What is the Thai Buddha?

Answer 1

The Buddha that the Thai people venerate is the same Buddha revered throughout the lands where Theravada ("Way of the Elders") is the predominant school of Buddhism. These lands include Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma). Laos, Kampuchea (formerly Cambodia), Sri Lanka, parts of Vietnam and some areas of China and India. The Theravada tradition has now also reached the West, in countries like the US, Great Britain and Germany.

The Thai Buddha is the historical Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama (sometimes spelled "Gotama"), as a prince of the Sakya tribe who dwelt 2,500 years ago in an area which modern scholars feel was in northern India and/or southern Nepal. According to the primary Theravada scriptures, the Tripitaka ("Three Baskets"), the Buddha was born in a place called Lumbini, which is now located in the Rupandehi district of Nepal.

According to the scriptures, the Buddha (often called Sakyamuni, "Sage of the Sakyas"), had a 40-year ministry, traveling up and the Ganges River valley, preaching his message of liberation from suffering. His physical body expired at the age of 80 and he realized Mahaparinibbana, the "Great Final Nibbana)" at a place called Kuśināra, which is present-day Kushinagar in India. His final words to his followers were, "Decay is inherent in all compound things; work out your salvation with diligence." At the time of his death, there was said to be over 500 monks and nuns who had taken up the life of the wandering mendicant to follow the Buddha as he went about his ministry, trodding the dusty roads of ancient India.

There are thought to be around 150 million Theravadins living today. 98% of the population of modern Thailand consider themselves Theravada Buddhist--about 63 million people.