ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the social anthropological background to the Thai investigation and attention will be drawn to some important theoretical links between social research in Thailand and in India. A major concern among social anthropologists has been the question of how anthropological research data should be related to religious traditions represented in classical texts. From what has been said so far it will be clear that an investigation of the religious beliefs of any section of Thai society touches upon a number of overlapping areas of anthropological and related academic interests. K. E. Wells’ Thai Buddhism, first published in 1939 and recently revised, continues to be one of the most careful accounts of Thai Buddhist rites and customs. The Buddha encouraged a critical approach to his own teaching, and the history of Buddhism subsequent to his Nibbana has included a vast range of sectarian interpretations.
