Thailand Stories

Young Thai boys, freshly shaven for their ordination as novice monks, parade through the town to announce to the spirits at the City Pillar shrine that they are about to be ordained. More at www.ThaiBuddhist.com Original post blogged on www.mythaiphotos.com .

During the school holidays in Thailand, it is common for Thai students to ordain as novice monks for a short time. In the olden days, before there were government schools, poor boys would ordain in order to get an education. However, these days, their parents want them to ordain for a short…

During the school holidays in Thailand, it is common for Thai students to ordain as novice monks for a short time. In the olden days, before there were government schools, poor boys would ordain in order to get an education. However, these days, their parents want …

This morning in Samut Prakan we had the rare honour of a visit by Somdet Phra Phuttacharn (Somdet Kiaw) the abbot of Wat Saket in Bangkok. However, this is no ordinary monk as he is the Acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. He is effectively the leader of all Buddhist monks in Thailand. He came to Samut Prakan to open a…

On the evening of the fourth day of the Phra Samut Chedi Temple Fair, it is traditional for the local people to come together to take part in chanting and a candlelight procession around the pagoda. This happens every year and it is always a beautiful sight. The best …

This is continuing my interview with Peter Robinson, who is probably better known in Thailand as “Phra Farang”, the foreign monk. (Click here for part one.) Peter spent ten years as a monk before finally disrobing in order to spend …

One of the best books about Buddhism in Thailand is undoubtedly “Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand” by Phra Peter Pannapadipo. Even if you are not interested in becoming a monk yourself, his vivid description of his ten years as a…

In the olden days in Thailand, most people lived along canals and the only way they could travel around was by boat. At major intersections farmers would come together to create floating markets. With the building of roads and modern houses, many…

There are quite a few Buddha images, however most of them depict him at the same age. This Baby Buddha image, called “pang prasut” in Thai, is relatively rare. It depicts the moment when the Buddha was born and he immediately started walking. I haven’t seen one like this …

During the Khao Phansa period this week, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are helping to promote the event “Making Merit at Four Temples” in Chanthaburi Province. These temples are not necessarily the most sacred of the temples however they have been picked as they represent different architectural styles and Buddhism sects. Even if you don’t have…

Beyond a doubt, ASTV, backed by the People’s Alliance of Democracy (PAD) has escalated in popularity more than any other TV channel in Thailand in 2009. This is due of course to precise unbiased news reports which particularly penetrate the essence of Thai politics and offer the audience …

Many Thai children spent their summer holidays either at summer school or, if they were a boy, ordained as novice monks at their local temple. In Samut Prakan, a number of our temples offered the youngsters a chance to ordain for about a month…