mentioned above:
“It makes me happy, because it means that the tourists are really interested in our culture or tradition. It’s a beautiful thing. And I’m grateful that the picture will be like advertising. Let the people in the world know more about Thailand.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
Although Buddhist monks like to teach about Buddhism and to educate tourists, not all tourists are interested to learn while on holiday, as has become clear from what the monks expressed in the interviews. The interviewed monks often spoke about different groups of visitors. Distinctions were made in terms of profession, income, country of origin, intentions and level of interest in the Thai and Buddhist culture, among other things. Subsequently, the perceived motivations of these tourists ranged from creating memories and partying to discovering Thailand with all its beautiful temples, beaches and nature and learning about Buddhist traditions. From the analysis it has become clear that the interviewees mainly make a distinction between those who are interested and open to learn about Buddhism, and those who only come to enjoy the country, party and drink alcohol:
“I can feel there are two groups of tourists. One group, they visit Thailand for enjoying culture and Buddhist religion, like visit the temple, enjoy activities with the temple and travel around, to waterfalls, the beach, understand? They enjoy the destination. This group is very good I think. Because they don’t drink alcohol, don’t party, don’t do something wrong, understand? I like this group. But, some groups they visit Thailand for party, for drinking alcohol, you know? For bars, karaoke and for fun, like this. I think this group is dangerous. I think. Sometimes dangerous.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
As previously mentioned, Phra Visuthi Varaphorn was not the only monk who perceived two main groups of tourists; those who are open to learning and those who come just to have fun and don’t care too much about the local culture. It happens that the temples where these monks live are some of the closest ones to the touristy backpacker hub of Kao San Road which is the tourist hub of Bangkok, where the streets are filled with souvenir stands and bars with music blasting through speakers and where one can always find a place to party or socialize with other backpackers. Tourists
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from all over the world – and many Westerners – are to be found here. It was mentioned previously that place of residency in relation to touristy areas is one of the factors that plays a key role in the formation of perceptions on tourism for locals (Belisle & Hoy, 1980). Therefore it is argued that the location of Buddhist temples in relation to busy tourist areas like Kao San Road can potentially have a major effect on how monks perceive tourism and tourists because they are more likely to be confronted with tourist behaviour that can be perceived as negative:
“I have seen many kinds of tourists. Some kinds are really good, they came here to learn about our country tradition, our story. It’s a good thing, it’s a beautiful thing in Bangkok, in Thailand. But some kinds came here just for fun and they don’t protect or keep our good tradition or culture. They just make it fun, make our country dirty. So, in my opinion, I have seen many kinds of tourists in Bangkok.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
Although two main groups were identified, other kinds of tourists came up in the interviews, namely sex tourists. Sex tourism was only mentioned by two of the interviewees and both were the youngest monks out of the fifteen who were interviewed. Taking into account that age, among other sociodemographic factors, plays a significant role in the shaping of perceptions (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Liu & Var, 1986; Milman & Pizam, 1988), it is argued here that being of younger age makes the monks more open to talk about sex related topics than older generations of Thai monks, although those who spoke about sex tourism were found to be slightly reserved at the same time, indicating that it is still a sensitive topic:
“Some tourists they have a kind of interest in the culture, but some tourists they are quite interested.. you know, in Thai.. actually we’re infamous for some things that I.. sex tourism and drugs.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
Kitt continued to say that he does not perceive the tourists to be the ones to blame for sex tourism in Thailand:
“The one to be blamed is the government. Not the tourists. Because as a Thai person, I have to advocate that if my country is not the place where they can find these bad things, they won’t come here.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
The only other account in which the topic of sex tourism came up was with Ananda. He brought up an incident that happened in Thailand several years ago, where Frederic Mitterrand (one of France’s former ministers of culture) paid ‘young boys’ for sex. The former minister admitted this in his 2005 autobiography ‘The Bad Life’ (Allen, 2009). Although using the word ‘garçon’ in his book, meaning ‘boy’, Mitterrand himself claims that the word does not refer to young boys meaning it was never an act of paedophilia (Carswell, 2009). According to the former French minister of culture, the men he had sexual encounters with in Thailand were always around his own age, perhaps a couple of years younger, and there was always mutual consent. Whether or not this was truly the case, fact is that this story went viral. From Ananda’s story it becomes clear that this controversial incident has influenced his perception of the tourism sector as his reaction shows that he does not agree with this kind of tourism. It has been shown from previous studies that host perceptions are influenced by the way the media portrays the tourism industry (Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014), which is exactly what happened in the case of Ananda. He is very emotional about the story and literally says that ‘tourism is not good’ when it comes to this particular scandal. He goes on to say that he believes that when tourists have bad intentions, tourism is not good for that particular tourism destination, in this case of course Thailand. Thus, incidents like these can have a great impact on one’s perception. Again, this is a rather extreme example which does not encompass the entire tourism industry, but it
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definitely plays a significant role in shaping local’s perception on tourism and those who visit the destination:
“There was one French minister. I think he used to be minister of arts or something. Just a few years ago he was in the other government. So, I think not this government but the other government, he said he came to Thailand to have sex with young boys. So, that is not a good thing.. tourism is not good. In your country you.. you.. you outlaw having sex with a minor but you come to this country to exploit some poor people. That is not tourism, that is destroying somebody.. however it is, a small boy, he can, he.. because you’re throwing money to his hand you can do any.. he doesn’t understand but, or his family doesn’t understand.. people exploiting small children.. so.. [laughing nervously] you know, there are drug addicts also coming […] If we don’t have that kind of [good] intention and if we have a wrong intention then it’s not, I think.. tourism is not good for that country or that place.” – Ananda, age 30, Wat Paknam
Thus, it can be said that in general the interviewed monks perceive two groups of visitors; those who are interested in the Thai and Buddhist culture, visit temples and are open to learning new things, whereas the other group enjoys things like partying and drinking according to the interviewees. The former is perceived in a positive way whereas the latter is perceived to be potentially dangerous. The topic of sex tourism was ignored or avoided by the older monks and was only mentioned by the two youngest monks. In the end, the ways in which Thai Buddhist monks perceive tourists comes down to the intentions they perceive them to have. Visitors with good intentions are very much appreciated whereas those with bad intentions are perceived as risky and of potential danger to the host.
