Buddhism in Thailand

Overview of the role of Buddhism in Thailand

Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by roughly 93.4 percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated with folk religion (Bon), Hinduism from millennia of Indian influence, and Chinese religions from the large Thai Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thai Buddhism also shares many similarities with Sri Lankan Buddhism. Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities. Buddhism is believed to have come to what is now Thailand as early as the 3rd century BCE,]]

The Mahāvaṃsa, a historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, mentions that during the reign of Ashoka (c. 268 to 232 BCE), monks were sent to spread Buddhism to Suvannabhumi, which is somewhere in Southeast Asia. Thai scholars believe that the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati (c. 6th to the 11th century) is likely to have received Buddhist missionaries during this era. This is because numerous archeological finds in the ancient Dvaravati cities like Nakon Pathom point to an early Buddhist presence. Thus, Dvaravati Buddhism was probably an Indian form of Theravada (or at least a non Mahayana) Buddhism. The Dvaravati style has been compared to the Amaravati style and may be influenced by it. It has been suggested that the original structure of the ancient Phra Pathom Stupa (which has been covered by restorations and a spire that was added later) was of similar design to the Stupa of Sanchi. Later finds at Nakon Pathom and nearby cities also include Buddha images in the Gupta style. Various Southeast Asian kingdoms that ruled over parts of modern Thailand, such as the Khmer Empire (c. 802–1431 CE) and the Mon Lavo Kingdom (c. 450–1388 CE), were influenced by Indian Buddhist trends, which included Mahāyāna Buddhism and the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition. The Mon Kingdom of Hariphunchai with its capital at Lamphun was also a Buddhist realm, with famous temples like Wat Haripunchai (1040) and Wat Chamadevi (1218). The religious arts of the Indonesian Kingdom of Srivijaya (c. 650–1377), which controlled part of Southern Thailand, depict numerous figures from Indian Mahāyāna. Archeological finds in Southern Thailand (such as at Phra Phim and Nakon Sri Thammaraj) attest to the practice of Mahāyāna Buddhism in this region. This was supported by powerful Southeast Asian kings, such as the Burmese Anawratha (1044–1077), who promoted Theravada throughout the Bagan Kingdom, which included parts of Thailand that he conquered.

Beginning in the 7th century, Thai people gradually migrated from China to Southeast Asia. They eventually began conquering Southeast Asian kingdoms like Hariphunchai and adopting the practice of Buddhism which had existed in the conquered regions. The first ethnic Thai kingdom was the Sukhothai Kingdom (13th 15th century), which was founded in 1238. At first, both Theravāda and Mahāyāna were practiced in this new Thai realm, as well as Khmer Brahmanism. During the 13th century, Thai monks traveled to Sri Lanka to ordain in the Sinhalese Mahavihara Theravada sect (known as Lankavamsa/Lankavong in Thailand) lineage and to study the teachings. Lankavong monks also traveled to Thailand to teach Theravada Buddhism. King Ram Khamhaeng ( late 13th century) gave royal support to the Lankavong Theravāda monks in Nakon Sri Thammarath. He invited them to his capital, built monasteries for them, and subsequently sent more monks to Sri Lanka to study. Under the reign of Ram Khamhaeng, the position of sangharaja (leader of the monastic community) was created and tasked with the administration of the sangha, the orders of monks and nuns. Other monks were also given lower level administrative positions. Later Sukhothai kings would continue this policy of supporting Lankavong Theravāda, and numerous monasteries, Buddha images and stupas were built during the Sukhothai period. The study of Pali Buddhist texts was also promoted. Mahathammaracha I (r. 1346–1368) was a Sukhothai king known as a great scholar and patron of Buddhism, who even became a monk for a brief period of four months. A treatise on Buddhist cosmology, the Tribhumikatha (Trai Phum Phra Ruang, "The Three Worlds According to King Ruang"), has been attributed to him, and is one of the oldest traditional works of Thai literature. During the reign of Mahathammaracha I, another group of monks arrived from Sri Lanka, led by Somdet Phra Mahasami (Sumana), who was associated with a Sri Lankan forest monastery named Udumbaragiri. Further north, in the Thai Lan Na Kingdom (c. 1292–1775), Theravāda also flourished. Lan Na kings built unique wats (monasteries) which show a blend of Mon, Indian, Burmese and Khmer styles. Some important early Lan Na wats include Wat Ku Kham (Temple of the Golden Chedi, c. 1288) and Wat Chiang Man (c. 1297) both built by the first Lan Na king Mangrai (1238–1311). Wat Phra Singh (c. 1385) is another example of classic Buddhist architecture of the Lan Na kingdom. In the reign of Sam Fang Kaen (1411–1442), a controversy broke out between the Sri Lankan sect of Somdet Phra Mahasami and another Sri Lankan order newly arrived from Ayutthya, which criticized the old order for accepting money and owning rice lands. During his reign, in c. 1477, a Buddhist council convened to review the Pali Canon. It is considered the eighth Buddhist council in the Thai tradition. Lan Na Buddhism reached its climax during the reign of Tilokaraja's grandson, Phra Mueang Kaeo (1495–1528). His reign saw great achievements in Pali literature, as attested by works like the Jinakalamali (a historical chronicle, c. 1517), and the great commentary, Mangalatthadipani. Even though Theravada was now becoming the dominant form of Buddhism in Thailand during this era, Mahayana and Brahmanism also continued to be practiced.

