(2) ThailandIFF as a Contemporary Expression of Aristotelian Leisure
Aristotle regarded Leisure (scholē) not merely as time free from work, but as a fundamental human condition in which intellectual, moral, and spiritual development becomes possible.
While Leisure provides the philosophical space for human flourishing, the present study argues that the Folklore Festival provides the meaningful cultural content that fills this space. In this sense, folklore performances function not simply as entertainment but as culturally significant and symbolically sacred activities that nurture both individual and collective development.
Accordingly, the Thailand International Folklore Festival (ThailandIFF), developed over the past two decades, should not be understood merely as a tourism event or cultural entertainment festival. Rather, from philosophical and anthropological perspectives, ThailandIFF may be interpreted as the creation of a contemporary sacred space for the liberation, cultivation, and elevation of the human spirit.
When the development of ThailandIFF—twenty years of continuous operation, sixty-five Buddhist temples serving as cultural venues, participation by approximately 5,000 international artists from thirty-two countries, and engagement with more than 90,000 local community members—is examined through Aristotle’s philosophy alongside contemporary anthropological perspectives, three significant dimensions emerge.
From Scholē (Leisure) to Theoria (Contemplation)
For Aristotle, the highest purpose of leisure is not pleasure or recreation, but Theoria—the contemplative pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. Leisure reaches its fullest expression when it enables individuals to transcend ordinary concerns and engage in reflective understanding.
The present study identifies a close parallel between Aristotle’s concept of Theoria and the Buddhist practice of Vipassanā (insight meditation).
This interpretation is informed by the author’s long-term contemplative practice, documented through 103 three-day meditation retreats conducted between 2008 and 2020. These experiential records suggest that both dynamic mindfulness during movement and silent contemplative practice cultivate heightened awareness of the nature of mind, leading practitioners toward deeper insight into truth, goodness, and beauty.
Within this philosophical framework, Buddhist temples function as contemporary spaces of scholē. The selection of sixty-five monasteries as ThailandIFF venues was therefore not merely a logistical decision but a deliberate spatial and cultural strategy. As sacred environments, temples naturally separate participants from the pressures of economic life and create conditions conducive to contemplation, reflection, and inner peace.
When approximately 5,000 international artists perform and share their traditional cultural heritage within these sacred settings, ordinary leisure is transformed into what may be described as sacred leisure.
Audiences become more than passive spectators; they are invited into an atmosphere of contemplative engagement in which artistic appreciation is accompanied by reflection on cultural diversity, shared humanity, and mutual respect. In this way, ThailandIFF embodies Aristotle’s vision of leisure as a pathway toward human flourishing (Eudaimonia).
Folk Performance as Katharsis: Purification of the Collective Spirit
In Poetics, Aristotle argues that dramatic performance achieves katharsis—the purification or clarification of human emotions through artistic experience. Rather than serving merely as entertainment, performance enables individuals and communities to restore emotional balance and moral understanding.
ThailandIFF extends this Aristotelian principle beyond the individual to the social sphere. Throughout the festival, artists from thirty-two countries present their cultural traditions within the shared context of Thai Buddhist communities. Through music, dance, costume, ritual, and embodied cultural expression, participants encounter cultural difference not as a source of division but as an opportunity for dialogue and mutual recognition.
Over the past twenty years, one of ThailandIFF’s central objectives has been to reduce xenophobia, ethnic prejudice, and intercultural misunderstanding. By creating repeated opportunities for direct cultural encounter within sacred communal spaces, the festival encourages empathy, mutual respect, and intercultural friendship.
From this perspective, ThailandIFF may be understood as a form of collective katharsis in which artistic performance facilitates the purification of prejudice and the renewal of the social spirit. Rather than simply displaying cultural diversity, the festival actively transforms relationships among participants, demonstrating how folklore can function as a powerful medium for peacebuilding, intercultural understanding, and the cultivation of a more harmonious global community.
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