4.5. Conflicting Habits The analysis showed that in order for the monks to be able to teach tourists, whether it’s about Buddhism or about aspects of behaviour in and around the temples, there must be some degree of interest on behalf of the tourists. If no interest exists in the visitor, situations may occur in which their behaviour is not in line with the rules and traditions of the Buddhist temple sites. In situations like these, cultures clash and misunderstandings take place which sometimes results in negative perceptions of tourists:
“Everything has two sides like a coin; good and bad. The bad is less, but if the tourists don’t learn about our traditions or culture, they don’t know how they should behave. Like women who come to take a photo with the Buddha structures. They hug them or do something impolite, or destroy them, touch them or sit on them. Such negative things can damage or destroy the things around the temple.” - Phra Mahachaiyon, age 50, Wat Ben
The following monk talks about the differences in behaviour at the temples between the local Thais and international tourists. Negative perceptions arise because of tourists being disrespectful in the eyes of the monks because they don’t behave according to the rules of the temple. However, the 56 year old monk explains how he thinks this is not always the fault of the tourists:
“Maybe some guides don’t explain to the tourists. ‘May I touch?’ They say yes! […] Thai people.. don’t do that. They respect. […] So don’t touch. Just look. […] Some people said, if you touch the Buddha and then put your hand on your head, you are lucky. Some guides explain it like that, maybe some Thai guides also. That’s the problem. They are the reason tourists don’t understand not to touch things in Thailand’s temples. That’s why the Buddha statues are black. Normally they are not like that. It’s from people touching them. That’s the problem also.” – Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
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Tourists were not only perceived to misbehave around the temples. Something which came up in the interviews several times was the fact that the monks think of Western tourists of those who act and behave a bit too freely compared to the Thai people. In the following fragment, Phol expresses that he’s not happy about the effect of Western culture on Thai society; specifically on the younger generation of Thais. Whereas originally Thai people are not supposed to show affection in public, Thai youngsters are now daily witnessing Western tourists openly hugging and kissing in the streets. This happens especially in Kao San Road, which is increasingly becoming a place where Thai middle- class youngsters go out as well (Arvidsson & Niessen, 2015). The Western tourists act according to their own cultural habits and some of their behavioural aspects are picked up by the Thai youth, as mentioned by some of the monks. The way in which many Westerners think about public affection is in stark contrast to the traditional norms and values of the older, more traditional local population, in this case resulting in a negative perception of tourism for the 53 year old monk:
“Western people, they’re a bit free. Ok? Our tradition is not like that. Our ancestors, our parents try to teach them to not do that. Our tradition is like this, like that. Ok? But they [Thai youngsters] don’t care. It depends on the nature of body also. Because they have seen the foreigners come to Thailand, sometimes they do something quite free. Like, they kiss each other on the road. Ok? They hug.. they hug each other. In our tradition we cannot do like that. But the youngsters nowadays, they say, why I have to care? The foreigners, they come, they can do it. Something like that.” - Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
He continues to express his dissatisfaction on the fact that the ‘free’ behaviour of the tourists is copied by the Thai youth. As this example involves the monk being unhappy on the basis of cultural difference between tourist and host, it could be stated that social distance theory (Thyne et al., 2006) is supported through the monk’s remarks:
“It seems that this becomes normal [laughing]. Before that [contact with tourists] we could not do this at all. Especially in a big city like Bangkok. They don’t care much […] According to me.. I feel.. I feel that’s not so happy. Ok? Not so happy.” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
Phol was not the only monk who expressed his concerns on this subject. Phra Visuthi Varaphorn agrees on the fact that some Western cultural habits are not good for Thai culture. He emphasizes the fact that, in his opinion, Thai youngsters should be more critical as to what habits of Westerners are good for them and therefore worth copying, and what habits are not good and should therefore not be adopted in their culture. Although the 49 year old monk indicated that the Thai youth should be cautious in what they copy from tourists, he left his personal opinion open for interpretation:
“Younger girls, younger boys should be careful about this [copying culture]. Because if you receive everything from tourists, from foreigners, and you copy everything. Some things are not good for Thai culture. You should debate something. Not all. Understand? Should debate.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
Apart from this perceived risk of Westerners presenting their culture on Thai culture, the monk continued to say that there are also positive cultural habits; the ones that are worth copying according to him. The 49 year old monk describes how he admires the independence of tourists. He mentions that they know how to take care of themselves and compares them to Thai people and how this seems to be a way in which the two differ from one another. The monk therefore implies that Thai people could potentially learn a thing or two from tourists:
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“People from another country when they travel, they ask you about.. look at the map, you know. The map. Understand? They take care of themselves, they have.. like you! They walk around. Some Thai people do not do this. They feel.. fear to travel alone. To travel to another country, but foreigners they can do this. Some women, they travel around, alone. This is something good I think. Independence. This is a good idea.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
To come back to conflicting habits between international tourists and the local Thais, one of the main perceived issues that often came up in the interviews was that of (over)usage of alcohol among tourists. The following passage illustrates an encounter of one of the monks during alms gathering; a daily Buddhist ritual that takes place in the early morning, in which Buddhist monks collect food and other alms as they are fully dependent on donations of ordinary Buddhist believers. Because of the same conflicting cultural habits which have been discussed previously, it becomes clear that the monk perceives tourism and the way it is managed in Thailand as something questionable:
“When I go [alms gathering] every morning I have seen the tourists drunken, or drinking in the morning, or all day long, and vomit, or do anything. Or just kissing in the road, or something like that. So I can feel different. I look.. I see different. […] a different side. And inside I have some questions and I wonder why it is that in Thailand we allow or why we really welcome tourists to do this. Is this too much business, or not? Or something like that. Yeah, I have questions in my mind.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
The fact that Makdee questions tourism somewhat, suggests that he is not quite sure whether the benefits of tourism in Thailand outweigh the costs involved, or not. However, when asked if tourism is mainly good or mainly bad, he clearly states that tourism is mainly positive in his opinion. This is in line with social exchange theory which proposes that hosts tend to accept tourism whenever the benefits outweigh the costs (Ap, 1992; Perdue et al., 1990). Moreover, this example once again illustrates that Buddhist monks perceive tourism as a way to propagate Buddhism and that this is a factor which potentially outweighs many downsides of tourism in Thailand:
