Phuket festival-goers appease hungry ghosts of ancestors in festival (PHOTOS)
Phuket Buddhists built altars and idols yesterday as part of the Tenth Lunar Month Festival in order to honor and respect their ancestors. The Tenth Lunar Month Festival, similar in many respects to Phuket’s Chinese-derived Por Tor Festival, involves merit-making to show respect and gratitude to deceased ancestors. Legend has it that during the tenth ...
Disgraced ‘jet-setting monk’ Nen Kham to face underage rape charge in criminal court
The disrobed monk known for his lavish lifestyle and for raping a minor is finally having his day in criminal court for rape charges stemming from incidents that allegedly...
Two monks charged for dealing drugs to addicts at their Buddhist rehab center
Yesterday, officials raided a temple in the central province of Nakhon Nayok to arrest an abbot and his assistant for selling drugs to the patients they were supposed to be...
Woman’s Toyota burns up after she lights incense to pay respect to car goddess
A Thai woman in Kamphaeng Phet province just lost the front part of her Toyota in a fire yesterday after she lit incense sticks inside to pay respect to the “goddess” living...
Whiter Wat Arun: Thai govt defends Temple of Dawn’s makeover following social media backlash
The Fine Arts Department responded to the social media backlash against the restoration of the famous Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), following comments that Thailand’s top...
Thais worship temple floor numbers believed to be made by mythical serpent
Mysterious numbers that appeared on a temple floor became the talk of the town among locals in Thailand’s rural Chaiyaphum province yesterday as they believed the numbers,...
Out of the woods: Thai ‘hermits’ harness web to go global
From communing with forest sprites to whipping up love potions, Thailand’s cave-dwelling hermits once conducted their supernatural endeavors with just ancient magic and...
No More Punk Monks: Ordained Thai Buddhists will be forced to carry smart ID cards
In the wake of scandals involving drunk monks, fake monks and awful abbots, Thai monks will now be forced to carry chip-embedded smart ID cards. Starting in October, ID cards will...
Dry Rain: Prayuth asks Thais to go booze-free during rainy season
Following comments condemning a twerking teen singer, party pooper Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha now wants the public to avoid booze for three months during Buddhist Lent,...
Religious Biz: Thai temples may be forced to declare finances
Thailand’s military government will propose a law to force its tens of thousands of Buddhist temples to declare their finances, according to the head of the National Office...
Coconuts Bangkok religion
Bangkok is steeped in religious tradition that affects every aspect of life in this modern-yet-ancient city. It’s quite normal to see sex workers on Soi Cowboy wearing bikinis but offering incense and rice at the red light district’s shrine before engaging a night of debauchery. They hope it will bring them good luck and money from customers. Cats like spirit houses too.