During the 14th century, Thai power shifted south with the founding of the Kingdom of Ayutthya by King Uthong (r. 1351–1369). Its capital of Ayutthya was a major center of Buddhism, with many temples and monasteries. There, Buddhist culture adopted both Sukhothai and Khmer elements. Ayutthya kings continued to focus their royal patronage on the Lankavong Theravada sect. They saw themselves as defenders of the religion, which they advanced by supporting the sangha. During the reign of Indraraja I (c. 1422), a new sect of Sri Lankan Theravada, the Vanaratnavong (a. k. a. Pa Kaeo) sect, was formed by a group of Thai monks who had ordained in Sri Lanka. It mainly differed from the older Lankavong sect in that it was stricter in its practice. The reign of king Borommatrailokkanat (1431–1488) was a golden era for Thai Buddhism. He encouraged the arts and literature, as well as building numerous monasteries in Ayutthya. He also ordained as monk for eight months at Wat Chulamani. During his reign, the Vanaratnavong group also grew in prominence. A major literary work of this era is the Mahachat Kham Luang (Thai: มหาชาติคำหลวง), an epic poem of the "Great Birth" of Vessantara Bodhisattva, which combined Pali verse with Thai poetry. To this day, the Vessantara Jātaka is one of the most popular stories of one of Gautama Buddha's past lives. It tells the story of a very compassionate and generous prince, Vessantara, who gives away everything he owns. During the late 17th century, French visitors described a state examination system under King Narai that was administered to Buddhist monks to test their knowledge in the Pali language and in Buddhist doctrine. Those who could not pass were released from their monastic vows and returned to lay life. Those who excelled achieved high social status and officially recognized ranks (barian). Another later influential king was Boromakot (r. 1733–1758), who ruled during a peaceful time and was a great patron of Buddhism, founding numerous temples. During his reign, Thailand sent 25 monks to Sri Lanka to re establish higher ordination (which had been lost due to warfare on the island). The Thai monks helped found the Siam Nikaya, which remains one of the main monastic orders in Sri Lanka to this day. Numerous major Thai literary compositions were composed during the late Ayutthya era. One of these is The Legend of Phra Malai (พระมาลัยคำหลวง), a Buddhist epic composed by Prince Thammathibet in 1737. Other Buddhist pieces from this era include the Sue ko Kham Chan (เสือโคคำฉันท์, c. 1657) and the Samutta Kōt Kham Chan (สมุทรโฆษคำฉันท์, c. 1657) by Phra Maha Raja Kru. Both are kham chan poems based on the Paññāsa Jātaka. Though Ayutthya's main religion remained as Theravada Buddhism throughout its history, many elements of the political and social system were incorporated from Hindu traditions and numerous rites were conducted by Brahmins. The kingdom was also home to religious minorities practicing Mahayana Buddhism, Islam and Catholicism. Though we know little of the practices of the Theravada forest monks during the Ayutthya period, it is possible that at this time monks were developing esoteric practices similar to those found in a later Sinhalese work called the Yogāvacara's manual. These esoteric Theravada practices would produce a tradition called Southern Esoteric Buddhism, also known as Borān kammaṭṭhāna ('ancient practices'). This esoteric Theravada tradition remained a mainstream Buddhist tradition in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand well into the modern era. An inscription from northern Thailand with esoteric elements has been dated to the Sukhothai Kingdom of the 16th century. Kate Crosby notes that this attestation makes the southern esoteric tradition earlier than "any other living meditation tradition in the contemporary Theravada world." Furthermore, numerous pre Buddhist animist practices called Satsana Phi continued to be performed by Thais. Phi (ผี) are spirits of buildings or territories, natural places, or phenomena; they are also ancestral spirits that protect people, and can also include malevolent spirits. The phi, which are guardian deities of places or towns, are celebrated at festivals with communal gatherings and offerings of food. They are an important part of Thai folklore and local folk religion. From the 16th to 19th centuries, there were numerous wars between Thailand and Burma. The Thai capital was destroyed in 1767, leading to the loss of numerous historical records, literary and religious texts and marking the fall of the Ayutthya kingdom proper. As such, there is scant historical information about Thai religion during this period. Anthropologist historian S. J. Tambiah has suggested a general pattern for that era, at least with respect to the relations between Buddhism and the sangha on the one hand and the king on the other hand. In Thailand, as in other Theravada Buddhist kingdoms, the king was in principle thought of as a patron and protector of the religion (sasana) and the sangha, while sasana ( teaching, practice, discipline and doctrine) and the Sangha were considered in turn the treasures of the polity and the signs of its legitimacy. Religion and polity, however, remained separate domains, and in ordinary times the organizational links between the Sangha and the king were not close. Rama I also appointed the first Supreme Patriarch of Thai Buddhism which has the authority to oversee the Thai Buddhist sangha. Rama I also encouraged the translation of ancient Pali Buddhist texts. A new edition of the Pali Canon was published, the Tipitaka Chabab Tongyai. Rama I also issued several royal decrees which governed the conduct of monastics. Under Rama I, some new laws overseeing the Buddhist sangha were passed. Every abbot was required to prepare a register of the monks and novices under them. Furthermore, the king decreed that every monk had to carry a document of identification. Furthermore, the state reserved the right to defrock monks who were not following the monastic rules. 