“Of course there are more good things! Because normally, we have to go outside to speak to people all over the world, but it’s a really good time now that we don’t need to walk out. Tourists come to our home, so it’s a really good chance to explain Buddhism.” – Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 38, Wat Samphrayah
Some of the temples visited during the time of interviewing are located just a stone’s throw away from the busy Kao San Road where a lot of drunken party tourists can be found, pretty much every night of the week. The same goes for Wat Samphraya where Makdee lives, and it was mentioned before that place of residency in relation to tourist areas is a determining factor in host perceptions (Belisle & Hoy, 1980). Thus, again it is argued that this has a significant effect on Makdee’s perception towards tourists as he is more likely to be confronted with negative behaviour of tourists around Wat Samphrayah. In fact, the 39 year old monk feels pitiful about drunken tourists because alcohol makes them break some of the most important Buddhist rules. Specifically, he refers to the five precepts; the most important rules for Buddhists. Makdee says that by breaking the rule of not taking any intoxicants, the other rules are more easily broken which results in bad behaviour and negativity for self and for others:
“If you’re drunken then you can do all five [precepts] wrong. You can lie, you can kill people, you can fight, you can cheat or something like that. You can do all [precepts] wrong if you are drunken. It really is a pity and I don’t want to see this. I don’t feel so good about this.” - Phra Maha Udon (Makdee), age 39, Wat Samphrayah
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When asked about some examples of bad behaviour of tourists, another monk who lives in Wat Chana Songkhram – which from all the visited temples is nearest to touristic Kao San Road as it is located directly opposite the busy street – argued that some tourists spend all their money which gives them no place to turn to but the temples, where they are expected to be welcome and stay free of charge. This is perceived as problematic by the monks and sometimes results in drastic measures:
“I have seen some drunken. And sometimes the tourists have spent their money until all is gone. Then they have no money for the hotels or anything, so they come to the temple and sleep here. Sometimes it’s not allowed and then we have to call the police to take them.” - Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
As it turns out from the interviews, tourists seeking overnight stays at temples free of charge are not uncommon in Bangkok. Although stressing that the majority of tourists who visit his temple have good intentions, it was found that Kosalo is on guard when it comes to tourists who simply want to profit from the hospitality and generosity of the monks. He does not let one sleep at the temple when it doesn’t feel right:
“So I can tell you 99% they are good people. 99%. But some, maybe give bad feelings. Because you know, someone like to.. just like to stay free of charge and then they don’t want to pay anything because someone came here ‘I don’t have any money. I don’t have anywhere to sleep. Can I sleep here? Can I stay here? I don’t have passport, I don’t have visa’. What can I do. You think I can let them stay?” - Phrasuputh Chainikom (Kosalo), age 76, Wat Mahathat
There are many other examples of tourists who are perceived in a negative way by the monks, whether it’s because they profit from the generousness of the monks or because they engage in illegal activities. What makes it difficult is that the monks cannot always know up front whether a tourist who’s seeking for help has good or bad intentions. In fact, the interviewed monks tend to look at tourists in terms of having good or bad intentions much rather than in terms of physical and cultural differences. Therefore social distance theory is not very helpful as a theory to better understand the monks’ perceptions in this case:
“Some bad tourists who have bad wanting, they come to Thailand with bad intentions. They come to Thailand because in Bangkok they can make an illegal passport. Or they come to Thailand for cheating, for bad actions such as skimming or many other bad deeds. Maybe because Thai monks cannot know that they hide something bad. They have a bad aim. Such as wanting to rob some Buddha. Metallic gold Buddha. Symbol Buddha or something. The monks cannot know their aim. Some nights tourists come here and want to rest here. And not for one night, for many nights because they don’t have enough money to pay for a hotel.” – Noo, age 54, Wat Samphrayah
Thus far, several examples of conflicting habits have been discussed, although none have involved a specific nationality of tourist. It has been found in the discussions with the monks however that one specific nationality of tourist kept coming up as being perceived to cause problems around the Buddhist temples sites; namely Chinese tourists. They are perceived to be impolite, unhygienic and rude. At the same time however, there is tolerance for their behaviour because the monk in this case understands that the Chinese behave according to different cultural habits. Again, it is argued that intentions and proper behaviour of tourists is more important in how the monks perceive them than the degree to which the tourists are similar to themselves in terms of physique or cultural background:
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“Nowadays we have problems with the tourists from China. […] Their behaviour. Which is different from us. […] In many places, Thai people they.. they get complained. Ok. Because of their behaviour. Like, they make the toilets dirty! Something like that. Ok. They’re not polite enough in terms of eating, going to the toilet, they make the place dirty here and there. They are quite.. what should I say.. […] very rude. Rude. It’s not wrong. Because they’re used to doing like that, in their own country, I know! I know.. the tradition of them is like that.” – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
He continues to say that he does not believe that the differences between the Thais and the Chinese will remain a problem in the future. The monk even says that in many ways they are the same and that it’s only due to some things that can make the local Thais unhappy about them. On one occasion this eventually had pretty drastic consequences for Chinese tourists:
I believe that, for the near future, when we get used to them [laughing], I think it will be ok. […] Asian tourists, we, according to psychology.. We think that we are the same, ok. Even they are from China, or Laos or whatsoever, ok. We are the same, but when they do something which does not make us happy, [laughing] we don’t like them. Like they make something dirty.. they come to the temple.. last time I have.. I got to know from the news that some temple did not allow Chinese people to enter. – Phol, age 53, Wat Sangvej Witsayaram
The temple Phol refers to here is wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai, which is located in the north of Thailand. Chinese tourists were banned from the ‘White Temple’ after a Chinese woman refused to get rid of a used piece of toilet paper which she had thrown into the temple’s golden toilet (“Chinese tourists banned”, 2015). The ban lasted only half a day because the artist and owner of the temple Chalermchai Kositpipat felt sympathetic towards other Chinese tourists who arrived at the temple without being able to enter it. Kitt, one of the other interviewed monks, also mentioned that Thai people are having problems with Chinese tourists and literally mentions that Chinese tourists are portrayed in the media as causing problems in Thailand. As previous research states that the media can play a significant role in shaping host perceptions (Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014) it is argued here that this plays a role for the image Thai locals – including monks – hold of the Chinese as well:
“Right now I think that many of the Thai people are not quite happy with the Chinese tourists because when Chinese tourists go to many places, they kind of.. for example, like the toilet. They don’t keep hygiene of the place. So.. the food or for the hygiene.. problems with Chinese tourists. This is an example. […] You can see from many channels of our society; television or from the newspaper that there are problems with the tourists. The majority of the problems comes from the Chinese.” - Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
