• TOURISM & CULTURE
  • ADVERTISEMENT

Latest News

  • State Vesak festival to be held in Jaffna this year
  • Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
  • The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi
  • Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan
  • Buddhism, bollywood, business can expand people-to-people engagement between India, Singapore: Goyal
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
  • BUDDHIST HISTORY
    • BUDDHISM MESSAGES
    • Message by PM Narendra Modi
  • BUDDHIST CIRCUIT
  • BUDDHIST MONKS
  • MONASTRIES
  • BODH GAYA
  • MCLEOD GANJ

Buddhist Monk Leads Donation Drive to Promote Religious Harmony in Southern Thailand

Nov 15, 2017 developer3.matrixwebstudio BREAKING NEWS, TOP NEWS Comments Off on Buddhist Monk Leads Donation Drive to Promote Religious Harmony in Southern Thailand


By  Shyamal Sinha

Thai Buddhists visit the temple they will normally make an offering. This act is known as wai phra; wai being the traditional greeting with palms pressed together and raised towards the face and phra being the word for a Buddha image, monk or priest.

The usual offering made consists of a candle, some flowers (often a lotus), a small square of gold leaf and three incense sticks. The three incense sticks represent the Buddha, his teachings and the monastic order.

Amid recent news reports that the authorities in Thailand have detained an outspoken Buddhist monk for posting videos online that harshly denounce Islam and call for mosques in Thailand to be burned down,* another Buddhist monk, Phra Thepsilwisudh, is providing a more positive and constructive example of Buddhist compassion as an advocate for interfaith harmony in Thailand’s troubled southern provinces.

On 5 November, Phra Thepsilwisudh, the abbot of Prachum Cholthara Temple and the chief monk of Thailand’s Narathiwat Province, led local residents in a fundraising event to create a charitable endowment (known under Islamic law as a waqf) at Nurul Islam Mosque. The initiative is aimed at fostering religious harmony among the different communities living in the area.

Phra Thepsilwisudh, abbot of Prachum Cholthara Temple in southern Thailand’s Narathiwat Province, is renowned for his work to improve Buddhist-Muslim relations in the troubled region. From bangkokpost.com

The fundraiser was attended by Buddhist monks and local Islamic leaders, as well as lay Buddhists and Muslims. Phra Thepsilwisudh said he hoped the event would help promote harmony in Narathiwat’s multi-cultural society. Although the total proceeds from the event have yet to be announced, officials noted that part of the funds raised would be used to complete the construction of some unfinished mosques in the province.

According to the Bangkok Post newspaper, Phra Thepsilwisudh is well known for his efforts to serve as an intermediary between the two religious communities in the region, where he has been actively promoting Buddhist-Muslim relations and settling disputes between the authorities and residents of different faiths. In January this year, Phra Thepsilwisudh celebrated his birthday at Nurul Islam Mosque in an effort to improve Buddhist-Muslim sentiment.

Local residents hope that events such as the fundraiser will help to bridge community divisions in southern Thailand, where acts of extremism by Buddhists and Muslims have become a pervasive issue fueling years of interreligious violence that has killed some 6,500 people since 2004.

Ekkarin Tuansiri, a political scientist at Prince of Songkhla University in neighboring Pattani Province, has been researching the rise of Islamophobia in Thailand. He observed that social media has played a significant role in fanning the flames of unrest, by helping to spread the perception that Islam promotes violence and is a threat to the peaceful co-existence of Muslims and Buddhists in Thailand.

Thai Buddhist scholar Surapot Taweesak, agrees that Islamophobia is on the rise, but is wary of the increase in extremism he sees in both Buddhist and Muslim communities. “[This growing Islamophobia] is not a good sign,” said Supaot. “When it comes to hatred, it could be exacerbated.” (Khaosod English)

Thailand is predominantly a Buddhist country, with 93.2 per cent of the population of 69 million identifying as Theravada Buddhists, according to data for 2010 from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center. The country’s three southernmost provinces, however, are predominantly Muslim and have been the stage for an ongoing conflict between Buddhists and Muslims that has its origins in a separatist insurgency that began in 1948. Since 2001, the conflict has become increasingly violent and complex.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

  • tweet
Bhutan, WWF Launch US$43m Conservation Program for Protected Ecosystems Trump praises ‘productive’ China talks, but tough action seen ahead

Related articles
  • State Vesak festival to be held in Jaffna this year
    State Vesak festival to be held in...

    Feb 27, 2021 Comments Off on State Vesak festival to be held in Jaffna this year

  • Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
    Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists...

    Feb 25, 2021 Comments Off on Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan

  • The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi
    The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara...

    Feb 23, 2021 Comments Off on The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi

  • Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
    Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

    Feb 22, 2021 Comments Off on Buddha statue at Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

More in this category
  • State Vesak festival to be held in Jaffna this year
    State Vesak festival to be held in...

