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Thai Buddhist monks contribute significantly to the population of Thailand. Nearly 95% of the population in Thailand belongs to the Buddhist Theravada school as opposed to that of the Mahayana Buddhist school. Theravada Buddhism has deeply impacted the religious culture in Thailand, along with that of the culture of Thai Buddhist monks. The history and origins of the religion that has traveled to Thailand from Ancient India have been influential on Buddhism in Thailand and the principles and way of life that Thai Buddhist monks follow.

Origins of Buddhism
Buddhism was founded and over-time grew during the 5th century B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama, born to be a king but prophesized to become a founder of a new religion. The region in Ancient India in which Siddhartha founded Buddhism (one of the oldest religions practiced today) is known as present-day Lumbini, Nepal. The religion in which Siddhartha fueled and created concentrated on the individual rather than worship to gods. The concepts regarding Buddhism all led to the idea of nirvana. Individuals who put an end to their suffering only achieve this particular placement of nirvana. To eliminate the suffering is to eliminate the cause of suffering, which Buddhism believes to be cravings and desire. The absence of these two would help an individual escape unnecessary suffering and reach enlightenment.

Arrival of Buddhism in Thailand
By the time of the third century B.C.E., Buddhism spread out amongst Asian countries. As a result of this widespread of the religion, different interpretations were being offered of the Buddha’s teachings, which had led to the birth of several sects of Buddhism. Teachings that traveled to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) were written in the final form using Pali, an Indo-Aryan language closely related to Sanskrit. These final writings were given to religious centers in Ceylon in the first century A.D. and aided in the provision of the Tiptaka (the scriptures of “three baskets” in Sanskrit) of Theravada Buddhism. It was this specific interpretation of Buddha’s teachings that led to the spread of Theravada Buddhism from Ceylon to present-day Thailand around the sixth century A.D. The religion had such a huge impact on Thai society that it was established as the state religion during the birth of Sukhothai during the thirteenth century A.D.

Modern Era and Buddhism
Buddhism was inevitably a huge part of past Thai culture, but its influence can still be seen very much in the present-day setting of Thailand. The involvement between religion and culture strengthened more so by the nineteenth century with the transition of King Mongkut to throne in 1851. Having had been a monk for twenty-seven years, Mongkut was a scholar for the Buddhist scriptures and was becoming more involved with immigration concerning monks from Burma. These monks were presenting and practicing more radical and disciplined characteristics of the Mon sangha (sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated as “assembly” or “community” with a common goal). As a result, Mongkut started a reform movement that became the basis of the Dhammayuttika order of monks. Under Mongkut’s reform, all practices that have no authority other than custom were to cease, canonical regulations were to be followed in spirit, and act geared toward the improvement of an individual’s standing on the road to nirvana but lacking social value were rejected. Mongkut was now in the reigns to supervise and control the ties between monarchy and sangha during a time period when the monarchy was growing with its control over the state and developing the bureaucracy. These reforms were started by King Mongkut, but later on continued by his successor King Chulalongkorn. In 1902, Chulalongkorn made the new sangha hierarchy official by the Sangha Law of 1902, which has remained till now in modern Thailand as the foundation of sangha administration. Similar to other Theravada nations, Buddhism in Thailand is signified by the presence of Buddhist monks. Thai Buddhist monks serve was officials on ceremonial occasions as well as possessing the responsibility to preserve and interpret the teachings of Buddhism. Since the culture in Thailand is influenced greatly by religion, monks play a very centralized and powerful role in Thai communities. Religion was a huge part of individual’s everyday life that it is logical to think that Thai Buddhist monks, who serve as officials in ritual and ceremonial events, were much needed and played an important role for communities in Thailand.

