Monta Srichote chairs the
Thod Kathin Ceremony in honor of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Jetsada Homklin
With the end of Lent, Pattaya Buddhists opened a 30-day period
of devout merit-making with the annual Thod Kathin Festival at
Chaimongkol Temple.
Prasit, Monta and Atchara Srichote this year received the royal
proclamation to chair this year’s event, along with Surat “Mike”
Mekavarakul representing Pattaya, before Panya Rathanaporn and 59 other
monks.
Celebrated in Issan, Cambodia and Laos, the Thod Kathin Festival
typically includes colorful parades and offering ceremonies beginning on
Auk Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent, which this year fell on Oct. 8.
Chaimongkol Temple began its festivities Oct. 14.
Thod Kathin sees Buddhists go to their local temple for prayers and to
pay respect to sacred relicts. It also marks the start of a 30-day
period of merit making which affords a special opportunity for prayers
to Buddha and for the presentation of gifts to the monks for preserving
the faith. Principal among the offerings are new saffron-colored robes.
Early in the morning, people began to arrive at Chaimongkol, wearing
their best clothes. They carried food prepared at home, in highly
decorative gold or silver bowls, and offered it to the monks. After this
breakfast, the people were blessed by the monks and many returned to
their homes. The more devoted remained at the temple and, later in the
morning, took a vow with the monks to keep either five or eight precepts
throughout the entire day.
After taking this vow, they split their time between praying, listening
to the monks’ preachings and meditating. In the evening, the monks led a
candle lit procession, making three complete circuits of the main temple
building. This event signifies the end of the celebrations.
This year 3.75 million baht was donated to the temple, which will use it
for future projects and construction of new and renovated buildings.
