Buddhist Impact on Thai Life

Although the goal of Buddhism is enlightenment, in practical terms Theravada Buddhists do not regard it as possible for laypeople to attain this state of perfection. The best a layperson can hope for is a allowance of suffering straight through the doing of good deeds and the avoidance of evil.

One way to gain merit is to enter the monkhood (buat pra). It is primary for around 50 percent of young Thai men to take this step for a minimum of three months during the Buddhist Lent. It is a rite of passage, so to speak, and may well take place when they return from studies abroad or before they get married. In this way they earn merit not only for themselves but also for their parents or benefactors. Others, together with high-ranking figures, may also spend time in a monastery. One high-profile example is old Prime minister Thanom Kittikachorn, when he returned from exile in 1976.

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The avoidance of evil involves taking the Middle Way between an existence of greatest asceticism and one of sensual indulgence. A person's escort should be governed by the five basic precepts of Buddhism.
To abstain from taking life.
To abstain from taking what is not given.
To abstain from sensuous misconduct.
To abstain from false speech.
To abstain from intoxicants that tend to cloud the mind.

In daily life some of these precepts tend to be more honored in the breach than in the observance. The Thais eat meat, tell lies, drink alcohol, and may also indulge in illicit sex. In this they are possibly not so dissimilar from the adherents of other religions who, while paying lip aid to the precepts of their religion, continually fail to live up to them.

Apart from contribution moral guidance, Buddhism also plays an prominent public role. In villages and towns throughout Thailand the temple is the center of community life. Festivals and fairs take place on the temple grounds, and it is quite normal for the whole village to turn out for an ordination ceremony. At one time they were the only organizations contribution schooling, secular as well as religious, to boys only, of course.

In some areas this educational role continues. Another Buddhist influence is the use of the Buddhist calendar in parallel with the Gregorian (Western) calendar. In Thailand this is 543 years in progress of the latter, so 2000 was the year 2543 Be (Buddhist Era.)

Buddhist Impact on Thai Life

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