Although confirming that many current problems with tourists involve the Chinese, the 32 year old monk says that this does not make him feel hateful towards them. Kitt expresses his understanding, just like Phol. He makes a comparison to himself, by talking about how he might not have understood other cultures during his first visit in countries abroad. By reflecting on himself, it’s easier for him to understand the other, which makes it easier to accept and tolerate behaviour which contrasts with Thai behaviour and traditions. When taking a look at social distance theory as discussed in the theoretical framework, it can be said that this theory is not supported by the findings in this particular case, as Thyne et al. (2006) argue that local people get along best with tourists who share physical similarities and who have similar cultural values. From the analysed data it was found that the majority of the problems are perceived to come from the Chinese, which means that the theory is not in line with the findings here as people from China in fact share a lot of physical and cultural
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attributes with the Thais and should therefore get along better with them according to social distance theory. However, it should be noted here that according to the interviewees, having a negative association with Chinese tourists mainly goes for the local Thai population as the interviewed Buddhist monks did not express their personal dislike for Chinese tourists. Therefore it could be said that the interviewed Buddhist monks generally do not attribute a lot of value to physical appearance or cultural background of those who visit the temples which makes social distance theory irrelevant here in trying to better understand how their perceptions are formed. Instead, proper behaviour and good intentions were found to be more important for the monks. Furthermore, many of the interviewees seem to view others in ways that foster understanding towards different behaviour:
“But actually myself, I do not hate the Chinese. Because they are just like us. When you go, like myself for the first time.. when I first went to the US or the UK, I kind of did not understand the culture as well. So just try to understand them. But I don’t think the other people, the other Thai people, they think like myself. That’s the problem.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
When it comes to other religions, it was found that a majority of the monks is very open to the other religions of the world. Taking another look at social distance theory, again this theory is not supported by the findings in that the following monk expressed his opinion on other religions in a very loving way by emphasizing that he perceives all human beings to be equal. In other words, he expressed no feelings of favouring tourists who share similar cultural values as himself:
“Other religions? No problem. I think.. I like.. I don’t know, I have my idea you know, I think.. this moment, people should just open their mind, for different religions. Understand? Because.. I think we are human, you know. We need happiness, we don’t like unhappiness, it’s same same. Understand? We are born, and feel, get old and die, it’s all same same. We are like relatives. We are like a big family.” – Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
Most interviewees responded quite similarly and argued that they perceive all humans as equal and that nationality and religion do not play a significant role for them. Ananda explains how speaking the same language and connectedness through culture can make it easier to communicate with others. In that respect he might favour some tourists over others because of easier communication, in this case being in line with social distance theory which makes the theory helpful in better understanding his perception towards tourists in this particular case:
“But still, like when I was in Sri Lanka, if I meet Sri Lankan people, ok I can get, well.. very easily I can talk with them because I was there, so I know some of the language, a little bit of their language, or Indian, they are closer to my culture and my people so.. our language.. so, it’s easier, we can talk a bit I mean. […] We are more connected through culture.” – Ananda, age 30, Wat Paknam
Whereas Ananda favours tourists that are close to his own culture, when it comes to those with another religion this does not matter a lot to him as long as one’s intentions are good. When tourists have good intentions, Ananda perceives them as equal, no matter what their religion might be:
“No problem if you have your own religion, as long as you don’t have any negative attitude towards me or towards other people I don’t have any problem. If you behave like you’re a human being to me, I am a human being to you.” – Ananda, age 30, Wat Paknam
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Thus, numerous accounts of conflicts due to cultural difference came up in the interviews, including inappropriate behaviour of tourists at temples, over usage of alcohol and profiting from the monks’ generosity and hospitality being only some examples. Some of the interviewees perceive Western culture to be slightly too free compared to the local culture of the Thai Buddhist population, creating risk to Thai society and its young generation of children who are influenced by Western tourists’ behaviour. When it comes to specific nationalities, the Chinese are perceived to be impolite, unhygienic and rude, resulting in negative encounters through which negative perceptions are formed. On the other hand, many of the interviewed monks showed signs of tolerance and understanding in the differences between the tourists and themselves as they realize that they come from different backgrounds and behave accordingly.
4.6. Being a Good Monk From the previous sections it has become clear thus far that Thai Buddhist monks’ perceptions are shaped by multiple factors including teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist values or characteristics. It was found that the monks love to teach tourists about Buddhism and proper behaviour around the temples, and that the extent to which they can indeed teach tourists depends on the latter’s level of interest. Where different interests coexist and cultural habits differ, conflicts may arise. This brings us to the last section of this chapter. It is argued here that the ways in which monks respond to conflicting habits and many other situations around the temples for that matter, are affected by their attempts to be a good monk and live by the doctrine of the Buddha in every situation. When asked about his opinion on the growing tourism in Bangkok and increasing visitor numbers at temple sites, Phra Visuthi Varaphorn brought up how some monks try to profit from tourists in ways he perceives as not right. He himself insists on being a good monk by not taking advantage of them. Instead he prefers to take care of the tourists and present good Buddhist culture:
“I think it’s good, but the temple should just organize to take good care for the tourists, you know. They should not look for money all the time, understand? They should just look to present good culture, Thailand culture. Buddhist culture. Understand? […] Don’t look for money all the time. I don’t agree about this. Because some places would like to charge money for tourists all the time.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
The monk goes on to criticize other monks in Bangkok. He explains how in some places, the owners of temple sites are capitalizing on Buddhism by increasing entry prices for tourists and the selling of souvenirs such as Buddha statues and other goods. He makes it very clear that he absolutely does not agree with this because to him, this is not in line with Buddhist philosophy:
“Some temples sell everything, you know? Small Buddha, 100, 200, 399 Baht. I think this is not, ahh.. not good! [sounding disappointed as he says this] Not good. […] I don’t agree about this. […] I think they should just stop about this. Just present goodness. Just present kindness, just present culture, original culture of Buddhists, understand? […] Don’t look for money all the time! […] so I think this is not good for the monks in Bangkok’s temples. To look for money, for pocket money, from people, from tourists. I think this is a bad way. Not a good way.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
