Religion

Theravada Buddhism came to Thailand over a thousand years ago, brought by missionary monks from India. The Buddhist way was adopted by the Mons and later by the Thai King Ramkamhaeng who made it the dominant religion of his capital at Sukhothai. Theravada Buddhism is the professed religion of more than 90% of all Thais and casts strong influences on daily life.

Along with the broad rice field,the most characteristic feature of the Thai scene is the fanciful outline of a Buddhist wat: the steep roof seeming to strain gracefully toward the sky, adorned with symbolic embellishments that often glitter with gold and glass mosaics in the sunlight. But it is not in architecture, however striking, that Buddhism has made its most significant contribution to Thai culture. Besides moulding morality, providing social cohesion and offering spiritual succour, its tolerant precepts, ideally suited to the native character, have also allowed the assimilation of other beliefs and influences, and enabled it to pervade almost every aspect of life, with the result that in both the monastery and market place it governs behaviour in countless subtle ways.

Ordination into the Buddhist priesthood is one of the basic steps in attaining maturity for Thai men, fr0m the King himself d0wn t0 the humblest farmer. There are few Thai Buddhist families in which at least 0ne member has n0t studied the Buddha’s teachings in a mcnastery.

Most enter the monastery for a limited period, a few weeks for the average city dweller, three months during the rainy season for villagers. Around a quarter of a million, however, have elected to stay a much longer time, in some cases for life,and with this brotherhood rests the responsibility of maintaining the faith in its more visible manifestations.

Besides sustaining monastic communities, Thai temples have traditionally served other purposes as the village hostelry, village news, employment and information
agency, school, hospital, dispensary and community centre giving them a vital role in Thai society.

Buddhism is one of Thailand's fundamental institutions, with the Supreme Patriarch as head of the faith in the kingdom. Though freedom of belief extends to other
religions and there are substantial minority groups of Muslims, Christians, and Hindus, the great majority of Thais follow Buddhist teachings, which have played a highly significant role in shaping social behaviour over the centuries.