Haunting the State: Rumours, Spectral Apparitions and the Longing for Buddhist Charisma in Laos

Abstract

Buddhist ascetic monks and hermits that move largely outside of the institutional structures of the monastic order (sangha) have a long history in mainland Southeast Asia. In Lao Buddhism these figures seem to have largely disappeared, but due to their charismatic qualities they still occupy a crucial position in the social imaginary. This article explores rumours and narratives about the existence of ascetic monks and hermits in contemporary Laos. I argue that rumours about, and narratives of, spectral apparitions of these figures express a longing for Buddhist charisma that is partially rooted in Laos’ revolutionary past, and in recent social and economic changes. As Buddhist charisma can point to alternative, personalised sources of power, I argue that rumours and spectral apparitions can be interpreted as haunting, and therefore afflicting and challenging the current politics of religion of the Lao state.

Keywords:

• Laos
• Buddhism
• charisma
• ghosts
• state
• haunting

Acknowledgments

Initial research on which this text is based was carried out in Vientiane and several provinces of Laos from 2003–05. I gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the University of Cambridge. A second field trip in 2008 was part of the AHRC sponsored project Buddhist funeral cultures of Southeast Asia and China at the University of Bristol. Thanks to Pierre Petit, Holly High, Peter Jackson and the three anonymous reviewers for ASR for their thorough readings of the paper and their suggestions. Thanks also to Rupert Gethin (Bristol) and Oliver Tappe (Halle) for comments and inspiration, and to Yves Goudineau and Vanina Bouté for their great company at Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient Vientiane, and for sharing coffee, cigarettes and wine in neo-colonial style when I was rewriting this paper.

Notes

1. When I speak of Lao Theravāda Buddhism as a general category, I mean (post)colonial “mainstream Buddhism” that is to be found within the current national boundaries of the Lao PDR. In this article I focus on Vientiane and its surroundings and on the form of Buddhism practised by ethnic Lao. However, as Buddhism in the ethnic Lao northeastern part of Thailand bears strong similarities, I will also refer to works from this region. Moreover some comparison with the rest of the Theravāda world will supplement my ideas.

2. There is no official transcription system for Lao, but the transcriptions in brackets should in most cases be easy to identify. Lao words are simply in italics and in brackets. Pali terms are also given in brackets, but marked as such.

3. All names have been fictionalised.

4. Phathoudong can be translated as “forest monk”. See the next section for further elaborations of this term in Lao and Pali.

5. I do not here employ a Freudian or Lacanian notion of imaginary, although the topic of desire for charisma dealt with in a later part of the text might suggest so. I specifically refer to Taylor due to his emphasis on narrative, stories and legends. Yet for Taylor imaginaries are large-scale, coherent structures that in the end come close to “culture” (Strauss, 2006, p. 333). In other accounts the imaginary is understood not as a mere platonic reflection of a reality that is already there, but as a field that makes possible the orientation of motives and deeds, a basic matrix for symbolism, myth, tradition and thinking in general. According to Castoriadis (1990, p. 196f.), the imaginary sets the opportunity for thinking that also includes the articulation of desires and wishes. See also Anderson (1991) for a slightly different idea of the imaginary and Strauss’ (2006) excellent overview of the contradicting uses of the term in-between social sciences and philosophy.

6. There were, nevertheless, exceptions to the general rule. See Baird’s (2012) excellent article on the resistance of monks in the south of Laos who had fled to Thailand.

7. These two traditions have in most Theravāda countries been co-existing for a long time. With the modern nation-state demanding a more resident lifestyle, the distinction between them became often highlighted and a cause for conflict. See Kamala Tiyavanich (1997, p. 173ff.) for an excellent description of the conflicts that evolved between Bangkok’s modernised Buddhism and the Isan-based forest monks. This conflict was often regulated through giving out new sangha regulations. See Jackson’s (1989) analysis of these regulations and their impact in Thailand.

8. The majority of ethnic Lao live in the current Thai nation-state. Despite the existence of a border drawn by the French colonial regime, Buddhists in Laos and Isan were regularly in contact with each other and Lao monks very often studied in Thailand. These exchanges were stopped in 1975, but have now resumed and so once again most Lao monks aiming at a higher monastic career go to Thailand to study.

9. Pali dhutaṅga has taken on a variety of meanings but essentially consists of the voluntary and gradual intensification of the renunciations that are already laid out in the code of conduct for monks, the vinaya. By taking on one or more of the 13 special vows, regulating one’s food intake more strictly and staying and sleeping in the wilderness or a charnel ground, more extreme forms of renunciation are practised. For Wilson (2004, p. 33) it is clear that in Theravāda Buddhism “those who follow ascetic practices enjoy tremendous prestige”.

10. Although Weber puts too much emphasis on the figure of the charismatic leader and misses out the “intersubjectivity of charisma being ‘among’ people” (Feuchtwang and Wang, 2001, p. 14), I still deem his definition to be appropriate for my case. A crucial point to mention is that these monks are a kind of wandering and circulating charisma. In Lao Buddhism, charisma attached to persons can be translated as phou mi boun (man of merit) and as having barami (Buddhist perfections).

11. See Richard Pottier’s (2007, 383 f.) excellent study that refers to the ritual healing techniques of Mahaphimpo.

12. For Anantho’s career see Vilaychakre (2002, pp. 42–64).

13. These are ideal types of meditation techniques and they are quite often both employed. See Gomez (2004, pp. 523–24) for a comparison of various techniques.

14. I thank Vanina Bouté for sharing this story with me during our smoke and coffee breaks at EFEO Vientiane. When I was in the south of Laos in early 2012, some monks and laypeople in Pakse still remembered the story, but did not know the whereabouts of the monk in question.

15. I thank Rupert Gethin (Bristol) for giving me more information on the textual sources related to this. It is also said that the Buddha did this when he was teaching the Abhidhamma: one body went on teaching, while the other went to collect alms. See Gethin (1997, p. 203). The capacity for disappearance is also linked to this, as one can develop multiple bodies, but also make them collapse again into one or disappear completely.

16. See also Erik Mueggler’s work (1999). He has attested to similar processes among the Lolopo (Yi) in southwestern China in relation to the effects of the Cultural Revolution. Here, the ghosts inflict active punishments on those who destroyed ritual objects and altars associated with spirits.

17. In general, monks can only exercise influence over political discourses, but historically they have also been known to hold positions of political power as, for example, Grabowsky (2007) has shown in his account of a politically powerful monk in Louang Phrabang in pre-colonial Laos.

18. For an excellent overview of the holy man tradition in Laos and Thailand, see Wilson (1997).

19. In Burmese Buddhism the state tries to integrate these monks by granting them titles, thereby making them part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. See Kawanami’s (2009) excellent article that deals with charisma and arhantship in contemporary Burma.