Commonality in the Region

Thailand is part of the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) together with Brunei Darussalam, Lao-PDR, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Singapore,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Myanmar. Thailand shares some features of its culture,
geography, economic activities among the rest of the ASEAN nations.
Geography
Out of the many member nations of ASEAN, Thailand has prime geographic location. It is
located at the center of SEA, which can make one say that it truly is the heart of the region. For
those with an artistic eye, one can imagine an elephants head formed from the land mass of
Thailand. The head and ears forming the mostly landlocked northern and eastern provinces and
the trunk extending down the Malaysian peninsula between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of
Thailand.a mountainous border with Myanmar (Burma) to the north and west; a long stretch of
the Mekong River separating Thailand from Laos to the north and east; and the Mekong River
and the Dongrak Mountains delineating the border of Cambodia to the east. Covering an area of
approximately 514,000 square kilometers (200,000 sq miles), Thailand is the 50th largest
country in the world, most nearly equal in size to Spain. Located just 15 degrees north of the
equator, Thailand has a tropical climate and temperatures typically range from 19 to 38 degrees
C (66-100 F); monsoon rains fall predominately from May to July and cooler, drier weather
occurs around November and December. Despite the geographical boundaries of Thailand all
falling within the tropics, Thailands four primary regions are each geographically distinct from
each other. In addition, Thailand is divided into 76 political provinces, with Bangkok serving as
the political, commercial, industrial, educational, and entertainment capital of the country.
Culture
In terms of religion, Thailand is nearly 94%-95% Theravada Buddhist (which includes the Thai
Forest Tradition and the Dhammayuttika Nikaya and Santi Asoke sects), with minorities of
Muslims (5-6%), Christians (1%), Mahayana Buddhists, and other religions. Thai Theravada
Buddhism is supported and overseen by the government, with monks receiving a number of
government benefits, such as free use of the public transportation infrastructure. Due to the
widespread belief in Buddhism, Thai also believes in ancestral and natural spirits, which have
been incorporated into Buddhist cosmology. Most Thai people own spirit houses, miniature
wooden houses in which they believe household spirits live. They present offerings of food and
drink to these spirits to keep them happy. If these spirits aren't happy, it is believed that they will
inhabit the larger household of the Thai, and cause chaos. These spirit houses can be found in
public places and in the streets of Thailand, where the public make offerings.
With regards to customs, Thailand is often called the Land of Smiles particularly when
promoting tourism. This stems from the traditional greeting, the wai. When greeting, farewell, or
acknowledgement, it comes in several forms reflecting the relative status of those involved.

Generally the salutation involves a prayer-like gesture with the hands, and it also may include a
slight bow of the head. This salutation is often accompanied by a serene smile symbolizing a
welcoming disposition and a pleasant attitude.
Showing of affection is not the norm and can be sometimes frowned upon by the older
generation. However, this is slowly becoming accepted for the younger ones. A common form
of displaying affection for other countries is holding the hands of someone. However, this is
considered rude in Thailand and is not practiced. It is also rude to place ones feet at the head
level of another person especially one with a higher social ranking. This is because the Thai
people consider the foot to be the dirtiest and lowliest part of the body, and the head the most
respected and highest part of the body. This also influences how Thais sit when on the ground
their feet always pointing away from others, tucked to the side or behind them. Pointing at or
touching something with the feet is also considered rude.
Since serene detachment is valued, conflict and sudden displays of anger are eschewed in Thai
culture and, as is many Asian cultures, the notion of face is extremely important. For these
reasons, visitors should take care not to create conflict, to display anger or to cause a Thai person
to lose face. Disagreements or disputes should be handled with a smile and no attempt should be
made to assign blame to another. It is important to maintain a positive outlook in Thailand.
Thai people also value hierarchy. They value elders and they consider the concept of
indebtedness or debt of gratitude as very important. It is also rude to step on a Thai coin because
the Kings head appears on the coin. They also place importance and give high respects to
monks. Due to religious discipline, Thai monks are forbidden physical contact with women.
Women are therefore expected to make way for passing monks to ensure that accidental contact
does not occur. A variety of methods are employed to ensure that no incidental contact (or the
appearance of such contact) between women and monks occurs. Women making offerings to
monks place their donation at the feet of the monk, or on a cloth laid on the ground or a table.
Powders or unguents intended to carry a blessing are applied to Thai women by monks using the
end of a candle or stick. Lay people are expected to sit or stand with their heads at a lower level
than that of a monk. Within a temple, monks may sit on a raised platform during ceremonies to
make this easier to achieve.
When sitting in a temple, one is expected to point one's feet away from images of the Buddha.
Shrines inside Thai residences are arranged so as to ensure that the feet are not pointed towards
the religious iconssuch as placing the shrine on the same wall as the head of a bed, if a house
is too small to remove the shrine from the bedroom entirely. It is also customary to remove one's
footwear before entering a home or the sacred areas within a temple, and not to step on the
threshold.