    Feb 27, 2021 Comments Off on State Vesak festival to be held in Jaffna this year

  • Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan
    Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists...

    Feb 25, 2021 Comments Off on Imran Khan invites Sri Lankan Buddhists to visit Pakistan

  • The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi
    The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara...

    Feb 23, 2021 Comments Off on The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Buddhist Festival in Hanoi

  • Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan
    Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’...

    Feb 20, 2021 Comments Off on Patanjali’s ‘Coronil’ medicine for Covid-19 in Presence of Union Minister Harsh Vardhan


VIDEO NEWS

WEEK IN VIDEO

BUDDHIST CUISINE

  • Buddhist Cuisine-5

    Buddhist Cuisine-5

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Buddhist Cuisine-4

    Buddhist Cuisine-4

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Buddhist Cuisine-3

    Buddhist Cuisine-3

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Buddhist Cuisine-2

    Buddhist Cuisine-2

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Buddhist Cuisine-1

    Buddhist Cuisine-1

    Aug 01, 2019

Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum

Intl Chanting Ceremony Bodhgaya 2019

gallery img (60)
gallery img (47)
gallery img (35)
gallery img (15)
gallery img (38)
gallery img (49)
gallery img (41)
gallery img (27)
gallery img (58)
gallery img (55)
gallery img (53)
gallery img (51)
gallery img (50)
gallery img (46)
gallery img (44)
gallery img (43)
gallery img (42)
gallery img (40)
gallery img (37)
gallery img (33)
gallery img (32)
gallery img (31)
gallery img (30)
gallery img (29)
gallery img (26)
gallery img (24)
gallery img (23)
gallery img (22)
gallery img (21)
gallery img (20)
gallery img (19)
gallery img (18)
gallery img (17)
gallery img (16)
gallery img (14)
gallery img (13)
gallery img (12)
gallery img (11)
gallery img (8)
gallery img (6)
gallery img (5)
gallery img (4)
gallery img (2)
gallery img (1)
gallery img (62)
gallery img (28)
DSC_0180
DSCF7503
DSCF7483
DSCF7475
DSC_0077
DSC_0130

GALLERY

  • Ven. Lama Lobzang -15 January 2016

    Ven. Lama Lobzang -15 January 2016

    Jan 16, 2016
  • Launch buddhisttimes.news at Greater Noida

    Launch buddhisttimes.news at Greater Noida

    Jan 16, 2016
  • Buddhism in Japan

    Buddhism in Japan

    Jan 15, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Jan 09, 2016
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015
  • Dec 30, 2015

Weather

+39
°
C

+39°
+27°

Bodh Gaya
Saturday, 30

See 7-Day Forecast

NOTICE

  • Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, Former Personal Physician to the Dalai Lama, Dies
    Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, Former Personal Physician to the Dalai...

    Nov 27, 2019 Comments Off on Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, Former Personal Physician to the Dalai Lama, Dies

    By  Staff writer Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, 1927–2019....
  • Former Rigpa Head Sogyal Rinpoche Passes Away in Thailand
    Former Rigpa Head Sogyal Rinpoche Passes Away in Thailand

    Aug 29, 2019 Comments Off on Former Rigpa Head Sogyal Rinpoche Passes Away in Thailand

    By Staff Writer On behalf of all members of the...
  • Passing of World-renowned Scholar Jao Tsung-I Mourned
    Passing of World-renowned Scholar Jao Tsung-I Mourned

    Feb 07, 2018 Comments Off on Passing of World-renowned Scholar Jao Tsung-I Mourned

    By Staff Writer On behalf of all members of the...
  • Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche Dies
    Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche Dies

    Feb 17, 2017 Comments Off on Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche Dies

    Respected Tibetan Teacher Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche On behalf...
  • Condolence message on the demise of Ven. Anamaduwe Sri Dhammadassi NayakeThero
    Condolence message on the demise of Ven. Anamaduwe Sri...

    Jun 27, 2016 Comments Off on Condolence message on the demise of Ven. Anamaduwe Sri Dhammadassi NayakeThero

    Ven. Anamaduwe Sri Dhammadassi NayakeThero General...

Inauguration

  • Inauguration 7

    Inauguration 7

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Inauguration 6

    Inauguration 6

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Inauguration 5

    Inauguration 5

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Inauguration 4

    Inauguration 4

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Inauguration 3

    Inauguration 3

    Aug 01, 2019
  • Inauguration 2

    Inauguration 2

    Aug 01, 2019
Copyright budhisttimes.news 2019-20 | All Rights Reserved
Developed & Maintained By Shyamal Sinha Web Design Delhi Web Design Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Services in India Best Website Portfolio Creative Website Desinging Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Comapny India Custom Web Application Development Comapny Wordpress Website Designing Logo Desinging in Delhi Internet Marketing Company Mobile Application Development
  • TECH & SCIENCE
  • BUDDHIST ART/MUSIC
  • UPCOMING PROGRAM