Winner
of PANPA Award for Excellence
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Friday, December 3, 1999 |
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INTRODUCTIONIn honour of the King
In putting together this page, we were extremely fortunate to have access to material compiled by the Bangkok Post’s "Outlook" staff for a series of short books to commemorate His Majesty’s birthday. One of these books contained a collection of quotations from speeches the King has given during his long reign. They are wonderful examples of the practical wisdom His Majesty is so rightly famous for. We have included some of the most interesting and thought-provoking quotations on this page. You will probably already be familiar with many of them, but you have almost certainly not seen them in English. Here is your chance: The King as a teacher Before we read the quotations from His Majesty, let’s begin with short story from his daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. In it, she gives an example of the practical and interesting way His Majesty helped her to learn new ideas.
What follows is a short quotation from His Majesty on his philosophy of education. Notice how well it explains the story told by his daughter. Her learning experience was not the result of an isolated incident, but it was came from her father’s deeply-held views on education. " It is absolutely necessary to find effective teaching methods and theories that will enable students to think, understand and become convinced on their own, both of the content and of the theory of their subjects. They should also be able to apply the theories they have learnt with a full understanding of their benefits."Now go back and read the Her Royal Highness’s story a second time. Notice how well the method His Majesty prescribed enabled her to "think, understand and become convinced" on her own.
His Majesty speaks | ||||||||||||||
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ON LAW AND LAND RIGHTS Sometimes academic knowledge cannot be applied in local situations, like in the case of land. We cannot use the law to control those people because it’s our own fault. The government could not reach out to people in remote areas, that’s why they are not aware of the law. The law enforcers are more to blame than the people. Therefore we must find a way to enforce the law in accordance with nature...
"Legally speaking, these villagers are violating the law which was legitimately made. But realistically speaking, who are the violators of the law? It’s those who marked the maps. Because the forest-dwelling people were there before the designation. They have human rights. It’s a case of the government violating the people, not the people violating the law." (June 27, 1973) ON OBJECTIVITY " When you want to study anything in depth, you have to study it from every conceivable angle, not only in part, or becoming fixated on a particular aspect. Secondly, what you must also do is consider the subject with an unbiased and unwavering heart. Do not let the dark influence of prejudice misguide you, whether it is prejudice in favour of, or against, the matter, otherwise the knowledge which is gained will not be true knowledge, but knowledge that is a mere illusion, or misleading. It cannot be applied to create benefit without incurring negative results."(June 22, 1981) " When you have clearly analysed the issue with a heart that is unbiased, then only will true understanding arise, leading to a just decision and action."You must set your mind to be objective, not allowing any prejudice to prevail. Let your heart be led by truth and justice based on reason and morality." (October 26, 1989) ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION " The matter... must be well thought out in detail so that one will be able to see clearly the pros and cons of what can be done (towards the mutual benefit of conflicting parties)."(December 4, 1990) " Any regulation can be changed; nothing is permanent, everything is changeable. But just don’t have a big quarrel — that is, a big quarrel when blood is shed."Anything can be changed, but we should not quarrel to the point of hitting each other on the head, resulting in bloodshed."
ON FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTATION " "Following a theory blindly without considering its relevance to the work, the problem and the situation, will lead to disaster. The right way is to carry out what can be done and immediately try to figure out how to solve the emerging problem. A theory that has been adjusted to suit the situation will help solve the problem in no time." (July 18, 1975) " Sometimes regulations must be flexible."(December 4, 1990) ON MODERATION " Everyone knows that in each life, there are moments of happiness as well as moments of sorrow. This also applies to the life of a nation; sometimes there is happiness, sometimes there is sorrow. Let it not, however, be excessive."Even too much happiness can have a negative effect on one’s well-being. On the other hand, with too much sorrow, life can become unbearable; one becomes discouraged and may succumb to it in the end." (December 4,1993) ON SELF-SUFFICIENCY " I have repeatedly said that striving to become a ‘tiger’ is not our main concern. What’s important for us is to have a decent standard of living and sufficient food to eat, as well as to maintain a self-sufficient economy. The key word, ‘sufficient’, here implies that one should aim at becoming self-reliant."But to various economists, this line of thinking is considered obsolete because every economy needs to carry out trading activities under a market economy, not a self-sufficient economy ... it is not attractive ... However, Thailand is very fortunate and blessed because we can produce enough to feed our people. Assuming that we can replace the current market economy with a self-sufficient economy, if not entirely or by half, then at least one fourth, we will be sustained." (December 4, 1997)
" "It is not possible to create a total self-sufficient economy... It would be going back to the Stone Age when people lived in caves. "Self-sufficiency...means por mee por kin (having a moderate and reasonable standard of living). "Por piang (sufficiency) means knowing what is enough. If we are moderate in our wants, we will have little greed, which means we will exploit others less. If every country has this idea, that is, moderation, not driven to extremes, and no greed, then people can live in peace....." |
remote
earmarked
violated
fixated
unbiased
unwavering
steady; stable; not changing
pros and cons
mutual benefit
harmonise
excessive
succumb
striving
tiger
obsolete
greed
exploit
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HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
