In Thailand approximately 95% of the population is Buddhist, which means that the country is chock-full of breathtaking temples (wat in Thai), elaborately carved statues of the Buddha, and saffron-coloured-robe clad monks (approx. 460,000 of them!).

It is an expectation across the country that EVERY Thai male will become a monk for at least a short period in their life.

This practice, much like compulsory military service in countries like South Korea, usually occurs between the completion of school and the beginning of a career or marriage. It is not unusual however for males under the age of 20 to ‘take robe and bowl’ as novices, because a family earns great merit when a son becomes a monk.

The time spent in a wat is traditionally supposed to last for three months and take place during the Buddhist version of lent that begins in July and coincides with the monsoon season.

Nowadays. however. most men spend as little as a week in the temple in order to accrue merit as a monk.

As is the case in most organized religions, women do not have the same status as men, and are not permitted to become monks. Outnumbered by them almost 50 to 1 — I never actually saw one when I was in Thailand — these female devotees to Buddha shave their heads, wear white robes, and are called nuns.

“It is an expectation across the country that EVERY Thai male will become a monk for at least a short period in their life”

The lower status of women in Buddhist practice was even more obvious to me when I learned that one of the 250 rules that monks follow is that they are not allowed to touch or be touched by women.

If you are female and want to give them alms or food, you must set the offering nearby or on their receiving cloth.

If you so much as brush against a monk on the crowded streets or water taxis of Thailand, they will have to return to the temple and perform rituals (think Silas from The DaVinci Code but less extreme) to cleanse themselves of your touch.

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Even though it was located in the middle of a huge city, behind the stone walls that surrounded the ancient Buddhist complex, all was quiet.

After walking under a red pillared passageway, grey, weathered stone steps led me up to the main temple.

A 3-tiered grey stone pagoda sat in the middle of the dusty square in front of the temple, white pillar candles, and incense burning on a raised platform in front of it. Whoever had lit the flames was nowhere to be seen.

The temple itself, the center of all religious activity, was brown with elaborately painted vines and flowers covering the doors and window frames.

Not wanting to interrupt any ceremonies being performed inside, I sat on its steps carved with stone dragons, listening to the slow, strong chanting coming through the cracks in the huge wooden lattice doors.

It was a beautiful building — the sides were painted with intricate murals showing parts of the Buddha’s life and carved stone lotus flowers embellished the eaves and pillars. Abandoning my spot on the stairs for a closer look at the murals, I was shocked to see a huge swastika, painted in yellow, on the side of the temple.

My shock continued to grow as I walked throughout the rest of the complex and noticed swastikas on other buildings, and on statues of the Buddha as well.

The swastika as a religious symbol

It wasn’t until I got home and had the Internet at my fingertips that I learned that the swastika had been a symbol of Buddhism for thousands of years before the Nazi party of Germany adopted it as their own.

Representing good luck and well-being, the symbol is most commonly used in India but is also found in both the ancient and modern art of Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Native Americans, Persians, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists.

In Buddhism, it also represents auspiciousness, the Buddha’s footprints, and the Buddha’s heart. Often used to mark the beginning of Buddhist texts, it is usually only found on buildings in South Korea.

The corruption of the symbol

In the twentieth century, the swastika was corrupted by the Nazi party (much like the Ku Klux Klan did to the Christian Cross, but with a lesser impact).

Despite the fact that the Nazi version of the symbol is drawn at an angle, with the crisscrossing lines running diagonally while the Buddhist version lies flat, most people in the Western World now look at any version of it as a symbol of evil and see nothing more.

Ironic, considering its original representation of peace, life, and joy.