TEMPLE DONATION

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When Thai people want to make a donation to a temple, a ceremony is organized. This donation can be some money, land, goods, furniture and so on... The furniture is wrapped with a holy white thread.

Sometimes a donation is made following the recovery of a sick family member. Donations are also made in order to make good deeds ("THAM BUN" - ทำบุญ).

As usual, Thai people help each other and prepare together delicious dishes.

After the Buddhist sermon, Thai people are queuing in order to put food inside monk bowls.

Thai people donate huge amount of money to temples. Thai people believe that donations to temples and monks give higher merit than donations to hospitals, schools. Following their Buddhist concepts, they don't follow up what is done with the money given. In some cases, it has caused embezzlement. For example in year 2002, Thai police say a monk stole over 300,000 baht from his temple to gamble on World Cup matches. Often the accounting is done by the temple abbot himself. If the financial management system could be handled more professionaly, donations will be better used for the benefit of the Thai society and Thai Buddhism.

Monks and novices are having their meal. When they have finished, Thai laypeople can eat.

A survey done in 2005 shown that Thai people spend about 3.3 billion baht annually on making merit and giving donations to Buddhist monks. The donations in the Northeast were about 1.1 billion baht each year, followed by 760 million baht in the greater Bangkok area, 750 million baht in the Central Plains, 550 million baht in the North and 160 million baht in the South. Frequent actions include giving alms and donations at robe-giving ceremonies. The main beneficiaries are local food vendors, suppliers of gifts for monks and people who hire out buses for merit-making tours.

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