RIP, Yoneo Ishii, great scholar of Southeast Asia

The great scholar and historian of Southeast Asia, Yosheo Ishii, has passed.  He passed on February 12, 2010, at the age of 81.  His published work on Buddhism in Thailand, including most especially his influential and magisterial work, Sangha, State, and Society.

A guru of Southeast Asian scholars, the great professor cultivated, encouraged, and influenced an enormous number of students, some of whom are themselves continuing this tradition of  generosity to their next generation. The memorials on the Thailand/Laos/Cambodia email list continue, and some of these scholars have made touching declarations, including this excerpt from one of my own teachers, Professor Charles Keyes of the University of Washington, who wrote touchingly that

Although Aj. Ishii has left behind his moral remains, his karmic legacy will continue to have very positive influences on generations of scholars of Thailand to come. I personally owe him a great debt for providing a model for being a student of Thai culture and history.

Rest in Peace, Ajaan Ishii.