THE PEOPLE & CULTURERELIGIONcomprise 30% of the population (plus they start to outnumber men in
their 30s). Successful government-sponsored family-planning eff orts and
professional opportunities have reduced the fertility rate so successfully –
from six children in the 1960s to 1.6 children today – that analysts are now
warning of future labour shortages and overextended pension systems.
Religion
Religion is alive and well in Thailand and colourful examples of daily
worship can be found on nearly every corner. Walk the streets early in
the morning and you’ll see the solemn procession of Buddhist monks,
with shaved heads and orange-coloured robes, engaged in bin·dá·bàht,
the daily house-to-house alms food gathering.
Although the country is predominantly Buddhist, the minority reli-
gions often practise alongside one another. The green-hued onion domes
of the mosques mark a neighbourhood as Muslim in pockets of Bang-
kok and in southern towns. In urban centres, large rounded doorways
inscribed with Chinese characters and fl anked by red paper lanterns
marked săhn jôw, Chinese temples dedicated to the worship of Buddhist,
Taoist and Confucian deities.
Buddhism
Approximately 95% of Thai people are Theravada Buddhists, a branch of
Buddhism that came from Sri Lanka during the Sukhothai period.
The ultimate end of Theravada Buddhism is nibbanaa (‘nirvana’ in San-
skrit), which literally means the ‘blowing out’ or extinction of all grasping
and thus of all suff ering (dukkha). Eff ectively,nibbanaa is also an end to the
cycle of rebirths (both moment-to-moment and life-to-life) that is existence.
In reality, most Thai Buddhists aim for rebirth in a ‘better’ existence
rather than the supramundane goal of nibbana. The concept of rebirth is
almost universally accepted in Thailand, even by non-Buddhists.
The idea of reincarnation also provides Thais with a sense of humility
and interconnectedness. They might observe a creepy-crawly in the bush-
es and feel that perhaps they too were once like that creature or that a
deceased relative now occupies a non-human body. Refl ecting Thailand’s
social stratifi cation, reincarnation is basically a reward or punishment.
Live a good life and be reborn higher up the social ladder or behave badly
throughout your life and come back in a lowlier form, such as an insect.
The new generation’s upward mobility has erased some of the over-
reliance on fate as a key to success but even cosmopolitan types still
adhere to the Buddhist theory of karma, expressed in the Thai proverb
tam dee, dâi dee; tam chôoa, dâi chôoaa (good actions bring good results;
bad actions bring bad results). A good person can improve their lot in
life today and in future lives by making merit (tam bun): off ering food
and donations to the monks and performing regular worship at the local
wát. Merit-making can also result in success in business, academic tests,
fi nding love, getting pregnant and a host of other concerns.
The Buddhist hierarchy in Thailand is made up of the Tiratana (Triple
Gems) – the Buddha, the dhammaa (the teachings) and thesanghaa (the
Buddhist community). The Buddha, in his myriad sculptural forms, is
found on a high shelf in the most understated roadside restaurants as
well as in expensive Bangkok hotels. The dhammaa is chanted morning
and evening in every temple and taught to every Thai citizen in primary
school. The sanghaa is the orange-robed monks, who carry on the day-to-
day business of the religion. In temple architecture, the three-tiered roof
represents the Triple Gems.
Historically the Thai king has occupied a revered position in Thai
Buddhism, often viewed as semi-divine. Thai royal ceremonies remain
almost exclusively the domain of Brahman priests, bestowed with the
Lifestyle
Statistics» (^) Average age for
marriage for a
Thai man/woman:
27/24 years
» (^) Minimum daily
wage in Bangkok:
206B
» (^) Entry-level
government
salary: 9000B per
month
Thailand is often
touted as the
rice basket of the
world; it produces
20 million tonnes
per year, dividing
the crop in half
for domestic
consumption and
export.