Two thousand monks will gather in front of Pattaya City Hall Nov. 27 to receive offerings on behalf of their counterparts in Thailand’s strife-ridden south.
The hour-long merit-making ceremony kicks off at 8 a.m. and is part of a nationwide event aimed at raising 1 million baht for monks in Thailand’s four Muslim-dominated southern provinces. Buddhist monks and teachers have often been the targets of violent attacks by the separatist insurgency.
Pattaya city spokesman Saksit Phothisit and Chamlong Thabsuwan, president of the Morals and Environmental Revival Club of Banglamung, which is helping organize the government-sponsored event, said the annual event, run since 2008, revives and supports religion.
Chamlong said previous mass merit-makings have been well attended and he expected this year’s event to also be successful.
