A scholar once presented a number of issues regarding Thai religion to another group of scholars. At the end of the presentation, a political scientist stood up and said:

You have presented many interesting things to us about Thai character and Thai belief, now could you please tell us: What is the bottom line?

Answer: The reason why Thai studies is so fascinating is that there is no bottom line. I will not offer you any final, comfortable summary. You can go to the field, believe you’ve reached a dead end, and the dead end usually opens onto another avenue of ideas...the Thai way is less direct than many other cultures, and tracing that path has yet to lead to any final word, any brick wall, or any bottom line....

return me to the first path | take me to your aspects | leave me to contemplate