Category Archives: Buddhism

During March 2012, there will be a series of six alms giving ceremonies around Bangkok involving an estimated total of 100,000 monks. The purpose is to celebrate the 2,600th anniversary of the Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment Day. The first event took place early this morning, 10th March 2012 along Phahonyothin road near Ying Charoen Market. It was difficult to estimate the number of monks present today, but I reckon that there were at least 8,000.

Monks traditionally go on alms round near their temple. Usually they leave the temple in the early hours of dawn while it is still dark. The Buddhist faithful are waiting for them in front of their houses. On Wan Phra days, which is the Buddhist sabbath, the monks stay in the temple and the lay people go there to make merit. However, these days it is not always easy for people to make merit in this way as they need to get up early to go to work.

There are two other kinds of alms giving that I have witnessed. One is often held on special occasions such as New Year’s Day or the King’s Birthday. The lay people line the side of the road in groups and as hundreds of monks pass, they offer the food. With the mass alms giving that I attended this morning, that method isn’t practical. After chanting and a short sermon, the monks walked down the rows in front of the seated lay people until everyone was in position. Then, after a signal, everyone offered alms at the same time.

As a foreign tourist you are welcome to watch this event. You can even join in if you like. Set up along the road there are many tables where vendors are selling bags of food for offering to the monks. As there are thousands of people, you need to arrive early to get a good spot. The ceremony starts at 6:30 a.m. and so it’s best to arrive before 6 a.m. if you can. The roads will be closed so its best to go by public transport or by taxi. If you are taking part you need to wear white clothing.

The following are the locations for the alms giving events in Bangkok this month:

Sunday March 11th, 2012 – Kaset Junction – Ratchayothin Crossroad
Saturday March 17th, 2012 – Ladprao 5-Junction – Saphan Khwai
Sunday March 18th, 2012 – CentralWorld Department Store, Ratchaprasong Road
Saturday March 24th, 2012 – Yaowarat Road – Charoenkrung Road
Sunday March 25th, 2012 – Ladya Road – Wongwian Yai

I have prepared a google map of these locations

At the crack of dawn this morning, I was back at Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani Province. I was last there for the meditation workshop for female Buddhists (see here).  This picture shows the extraordinary dome that is a wonderful backdrop to many of the pictures that I have taken here. Lit up like this at dusk you can see that it is not a smooth dome.  In fact, it is covered with 300,000 small Buddha images. Inside the dome there are even more and when complete, they aim to have 1 million images.

Photo Album of Mass Ordination on Facebook >>>

Over the past few weeks, a massive project has been organized nationwide entitled “100,000 Monk Mass Ordination Program for Buddhist Rains Retreat”.  I have seen quite a few posters and billboards saying something like “If you were born a male then you should ordain as a monk for at least one phansa”. Others said that you should “ordain for your mother”.  The annual Buddhist Rains Retreat, called Phansa in Thai, starts next week. Traditionally, men ordain as monks for the three months of the Rains Retreat.

When you ask someone how long they have been a monk, you don’t ask “how many years” but instead “how many phansa”. Meaning, how many periods of the Buddhist Rains Retreat have they spent as a monk. This is important as it dictates proper seniority. When monks go out on an alms round or sits chanting at a ceremony, it is the monk that has seen the most Rains Retreats that is the senior and leads the way.The reason that it is called a Rains Retreat is because by now we are well into the rainy season. For the next three months, monks must stay in their temples and cannot move around or even be disrobed.

This morning I took many pictures of the men wearing white clothes holding onto the robes of a monk. At 6 a.m. they took part in a procession around the dome. They then knelt down and prostrated in a show of respect to the 300,000 Buddha images. The picture below shows an estimated 20,000 men who had come to this temple to be ordained. The same event was also happening at other temples all around Thailand. In fact, I left this one early to go and take pictures at a Hilltribe Ordination at the Marble Temple in Bangkok. I will tell you about that one later.

During the full moon of this month we celebrate the religious holiday of Asarnha Bucha Day. It commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples. The following day marks the start of the Rains Retreat which is sometimes referred to as the Buddhist Lent. It lasts for about three months. This year, these two holidays are on 15th and 16th July 2011. These are public holidays and many people will go to the temple early in the morning to make merit. Then they will be back in the evening to take part in candlelight processions around the main stupa. They will also listen to sermons and many of them will make an effort to keep the Buddhist precepts.

In the days leading up to this Buddhist holiday, there are many parades around the Kingdom of Thailand of large candles that are given to monks at the temples. The candles are large enough to stay alight for the entire three months of the Buddhist Rains Retreat. However, some are much larger than others and certainly more beautifully decorated. The best of these can be seen in the annual parades in cities in Isaan such as at Ubon Ratchathani. I’ll be flying there next weekend and hopefully will be able to get some great photos to share with you. I have never been to the Candle Procession Festival in Ubon before and so I am very exited to be able to go this year.

One of my favourite festivals in Thailand for taking pictures is Tak Bat Dok Mai Festival at Wat Phra Phutthabat Ratchaworamaha Wihan in Saraburi Province. This always takes places at the start of the Buddhist Rains Retreat. This temple is famous for the Mondop at the top of a hill which houses a large Buddha’s footprint. Local people make merit by giving flowers to the monks. The flower is called Dok Khao Phansa and only blooms during this time of the year. The monks then climb the steep steps to the top of the hill. Then, after paying respects to the footprint, they descend the other side where even more followers are waiting. This time the lay people wash the feet of the novices and monks as they walk down the steps. This year this takes place on 15-16 July 2011 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The tradition of the Rains retreat dates back to the time of the Lord Buddha. He made it a rule that during the rainy season monks shouldn’t go wandering around the countryside as they could damage crops and insects underfoot. So, for the next three months, the monks have to choose a temple where they will stay. Tomorrow I will be going to take pictures at a mass ordination of an expected 20,000 monks. This is traditional for Thai males to become a monk at least once in their life. In fact, they are not considered a full man until they do so. If they work in a government office, then they are entitled to paid leave while they are in the monkhood. These days they usually only become a monk for a couple of weeks. However, if they become a monk during this time, they have to stay until the end of the Rains Retreat as no-one is allowed to leave during this period.