For those who want to examine the spiritual depth of Thai people, they may be confused by the flexibility of the Thai character and the change of values in present Thai society. The flexibility of the people on the Indo-China peninsula seems to be misperceived by westerners, and the changing values, becoming more westernized, have alienated the local people from their own spiritual roots. Even those highly educated people who are aware of this alienation and who try to evaluate and preserve their roots are possibly alienated from the spiritual structure of their own culture. The political conflicts and the growth of nationalism are somehow problems to gaining a purely objective and spiritual understanding. In order to free our observations from all prejudices we must be aware of our own gratification at being more westernized.
目次
Forward 24 The Common Ground and Spiritual Structure of Indian Epics 25 The Socializing Effect of Thai Original Folklore and its Misunderstanding 27 Thai Folklore 28 Note on Differences and Unity of the Three Epics 38 Epilogue 38