In the following fragment the same monk talks about a negative encounter with an Italian tourist. From his story it becomes clear that in this specific situation, he was struggling between letting the tourist stay or not. On the one hand, he was not very happy about his behaviour. The worldview that the monk takes on here is in line with the mundane worldview as stated by Wong et al. (2013) as it is the monk’s personal non-Buddhist view on the matter and could therefore be regarded as secular. On the other hand however, the monk acknowledges that he feels that he has to be a good monk in
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this situation by being kind and looking after the tourist who is in need of help. Throughout the story, he switches between a Buddhist and mundane worldview and eventually decides to help the tourist, although it is clear that he is not completely happy about the situation. It is argued that in this case the monk alternates between the Buddhist and mundane worldviews in his personal struggle of trying to be a good monk, much like the ways in which most Buddhist monks were found to alternate between the two worldviews in the research of Wong et al. (2013):
“One day I had one person, somebody from Italy. He comes to my temple and he says; can you help me? Can you help me? Can you speak English? I say; a little bit. Can you help me? Can I stay at your temple for one week? Because I don’t have money to stay in hotels all the time. I don’t have money now. At that time I think.. hm.. if I say no, hm.. I worry about him because he travels alone. And I look at him, he is dirty, you know? His clothes are not clean. He’s dirty. I think.. in my mind.. a monk should be kind, help people and present good culture of Buddhism. After that I say, ok, ok, you can stay here. I give you a small room. And he stayed here for one week. Hm.. I don’t know.. at that time I was unhappy about this man. Because when he stayed here, he woke up at 9 o’clock. I just give him something to eat in the morning. Tok, tok, tok! Hello? Wake up, wake up! Like a lazy man.. you understand? Like a lazy man. Like that. And when he used the toilet, it was dirty you know? Not clean. He only slept, drank something and then went outside and came back. At that time another monk that stayed with me, he asked me; why do you give opportunity for this man to stay here? Because he’s really dirty, the toilet smells bad, everything’s not good. You should talk to him, get up, something like that. But I cannot do this you know. I gave him the opportunity to stay one week when I talked to him before. After that he went back to Italy […] He doesn’t have a plan for life, you know? This man […] Never has a plan to have family, to marry with a girl and have a family.. To buy a new home.. To make a new family. He never thinks about this.” - Phra Visuthi Varaphorn, age 49, Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan
Other situations in which it was found that the interviewees often attempted to be good monks were situations that involved gazing. The coexistence of the tourist gaze, the local gaze and their interrelatedness as the mutual gaze has been discussed by Maoz (2006). Although ‘sight’ is only one component of what makes up ‘the gaze’ this is the only aspect which is directly noticed by the monks as the other elements which make up the gaze are mental perceptions (2006). Many monks said not to change their behaviour in any way when being gazed or stared at by tourists because of what the Buddha said, which indicates that they perceive the tourist gaze as something which should not be reacted to in order to follow the teachings of the Buddha properly and thereby being a good monk:
“I don’t feel anything about that because Buddhism teaches you to stay with yourself. If people come to speak good with you, or speak bad, or do good, or do bad, or something like that, it will eventually pass. So if somebody comes and really stares at me, it’s fine, it doesn’t matter. […] The Buddha has said that you should be normal in drama.” - Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
He continues to say that neither he gazes back at the tourists:
“No. I’m not curious about them because Buddhists say that you should know yourself really good first before being curious about other people. You should look inside, not outside.” - Phrakrubaidega Bunliam Apippasonno, age 59, Wat Chana Songkhram
Although most monks argued that they do not gaze at tourists, they do acknowledge that the tourist gaze exists. The following monk explains how he feels about the tourist gaze and understands that tourists gaze at the monks because they are often seeing and experiencing something new which
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naturally attracts their attention. His perception is therefore in line with cooperation as a response to the mutual gaze, as argued by Maoz (2006), as he shows acceptance and understanding in his view:
“[laughing] Oh that is sure! That is common for many people when they see people who are different from ourselves. Oh! Why are their eyes are so blue? Things like that are common. Yes.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
Thus, Buddhist monks are taught to look inside themselves rather than to the outside world, therefore they have no interest in looking or staring at tourists, with some exceptions. Phra Mahachaiyon explains that he only looks at tourists in situations in which his help is required or when a tourist walks up to him to start a conversation of some sort. Other than that, his focus is inside himself rather than on the outside world:
“I don’t keep an eye on the tourist. I just look around. I only look if they need some help or if they walk up to me to talk or something like that, but I don’t really stare at them. Monks cannot do that, normally. We have to learn a lot. As monks we have to look inside, not outside.” - Phra Mahachaiyon, age 50, Wat Ben
Kitt Kittanuk, one of the youngest monks interviewed, goes into some more detail as to why gazing at tourists is not good for those who practise Buddhism as intensely as monks. From what he has learned, he perceives staring as something which may stir up emotions that interfere with the Buddhist practise of purifying the mind:
“Because the Buddha teaches that when you stare at other people, in Buddhism we call this the source of bad intention, the source of greed which happens to your mind. This is better to avoid than to go look at them.” – Kitt Kittanuk, age 32, Wat Ben
Although the former quotes indicate that most of the monks deny the existence of a local gaze among Buddhist monks, with the exception of gazing for practical reasons such as helping others or having a conversation with tourists, Pramaha Udom argues that there is indeed a local gaze. According to him, Buddhist monks are just like all other human beings in the world. Whenever something occurs which catches their attention they might look or stare at something just like any other person would. He believes that we are all the same in this way. Whereas the previous quotes arise out of a Buddhist worldview, it could be said that Pramaha Udom takes on a mundane worldview here (Wong et al., 2013):
“Yes, yes. The monk is the same like everybody in the world. The same. If something looks nice, something makes you surprised, something looks ugly, someone wears very short clothes, some woman wears very short clothing, like underwear. The monk looks, why, oh why.. why let this man come in here? People look, something looks good, something not.. that’s ok. Everybody is the same. The monks are the same. No problem.” - Pramaha Udom, age 56, Wat Pho
In conclusion, it was found that Buddhist monks’ perceptions of tourism and tourists are to a great extent influenced by their motivation and attempts to be a good monk. Although their mundane worldview might cause some internal conflict because of personal trouble or disagreement with a particular situation involving tourists, those interviewed always try taking the Buddhist worldview through which their perceptions are formed in a way which is in line with the doctrine of the Buddha; which makes them a good monk. When it comes to gazing, most of the monks acknowledged the tourist gaze, although stating that the local gaze is different as it only exists when gazing is needed
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for practical purposes. As for responses to the mutual gaze, in the end all monks seem to accept tourism and tourists which is in line with the response of cooperation (Maoz, 2006).