Ethics
Before the country became modernized, Siam -- the original name of Thailand -- was a
traditional society whose values were articulated in terms of Buddhism. The name was changed
to Thailand by the government of Phibun Songkhram, soon after he become prime minister in
December 1938, as a step toward westernization or modernization. Although Siamese people,
measured by modern economic standards, were poorer in terms of material wealth and public
health, members of older generations report that they were generally happier and more humane
than the Thai people today. The contrast between yesterday's Siam and today's Thailand,
however, developed over time as a consequence of basic economic and social changes,
themselves the product of government efforts to modernize the country. This modernization has
shattered the self-sufficient economy of local communities and centralized the relatively selfsustained polity of the provinces. Ultimately, this process has tied the country economically to
the global market economy, and politically to the new international order. These economic and
structural changes have had a great impact on all social and cultural aspects of Thai society, and
consequently have affected the social values and well-being of the Thai people.
A retro-utopian view, such as Buddhadasa's dhammic socialism,(22) which uses the older form
of traditional Buddhist society as a model for a contemporary society, does not take sufficient
stock of the intractable nature of structural problems. If the life of the Thai people in the past was
"better" than today, it was mainly because of the self-sufficiency of their local economy and the
decentralization of political power, ensuring the integrity of local culture and social values. To
advocate a change of form without changing the underlying structure is to miss the point. To ask
society to return to an older form of Buddhist society is to advocate the impossible, and to risk
ignoring the systemic nature of modern problems (in Buddhist terms, dukkha). Without changing
unjust, inequitable and violent economic and political structures, a dictatorial dhammaraja is not
so different, in today's context, from an absolute dictator, and a sresthi with a rongthan is not
very different from the contemporary beneficence of the exploiting billionaire.
Buddhist social ethics must do more than advocate mindfulness and the ideal of simplicity. To
construct a healthier Buddhist society requires a change of the economic structure into one of
more local self-sufficiency, and the political structure into one of more local decentralization,
with moral and cultural values adapted to a contemporary context. Only then can Buddhist social
ethics take root in society as it did in the historical past. The Buddhist spirit of loving-kindness,
compassion, sharing, and cooperation expressed in Buddhadasa's dhammic socialism will then
prevail, at both a personal and structural level.
If we consider Buddhist social ethics in contemporary Thai society from a broader perspective,
we are forced to recognize that greed, hatred, and delusion,(23) which Buddhism identifies as the
root of all harmful things, currently prevail. A systematic and structural greed can be found in the
present economic system, in which millions of traditional farmers have been uprooted from their
farmlands by tenancy and agribusiness, causing massive dislocation, unemployment, and

poverty. Centralized political power and an economic system of dependency have caused group
hatred to arise as elites grow richer while the vast majority of people are driven into greater
poverty. A structural delusion comes from the expanding influence of commercial advertising in
the mass media, leading local people to discard their cultural values and embrace consumerism.
In order to overcome greed, hatred, and delusion, a person needs to change not only his or her
personal conduct or lifestyle, but also the system that creates them. Buddhist ethics, such as the
Five Precepts (sila), needs to address this structural change more vigorously. For example, the
first precept is to refrain from killing and harming living beings; in applying this to a poor
country like Thailand, it becomes clear that the military budget, which comprises a large portion
of the GNP, should be reduced. The violation of human rights, including political or economic
assassination, the torture of prisoners, and child abuse, has to be halted. There must be an end to
the slaughter of wild animals, especially endangered species. The rain forests that shelter wild
animals need to be recovered and preserved. Obviously, if the moral precept forbidding killing
were made more meaningful, many of these measures could be implemented.
The second of the Five Precepts is to refrain from stealing. If we look at the situation in
Thailand, we will see that a more just social structure is needed in order to prevent politicians,
the military, police, civil servants, and businessmen from engaging in corruption and
systematically robbing the common people. Furthermore, destruction of the rain forests and
degradation of the environment and world's ecology are stealing the future of our children and
grandchildren.
The third precept is to refrain from sexual misconduct. Prostitution is a systematic violation of
this rule, a problem Buddhists need to take more seriously. Among other things, a substantial
improvement in the economic well-being of rural areas, as well as the enforcement of laws
punishing those profiting from the business of prostitution, are needed to reduce pressure on
rural young women to resort to prostitution.
The fourth of the Five Precepts is to refrain from false speech. Buddhists need to advocate
truthfulness, even when this means challenging the status quo and a corrupt system that often
violates this demand. Political and bureaucratic reforms, laws guaranteeing a free press, multiple
political parties, and grass roots participation in democracy are required to establish and maintain
this precept at a structural level. The fifth precept, to refrain from intoxication, is systematically
violated by the widespread drug trade. The smuggling of drugs from Thailand has contributed to
the worldwide drug problems, and this must be stopped. In general, if a Buddhist social ethics is
to have any significant meaning for contemporary society, Buddhists must reexamine the Five
Precepts not just at a personal but also at the structural level.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Major concern among the observers of CSR in Thailand is on quality of CSR activities. A study
by CSR centre at Asia Institute of Technology in 2011showed that, compared to other countries

