This book is based upon material collected in Ayutthaya between September 1966 and August 1967 for use in my doctoral dissertation which was presented to London University in May 1969. This fieldwork was carried out under the auspices of the London–Cornell Project for East and South-East Asian Studies which is financed jointly by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Nuffield Foundation. I would like therefore to thank the authorities concerned most warmly for their generous sponsorship of my research programme.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr S. J. Tambiah of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, as it was he who first inspired my interest in Theravada Buddhism, and provided constant stimulus and support throughout my studies. I am also heavily indebted to Dr E. M. Mendelson and Miss Barbara Ward who supervised and encouraged my postgraduate work at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and to Professor E. H. S. Simmonds, Head of the Department of South-East Asia and the Islands, for his warm support throughout.

My thanks are also due to the officials of the National Research Council, Bangkok, who gave me permission to carry out my research programme in Ayutthaya, and to Dr Puey Ungaphakorn, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, who kindly sponsored my application.