Page 114 - The lraternational Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand.indd

The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XV-2023

1) Revealing the misery of life as it actually is;
2) Describing the origin of this misery;
3) Revealing the way to a life of happiness instead of misery;
4) Clear examples of the way to happiness in life, in which the “Four Noble Truths”
of Buddhist teachings are:

- There is suffering - suffering is common to all.
- Cause of suffering - we are the cause of our suffering.
- End of suffering - stop doing what causes suffering.

- Path to end suffering - everyone can be enlightened.
With the maxims of “art for life” that were reclaimed from Buddhist teachings,

Chit reinterpreted the core of Buddhist teachings with this analysis:

“The Buddhist philosophy corrects society in its ambitions, while the material-
istic dialectics attempt to correct the structure of society, namely through revolution
and not through evolution as

Buddha had already anticipated. This is the bottom line that makes the difference be-
tween the dialectic materialism and the Buddhist philosophy.”

(Chit Bhumisak, in Pii Tong-Lueang, 1953)

In addition, Chit characterized “art for life” with three aesthetic values:

beautiful, simple and clear.

5. Littérature engagée in Thailand after 1976

At its peak in 1973-76, littérature engagée in Thailand, otherwise known as
“literature for life”, moved to the centre of literary life not only through its poems or
works of prose. In fact, at the time contributions were made by all forms of art,

including fine art and music with “Songs for life”, but above all by the theatre.
Motivated by the political disquiet in the country, the first Brecht play was produced
in Thailand (Watanangura, 2023). The “Crescent Moon” theatre group put on a
production of The Exception and the Rule, a few months before the bloody defeat of the
revolution in October 1976.

Although after a further putsch in 1977 there was a more temperate military
rule, censorship remained strict, every form of public gathering was illegal and the
“forbidden books” were not released. It was the time when writers used their published
literary works and other means to express their memories and reflections about the
brutal political events. The October putsch in 1976 was the motive for many students,

intellectuals and writers to flee “into the woods” in order to continue the fight together

106 “Littérature engagée” in Thailand in the Revolutionary Years from 1973 to 1976