Beginning of Thai Monkhood
During the 20th century was when monks began a tradition of starting their careers by serving as dek wat (in which the literal Thai translation in English means “children of the temple”). Dek wat were young boys traditionally no younger than the age of eight that performed minor housework for their community temple. It first started out that the primary reason to become a dek wat was to receive a basic education through the temple that focused mostly on reading, writing, and memorization of important scriptures chanted for ritual ceremonies and occasions. This became the ideal and popular form of education for peasant Thai boys prior to the creation of primary schools run by the government. It was convenient for them to study at the temple, which were located in the village and close to home. Later on, however, once state-run schools were introduced in Thailand, the population of dek wat declined significantly since there was an alternative option to learning in the temple. Dek wats typically served for the time span of four years or more for their village temple before proceeding to the next step after serving their position.

Commencing further into Thai Monkhood
After serving as dek wat, a future monk most often is ordained to the next stage and position: novice. Novices base their living and lifestyle on the Ten Precepts. These precepts were: (1) refrain from taking life, (2) refrain from stealing, (3) refrain from sexual misconduct, (4) refrain from lying, (5) refrain from using intoxicants, (6) refrain from gossiping, (7) refrain from praising oneself, (8) refrain from meanness, (9) refrain from aggression, and (10) refrain from slandering the Three Jewels-Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Novices live according to these precepts, but are not officially required to follow the extensive list of monastic rules from the Patimokkha. The Patkimokkha are Buddhist monastic codes in which monks are supposed to live by. Other differences between novices and monks are that novices have most often closer contact with their families and may not spend as much time at the temple. Novices also do not participate during the reciting of the monastic code and the confessions of violations, which take place on a day referred to as the Uposatha day. On most occasions, novices eat separately from the monks in their temple, but this is typically due to another reason that does not purposefully try to separate the monks from novices .. An important note about novices is that younger men do not remain as a novice for longer than one or two years. This is due to the fact that at age 20, men become eligible to receive a higher ordination referred to as upasampada. Once ordained at this level, the individual emerges as a full bhikkhu (fully ordained male Buddhist monk). A novice also is technically presented and supported by his parents regarding his ordination, but in practice some rural villages have the participation of the entire community that provides clothing (robes), an alms bowl for their alms walk, and other necessities required for monkhood.

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Practice of Temporary Ordination
An interesting cultural practice that has developed in Thailand says that temporary ordination is a social norm amongst young Thai men. It has become a tradition that young men become ordained for a certain amount of time and that they do so for the period of a rainy season. This is known in Pali as vassa and in Thai as phansa. Those who continue as monks beyond their first vassa normally remain as monks for another couple of years, sometimes even three. During this time period those monks are serving as officials at religious ceremonies and studying even furthermore the different readings and writings concerning Buddhism. After this period is over, most of the young men who have been monks return to lay life and proceed with finding a wife to marry and starting a family. Ordination has been observed as a particular accomplishment and impressive act regarding young men in Thailand. Those who have been ordained are seen as desired and suitable partners for marriage. This reflects the importance of religion on Thai culture and how social values are being influenced by the duty that Thai men feel are required to fulfill in order to seek a suitable marriage partner. Apart from aiding in seeking marriage partners, ordination period also helps the individual who is returning to lay life because the period sometimes serves as a highly admired prerequisite for leadership opportunities and positions amongst the village hierarchy. This is evident after learning that most of the elders or leadership positions had once been monks along with doctors and priests. Contrasting the monks who return to lay life, those who do not most often invest and specialize themselves in the areas of scholarship or meditation. Individuals focusing on scholarship travel to regional education locations in order to commence teachings in the Pali language using its scriptures. After this, those individuals may continue to travel and instruct the teachings of Buddha at monastic universities in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital. Those who do not specialize in scholarship and chose to do so with meditation normally seek the help and mentorship of another master in meditation tradition. These individuals study with their masters for a numbers of years. This specialized group of monks are especially admired and revered in Thai culture since people think that these monks possess great virtue and has some source of supernatural powers.

