Buddhism in Thailand

• 1. Ancient Origins And Early Kingdoms

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  In the 3rd century BCE, monks named Sona Thera and Uttara Thera traveled to a region called Suvannabhumi, which modern scholars place somewhere in Southeast Asia. Archaeological finds at Nakon Pathom reveal Dharma wheels, Buddha footprints, and Pali inscriptions dating back to the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati between the 6th and 11th centuries CE. These artifacts suggest that early Buddhism arrived via merchant ships traveling key maritime trade routes with India. The ancient Phra Pathom Stupa may have originally resembled the design of the Stupa of Sanchi before later restorations covered it. King Ram Khamhaeng of the Sukhothai Kingdom (ruling from the late 13th century) invited Lankavong Theravada monks to his capital and built monasteries for them. He also sent more monks to Sri Lanka to study and brought back a root of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. This royal support increased the prestige of Theravada Buddhism throughout Thailand. During the reign of Mahathammaracha I (1346, 1368), another group of monks led by Somdet Phra Mahasami arrived from Sri Lanka. They established a forest monastery named Udumbaragiri and enshrined relics at Wat Suan Dauk. In northern Lan Na, King Mangrai built Wat Ku Kham in 1288 and Wat Chiang Man in 1297. A Buddhist council convened around 1477 to review the Pali Canon, considered the eighth Buddhist council in the Thai tradition.

• 2. Royal Patronage And State Control

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  King Uthong founded the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1351, creating a major center of Buddhism with many temples and monasteries. The kingdom adopted both Sukhothai and Khmer elements while continuing to focus royal patronage on the Lankavong Theravada sect. King Borommatrailokkanat (ruling 1431, 1488) ordained as a monk for eight months at Wat Chulamani during his golden era for Thai Buddhism. He encouraged arts and literature and built numerous monasteries in Ayutthya. During the late 17th century, French visitors described a state examination system under King Narai that tested monks' knowledge in Pali language and Buddhist doctrine. Those who failed were released from their vows and returned to lay life. King Boromakot (ruling 1733, 1758) sent 25 monks to Sri Lanka to re-establish higher ordination which had been lost due to warfare. These Thai monks helped found the Siam Nikaya, which remains one of the main monastic orders in Sri Lanka today. Rama I (reigning 1782, 1809) appointed the first Supreme Patriarch of Thai Buddhism to oversee the sangha. He also issued royal decrees requiring every abbot to prepare registers of monks and novices under them. Every monk was required to carry an identification document, and the state reserved the right to defrock those not following rules. In 1859, King Mongkut formulated a law with eleven articles requiring registration of all monastic residents in royal monasteries.

• 3. The Nineteenth Century Reform Era

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  Prince Mongkut spent twenty-seven years as a monk before ascending the throne in 1851. During his early monastic years at Wat Samorai, he studied western science and learned Latin and English. Influenced by rigorous Mon sangha discipline and his own understanding of the Tipitaka, Prince Mongkut founded the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order. This new sect kept stricter monastic discipline including restrictions on using money, storing food, or taking milk in the evening. The movement emphasized the original Pali Canon while rejecting some postcanonical literature like the Traibhumikatha. As king from 1851 to 1868, Mongkut promoted this religious reformation through state power. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara became the administrative center of the Thammayut order and hub for Pali studies. His successor King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, ruling 1868, 1910) made the new sangha hierarchy formal and permanent through the Sangha Law of 1902. This act divided religious administration into four main divisions: north, south, center, and Dhammayutika Nikaya. Each division received one patriarch with a deputy under him. All elders formed the Sangha Council of Elders as the highest body of Thai Sangha. The act created a graduated bureaucracy from abbot up to council president, plus posts for professors and instructors.

• 4. Modern Sangha Administration Laws

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  Prince Wachirayan Warorot (1860, 1921) wrote basic textbooks like Nawakowat which became Thai Buddhist catechisms promoted by the king. He published six volumes of Bali Waiyakon providing easier ways to learn Pali than traditional grammar books. Wachirayan also established Dhammacakxu, the first Buddhist journal in Siam. A national system of written exams for monks introduced in 1911 known as the Mahamakut system raised standards of doctrinal learning. Exams divided into ordinary levels focusing on doctrine and advanced levels including Pali knowledge. After Wachirayan's death in 1921, lay person exams began in 1929. The Sangha Act of 1941 introduced democratic elements but allowed kings to appoint sangharajas serving for life. Sarit Thanarat passed another Sangha Act in 1962 after seizing power in a 1957 coup d'état. This removed most democratic provisions and centralized power around the sangharaja allowing him to appoint half to two thirds of elders in the supreme council. From 1966 to 1970, monastic graduates were sent to provinces to improve rural education while converting hill tribes to Buddhism. Following the 2014 coup d'état, the National Council for Peace and Order set up a religious committee led by former senator Paiboon Nititawan and monk Mano Laohavanich. In 2015, the junta proposed requiring temples to open finances publicly and ending short-term ordinations. They also mandated smart cards for monks to identify legal backgrounds and increased control over temple bank accounts.

• 5. Forest Tradition And Meditation Revival

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  During the early 20th century, forest tradition monks like Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto (1870, 1949) and Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo (1861, 1941) developed ascetic practices seeking awakening through meditation. These back-to-the-forest movements criticized text-based approaches of city monks creating initial tension with official hierarchies. Charismatic figures including Ajahn Maha Bua, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Thate, and Ajahn Lee built influential communities as students of Ajahn Mun. Wat Pah Nanachat attracted international monastics who later founded monasteries in countries like UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, and United States. The forest tradition faced extensive deforestation closing the 20th century prompting Forestry Bureau members to deed land tracts to forest monasteries in the 1990s. These became sort of forested islands preserving wilderness areas. Since the 1950s interest grew in Buddhist meditation practice especially among lay persons throughout Thailand. Phra Phimolatham introduced Burmese Vipassana tradition from Mahasi Sayadaw while ecclesiastical minister served as abbot of Wat Mahathat. The rival Thammayut order led by Somdet Phra Mahawirawong also promoted meditation in their monasteries leading to widespread celebration of forest tradition teachings previously insignificant parts of Buddhist orders.

• 6. Contemporary Sectarian Movements

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  Since the 1970s new Buddhist movements emerged outside traditional Thai monastic orders including Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Shanti Asoke. Wat Phra Dhammakaya developed out of Dhammakaya tradition focusing on center-of-body meditation leading to attainment of Dhammakāya found within every human being. Shanti Asoke meaning Peaceful Asoka focuses on simplicity and self-sufficiency alongside environmental protection efforts ordaining trees by wrapping monk robes around them. Ultra-nationalist anti-Muslim monks appeared mainly in southern Thailand where tension exists between Buddhists and Malay Muslims. Some carry weapons known as soldier monks thahan phra with figures like Phra Apichart Punnajanto calling for mosque burnings before leaving monastic order. Beginning 2023 World Fellowship of Buddhists headquarters in Thailand renewed efforts bringing Buddhism to ethnic minorities resulting in 300 hill tribes families and 300 Karen families becoming Buddhists in Galyani Vadhana district and Omkoi district Chiang Mai province. More than 20 Thai women have ordained since 2002 when Senate reviewed 1928 ban as unconstitutional though main Theravada orders Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya yet officially accept fully ordained women into ranks.