128 corrupt monks were known to have been defrocked. Rama II established a new modern ecclesiastical education system for studying Theravada doctrine and the Pali language. This examination system was further revised with nine grades of exams. It remains the standard up to this day. Rama II also sent various missions to Sri Lanka to spread the teaching, since he feared that, under British rule, it would begin to decline there. Mongkut had also spent his early monastic years at Wat Samorai, a forest monastery renowned for meditation and spiritual practices. During Mongkut's monastic years, numerous monks immigrating from Burma introduced the more rigorous monastic discipline of the Mon sangha. Influenced by this and his own understanding of the Tipitaka, Prince Mongkut (as a monk) began a reform Buddhist movement by founding a new monastic order at Wat Samorai. This order was called the Dhammayuttika ("yoked to the Dhamma") Nikaya, which kept a stricter monastic discipline than the rest of the Thai sangha. Restrictions included not using money, not storing up food, and not taking milk in the evening. The Dhammayuttika movement was characterized by an emphasis on the original Pali Canon and a rejection of some postcanonical Buddhist literature (including the Traibhumikatha). They also stressed the rationalism of Buddhism and tried to return to the way it was understood during early Buddhism before heterodox popular beliefs had transformed it. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara in Bangkok became the administrative center of the Thammayut order and the center of Pali studies in Thailand. The administrative and sangha reforms that Mongkut started were continued by his successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868–1910) who made the new sangha hierarchy formal and permanent through the Sangha Law of 1902, which remains the foundation of Sangha administration throughout the history of modern Thailand (though the law has been amended numerous times). The act created a graduated bureaucracy of monastic leaders, from abbot, to leaders of regional sub divisions, all the way up to the president of the council of elders. There were also posts for professors and instructors. The act recognized three types of monasteries: royal, common, and monastic residences (which lack a sima, a consecrated border). A survey conducted in 1900 reported 7,206 monasteries in Thailand (with only 117 royal monasteries). Ultimate responsibility for each monastery was granted to the abbot, who could punish offenders, mediate disputes and grant or refuse residence. Also, any establishment of new monasteries had to be approved by the state (Article 9). Aside from the need to reform the sangha's administration, the king and other Thais also felt that there was a need to standardize Buddhist doctrine and study. They addressed this in different ways. Prince Wachirayan Warorot (Pali: Vajirañāṇavarorasa, 1860–1921) wrote a basic textbook of Buddhist doctrine (the Nawakowat) which became a sort of Thai Buddhist catechism at the time and was promoted by the king. Rama V also promoted the publishing of the Pali Canon in Thai Script for the first time (c. 1893). He also founded Chulalongkorn University and the Mahāmakuṭa Royal Academy providing higher education in Buddhist doctrine along with secular subjects. The Thai Buddhist Era year of 2455 began on 1 April 1912. Prince Wachirayan Warorot (1860–1921) became the head of the Thammayut sect and the supreme patriarch of Thai Buddhism from 1910 to 1921. There were also further efforts to centralize the Thai sangha from the capital at this time. Wachirayan also led a reform in Buddhist education, mainly by writing new textbooks for the study of Pali (in six volumes), known as the Bali Waiyakon, which provided an easier way to learn Pali than the traditional grammar books. Wachirayan also wrote some other influential Thai Buddhist doctrinal works, including Phuttasasana Suphasit (Selected Buddhist proverbs), Phutthaprawat (Life of the Buddha), and Winayamuk (Entrance to the Vinaya). He also established Dhammacakṣu, the first Buddhist journal in Siam. Due to his extensive scholarly achievements, Prince Wachirayan has been called "the leading intellectual of his generation in Siam" by historian David K. Wyatt. Because the prestigious state examinations relied mainly on Prince Wachirayan's works, his doctrinal interpretations became the orthodox doctrine of official Thai Buddhism. A new national system of written exams for monks was introduced in 1911, known as the Mahamakut system to raise the standards of doctrinal learning. Prince Wachirayan's Nawakowat was used as the main textbook. It remains an influential textbook in Thai Buddhist doctrinal studies today. The textbooks of Wachirayan provided Thai monastics with the means to understand the Buddhist doctrine in their own language. The new national examination system was influenced by the passing of the nation's first military service act, which included an exemption for "monks and novices knowledgeable of the Dhamma." Because of this, it was vital to have a proper legal definition for this statement. After the death of Wachirayan in 1921, exams for lay persons were introduced in 1929. The Thai examination system remains widely influential in Thai Buddhism today, and are a matter of focus for many monks and novices. During the early 20th century, a new Thai Buddhist tradition was beginning to take in northern Thailand (mainly Isan), outside of the elite and royal circles of Bangkok. This back to the forest movement of strict monasticism became known as the Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition. Led by figures such as Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto (1870–1949) and Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo (1861–1941), forest tradition monks focused on asceticism (dhutanga) and meditation, seeking to achieve awakening. They criticized the text based approaches of city monks, and initially some tension existed between them and the official monks in the sangha hierarchy. Another Buddhist council was held in Bangkok during the reign of Rama VII (1925–1935). This council saw a new edition of the Pali Canon published which was distributed throughout the country.

