I think that alell rigions are the same; when they move to a new country they take on a local feel. Before the arrival of Buddhism, Thailand’s religion was Animism. This involved worshipping and fearing ghosts and ghouls. When Buddhism arrived it needed to soak up some of these beliefs in order to become accepted; the two beliefs became mixed up. The same thing happened with Christianity in my home country Ireland; there you can easily spot how the old religion still influences the new one.

Thailand is predominately a Buddhist country, and you can see the influence of this everywhere. I think that this philosophy has been a great boom to the country, and it has benefited people’s lives. I considered myself a bit of a Buddhist long before arriving in Thailand, but I’m more of a philosophical Buddhist. Thai Buddhism can sometimes seem a bit strange to me; likewise many of my ideas about Buddhism can seem strange to a Thai.