If laymen survive, Buddhist monks survive: A case study in Thailand Srichampa Sophana1, Lochan Amarjiva2 1Dr. Sophana Srichampa, Ph.D., Centre for Bharat Studies, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Thailand, sophana@gmail.com, sophana.sri@mahidol.edu 2Prof. Amarjiva Lochan, Ph.D., Shivaji College, Delhi University, Delhi, India, amarjiva@shivaji.du.ac.in Online published on 21 August, 2023. Abstract Under normal circumstances, in addition to earning a living, Buddhists should also maintain their religion. This entails making Buddhism for all living things, stable, and prosperous. The issue of how to effectively foster religion and what to do about it involves the experience of becoming a morally upright person first, participating in religious pursuits, supporting the temples and offering food for the monks etc. During times of crisis such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis that began in Thailand in July 1997; a great example of a renowned forest monk, Luangta Maha Bua, helped the country by collecting 13,070,866 kilograms of gold bars and US $ 10,457,159.63 from donors and offered for it to be kept in the Bank of Thailand (PPTV36, 2023). During the Covid-19 pandemic, Buddhist monks played an active role in helping the laity by providing protection, quarantine, relief, treatment and cremation services. Monks also adjusted their religious ways to serve their followers by using social mediato undertake some ceremonies. Furthermore, shutting-down the country for more than two years impacted the economy of many regions in Thailand. Since then, monks in collaboration with local communities have tried to revive the activities of monasteries and towns to attract more tourists in order to boost the people's economic welfare in accordance with the Structural functionalism and the Four Noble Truths and needs of development. If laymen can survive, Buddhists can also survive in Thai society. Top Keywords Buddhism, COVID-19, Four Noble Truths, Thailand, Good health and Well-being. Top |