Requirements and Expectations Concerning Thai Monkhood and Ordination
Only males with intact bodies (meaning 32 organs) and who are not under criminal investigation or legal dispute may be ordained. Though traditionally expected to be ordained at the age of 20, males can still be ordained at any time during their lives. It is a tradition in Thai culture and an expectation of the male population, so most men choose to enter the monkhood and do so because they believe that by following monastic practices, it will enable them to pursue their Buddhist spiritual goals and objectives more effectively. The ultimate achievement of these objectives concerns the reaching of nirvana (enlightenment-free from suffering). Men who become monks for spiritual reasons stay in the monastery for their whole lives mostly, though they can choose to leave at any time. Along with the common conception that Thai men will be ordained at some point in their lives is the more distinct time period in which men choose to do so. There is an expectation from Thai culture that men become ordained and spend some time as monks during two crucial transitional points of their lives-when they turn 20 or 21 and 60. Not only did ordination help men become suitable marriage partners, but it was also considered to make “merit” for the individual’s mother as well as for the living and deceased family members as a whole.

Ceremonial and Ritual Practices of Ordination

 * Step 1- The abbot figure of the community temple at which the male is to be ordained at needs to approve the ordination. The abbot makes it clear at this point that the potential candidate must be willing to follow more than 200 detailed precepts shaping monks’ lives.


 * Step 2- The abbot, after the approval of ordination, determines an auspicious day and time for the male’s ordination and assigns a monk name for him.

The head of the candidate is shaved by a monk as well as any facial hair, including eyebrows. After having been shaved, the candidate puts on white robes that signify their position as a novice. During this ceremony family members are allowed to join and are strong representatives in the attending party. It is from this point that novices are not allowed to leave the temple grounds. The ordination ceremony officially begins by the circling of the temple clockwise in procession with family and friends. Right before entering the temple, the novice tosses coins to members of the procession as a symbol that he is giving up his wealth. After this the novice enters the temple where the abbot and other monks serving as witnesses are seated, waiting. Apart from those who are witnesses, there is one monk who acts as the novice’s assistant during the ceremony, which is performed in Pali Sanskrit. The novice first sits below the monks and recites a passage that indicates his qualifications and commitments to becoming a monk. At this time period is when participants are given an opportunity to raise any objections to the ordination of the novice. The novice then moves to be seated in front of the abbot, in which the abbot conducts a ceremony culminating in the novice’s ordination as monk. The new monk’s assistant helps his shed his white robes and change into the orange robes of a monk. Following the ceremony, the new monk participates in a first meal at which the lay community serves food to him along with the abbot and other witnessing monks who partook in the ordination ceremony. This wraps up the end of the ceremony where everyone then eats and the monks are dismissed, the new monk with them to start his period of monkhood.
 * Step 3-Ordination day finally arrives. The following things happen:

Daily Schedule
The set part of a Thai monk’s average day includes the practice of chanting and meditation with other monks in the temple at 4 A.M. and then walking through the community of which the temple belongs to at dawn to give lay people the opportunity to offer food to them. This routine is called the alms walk, since the monk carries an alms bowl with them for community members to donate food to them if they wish. With this donated food, monks eat a meal after the alms walk as well as eating a second meal before noon although some temples have the monks eat only once a day. After noon monks are prohibited to eat, but they may drink liquids. For the rest of the day monks may participate in various ceremonies and provide education to those who seek it. Monks are also assigned specific responsibilities within their temple to maintain the facility and manage their communal lives. Apart from these various chores and duties, monks spend much of their available time medidating and studying readings. Theravada Buddhism emphasizes the importance of meditation and study in order to live accordingly and to attain nirvana, which is why monks devote a lot of their time to these concepts and practices