After the Siamese revolution of 1932, there was a creation of a constitutional state. In parallel to these developments, a group of monks began to organize in an effort to democratize the sangha administration. In February 1935, two thousand monks from twelve provinces converged on the capital to petition for sangha administration reform. These pressures led to the Sangha Act of 1941, which introduced democratic elements into the sangha's administration. However, the act also provided for the appointment of a sangharaja (supreme patriarch of the community) by the king at the head of the Thai sangha. The sangharaja served for life. The ecclesiastical assembly was composed of 45 members, all of whom were elder monks of high rank. Another major event of the constitutional period was the translation of the entire Pali Canon into the Thai language. This was completed during the reign of Rama VIII (1935–1946). Beginning in 1949, there was a major dispute in the Thai sangha between the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika orders. The sectarian conflict began during an attempt by Dhammayutika monasteries in the provinces to break off from the control of Mahanikaya officials. There was also long standing resentment on the part of Mahanikaya monks, since even though their sect constituted the overwhelming majority of monastics, the Dhammayutika monks controlled most of the high ecclesiastical offices. The struggle for power continued for years, and led a disgruntled Sarit Thanarat (a general who seized power in a 1957 coup d'état), to pass another Sangha Act in 1962. The act removed most democratic provisions from the sangha administration and centralized power around the sangharaja. It affirmed that "absolute rule" of the sangha by one leader was best and allowed the sangharaja to appoint from half to two thirds of the elders in the supreme council. The act also allowed for the removal of the sangharaja by the secular authority, practically subordinating the sangha to the state in the most direct manner possible. Sarit Thanarat also saw the sangha as a way to promote national development. As such, the sangha's role was expanded into more secular realms, and this was welcomed by many monks who saw this as a way for the sangha to remain relevant in the modern age. One example of this was the expansion of the curriculum of the Buddhist universities (Mahachulalongkon and Mahamakut) to include numerous departments focused on secular subjects like education, psychology, library science, mathematics and physical science. From 1966 to 1970, monastic graduates from these universities were sent to the provinces to improve education in rural areas. They helped with local development projects as well as providing more traditional Buddhist guidance associated with scriptural study and meditation. Part of their role was also to convert rural peoples, such as the hill tribes in the north, to Buddhism. However, studies by the anthropologist Charles F. Keyes argued that these efforts mostly transmitted fragments of overt behavior, such as how to give alms to monks, without teaching proper Buddhist doctrine.

