Throughout Thailand, every morning monks with shaved heads walk through the streets in their bright orange robes, begging bowls in hand to receive alms. Every Thai man is expected to spend some time in monastery at least once in his lifetime.

Even then King has gone begging for alms from house to house. Rich families view it as a great honour if a son enters a monastery. For the poor, being a monk provides a welcome opportunity for upward mobility.

In Thailand there are over 30,000 monastic establishments and about 450,000 monks live in the country, many of whom have taken vows for life. Nuns, however, do not enjoy the same status as their brothers.

Even though their heads are also shaven bald and they are dressed in similar robes, theirs are white ones since white is the colour reserved for non-initiates.

Monastic life is simple: abstinence and meditation, with each day usually spent reading learned writings and working in the temple. A monk is not permitted to own more than his robes, his begging bowl and a few personal effects. His public duties consist in officiating at birth ceremonies as well as weddings and funerals, organizing religious festivals and teaching in rural regions. The monk must be seen as an integral part of life in Thailand.

A Rush Of Orange

The Wat Phra Dhammakaya accommodates up to 10,000 monks at the same time for meditation. The site around the Wat has grown over 400 hectares over the course of time. The main building is very modern and has little to do with a temple of traditional Thai embossing. It offers a superlative, which is difficult to beat.

The Wat containsa total of 700,000 Buddhas that are more than 20 centimetres in size, and 300,000 others can be seen outside the building. Nevertheless, the doctrine of Dhammakaya Buddhism, which is mediated in the temple, is very controversial.

The Order agressively promotes donations and is repeatedly involved in criminal investigations regarding the origin of the personal assets of the governing abbot Phra Dhammakaya. The community also has branches in Germany!!

Relaxation, breathing control and the repetition of the mantra ‘samma araham’ are the main procedure for the Dhammakaya meditation. It is to make the direct entrance into Nirvana possible. Since meditation is faster to learn than others, traditional exercises are also the study of the teaching of Buddhism is not provided.