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Chapter 5 – Conclusions & Discussion
Figure 9. Novice Monks with Shiny Plates (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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5. Conclusions & Discussion
The main research objective of this research was to understand the various ways in which Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists at Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok, Thailand. In order to provide answers to this research objective several research questions have been drawn up as discussed in the introduction chapter of this thesis. Based on the analysis of the in-depth interviews with the monks an answer to the objective and the research questions is provided here in the conclusion, and the findings are discussed in relation to other literature. Furthermore, proposals for future research are suggested as well as recommendations for practical application of the results. 5.1. The Scientific Objective and the Research Questions As discussed in the results chapter several themes were found in the analysis of the gathered interview data. These themes are: teachings of the Buddha, Buddhist values, teaching Buddhism, interest of the visitor, conflicting habits and being a good monk. It was found that all these themes had an influence to some degree on the ways in which Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourism and tourists were constructed and therefore the most important findings relating to these themes will be discussed here.
The most important teachings of the Buddha can be summarized in three elements according to the interviewed monks: restraining from performing bad deeds, performing good deeds and purifying the mind. Other important teachings include the principle of loving kindness and the five precepts which are the five most important rules for ordinary Buddhists: to restrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and the taking of intoxicants. In addition, ordained monks have to abide by a total of 227 rules (“The Sangha: Becoming”, 2014) which has a major impact on how they live their lives and subsequently, how they perceive the world. In line with prior research (Delener, 1994; Essoo & Dibb, 2004; Fam et al., 2004) it is argued that the formerly mentioned Buddhist teachings affect the perception of Buddhist monks to a great extent as many of the interviewed monks expressed themselves in ways that were in line with the teachings of the Buddha; thereby taking on the Buddhist worldview as discussed by Wong et al. (2013).
In addition to the most important teachings of Buddhism some Buddhist characteristics or values were found to affect the monks’ perception apart from the sociodemographic factors as earlier discussed (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Liu & Var, 1986; Milman & Pizam, 1988; Cohen, 1984; Liu, 1986; Liu et al., 1987; Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014; Hofstede, 1997 as cited by Zamani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014). These other values include kindness, calmness, helpfulness, generousness, lovingness, understanding, tolerance, acceptance, forgivingness and willingness to teach others. The argument here is that these values can be regarded as Buddhist values as they are all in line with the previously discussed teachings of the Buddha that foster positivity and love for all other living beings.
Some of the interviewed monks explained that they perceive tourism as a vehicle through which they can propagate Buddhism. They see the many tourists that visit Buddhist temples as an opportunity to teach the tourists about Buddhism. However, it must be said that the monks do this in a gentle way which is free of aggressive persuasion. They merely want to share their Buddhist culture and have no intention of converting tourists to Buddhism.
Apart from teaching about Buddhism the analysis showed that the interviewed monks often perceive tourists as those who need to be educated on proper behaviour in order to be respectful around the temple sites. Wearing improper or too little clothing, being loud and touching objects are only some examples of situations in which the tourists were perceived as being disrespectful. As they regard
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being a teacher as one of the main duties of their monkhood, the monks see it as their task to educate and inform unknowing tourists how to behave properly around the temples. Furthermore, the monks are very tolerant and understanding towards ‘wrong’ behaviour of tourists because they understand that the tourists have different cultural backgrounds and therefore behave in different ways.
Although the Thai Buddhist monks love to teach others about Buddhism and proper behaviour, in general it was found that the monks make a distinction between two main groups of tourists; one group that is very much interested in the local culture, traditions and enjoys learning, and one group that only likes to party, drink and enjoy other forms of entertainment. The former group is very much appreciated and the monks feel honoured towards these tourists, whereas the latter is perceived as more superficial, dangerous for Thai society and is frowned upon by the monks to some extent. Wong et al. (2013) found that there were four different types of visitors according to the Buddhist monks and nuns at Pu-Tuo-Shan in China with different levels of Buddhist development. Thus, comparing the findings of this thesis research with those of Wong et al., it turns out that Buddhist monks’ perceptions of visitor types is different for the monks in Bangkok, Thailand. It should be stated however that the research by Wong et al. (2013) only included perceptions on temple visitors whereas Bangkok’s monks also shared their view on tourists who do not necessarily visit Buddhist temple sites while on holiday.
Sex tourism turned out to be a sensitive topic as only two of the monks brought up this matter. As these two monks were the youngest two interviewees it is argued here that their relatively young age made it easier for them to talk about such issues whereas the older generations of Thai monks are more traditional and reserved when it comes to sensitive topics like sex tourism. Additionally, one of the monks argued that he does not perceive the tourists to be the ones to blame for sex tourism but the Thai government as they support the sex tourism industry in his view.
Some conflicts were mentioned by the monks, caused by clashing cultural habits and often resulting in a negative perception of tourists. Examples of these conflicts are improper tourist behaviour at temple sites, the effect of Western culture on Thai society, over-drinking and the causing of problems by party tourists and profiting from the generosity and hospitality of the Buddhist monks in Bangkok. In addition, one specific nationality was mentioned multiple times by the monks: the Chinese. Apparently, a majority of the problems around Buddhist temple sites seems to come from Chinese tourists, according to the monks. They are perceived to be impolite, unhygienic and rude. Some of the monks expressed feelings of tolerance towards the Chinese and said that they understand their behaviour because of cultural difference. This finding is not in line with social distance theory as this theory states that hosts get along best with tourists who share physical and cultural similarities (Thyne et al., 2006) and is therefore in contrast with previous studies that involves social distance theory (Thyne et al., 2006; Ye et al., 2014). The fact that many problems are perceived to come from Chinese tourists is therefore one of the most unexpected findings within this research because from the many tourists who visit Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok, the Chinese are more similar to the Thais in terms of both physical appearance and cultural background compared to tourists from other parts of the world. Therefore it is argued that social distance theory is not a useful theory in trying to understand Buddhist monks’ perceptions towards tourists. Rather than social distance, the interviewed monks seem to attach more value to good intentions and proper behaviour of tourists, no matter how they look, what country they are from or what religion they practise.