During the 20th century, the Thai forest tradition continued to grow, with charismatic figures such as Ajahn Maha Bua, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Thate and Ajahn Lee (all students of the now famous Ajahn Mun) developing influential monastic communities. Ajahn Chah's tradition was particularly influential in the dissemination of Thai Buddhist monasticism to the western world. Wat Pah Nanachat, a monastery built specifically for international monastics attracted various figures who would later go on to spread the Thai forest tradition to the west, founding their own monasteries in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and the United States. The forest tradition was heavily affected by the extensive deforestation that took place in Thailand in the closing of the 20th century. In the 1990s, Members of the Forestry Bureau deeded tracts of land to forest monasteries in an effort to preserve wilderness. These monasteries along with the land surrounding them, have turned into sort of "forested islands".

Since the 1950s, there has been an increased interest in the practice of Buddhist meditation throughout Thailand, especially among lay persons. Meditation is now practiced in monasteries throughout Thailand by Thai lay people, and this is one of the biggest changes in Theravada Buddhist practice since the second world war. This influential meditation movement (which grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s) was sparked by the introduction of the Burmese Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw, by figures such as Phra Phimolatham, who was the ecclesiastical minister of the interior and the abbot of Wat Mahathat (the center of the Mahanikai order). The rival Thammayut order, led by Somdet Phra Mahawirawong, also promoted meditation in their monasteries. This led to the widespread celebration of the teachings of the forest tradition as well which had previously been an insignificant part of the Buddhist order in Thailand. As such, a broad slew of meditation methods and teachings developed during the second half of the 20th century. From the 1970s onwards, there has been several new Buddhist movements in Thailand who are outside of the traditional Thai monastic orders. Some of the most influential ones are Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Shanti Asoke. Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a new Buddhist sect which developed out of the Dhammakaya tradition. It's a practice of meditation that may have been influenced by the esoteric Yogavacara tradition. The most important aspect of this meditation is the focus on the center of the body, which leads to the attainment of the Dhammakāya, the Dhamma body, found within every human being. Shanti Asoke (meaning "Peaceful Asoka") is a movement which focuses on simplicity and self sufficiency. There is also a Buddhist environmental movement, which arose as a response to deforestation. One of their main forms of protecting their environment has been to "ordain" trees by wrapping a monk's robe around the tree. The 21st century saw the rise of a few ultra nationalist anti Muslim Buddhist monks. This is mainly a phenomenon in southern Thailand, where there is much tension among Buddhists and Malay Muslims. Some even carry weapons and are known as "soldier monks" (thahan phra). Some of these extremist nationalist monks, like Phra Apichart Punnajanto (who called for the burning down of mosques—a pārājika offence), have been forced to leave the monastic order. Beginning in 2023, there has been renewed movement to bring Buddhism to ethnic minorities and hill tribes by the World Fellowship of Buddhists Headquarter in Thailand. Such efforts has give rise to 300 hill tribes families and 300 Karen families in Galyani Vadhana district and Omkoi district in Chiang Mai province becoming Buddhists.

Common Thai Buddhist practices revolve around the monastic sangha. A major practice among lay persons is donating to the sangha, a practice that generates merit (tham bun), which is a beneficial and protective force that leads to good results in this life and in lives to come. Meditation practice, which only became widespread in the 20th century, is also an important part of contemporary Thai Buddhism, and it is practiced by both monastics and by lay persons. Entering the monkhood for a short period of time is also a common practice for Thai boys as it prepares them for adulthood and generates merit. There are also various holidays that lay persons take part in (usually at a Buddhist temple), these include specifically Buddhist holidays like Makhabucha (February), Wisakhabucha (May), and Kathina Festivals (mid October to mid November) as well as holidays like the Thai new year.

The term "Lopburi" derives from the town or state's name Lavapura or Lavapuri which emerged in Thailand in the 7" century CE. This term refers to a typical style of Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist sculptures and architecture found in the central, east and northeast regions of Thailand during the 11" to 13" centuries CE. There had been long cultural relations and interactions between the ancient states of Thailand and Cambodia. The style was comparable with those styles of Khmer sculptures and architecture in Cambodia, therefore, the 'Ancient Khmer Style of Thailand' is used as an alternative term for Lopburi Style. Nevertheless, the artworks of ancient Cambodia and those of the regions had their own distinctive features. Proceeding further, Phimai is a religious sanctuary of Mahayana Buddhists and also one of the biggest and most important religious sanctuaries found in Thailand. It was built around the 11th 12 century CE. The rectangular complex of Phimai is completely surrounded by moats and outer walls. In addition to state support and recognition — in the form of formal gifts to monasteries made by government officials and the royal family (for example, Kathin)— a number of special rights are conferred upon Buddhist monks. They are granted free passage on public transportation, and most train stations and airports have special seating sections reserved for members of the clergy. Conversely, ordained monastics are forbidden from standing for office or voting in elections.

In 2007, calls were made by some Buddhist groups for Buddhism to be recognized in the new national constitution as the state religion. This suggestion was initially rejected by the committee charged with drafting the new constitution. This move prompted protests from supporters of the initiative, including a number of marches on the capital and a hunger strike by twelve Buddhist monks. Some critics of the plan, including scholar and social critic Sulak Sivaraksa, claimed that the movement to declare Buddhism the national religion is motivated by political gain, manipulated by supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. On 11 August 2007, Sirikit, the Queen of Thailand, expressed her concern over the issue. She said, in her birthday speech, that Buddhism is beyond politics. Some Buddhist organizations halted their campaigns the next day.

No law directly prohibits a member of any Buddhist institution, such as a monk, a novice and a nun, from being a candidate in an examination for recruitment of government officers. Though both the Council of Ministers and the Sangha Supreme Council, (the supervising body of Thai Buddhist communities), have ordered such prohibition on grounds of appropriateness, according to the Memorandum of the Cabinet's Administrative Department No. NW98/2501 dated 27 June 1958 and the Order of the Sangha Supreme Council dated 17 March 1995.

Members of the Buddhist community and the communities of other religions are not entitled to elect or be elected as a holder of any government post. For instance, the 2007 constitution of Thailand disfranchises "a Buddhist monk, a Buddhist novice, a priest or a clergy member" ("ภิกษุ สามเณร นักบวช หรือนักพรต"). The Sangha Supreme Council also declared the same prohibition, pursuant to its Order dated 17 March 1995. At the end of the Order was a statement of grounds given by Nyanasamvara, the Supreme Patriarch. The statement said:

