Editing Mongkut (section)

==Monastic life and Dhammayut sect==
[[File:Mongkut in the Sangha.jpeg|thumb|upright|left|From 1824 to 1851 Prince Mongkut spent his life as a monk]]
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In 1824, Mongkut became a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[bhikkhu|monk]] ([[Upasampada|ordination]] name ''Vajirayan''; [[Pali]] ''Vajirañāṇo''), following a Siamese tradition that men aged 20 should become monks for a time. The same year, his father died. By tradition, Mongkut should have been crowned the next king, but the nobility instead chose the older, more influential and experienced Prince [[Rama III|Chetsadabodin]] (Nangklao), son of a royal concubine rather than a queen. Perceiving the throne was irredeemable and to avoid political intrigues, Mongkut retained his monastic status.

Vajirayan became one of the few members of the royal family who devoted his life to religion. He travelled around the country as a monk and saw the relaxation of the rules of the [[Pali Canon]] among the Siamese monks he met, which he considered inappropriate. In 1829, at [[Phetchaburi]], he met a monk named Buddhawangso, who strictly followed the monastic rules of discipline, the [[vinaya]]. Vajirayan admired Buddhawangso for his obedience to the vinaya, and was inspired to pursue religious reforms.

In 1835, he began a reform movement reinforcing the vinaya law that evolved into the [[Dhammayuttika Nikaya]], or Dhammayut sect. A strong theme in Mongkut's movement was that, "…true Buddhism was supposed to refrain from worldly matters and confine itself to spiritual and moral affairs".<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.39"/> Mongkut eventually came to power in 1851, as did his colleagues who had the same progressive mission. From that point on, Siam more quickly embraced modernization.<ref>Winichakul 1997, p. 40</ref> Vajirayan initiated two major revolutionary changes. Firstly, he embraced modern geography, among other sciences considered "Western". Secondly, he sought reform in Buddhism and, as a result, a new sect was created in Siamese Theravada Buddhism. Both revolutions challenged the purity and validity of the Buddhist order as it was practiced in Siam at the time.<ref name="Winichakul 1997, p.39">Winichakul 1997, p. 39</ref>

In 1836, Vajirayan arrived at [[Wat Bowonniwet]] in what is now [[Phra Nakhon District|Bangkok's central district]], but was then the city proper, and became the wat's first abbot ({{lang|th|เจ้าอาวาส}}). During this time, he pursued a Western education, studying Latin, English, and astronomy with [[missionary|missionaries]] and sailors. [[Apostolic vicariate|Vicar]] [[Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix|Pallegoix]] of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok]] lived nearby; the two became close friends, and Vajirayan invited Pallegoix to preach Christian [[sermon]]s in the wat. Vajirayan admired Christian morals and achievements as presented by the vicar, but could make nothing of Christian doctrine. It was then that he made the comment later attributed to him as king: "What you teach people to do is admirable, but what you teach them to believe is foolish."<ref name=Bruce>{{cite web|url= http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401151.pdf |title= King Mongkut of Siam and His Treaty with Britain |access-date= 27 June 2011|last= Bruce |first= Robert |year= 1969 |work=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch |publisher=The University of Hong Kong Libraries Vol. 9 }}</ref>

King Mongkut would later be noted for his excellent command of English, although it is said that his younger brother, [[Chakri dynasty#Front Palaces|Viceroy]] [[Pinklao]], could speak it even better. Mongkut's first son and heir, [[Chulalongkorn]], granted the Thammayut sect royal recognition in 1902 through the Ecclesiastical Polity Act; it became one of the two major [[Buddhism in Thailand|Buddhist denominations]] in modern Thailand.

Chulalongkorn also persuaded his father's 47th child, [[Vajirananavarorasa|Vajirañana]], to enter the order and he rose to become the 10th [[Supreme Patriarch of Thailand]] from 1910 to 1921.