When it comes to religions other than Buddhism, it was found that the interviewed monks foster feelings of love and equality towards all other religions of the world, which again is not supportive of
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social distance theory (Thyne et al., 2006). The interviewees are very open towards other religions and do not favour Buddhist visitors over non-Buddhists. Although social distance theory turned out not to be very useful within this research thus far, one monk did mention that connectedness through culture can make communication easier insinuating that some tourists might be favoured over others for practical reasons, which in this case supports the theory. However, it must be mentioned that apart from some exceptions, overall social distance theory was not supported by the findings.
Other findings show that in terms of to the tourist gaze (Urry, 1990 as cited by Maoz, 2006), the monks recognize this gazing as normal human behaviour and understand that tourists stare at them because they see many new things whilst on holiday which catches their interest. Although the tourist gaze is acknowledged by the monks, it was found that they try not to react to the gaze as Buddhist monks are taught to look inside themselves rather than to the outside world around them. They try not to let their minds get distracted. The only exception is when tourists approach them for help or a conversation. Most of the monks argued that they do not gaze back at tourists for the same reason of not letting their minds get distracted. Although the local gaze might be less apparent than the tourist gaze according to most interviewees this does not mean that the local gaze does not exist for the monks. They still look at tourists and form mental perceptions of them. One monk admitted this in the interview and stated that monks are human, equal to the tourists, and therefore respond to new things that stand out just the same. As a result of the mutual gaze (Maoz, 2006) – the interrelatedness of the tourist gaze and the local gaze – it was found that Bangkok’s Buddhist monks respond through cooperation as the monks are very welcoming towards and accepting of tourists and no signs of resistance, either open or veiled, were found. Although some examples of negative encounters with tourists were given, in the end the monks always seem to cooperate with tourism.
Overall, it must be stated that the interviewed monks spoke very positively about tourism and tourists and all 15 interviewed monks believed tourism in Thailand to be mainly positive. According to the theory of social exchange (Ap, 1992; Perdue et al., 1990), hosts tend to accept tourism whenever the benefits exceed the costs, and this theory is therefore supported by the findings of this thesis. Bangkok’s Buddhist monks are very accepting towards tourism and welcome all tourists, no matter where they come from or what they believe in, as long as they have good intentions. This finding contrasts with previous studies in which tourism was found to be perceived as a threat to the destination of religious hosts (Joseph & Kavoori, 2001; Raj & Morpeth, 2007). Thus, instead of perceiving tourism as something the Buddhist temple sites need to be protected from, it was found that Thai Buddhist monks embrace it fully. 5.2. Practical Application of the Results As a continuation of the results of this research some practical applications can be recommended. First of all, it is advised to promote better education for tourists on Buddhist tradition and proper behaviour around Buddhist temples, monks and the local population in general. This could be realized by providing detailed information on this upon entry of Buddhist temples through proper signage, by including the most important temple rules on entry tickets and through education by tourist guides and tour operators. Furthermore it is suggested that all temples – the most touristic ones in particular – should have at least one spokesperson (preferably a monk) who speaks English in order to encourage contact with international tourists. By creating opportunities to talk to Buddhist monks or locals, tourists can learn a great deal about local culture, traditions and how to act accordingly.
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5.3. Proposals for Future Research As a follow up to this research, several propositions can be made for future research on the topic of Thai Buddhist monks’ perception on tourism and tourists. As was mentioned in the introduction chapter of this thesis, research on host perceptions of tourism and tourists is scarce, whereas local populations are key stakeholders within the tourism industry and it is therefore of utmost importance not to neglect the opinions, needs and wants of the host. It would thus be very beneficial for the tourism industry to encourage further research on host perceptions in general and on Buddhist monks’ perceptions specifically as a follow up to this research. After all, “community tolerance of tourists is vital for pleasurable visitor-resident encounters at destinations and one of the major factors in the tourist decision to return to a destination or to recommend it to friends” (Lawson, Merrett, & Williams, 1996 as quoted by Zamahani-Farahani & Henderson, 2014:369).
This thesis research could be improved in many ways. Firstly, as the sample of this research was limited to 15 Buddhist monks, it is proposed to use a bigger sample in future research on this topic. Secondly, it is suggested to create a better representation of different age groups by including monks who are of younger age than the monks within the sample of this research. Thirdly, there could be a bigger variance in duration of monkhood to make sure that the research includes monks with many years of experience versus monks who recently ordained. Fourthly, as this research is restricted to Buddhist temple sites in Bangkok it is suggested to increase the research area by including temples from all over the country of Thailand or by significantly increasing the research area through inclusion of other Buddhist countries of the Theravada branch in the region like Myanmar, Laos or Cambodia. Fifthly, comparison studies can be performed between different temples, countries and even between different branches of Buddhism (e.g. Mahayana and Vajrayana) in order to ascertain differences in perceptions of monks all over the world. Sixthly, as this research merely focuses on the perceptions of males, female perceptions can be included in future research through the interviewing of Buddhist nuns. Seventhly, conducting a similar study in Bangkok several years later, or conducting a study over a wider timeframe will show how host perceptions change over time as a result of growing tourism. Eighthly, as social distance theory turned out not to be very useful in understanding Buddhist monks’ perceptions, it is suggested for future research on the topic op host perceptions to focus on behavioural theories instead, as the interviewed monks turned out to attach greater value to the latter. And lastly, it is recommended to include multiple methods in future research on this topic like quantitative methods or additional qualitative methods like observations or focus groups. It is expected that this will provide a more detailed picture of how Buddhist monks perceive tourism and tourists and will contribute to tourism studies on host perceptions.
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Appendices
Figure 11. Monks and Elephant by the Water (Praseeratenang, 2016).
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Interview question list for Thai Buddhist monks Below are all numbered interview questions. The questions in italics are other ways to pose the same question when the original question is not understood or deemed too difficult by the interviewee.
Perceiving Tourism & Tourists
1. How do you perceive tourism here at [temple name]? How do you see tourism here at this temple? What do you think of tourism here at this temple? What is your opinion on tourism here at this temple? How do you feel about tourism here at this temple?
2. How do you perceive the tourists that come here? How do you see the tourists that come here? What do you think of the tourists that come here? What is your opinion of the tourists that come here? How do you feel about the tourists that come here?
3. How would you describe the tourists that come here? How would you characterize the tourists that come here? How would you label the tourists that come here? How would you define the tourists that come here?
4. Do you think there are different kinds of tourists here? Do you think there are different tourists here? Is there a difference in the tourists? Is there a variation of tourists?
