
Thai law has a number of special sections concerning religious
offenses, and these cover not only Buddhism, the religion of the
majority of the people, but also any other
faiths
represented in the kingdom It is, for instance, unlawful to commit
nay act, by any means whatever, to an object or a place of religious
worship of any community in a manner likely to insult the religion,
similarly, "whoever causes any disturbance at an assembly
lawfully engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious
ceremonies" is subject to punishment, as well as "whoever
dresses or uses a symbol showing that he is a priest or novice,
holy man or clergyman of any religion unlawfully in order to make
another person believe he is such person."
In less legal language, here are a few tips on what to do and
what not to do on a visit to a religious place:
Dress neatly. Don't
go shirtless, or in shorts, pants, or other unsuitable attire.
If you look at the Thais around you, you'll see the way they would
prefer you to be dressed - which, in fact, is probably not very
different from the way you'd dress in a similar place back home.
It's all right to wear shoes
while walking around the compound of a Buddhist temple, but not
inside the chapel where the principal Buddha image is kept. Don't
worry about dirt when you have to take them off: the floors of
such places are usually clean. In a Muslim mosque, man should
wear head-cover and women should be well-covered with slacks or
a long skirt, a long sleeved blouse buttoned to the neck, and
a scarf over the hair. All should remove their shoes before entering
the mosque and should not be present if there is a religious gathering.
Buddhist priests are forbidden to touch or to be touched by a
woman or to accept any thing from the hand of one. If a woman
has to give anything to a monk or novice, she first hands it to
a man who then presents it. Or in case of a woman who wants to
present it with her hand, the monk or novice will spread out a
piece of saffron robe or handkerchief in front of him, and the
woman will lay down the material on the robe which is being held
at one end by the monk or novice. All Buddha images, large or
small, ruined or not, are regarded as sacred objects. Hence, don't
climb up on one to take a photograph or, generally speaking, do
anything that might show a lack of respect.