 Buddhism was originated in Northern India by Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama was born around 563 BCE (Before Common Era) in Lumbini which is known in modern day as Nepal. At the age of 29, Gautam departed his wife, children and political involvements in order to seek truth. At that particular time it was an accepted way for men to leave their family and lead into the life of an abstinent. Gautama studied Brahmanism, but eventually rejected it. In 535 BCE, he attained enlightenment and assumed the title Buddha, meaning the one who has awakened.
Gautam is also referred to as the Sakyamuni, (sage of the Sakya clan). He promoted The Middle Way, rejecting both extremes of the mortification of the flesh and of hedonism as paths toward the state of Nirvana. His means lead to many disciples and accumulated a large public following by the time of his death in his early 80's in 483 BCE.
250 years later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called the Tripitaka. The collections included large commentaries and traditions; most are called Sutras (discourses). Buddhism later expanded across Asia with two main forms:
Theravada Buddhism (called Southern Buddhism; sometime spelled Therevada) is the major school of Buddhism in most of Southeast Asia since the 13th century, such as Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
Mahayana Buddhism (called Northern Buddhism) is largely found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia. The added Tibetan Buddhism was developed in segregation from Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism because of Tibet being isolated.
THAILAND BUDDHISM
About 94% of Thailand populations are Buddhist. The Lord Buddha, The Dhamma, (the way he taught) which can lead to Enlightenment and Nirvana, and the Noble Order of Enlightened. Religion plays a central part of community life and the temple offers refuge for those seeking consolation. Often the father of the family retires to the temple after the death of his wife. Practically most male Buddhist will become a monk for at least a short period. Some males even commend for life.
The monks follow a simple life which starts early in the morning. They walk around the areas adjacent to the temple to receive alms from the local community. This is where practically all of their food comes from.
Young boy cannot become a monk until he reaches the age of twenty. He can then continue as a monk for as long as he wishes, even for just one day.
All monks are given specific duties in running and maintaining the temple. After being in the monkshood for several years and demonstrating extreme commitment to both social work and spiritual study, a monk can be promoted gradually until he reaches the Sangha Supreme Council; the governing body presided over by the Supreme Patriarch.
All monks must follow 227 strict teachings of conduct, many of which concern his relations with members of the opposite sex. When a monk is ordained he is said to be reborn into a new life and the past no longer counts - not even if he was married.
Women are forbidden to touch a monk, not even staying alone in the same room. If a woman wishes to offer something to a monk, she must pass through piece of cloth. Monk always carries a piece of cloth for this purpose. The monk will lay the cloth on the ground or table, holding on to one end. The woman places the offering on the cloth and the monk then draws it away.
Thai monks can be seen wearing diverse shades of robes, from dark brown to the familiar brilliant saffron. There are no rules, but the darker shades are preferred by monks in the Dharmmayuth faction and Thu-dong or forest monks.
To read more about Thailand Buddhisim go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Thailand/
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