blockquote|Members of the Buddhist community are called samaṇa, those who are pacified, and also pabbajita, those who refrains from worldly activities. They are thus needed to carefully conduct themselves in a peaceful and blameless manner, for their own sake and for the sake of their community. Seeking to represent the people in the House of Representatives is purely the business of the State and specifically the duty of the laity according to the laws. This is not the duty of monks and novices who must be above politics. They are therefore not entitled to elect or be elected. And, for this reason, any person who has been elected as a representative will lose his membership immediately after becoming a Buddhist monk or novice. This indicates that the monkhood and noviceship are not appropriate for politics in any respect. and was known for leading the protests in Bangkok that led to the coup. State influence over several aspects of Thai Buddhism increased under the NCPO, with the junta's new constitution stating that the Thai government is to directly support Theravada Buddhism specifically. In 2015, the junta's National Reform Council made several proposals to give the state greater control of Buddhism, including requiring temples to open their finances to the public, ending short term ordinations, requiring monks to carry smart cards to identify their legal and religious backgrounds, increasing control of temples bank accounts, increasing control of monastic disciplinarians, changing the abbots of all temples every five years, putting the Ministry of Culture in charge of controlling all temple assets, controlling monastic education, and taxing monks. In 2016, Phra Buddha Issara requested that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) investigate the assets of Thailand's leading monks, the Sangha Supreme Council. This resulted in an alleged tax evasion scandal against Somdet Chuang, the most senior member of the council who was next in line to become supreme patriarch. Although prosecutors did not charge Somdet, the incident postponed his appointment and led to a change in the law that allowed the Thai government to bypass the Sangha Supreme Council and appoint the supreme patriarch directly. This allowed the ruling junta to effectively handpick Thailand's supreme patriarch. In 2017, Somdet Chuang's appointment was withdrawn, with a monk from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya appointed instead. The appointment was made by King Rama X, who chose the name from five given to him by NCPO leader Prayut Chan o cha. The DSI official was removed from office a few months later after religious groups called on the government to fire him because of his reform plans, but was reinstated after a few months. In May 2018, the NCPO launched simultaneous raids of four different temples to arrest several monks shortly after a crackdown on protesters on the anniversary of the coup. To the surprise of many officials, one of the monks arrested was Phra Buddha Issara. The right wing monk was arrested on charges brought against him in 2014, including alleged robbery and detaining officials, however, his most serious charge was a charge of unauthorized use of the royal seal filed in 2017. Police did not state why he was then being arrested for charges filed as far back as four years. Another said that the junta may regard him as a loose cannon politically and that the junta is virtue signaling—deserving continued political power—to the new Thai monarch, King Maha Vajiralongkorn. All the monks arrested in the May raids were defrocked shortly after being taken into custody, and detained before trial. Anthropologist Jim Taylor argues that the arrests were the "ruling palace regime" trying to consolidate royalist power by eliminating non royalist high ranking monks. Taylor pointed out that the suspects of the investigations were innocent until proven guilty, yet were all defrocked before trial and stripped of decades of monastic seniority only for being accused of the crimes. The only royalist monk arrested was Buddha Issara.

As in most other Theravada nations, Buddhism in Thailand is represented primarily by the presence of Buddhist monks, who serve as officiants on ceremonial occasions, as well as being responsible for preserving and conveying the teachings of the Buddha. During the latter half of the 20th century, most monks in Thailand began their careers by serving as temple boys (เด็กวัด dek wat, "children of the wat"). Temple boys are traditionally no younger than eight and do minor housework. The primary reason for becoming a temple boy is to gain a basic education, particularly in basic reading and writing and the memorization of the scriptures chanted on ritual occasions. Prior to the creation of state run primary schools in Thailand, village temples served as the primary form of education for most Thai boys. Service in a temple as a temple boy was a necessary prerequisite for attaining any higher education, and was the only learning available to most Thai peasants. Since the creation of a government run educational apparatus in Thailand, the number of children living as temple boys has declined significantly. However, many government run schools continue to operate on the premises of the local village temple. Boys now typically ordain as sāmaṇera or novitiate monks (สามเณร samanen, often shortened to nen เณร). In some localities, girls may become sāmaṇerī. Novices live according to the Ten Precepts but are not required to follow the full range of monastic rules found in the Pātimokkha. There are a few other significant differences between novices and bhikkhus. Novices often are in closer contact with their families, spending more time in the homes of their parents than monks. Novices do not participate in the recitation of the monastic code (and the confessions of violations) that take place on the uposatha days. Novices technically do not eat with the monks in their temple, but this typically only amounts to a gap in seating, rather than the separation observed between monks and the laity. Novices usually ordain during a break from secular schooling, but those intending on a religious life, may receive secular schooling at the wat. Young men typically do not live as novices for longer than one or two years. At the age of 20, they become eligible to receive upasampada, the higher ordination that establishes them as full bhikkhus. Novices are usually sponsored by their parents in their ordination, but in rural villages, the entire village participates by providing robes, alms bowls, and other items that monks need in their monastic lives. Temporary ordination is the norm among Thai Buddhists. Most young men traditionally ordain for the term of a single vassa or rainy season (Thai phansa), three months or so. Those who remain monks beyond their first vassa typically remain monks for between one and three years, officiating at religious ceremonies in surrounding villages and possibly receiving further education in reading and writing (possibly including the Khom or Tai Tham alphabets traditionally used in recording religious texts). After this period of one to three years, most young monks return to secular life, going on to marry and start a family or going on to higher education or the military. Young men in Thailand who have undergone ordination are seen as being more suitable partners for marriage; unordained men are euphemistically called "unripe", while those who have been ordained are said to be "ripe". A period as a monk is a prerequisite for many positions of leadership within the village hierarchy. Most village elders or headmen were once monks, as were most traditional doctors, spirit priests, and some astrologists and fortune tellers. Thai society also sees short ordination as an appropriate transition from life phases, like being discharged from the military and going back to civilian life. In a country where most males can be ordained as monks for even short periods of time, the experience can be profitable. Thai musician Pisitakun Kuantalaeng became a monk for a short period following the death of his father in order to make merit. He observed that, "Being a monk is good money, When you go and pray you get 300 baht [about £7] even though you have no living expenses, and you can go four times a day. Too many monks in Thailand do it to get rich. If you become a monk for three months you have enough money for a scooter." Monks who do not return to secular life typically specialize in either scholarship or meditation. Those who specialize in scholarship typically travel to regional education centers to begin further instruction in the Pāli language and the scriptures. In some cases, monks may learn the English language and continue on to a major monastic university in Bangkok. The scholarship route is also followed by monks who desire to rise in the ecclesiastic hierarchy, as promotions within the government run system are contingent on passing examinations in Pāli and Dhamma studies. Thai tradition supports lay men going into monasteries, following the monks' rules and studying while there. The time line is based on threes, staying as a monk for three days, or three weeks, or three months or three years, or three weeks and three days. This retreat is expected of all Thai males, rich or poor, and often is scheduled after high school. Such retreats bring honor to the family and blessings (merit) to the young man. Thais also make allowances for men who follow this practice, such as holding open a job.

