Buddhism plays a fundamental role in the daily life of Thailand. Around 95% of the population is Buddhist, and Buddhism is involved in social occasions from birthdays, marriages and funerals to moving house, opening businesses – even the buying of new vehicles.
27,000 Buddhist temples dot the country. Buddhist monks are highly venerated for their chaste life, (as well as knowledge of spiritual practice) and to allow time for religious practice all major Buddhist holy days are also national holidays. It has long been a Thai custom for males over 20 years old to be temporarily ordained as Buddhist monks – even the males of the royal family have usually been monks for short periods.
There’s little concrete evidence as to when and where Buddhism was established, however. It is presumed to have been brought to the country during the third century AD, when Theravada Buddhist missionaries were dispatched by the Indian emperor Asoke. Buddhism probably reached it height in the reign of King Li Sukhothai as it was during his reign that the first Buddhist didactic literary work was written.
The ultimate aim of Buddhism is Nibbana (or Nirvana in Sanskrit) meaning the extinction of all desire and thus of lal suffering. It is an end, not only to suffering and action (Karma), but to the cycle of rebirths that is existence.
Buddhism in Thailand
Buddhism plays a fundamental role in the daily life of Thailand. Around 95% of the population is Buddhist, and Buddhism is involved in social occasions from birthdays, marriages and funerals to moving house, opening businesses – even the buying of new vehicles.
27,000 Buddhist temples dot the country. Buddhist monks are highly venerated for their chaste life, (as well as knowledge of spiritual practice) and to allow time for religious practice all major Buddhist holy days are also national holidays. It has long been a Thai custom for males over 20 years old to be temporarily ordained as Buddhist monks – even the males of the royal family have usually been monks for short periods.
There’s little concrete evidence as to when and where Buddhism was established, however. It is presumed to have been brought to the country during the third century AD, when Theravada Buddhist missionaries were dispatched by the Indian emperor Asoke. Buddhism probably reached it height in the reign of King Li Sukhothai as it was during his reign that the first Buddhist didactic literary work was written.
The ultimate aim of Buddhism is Nibbana (or Nirvana in Sanskrit) meaning the extinction of all desire and thus of lal suffering. It is an end, not only to suffering and action (Karma), but to the cycle of rebirths that is existence.