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    10000 Buddhist Monks in Chiang Mai

    By admin | November 28, 2009


    It’s not everyday you get the chance to see 10000 Buddhist Monks all together in Chiang Mai or anywhere else for that matter. The Buddhist Monks gathered to collect alms on a massive scale and this has become an annual event in Chiang Mai. This year, the alms collected were to be distributed among the people in the South of Thailand who have been suffering the effects of political conflict for several years. Today’s event also coincided with the coldest weather of the year so far in Chiang Mai and as I set off at 5am in the hope of finding somewhere to park, my resolve was almost broken by the weather. In 2008, there was estimated to be around 200,000 alms givers or merit makers crowding into Nimmanhaemin Road so an early start was essential.

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    Thai Monks of course collect alms every day of the year but this is a special opportunity for the people of Chiang Mai to gain merit and give alms to help the poor. The Thai army was out in force helping to gather the vast amounts of food, medicine and personal hygiene products that the people have brought. Some of the Monks were definitely feeling the cold, perhaps more than I was, because of their thin robes although many had brought blankets with them. By 6am you couldn’t move for the crowd all waiting expectantly for the Monks to walk the down length of the road.

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    The sight of 10000 Monks in procession is a quite moving and awe inspiring experience. To witness the generosity of so many Thai people, old and young, is a memory that will stay with me for a very long time. Today, the people of Chiang Mai forgot their troubles and the political uncertainties in Thailand and joined together to pay their respects to the Lord Buddha and to help the Thai people less well off than themselves in the South of Thailand. For myself and the other 199,999 people, the cold weather vanished into insignificance.

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    Topics: Lifestyle & Culture | 2 Comments »

    2 Responses to “10000 Buddhist Monks in Chiang Mai”

    1. Charlie @ Best Hotel Bangkok Says:
      November 29th, 2009 at 6:01 am

      Wow, I have never seen so many monks in one place at one time it looks like quite a spectacle, hopefully the tourists will understand what the collecting of alms is all about, not like what has happened in other Asian countries where the monks have been forced out of their home areas because there were too many “falang” and not enough locals to support their alms collection.

    2. Tim Says:
      December 12th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

      I was at this very event! It was truly amazing to see this gathering of monks. The monks in red came all the way from Burma(Myanmar) and the ones in dark yellow are from Cambodia. It just happened that my trip was in Chiang Mai on this day and my guide mentioned this event. I was there at 5AM. It was a long morning of kneeling on concrete (That white tarp doesn’t provide much padding) but it was definitely worth the trip.

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