Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Religion
Buddhism
Approximately 95% of Thais follow Theravada Buddhism, also known as Hinayana or
'Lesser Vehicle' Buddhism to distinguish it from the Mahayana or 'Great Vehicle' school
of Buddhism. The primary difference between the faiths is that Theravada Buddhists be-
lieve individuals are responsible for their own enlightenment, while Mahayana Buddhists
believe in putting others' salvation over one's own.
The ultimate end of all forms of Buddhism is to reach
nibbana
(from Sanskrit, nirvana),
which literally means the 'blowing out' or extinction of all desire and thus of all
dukkha
(suffering). Having achieved
nibbana,
an individual is freed from the cycle of rebirths and
enters the spiritual plane. In reality, most Thai Buddhists aim for rebirth in a 'better' exist-
ence in the next life, rather than striving to attain
nibbana
. To work towards this goal,
Buddhists carry out meritorious actions
(tam bun)
such as feeding monks, giving dona-
tions to temples and performing regular worship at the local wát (temple). The Buddhist
theory of karma is well expressed in the Thai proverb
tam dee, dâi dee; tam chôo·a, dâi
chôo·a
(do good and receive good; do evil and receive evil).
There is no specific day of worship in Thai Buddhism; instead the faithful go to temples
on certain religious holidays, when it is convenient or to commemorate a special family
event. Most temple visits occur on
wan prá
(excellent days), which occur four times a
month, according to phases of the moon. Other activities include offering food to the
temple
sangha
(community of monks and nuns), meditating, listening to monks chanting
suttas
(discourses of the Buddha) and attending talks on
dhamma
(right behaviour).
Monks & Nuns
There are about 32,000 monasteries in Thailand and 200,000 monks, many of whom are
ordained for life. Traditionally, every Thai male is expected to spend time as a monk, usu-
ally between finishing school and marrying or starting a career. Even His Majesty King
Bhumibol served as a novice at Wat Bowonniwet in Banglamphu, Bangkok. Traditionally
boys would devote a year or more to monastic life, but these days most men enter the
sangha
for two weeks to three months during
pan·săh
(Buddhist Lent), which coincides
with the rainy season.