Rising obesity among monks and concerns for their well being have become issues in Thailand. A study by the Health Ministry in 2017 of 200 Bangkok temples found that 60 percent of monks suffer from high cholesterol and 50 percent from high blood sugar. Public health experts attribute this to two factors. First, monks are required to accept and eat whatever is given to them on their daily alms rounds. Second, monks are not permitted to engage in cardiovascular exercise as it is undignified. Monks eat only two meals per day, breakfast and lunch. But the remainder of the day they are allowed to drink nam pana, which includes the juice of fruit less than fist sized, often high in sugar. To combat the high rate of non communicable diseases among monks, the National Health Commission Office (NHCO) issued a pamphlet, National Health Charter for Monks, designed to educate monks and lay people alike about healthy eating habits. There have been reports of sexual assault, embezzlement, drug taking, extravagant lifestyles, even murder. Thailand's 38,000 temples, populated by 300,000 monks, are easy targets for corruption, handling between US$3 to 3.6 billion yearly in donations, mostly untraceable cash. In a case that received much media attention, Luang Pu Nen Kham Chattiko was photographed in July 2013 wearing Ray Ban sunglasses, holding a Louis Vuitton bag full of US dollars, and " was later found to be a trafficker of methamphetamines, an abuser of women and the lover of a pregnant fourteen year old." There have been cases of influential monks persecuted and jailed by the Thai government, through verdicts later declared moot or controversial. A well known case in Thailand is that of Phra Phimontham, then abbot of Wat Mahadhatu, known in Thailand for having introduced the Burmese Satipatthana meditation method to Thailand. In 1962, during the Cold War, he was accused of collaboration with communist rebels and being a threat to national security, and was fully defrocked and jailed. In fact, the government persecuted him because of his political views and promotion of changes in the Sangha. Phra Phimontham had strong pro democratic leanings, which did not comport well with the regime of the day nor the palace. Furthermore, Phra Phimontham was part of the Maha Nikaya fraternity, rather than the Dhammayuttika fraternity, which the government and monarchy historically have preferred. Phra Phimontham was likely to become the next supreme patriarch. For this reason, his treatment has been described by Thai scholars as a "struggle between patriarchs" (ศึกสมเด็จ), referring to the political objective of disabling him as a candidate. After four years, when the country changed its government, Phra Phimontham was released from prison when a military court decided he had not collaborated with communists after all. Afterwards, he ordained again and eventually regained his former status, though he continued to be discredited. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu was subject to similar allegations from the Thai government, and so was Luang Por Phothirak, the founder of Santi Asoke. Luang Por Pothirak was eventually charged of altering the Vinaya and defrocked. A recent example is Phra Prajak Kuttajitto, an environmentalist monk critical of government policies, who was arrested and defrocked. and again in 2002, Luang Por Dhammajayo, the then abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, was accused of fraud and embezzlement by the Thai media and later some government agencies when donations of land were found in his name. Wat Phra Dhammakaya denied this, stating that it was the intention of the donors to give the land to the abbot and not the temple, and that owning personal property is common and legal in the Thai Sangha. Widespread negative media coverage at this time was symptomatic of the temple being made the scapegoat for commercial malpractice in the Thai Buddhist community in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Sangha Supreme Council declared that Luang Por Dhammajayo had not broken any monastic rule (Vinaya). In 2006, the Thai National Office for Buddhism cleared the Dhammakaya Foundation and Luang Por Dhammajayo of all accusations when Luang Por Dhammajayo agreed to put all of the disputed land in his temple's name. In March 2016, Thai police formally summoned then Acting Supreme Patriarch Somdet Chuang Varapunno, after he refused to answer direct questions about his vintage car, one of only 65 made. The car was part of a museum kept at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok, but has now been seized by police investigating possible tax evasion. Somdet reportedly transferred ownership of the vehicle to another monk after the scandal broke. He refused to answer police questions directly, insisting that written questions be sent to his lawyer. He did say that the car was a gift from a follower. Analysts from different news outlets have pointed out that the actions of the Thai government towards Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen may have reflected a political need to control who should be selected as the next Supreme Patriarch, since Somdet had already been proposed as a candidate by the Sangha Supreme Council. Selecting him would mean a Supreme Patriarch from the Maha Nikaya fraternity, rather than the Dhammayuttika fraternity, which historically has always been the preferred choice of the Thai government and the monarchy. The Thai government cited several reasons for this, including the car. At the end of the same year, however, prosecutors decided not to charge Somdet Chuang, but to charge his assistant abbot instead along with another six people who took part in importing the vintage car. In February 2016, in a protest organized by the National Centre for the Protection of Thai Buddhism, a Red Shirt oriented network, the example of Phra Phimontham was also cited as demands were made for the Thai government to no longer involve itself with the selection of the next leader of the Sangha.

