monarchs-from-thailand

"You are Christian; if you adopted my religion I would think you a scoundrel."

"I am extremely vexed that the King of France, my good friend, is proposing something so difficult, and of which I had not the least knowledge. I refer myself to the wisdom of the Most Christian King to judge the importance and difficulty one faces in such a delicate matter as changing a Religion received and followed throughout my whole Kingdom without break for 2,229 years. Besides, I am surprised that the King of France my good friend, is so strongly interested in a matter which concerns God, in which it seems that God himself takes no interest, and which he leaves entirely to our own discretion… That order among men and that unity of Religion depend absolutely on divine providence, who could as easily introduce it into the world as the diversity of sects that have in all times been established in it. Ought one not to think that the true God takes as much pleasure in being honoured by different cults and ceremonies as being glorified by a prodigious number of creatures that praise him each in their own way?"

"It is highly important to encourage and help people inearning their living and supporting themselves with adequatemeans, because those who are gainfully employed andself-supporting are capable of contributing definitelytowards higher levels of development."

"Some complained they were asked too much to sacrifice for the sake of common interest that they were annoyed to hear. They might think what they would get in return if they keep sacrificing. Actually, doing good for the sake of common interest does not bear fruits only to the public but also to the individuals...."

"The Nation belongs to everyone, not one or two specific people. The problems exist because we don't talk to each other and resolve them together. The problems arise from 'bloodthirstiness'. People can lose their minds when they resort to violence. Eventually, they don't know why they fight each other and what the problems they need to resolve are. They merely know that they must overcome each other and they must be the only winner. This no way leads to victory, but only danger. There will only be losers, only the losers. Those who confront each other will all be the losers. And the loser of the losers will be the Nation.... For what purpose are you telling yourself that you're the winner when you're standing upon the ruins and debris?"

"If we are a highly advanced country, there is only oneway to go: backwards. Mind you, those highly industrializedcountries are bound to go down, and down in a very dangerous way. On the other hand, if we use a “poor man’s”method of administration, without being too dogmatic about theory, but with the spirit of Unity in mind, that is, with mutual tolerance, we will have more stability."

"All Thais should realise this point a lot and behave and perform our duties accordingly, our duty for the sake of the public, for stability, security for our nation of Thailand."

"Sufficiency means to lead a reasonably comfortable life, without excess, or overindulgence in luxury, but enough. Some things may seem to be extravagant, but if it brings happiness, it is permissible as long as it is within the means of the individual. This is another interpretation of the sufficiency economy or system. Last year, when I mentioned the word sufficiency, I mentally translated it and actually spelled it out as self-sufficiency; that is why I said sufficiency for the individual. In fact, this sufficiency economy has a wider meaning than just self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency means that the individual produces the things to fulfill his own needs without having to purchase them from others; the individual can live entirely on his own."

"If the King can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him, because the King is not being treated as a human being. The King can do wrong."

"If they want to write about me in a good way, they should write how I do things that are useful. If they want to criticize me, I don't care, I don't mind. But they must criticize me fairly. Usually the criticism is not fair. Or the praise, even the praise sometimes is not fair."

"My philosophy has been to take things day by day. When I talk about this philosophy it makes people perhaps a little surprised."

"I do some things that are within my rights and then they see that it is something that is all right. So they begin to understand that I am doing things not for my own enrichment or my own interest. It is for the whole country."

"Thailand has been a peaceful nation for a long time; this is because of the existence of national solidarity and because members of society have performed their duty in a complementary manner with each other for the interest of the whole nation."

"I invite everyone here and all Thai people to share my determination and work together, each according to his status and duty, with the nation’s prosperity and the people’s happiness as the ultimate goals."

"I shall maintain my loyalty to the country and honesty to the people. I will perform my duties to the best of my abilities with dedication, for the prosperity, peace and lasting security of the Thai kingdom, till the day I die."

"Thais are patriotic. They love the Kingdom. It is our national characteristic. Thai people are as knowledgeable and capable as citizens of any countries. That is why it should be trusted that if we put our heads and join our hands together we should certainly be able to tackle obstacles, problems or any incident of irregularities in our country."

"I and the queen are pleased and delighted to see the people having goodwill. Your unity in showing your goodwill is a good sign for everyone to do good things for the prosperity of the nation."

"There are many ways to work, it’s important to have dedication and resolve to serve the people, the country and the highest institutions of the nation. The people want to be happy. The people want to have confidence and security, and they are willing to walk in the right direction. Therefore, the cabinet has a duty to steer, safeguard and protect our nation."

"I want the unity shown here with this goodwill to be an encouraging sign for everybody, all sides to perform their duties for the prosperity of our country."

"Knowledge, understanding and cooperation will lead the country to happiness, security and progress."

"If all Thai people consider themselves they are the owners of the nation and perform their duties well with honesty, correct and sanctioned, the misery of the people will pass."

"Education is infinite. You must constantly seek additional knowledge to keep it up-to-date."

"One must know what is right and wrong and what is good and what is bad and what should be done and what should not be done. As well as manners, we must force our hearts to always be in good morals."

"You can stay in the frame of the law, You do what the law says. That is, if you say something, the Prime Minister or a minister must countersign, and if he is not there to countersign, we cannot speak. That is one way to do it - do nothing, just nothing at all. The other way is to do too much, use the influence we have to do anything. That doesn't work either. We must be in the middle, and working in every field."

"Development of the nation must be carried out in stages, starting with the laying of the foundation by ensuring the majority of the people with their basic necessities through the use of economical means and equipment in accordance with theoretical principles. Once reasonably firm foundation has been laid and in effect, higher levels of economic growth and development should next be promoted."

"Be humble and avoid vengefulness, he advised. “Being a king means not to be wealthy. It means not bullying others."

"Failure to follow this advice, he said, might lead our clan to disappear."