As most of you know, we visited Thailand in April. One of the things we wanted to do is to see what we could learn and what knowledge we can take back with us.

Before we visited we read about Thailand: according to the CIA World Factbook Thailand is 94.6% Buddhist, mostly Theravada. So before we went we planned to do a talk on Theravada Buddhism. Upon arrival one of the first things we learnt was that it's not as simple as the statistics made out.

The first signs of the Thai spiritual nature was when were being driven down the expressway to where we were staying: we passed many small shrines by the side of the road and in front of most buildings. We discovered that before Buddhism arrived in Thailand, the Thais practised animism, or spirit worship. The practice and beliefs still go on with such things as building spirit houses. The belief is that everything and everywhere has a spirit, so to appease the spirits and to give displaced spirits a new home these houses are built. The spirit houses are meant to be kept out of the shade of the building, and should be more ornate and grander then the house accompanying it, so the spirits will prefer the spirit house instead of causing mischief in the 'human' house. The grander the building the grander the shrine, some for the big shopping centres are almost as big as a small flat! Sometimes almost as much planning goes into the spirit house then the main building. A Brahman (Hindu) priest is consulted and the correct day, time, location and most importantly which spirit is decided. Even the colour of the spirit house is based upon the owners birthday. The spirit houses have space in front to give regular offerings, jasmine garlands, incense and food are popular. It is believed that if you don't satisfy the spirits disaster will occur. Not just buildings have spirit houses, there are spirits for agriculture, roads and other endeavours. There is a spirit dedicated to rice fields, most farmers will create a shrine to ensure a good crop. 

One example is one of the most famous spirit house in Bangkok, the Erawan Shrine. Located in one of the busiest parts of the city, at a major road and rail intersection, next to a major hotel and several shopping centres. It's an oasis of spirituality in a busy urban setting. It was believed that the foundations for the Erawan Hotel were laid on a day that displeased the spirits. There were numerous mishaps during construction including some serious injuries to workers. A priest advised the government to build the shrine and dedicate it to Phra Phrom. a Thai representation of Brahma. Once the shrine was complete the construction went with no further mishaps. Brahma is a Hindu creator god: who created the world, heaven and man.  The figure is also known as the four faces Buddha, although according to Buddhist texts Phra Phrom is a deva, a class of god not a Buddha. Phra Phrom has four faces which represent kindness, mercy, sympathy and impartiality. This links in with the instruction of the Buddhist Dhama. The image of Phra Phrom has eight attributes:

Disc: A solar symbol and also a long-range weapon to destroy evil
Sceptres: Authority and protection of universal law
Water pot: Creation of life
Empty hand placed flat on the chest: Compassion
Spoon: A sacrificial tool, symbolising that Brahma is a god of sacrifice
Book (Vedas): Knowledge, wisdom
Conch shell: Space; when used as a battle horn a weapon against demons
Prayer beads: Time and spiritual nature

One distinct difference between Phra Phrom and the standard Hindu image of Brahma is that Phra Phrom has eight arms as opposed to the normal four, and carries the Disc and Conch Shell, which are traditionally associated with Vishnu. 

I found this site particularity moving and powerful. It's an actively used site that's given a lot of devotion. Most Thai's will ‘wai’ the shrine as they pass, drivers will often take both hands off the wheel to do so! The evening of one of the days that there were political problems in Thailand, Michelle and I visited the site to give offerings and to pray for a resolution. When the next day the Red Coats decided to call off the protests, we returned and Michelle gave an offering of freeing birds and I commissioned an offering of eight Thai Dancers.

Even though Buddhism is the state religion in Thailand, Brahmanism is interwoven. Most royal ceremonies include Brahmist as well as Buddhist elements. 

Until relativity modern times: Thai children would have their hair in a top knot, to be cut at a coming of age ceremony, which is a Bramist tradition. Unfortunately western influences and modernisation are culminating with this ancient tradition dying out. 