5. What do you think of these different kinds of tourists? What is your opinion on the different tourists? What do you think about the variation of tourists?
6. What do you think of Western (white) tourists when they act out Buddhist rituals like the burning of incense, the making of offerings or meditation practise? How do you feel about non-Buddhist tourists who practise Buddhist tradition? For example, burning incense, making offerings or meditation? What is your opinion on white tourists who behave like Buddhists?
Perception: Buddhist/Mundane Worldview
7. What things influence the way you see tourism and tourists? What things influence how you see tourism and tourists? What things have an effect on how you see tourism and tourists?
8. Has Buddhism influenced the way you see tourists? Has Buddhism had an effect on how you see tourists?
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Has Buddhism changed the way you look at tourists?
9. How has it influenced the way you see tourists? How has it had an effect on how you see tourists? How has it changed the way you look at tourists?
10. How has it influenced the way you see tourism in general? How has it had an effect on how you see tourism in general? How has it changed the way you look at tourism in general?
11. Have other personal experiences you have had in your life influenced the way you see tourists? Have other personal things in your life have an effect on how you see tourists? Have other personal experiences in your life changed how you see tourists?
12. How has it influenced the way you see tourists? How has it had an effect on how you see tourists? How has it changed the way you look at tourists?
13. How has it influenced the way you see tourism in general? How has it had an effect on how you see tourism in general? How has it changed the way you look at tourism in general?
14. What specific Buddhist lessons/values/teachings have influenced the way you see tourists? What Buddhist lessons have had an effect on how you see tourists? What Buddhist teachings have changed the way you see tourists?
15. Are there any other lessons/things you have learned in life that influenced the way you see tourists? What other experiences from your personal life have influenced how you see tourists? What other experiences from your personal life have changed how you see tourists?
16. How has it influenced the way you see tourists? How has it had an effect on how you see tourists? How has it changed the way you look at tourists?
17. How has it influenced the way you see tourism in general? How has it had an effect on how you see tourism in general? How has it changed the way you look at tourism in general?
18. How important is Buddhism for you when you form an opinion about a tourist? How important is Buddhism when you look at tourists? How important is Buddhism on how you see tourists?
The Mutual Gaze
19. Do you feel like tourists sometimes stare at you? If yes, how does that make you feel? Do tourists look at you a lot? How does that make you feel?
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Do tourists look at you a lot? What do you think about that?
20. Do you sometimes behave differently because tourists are staring at you? Do you behave differently when tourists look at you? Do you act differently when tourists stare at you?
21. How do you behave when tourists are staring at you? What do you do when tourists look at you a lot? How do you react when tourists stare at you?
22. How do you feel about tourists taking photographs of the temple? What is your opinion about tourists taking photos of the temple? How do you feel when tourists take a lot of pictures of the temple?
23. How do you feel about tourists taking photographs of you and other monks? How do you feel when tourists take photos of you and other monks? What is your opinion about tourists that take photos of you and other monks?
24. Do you sometimes behave differently because tourists are taking photographs/pictures? How do you behave/act? How do you behave when tourist take pictures/photos of you? How do you act when tourists take your photo?
25. Do you sometimes stare at tourists? Do you look at tourists a lot? Do you often look at tourists?
26. Do you think that tourists behave differently when you stare at them? Do you think that tourists act differently when you look at them? When you look at tourists, do you think they have different behaviour?
27. How do tourists behave when you stare at them? How do tourists behave when you look at them? How do tourists act when you look at them?
28. How do you feel about tourism in general? Do you accept it? If not, do you show this to tourists in any way, and how? What is your opinion about tourism? Do you accept it? How do you show this to tourists? Do you think that tourism is good or bad? How do you show this to tourists?
Social Distance Theory & Theory of Social Exchange
29. Do you think there is mutual respect and appreciation between the monks and the tourists at this temple? Do you think that the monks and tourists here respect each other? Do you think that everybody respects each other here? Both the monks and the tourists?
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30. Are there any tourists that you get along with best here at this temple site? Which tourists do you like the best? Which tourists do you get along with best?
31. How do you get along with domestic tourists/tourists from your own country? How do you like tourists from your own country? How do you get along with tourists from Thailand?
32. How do you get along with tourists from other Asian countries? How do you like tourists from other countries in Asia? How do you like tourists from other Buddhist countries?
33. How do you get along with tourists from Europe or America? Is there a difference? How do you like tourists from Europe? And from America for example? Is there a difference?
34. Are there tourists from a specific country or region that you get along with best? Are there tourists from a country that you like best? Which country? Are there tourists from some region that you get along with best?
35. In general, how do you get along with other tourists who are Buddhists? How do you like Buddhist tourists? What do you think about tourists who are Buddhist like yourself?
36. How do you get along with other tourists who follow another religion like Christianity or the Islam? Do you have a preference? How do you like Christian tourists? Or Muslim tourists? Which do you prefer? How do you get along with Christian or Muslim tourists? Which do you like best?
37. What positive things has tourism brought to [temple name]? What good things did tourism bring to this temple? What are the good things about tourism here?
38. What negative things has tourism brought to [temple name]? What negative things did tourism bring to this temple? What are the bad things about tourism here?
39. Do you think that tourism poses a threat to [temple name] and the rituals performed here, like meditation practise and other Buddhist rituals for example? If yes, in what ways does it pose a threat? Do you think that tourism is a risk to this temple and the Buddhist rituals? How is this the case? Do you think that tourism is a threat to Buddhist tradition? How?
40. Generally speaking, what change do you think tourism has brought to Thailand as a whole? Both positive and negative? What change do you think that tourism has made in the country of Thailand? Is it positive or negative?
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What developments do you think tourism has brought to Thailand? Is this positive or negative?
41. Do you think there are more positive things about tourism, or more negative things? In your opinion, is tourism mostly positive or mostly negative? Do you think that tourism is mainly good or mainly bad?
42. Has your view on tourism changed over the last years? If yes, how? Has your opinion about tourism changed over the last years? How? Has your look on tourism changed over the last years? How?
Demographical questions:
1. What is your gender? 2. What is your age? 3. What is your ethnicity? (If other than Thai: For how long have you been living in Thailand?) 4. For how long have you been a Buddhist monk? 5. Have you always been Buddhist? 6. Do you live in this temple area? If yes, for how long have you lived here? 7. How often do you talk to tourists?
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