The Dhammayuttika Nikaya (ธรรมยุตนิกาย) began in 1833 as a reform movement led by Prince Mongkut, son of King Rama II of Siam. It remained a reform movement until passage of the Sangha Act of 1902, which formally recognized it as the lesser of Thailand's two Theravada denominations. Mongkut was a bhikkhu under the name of Vajirañāṇo for 27 years (1824–1851) before becoming King of Siam (1851–1868). In 1836 he became the first abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. After the then 20 year old prince entered monastic life in 1824, he noticed what he saw as serious discrepancies between the rules given in the Pāli Canon and the actual practices of Thai bhikkhus and sought to upgrade monastic discipline to make it more orthodox. Mongkut also made an effort to remove all non Buddhist, folk religious, and superstitious elements which over the years had become part of Thai Buddhism. Dhammayuttika monks were expected to eat only one meal a day (not two) that was to be gathered during a traditional alms round. The Dhammakaya Movement is a Thai Buddhist tradition which was started by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. The tradition is revivalist in nature and practices Dhammakaya meditation. The movement opposes traditional magical rituals, superstition, folk religious practices, fortune telling and giving lottery numbers, and focuses on an active style of propagating and practicing meditation. Features of the tradition include teaching meditation in a group, teaching meditation during ceremonies, teaching meditation simultaneously to monastics and lay people, teaching one main meditation method and an emphasis on lifelong ordination. Santi Asoke has been described as "a transformation of the "forest monk" revival of [the 1920s and 1930s]" and "is more radical [than the Dhammakaya Movement] in its criticism of Thai society and in the details of its own vision of what constitutes a truly moral religious community."

Unlike in Burma and Sri Lanka, the bhikkhuni lineage of women monastics was never established in Thailand. Women primarily participate in religious life either as lay participants in collective merit making rituals or by doing domestic work around temples. A small number of women choose to become maechi, non ordained religious specialists who permanently observe either the Eight or Ten Precepts. Maechi do not receive the level of support given to bhikkhu and their position in Thai society is the subject of some discussion. There have been efforts to attempt to introduce a bhikkhuni lineage in Thailand as a step towards improving the position of women in Thai Buddhism. The main proponent of this movement has been Dhammananda Bhikkhuni. Unlike similar efforts in Sri Lanka, these efforts have been extremely controversial in Thailand. Women attempting to ordain have been accused of attempting to impersonate monks (a civil offense in Thailand), and their actions have been denounced by many members of the ecclesiastic hierarchy. In 1928, a secular law was passed in Thailand banning women's full ordination in Buddhism. Varanggana Vanavichayen became the first female monk to be ordained in Thailand in 2002. Some time after this, the secular law was revoked. On 28 February 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni received full monastic ordination as a bhikkhuni of the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka, making her the first modern Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada bhikkhuni. She is Abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, the only temple in Thailand where there are bhikkhunis. It was founded by her mother, Voramai, a Mahayana bhikkhuni, in the 1960s. Most objections to the reintroduction of female monastics hinge on the fact that the monastic rules require that both five ordained monks and five ordained bhikkhunis be present for any new bhikkhuni ordination. Without such a quorum, critics say that it is not possible to ordain any new Theravada bhikkhuni. The Thai hierarchy refuses to recognize ordinations in the Dharmaguptaka tradition (the only currently existing bhikkhuni ordination lineage) as valid Theravada ordinations, citing differences in philosophical teachings and, more critically, monastic discipline.