THE PEOPLE & CULTURE
RELIGION
duty of preserving the three pillars of Thai nationhood, namely sover-
eignty, religion and the monarchy.
Thai Buddhism has no particular Sabbath day but there are holy days
(wan prá), which occur every seventh or eighth day depending on phases
of the moon. There are also religious holidays, typically marking impor-
tant events in the Buddha’s life. During these holy days Thais will go to
the temple to listen to teachings, make merit and circumnavigate the
main sanctuary three times.Merit-Making
Thais visit temple for spiritual enlightenment as well as cultural en-
tertainment. They might make a dedicated day trip to an important
temple or include a merit-making stop en route to another outing. Dur-
ing these visits, merit-making is an individual ritual rather than the
congregational aff air. Worshippers buy off erings such as lotus buds,
incense and candles and present these symbolic gifts to the temple’s
primary Buddha image. The fl owers are placed on the altar, and the
worshipper kneels (or stands, in the case of outdoor altars) before the
Buddha image with three lit incense sticks placed between the palms in
a prayerlike gesture. The head is bowed towards the fl oor and the hands
are then raised between the heart and the forehead three times before
the incense is planted at the altar. A square of thin gold paper is then
affi xed to the Buddha image.
Other merit-making activities include off ering food to the temple
sangha, meditating (individually or in groups), listening to monks chant-
ing suttas (Buddhist discourse), and attending a têhtt or dhammaa talk by
the abbot or another respected teacher.Monks & Nuns
Socially, every Thai male is expected to become a monk (bhikkhu in Pali;
prááor prá pík·sù in Thai) for a short period in his life, optimally between
the time he fi nishes school and the time he starts a career or marries. A
family earns great merit when one of its sons ‘takes robe and bowl’. Tra-
ditionally, the length of time spent in the wát is three months, during the
pan·săh (Buddhist lent), which begins in July and coincides with the rainy
season. However, nowadays men may spend as little as a week to accrue
merit as monks. Most temporary ordinations occur under the age of 20
years old, when a man may enter the sanghaaas a 1 0 -vow novice(nairn).
Monks are required to shave their heads, eyebrows and any facial hair
during their residence in the monastery as a sign of renouncing worldly
concerns. They are also required to live an ascetic life free of luxury
and eat one meal per day (sometimes two, depending on the temple
traditions). Monks who live in the city usually emphasise study of the
Buddhist scriptures, while those who opt for the forest temples tend to
emphasise meditation. Fully ordained monks perform funeral and mar-
riage rites, conduct sermons and instruct monastic teachings.
In rural areas, the monastery is also a social institution, providing charity
outreach to the sick and the poor. Male children can enter the monastery
and receive a free education, a tradition that was more prevalent before the
advent of the public-schooling system. Monks also take on social-justice
and environmental causes; a number of revered monks have protested
dam-building, or wrapped trees in sacred cloth to prevent illegal logging.
In Thai Buddhism, women who seek a monastic life are given a minor
role in the temple that is not equal to full monkhood. A Buddhist nun is
known as mâa chee (mother priest) and lives as anatthasilaa (eight-pre-
cept) nun, a position traditionally occupied by women who had no other
place in society. Thai nuns shave their heads, wear white robes and takeReincarnation is
a popular topic
in Thai movies
and books; in the
movie Citizen
Dog, the male
lead receives
unsolicited
advice from
his deceased
grandmother who
has been reborn
as a gecko.Spiritual
Readings» (^) Being Dharma:
The Essence of
the Buddha’s
Teachings (2001;
Ajahn Chah)
» (^) Access to
Insight (www.
accesstoinsight.
org)
» (^) Thai Folk
Wisdom: Con-
temporary Takes
on Traditional
Proverbs (2010;
Tulaya Pornpiriya-
kulchai and Jane
Vejjajiva)
» (^) Sacred Tattoos
of Thailand (2011;
Joe Cummings)