THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND MUSIC: REPRESENTATIONS OF MONASTIC ROLES IN CONTEMPORARY THAI BUDDHIST LITERATURE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN LUANG TA AND THE SERIES SATHU

Abstract

This article examines representations of monastic roles in contemporary Thai Buddhist literature through a comparative analysis of the literary work Luang Ta and the television series Sathu. The study seeks to understand the characteristics and meanings of monastic roles as they are socially constructed under differing social, cultural, and religious contexts. The two texts reflect markedly distinct historical periods: Luang Ta portrays rural and agrarian Thai society during approximately 1957–1972, whereas Sathu presents monks and Buddhist institutions within a contemporary urban context shaped by capitalism and digital technology. Employing the conceptual framework of literature as a reflection of society, the article conducts a qualitative analysis of literary and audiovisual texts, focusing on monastic roles, functions, relationships with communities, and social factors influencing these representations.

          The analysis reveals that Luang Ta constructs monks as moral centers and spiritual leaders within rural communities, closely linking Buddhism to agrarian ways of life and sustaining religious and local cultural values. In contrast, Sathu depicts monastic roles under contemporary conditions, where monks are characterized by processes of adaptation and negotiation in response to pressures from capital, technology, and external power structures. The comparative analysis demonstrates that religious leadership in Thai society has not disappeared but has transformed in accordance with changing historical periods and social conditions. This article thus extends understanding of the dynamics of monastic roles as both institutional and individual entities as represented through literary and contemporary media.