The only way in which he was documented to have strayed at all from Buddha’s teachings was that his interpretation of the Dhamma was always slightly tinged with his Hindu background. However, since he sent out missionaries to convert new Buddhist territory, this tinged belief did not play much of a role in Asoka’s effect on the Buddhist community. Asoka’s effect on the doctrinal notions of Buddhism was marginal, at most.

In Thailand, Buddhism has been around for at least two thousand years (largely because of the efforts of Asoka). In the late nineteenth century, a Buddhist tradition later chronicled by Kamala Tiyavanich—the Thudong tradition—began in Thailand. The Thundong monks were Thai forest wanderers. They renounced the domesticated, scholarly life that many monks had chosen. Instead, they wandered around the forests and lived primarily off of begging.  They were within the Theravada tradition, but they were a benign force in the changing of doctrinal concepts.
	In wandering, the Thudong monks found that they were often afraid. The source of their fears was threefold. First, they feared being attacked by wild animals. Tigers, snakes, and elephants—all of which were easily capable of taking human life—populated the forests of Thailand. Second, they feared sickness and injury. In the forests, they did not have immediate access to almost any medical treatment. Finally, they feared ghosts. These monks relied on the Visuddhimagga and the Dhutanga to help them overcome these fears. They came up with a special brand of Buddhism, different than the conventional Buddhism of the time.
	The Visuddhimagga is the most important source for the wandering monk. It explains a chunk of suttas that deal with asceticism. As is it not technically a part of the Tripitaka, it is unusual for monks to place so much importance on it. Generally, monks stuck to suttas to study the Buddha—the suttas were the Buddhavacana—the words of the Buddha that made up his Dhamma. This Dhamma was in turn a part of the triple gem in which all Buddhists—especially the monks—aimed to take refuge. By choosing not to hold the suttas up as the premier texts to live by, they established a unique religious culture.
	Another way in which they acted differently than other monks of the time was in the embracing of the Dhutangas. The Dhutangas were thirteen different practices that monks could choose to observe, if they so desired. All forest monks observed at least one Dhutanga. The Dhutangas were these: using only abandoned cloth as robes, only using 3 robes as garments, only eating what one gets from begging, avoiding houses which give good tasting food, only eating in one place, only eating a certain amount of food, not accepting extra food after beginning a meal, not living in a village or noisy temple, living under a tree, living out in the open, living in a cemetery, sleeping anywhere, and always sleeping sitting up. 