One of the most beautiful festivals in Thailand is Tak Bat Thewo which takes places on the last day of the three month Buddhist Rains Retreat. This event, in Uthai Thani, has started to become popular over the last few years and I was really glad to be able to go for myself this...
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Over the recent long holiday weekend in Thailand, we celebrated two important Buddhist holidays: Asarnha Bucha and Khao Phansa. The first takes place on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month. It commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon to his first five disciples. On this day people celebrate the Triple Gem. This represents...
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As part of the celebrations for their birthday, many Thai Buddhists will go to their local temple to offer alms to a monk and to then receive a blessing in return. Monks are also often invited to mark other anniversaries. This week, my school celebrated 55 years and so twenty monks were invited. After...
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The Mon people, in the communities surrounding Wat Bang Ya Phraek in Phra Pradaeng District of Samut Prakan, took part in a parade and merit making activities this afternoon. In Thai, this parade is called “ngan hae yot phra chedi sai”. Which is basically a parade to carry the pinnacle or slender spires for...
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Taking a break from the hectic Songkran celebrations the other day, I went to Wat Chai Mongkol in Samut Prakan. It was like an oasis in the middle of a war zone. In the surrounding area, roaming pickup trucks, packed with people armed to the teeth, were patrolling the streets looking for people to...
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One of the more traditional events that took place during Songkran recently was “song nam phra”. This is the practice of bathing Buddha images with rose scented water. Most tourists, and even some Thai teenagers, seem to think that Songkran is only about throwing water at each other. However, it was originally more a...
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One of the most important events in the Thai Buddhist calendar is Makha Bucha Day (sometimes spelled Magha Puja). It takes place on the full moon day of the third lunar month which is usually late February or early March. This year it was today, 28th February 2010. Like many Thai people, I was...
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The grounds of a Buddhist temple in Thailand have a variety of buildings of all shapes and sizes. At first glance their use might seem to be random. But, there is one building, called the “phra ubosot” which is not only the most sacred but also has distinguishing features that makes it easy to...
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Traditionally, in Thailand, when a Buddhist dies, their body is cremated and then the bones and ashes are collected and are either kept at the temple or at home or sometimes both. However, there is a third option which is seemingly becoming more popular these days. It is called “loi angkarn” which means the...
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Judging by these photos that I took early this morning, not everyone was nursing hangovers after welcoming in the New Year at midnight last night. Like thousands of other local people from Paknam, I was up early at 6 a.m. to head down to the City Pillar where the main road through town had...
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One of my favourite festivals in Thailand is undoubtedly Luang Phor Pan Worshipping Festival in Bang Bo District of Samut Prakan. I went last year for the first time and had no idea what to expect. There were so many surprises that I had a really great day. I went again this morning fearing...
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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 time during...
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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...
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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 way to come to this...
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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 more time with his student charity,The SET Foundation (SET). I will be talking more...
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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 foreign monk in Thailand will give you an insight into Thai life...
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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 of these markets and riverside villages fell into a state of disrepair....
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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 before. They only information that...
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When you are travelling it is not always a good idea to follow too closely your guidebooks. If you have the time, then explore the area and you might find some hidden gems. The other day I was happy to stumble across a Buddhist Park at Wat Chak Yai in Laem Singh District of...
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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...
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