As mentioned earlier, the main religion in Thailand is Buddhism, primarily Theravada which means the ancient way or way of the elders. It is claimed by practicioners that it is the closest form to early Buddhism. Unlike many religions, lay people can become a monk for a short period of time so many men in Thailand have had time as a Buddist monk. Some will say that you're not a man unless you've been ordained, and many fathers will not allow their daughter to be married to someone who has not been a monk. The usual length of time for a short term monkhood is three months, but some are shorter and many are longer. Even King Bhumibol, the king of Thailand had a fifteen day monkhood after the death of his Grandmother. 

Important to Theravada is the four noble truths:

Dukkha दुक्ख - Life is suffering. Dukkha can't be exactly translated into English but most people seam to agree on suffering, the concept covers everything from a feeling of uneasyness or unsettled, to the pain of death and grief.
Samudaya समुदय - Suffering comes from desire
Nirodha निरोध - Suffering can be removed by removing desire
Mārgaḥ मार्ग - The way to remove suffering though the eightfold path

The eightfold path is broken into three sections: wisdom, ethical conduct and mental development.

Under wisdom is right view and right intention. 

Right view is about recognising and accepting the four noble truths.
Right intention or Right Thought: is being mindful of your intents and thoughts. Stopping the thoughts that cause suffering. Buddism recognise 15 defilements that you ought to remove: greed, ill-will, hostility, denigration, dominance, envy, jealousy, hypocrisy, fraud, obstinacy, presumption, conceit, arrogance, vanity and negligence. One way to help do this is at the end of the day look back at what you did and thought. Did you think something bad about someone that you shouldn't? Once you start to identify these thoughts and emotions, you can begin to remove them as they only serve to do yourself harm.

Under ethical conduct is right speech, right actions, right livelihood

Right Speech is recognising the power that words have to harm, yourself and the recipient of them. The Lord Buddha said that the words you say should fit in the following four categories. Words of honesty, words of wisdom, words that are nurturing and words that are worthy. Anything else should not be said.
Right Actions Doing what is right, it is often hard to know what is the right thing to do. You must bear in mind that when following the eightfold path the aim is to end suffering by the removal of desire. All actions have consequences and that everything in the past, present and future is connected. Only by looking deep within can we find what is right. Three rules that Buddha suggests that people conduct their life with are: respect life, earn what you have and control your desire, rather then have desire control you.
Right Livelihood is looking at your lifestyle, are you helping yourselves and others on the path?

Under mental development is right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Right Effort Is after learning about suffering weather you are willing to make the self sacrifice and have the discipline to break from suffering. Ch'onsa Kim says "When we have realized the truth of suffering, and are willing to seek liberation with the same tenacity as a drowning man struggles for a breath, then right effort has been attained."
Right Mindfulness Instead of just sitting there, think about how you are sitting, your posture and how your body feels. Think about your emotions. Think about what thoughts are passing you by. Think about your state of mind. Approach life with mindfulness and you become aware of the causes of your suffering. One example is when entering the temples in Thailand you must remove your shoes, you can just kick them off and throw them on the rack. Or you can be mindful, carefully removing them and placing them on the rack. Keeping in mind that you are about to enter a sacred site and being open to receive the wisdom you can find within
Right Concentration  I'll just give a quote for this one, as I found it explained it better then I was able to. "As we sail through life, the winds of desire push us toward the Ocean of Suffering. But the skillful stand firm in virtue at the helm, directing the rudder of the mind toward peace. Single-minded concentration on the path to Peace (the Eight-Fold path) is right concentration. It is picking yourself up when you stumble and continuing onward. It is recognizing why you have fallen astray. It is recognizing when you are about to fall. It is continuing upon the path without hesitation or doubt. It is never ceasing to develop our skill in the way." Ch'onsa Kim

Even for non Buddhists, I find there is much wisdom in the eightfold path. I think that the world would be a much better place if people were to contemplate the concepts and truths contained within them.

You can see the effects of the eightfold path when spending time in Thailand. For example, the driving in Bangkok is chaos, lane markings mean nothing and traffic is weaving in and out of each other. But you never hear a horn used in anger nor a shout or gesture of annoyance. In fact it is a big socal taboo to argue in public in Thailand and as far as we could ascertain, the language contains no swearwords. 

Obviously there is a lot more to the spirituality of Thailand and of Buddhism and I have still a lot more to learn. Hopefully this has provided some insight into the spiritual ways and some lessons we can learn from the Thais.