Buddhist pilgrimage sites: Thailand

During the 3rd century BC, the emperor Ashoka sent missionaries abroad to spread the teachings of the Buddha. These monks were the first to preach Theravada Buddhism in Thailand.

Although Mahayana and Vajrayana systems were well established in Thailand by the 6th century, Theravada Buddhism, introduced by monks from Sri Lanka, was to become dominant. With the formation of the kingdom of Sukhothai during the 13th century, Buddhism was declared to be the state religion. Kings were seen as patrons and protectors of Buddhism; some kings had been monks before ascending to the throne.

Visitors continue to make pilgrimages to sites such as the cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, Wat Phrathat Doi Sutep near Chiang Mai, Phra Pathom Chedi at Nakhon Pathom, (the highest stupa in the world) and the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, part of the Grand Temple in Bangkok.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya was strategically located on an island in the Chao Phraya River, surrounded by fertile land suitable for rice growing, and with access to the sea, the city quickly grew in prosperity and power. It became a major trading centre with contacts throughout Asia and the Middle East and controlled the lucrative trade with China based in its' peninsula towns. By the 17th century it was a walled and fortified city equalling Paris and London in size.

During the 17th century CE Ayutthaya was a truly cosmopolitan city with Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, French and English merchants living and trading in it, attracted by the major Thai export products: silk, rice and teak. Ayutthaya's flourishing economy allowed for the rich endowment of monasteries and temples in the city.

Several forms of decorative art including woodcarving and lacquer work reached a high level of refinement between the 15th and 19th centuries and some, such as niello and mother of pearl, were under royal control. During this time, Chinese merchants controlled Ayutthaya's internal trade and had gained important positions in the government and army. The kingdom's major political rivals were the northern Thai kingdom of Lan Na and the Khmer and Burmese with whom it was in a semi permanent state of warfare for much of its' history.

In 1767, after a two year siege, Ayutthaya was destroyed. The Thais however were soon to restore unity to their country under the charismatic generalship of Thaksin who founded a new capital at Thonburi, opposite present day Bangkok.

 

Sukhothai

In 1238 the first king of Sukhothai, Intradit, broke away from the great Khmer empire and established the first capital of the Thai people. Built on the foundations of a former Khmer city, the capital comprised many temples and stupas dedicated to Theravada Buddhism, the most important of which was Wat Mahathat (Great Relic Temple) which contained nearly 200 stupas, assembly halls and temples. Made of brick or laterite (clay-like material), the structures were covered with stucco and decorated with sculptures of the Buddha, shown in fluid postures and clinging robes typical of the Sukhothai period.

From the mid-13th to the late 14th centuries the kingdom experienced a golden age of peace, stability and prosperity. At the height of its power it controlled not only the whole of Thailand, but areas extending to Martaban (Myanmar), Luang Prabang (Laos) and the Malay Peninsula. However, following capture by the southern kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1378 Sukhothai's importance was reduced to that of a provincial city and by the 16th century had fallen into ruin.