Monks' Roles in Community and Thai Society
In Buddhism, one of the lay people’s obligations is to support the sangha (monkhood). Because religion is so prevalent and part of the Thai culture and way of life, Thai Buddhist monks play a major role in interacting with the community and organizing religious life and ceremonies for the lay people. Thai Buddhists follow a lunar calendar in which there are many activities taking place in temples that relate to the lunar cycles. The lunar cycles include “monk days”, which are approximately four times a month and based on the position of the moon during that month. There are also important days that monks recognize and bring attention to the Buddhist community that mark the transitions of seasons in Thailand. These events are typically observed by ceremonies where monks chant in Pali Sanskrit, give sermons, and are served donated food. As mentioned earlier, monks interact with the community at least on a daily basis when acknowledging their alms walk. The monks are not begging for food from the people but are rather giving lay people an opportunity to make merit by offering food to them. A abundant amount of food is donated to a group of monks that usually can not eat all of it, so most of the left overs are given to shelters or the homeless that need food. Beisdes just providing education for the religious community, monks also are available for individual consultation. Monks that teach at temple schools are sometimes invited to teach at public and private schools as well as giving sermons at ceremonies. These sermons are meant to be influential to Buddhist followers and offer advice. Most often they are broadcasted on loudspeakers in the community and can be heard through out the neighborhood. This shows their evident connection on a daily basis with the population and how they might contribute to Thai society. Individuals and families also may consult monks about spiritual and practice matters. Some lay people emphasize and regard very highly the advice given to them by monks, which is a huge influence on their life and behaviors. Monks act as guides in Thai communities for individuals and families to earn merit. Lay people may do so by inviting monks to their homes for merit-creating ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually prepared for a special occasion important to the individual or family. Traditionally an odd number of monks (nine is a preferred number) participate and perform in these ceremonies. Throughout the ceremonies monks chant in Pali Sanskrit, are fed, commence chanting again, and is ended when the senior monk sprinkles blessed water on the participants and premises of the location or house. Though monks do not make the majority of the population in Thailand, their influence and roles in Thai culture and every-day life are prevalent and strongly incorporated due to the strong connection between society and Buddhism. It is clear that monks are highly revered and are often called upon for advice, spiritual guidance, and blessings.

Monks and Politics
Even though Thai culture is based much off of Buddhism, Thai monks do not try to become normally participated in politics. They normally have not been involved, but the recent issue in Thailand (regarding two different protesting groups disputing about the government) has led to more involvement. Thailand has a Buddhist monarchy, but all religions are respected, tolerated, and practices in Thailand. The king participates openly in many Buddhist ceremonies. This traditional and close relationship between Buddhism and the monarchy has traditionally been important concerning Thai nationalism. Thai monks try to separate politics from religion, but will always have an opinion concerning Buddhist teachings and approaches to society issues. .

Role of Women in Buddhism
Unlike for males, the female bhikkuni lineage was never established in Thailand. The result of this is that there is a widespread understanding in Thailand that women are not destined to play as large of an active role concerning monastic life. The expectations of women in Buddhism is limited in the sense that they must live as lay followers to the religion and make merit in hopes of being reincarnated to another role in their next life. Women primarily take part in living Buddhism as a participant in merit-making rituals or by performing domestic tasks for the temple. A small number of women in Thailand have chosen an alternative and more extreme way of life concerning their Buddhist faiths. These women are known as Mae Ji. Mae Ji are non-ordained religious servants that permanently follow either the eight or ten precepts. The conflict concerning the Mae Ji is that the group does not receive the same level of support to be ordained compared to the support to ordain men. Their position in society has raised some subject of discussion, however, since there are recent efforts made to attempt to include a bhikkhuni lineage in Sri Lanka. This would be a step taken towards improving the standing of women and Thai Buddhism. Efforts recently made to include a bhikkhuni lineage in Sri Lanka has become extremely controversial in Thailand. Women who have been attempting to ordain are accused of impersonating monks-a civil offense in Thailand. Their acts and efforts have also been ridiculed and denounced by members of the ecclesiastic (religious) hierarchy.

Life Goals
The main focus and highest set goal for a Thai Buddhist monk should be to seek and find enlightenment on the path to nirvana. Buddhist monks in Thailand use practices of meditation, studying, and chanting to try to achieve the goal of nirvana. In practice, the goals amongst Thai Buddhist monks differ in the sense that they have other intermediate spiritual and educational goals, but the main goal is to reach enlightenment through a lifetime of eliminating desires and suffering.