in the pans Asia, the CSR scores from Thailand were fairly low. However, between 2008 and
2009, most of Thailands largest companies seem to have recognized the importance of
disclosure on CSR issues. This suggests that companies operating in Thailand are realizing that
CSR is increasingly becoming an important element in their operations, and that a strategic
approach to CSR can deliver business benefits. Perceptions on CSR among business
organisations in Thailand remain unclear in the eyes of researchers and practitioners in
international business (Kraisornsuthasinee and Swierczek, 2006). There was no clear specific
definition and scope of CSR among them, and even half of the companies were not familiar with
the term CSR. They also found that almost all companies in this study were concerned with CSR,
but just a few had specific policies on CSR (Rajanakorn, 2012).
In terms of the types of CSR activities practiced in Thailand, it has been reported that corporate
philanthropy, employee volunteerism, and community service programs were the most prevailing
forms of CSR programs (Prayukvong & Olsen, 2009).Chapple and Moon (2005) reported that
the main issues of CSR reporting among Thai companies web sites were education ,training,
environment and conservation, arts, and youth. Another study by Ratanajongkol, Davey and Low
(2006) also confirmed that Thai companies in different industries placed emphasis on different
themes in CSR disclosures. For instance, the manufacturing sector focused on the environmental
theme, whereas the service and finance sectors concentrated on the human resource theme.
The last aspect that remains unclear is CSR motivations among business organisations in
Thailand. Several researchers have tried to categorize the motivations of companies for their
CSR engagement (Aguilera, Rupp, Williams, & Ganapathi, 2007; Windsor, 2006; Meehan,
Meehan &Richards, 2006). For example, Aguilera et al. (2007) describe three types of
motivations for corporate engagement in CSR: instrumental (e.g. to improve financial
performance of the company); relational (e.g. to improve relationship with stakeholders); and
morality-based.
Ethnicity
The Thai people, formerly known as Siamese are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part
of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast
Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which exists in different
regional variants and is classified as part of theTaiKadai family of languages, and the majority
of Thai are followers of Theravada Buddhism.
"Thai people" usually includes Central and Southern
Siam), Northern Thai (Lanna) and Isan people.

Thai (Siamese

proper,

or

Tai

The term Thai people has a loose meaning and sometimes also refers to the population of
Thailand in general, and not only to ethnic Thais.
Economic Activity

Tourism is one of Thailands largest economic activities. Thailand is a popular vacation

destination for Americans, Europeans, and Asians. Thailand has something to offer for all
tourists.
Thailand is a newly industrialized country. Its economy is heavily export-dependent, with
exports accounting for more than two-thirds of its gross domestic product (GDP).
The industrial and service sectors are the main sectors in the Thai gross domestic product, with
the former accounting for 39.2 percent of GDP. Thailand's agricultural sector produces 8.4
percent of the GDP lower than the trade and logistics and communication sectors, which
account for 13.4 percent and 9.8 percent of GDP respectively. The construction and mining
sector adds 4.3 percent to the countrys gross domestic product. Other service sectors (including
the financial, education and hotel and restaurant sectors) account for 24.9 percent of the country's
GDP. Telecommunications and trade in services are emerging as centers of industrial expansion
and economic competitiveness.

Source:
Wikipedia.org
http://www.crosscurrents.org/buddhistethics.htm
http://sydney.edu.au/southeast-asia-centre/documents/pdf/pimpa-nattavud.pdf