CREATING RELIGIOUS HEIRS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

Buddhism flourishes in Thailand, influencing the refinement of people in Thai society, with monks and novices being an important mechanism for spreading Buddhism and continuing the teachings of the Lord Buddha. Currently, the trend of monks and novices in Thailand in 2025 has been declining continuously. Although the overall number of monks and novices is still large, most monks and novices live in large temples in the city. Small temples outside the city have very few monks and novices. Most temples outside the city district have fewer than 10 monks and novices, and large provinces in Thailand have many monks and novices, such as Bangkok, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima and Buriram. The reason why monks and novices live in temples in large cities is because there are factors supporting their education and facilities for continuing Buddhism. Temples in small districts and remote communities have very few monks and novices because of lack of resources, etc. Each temple has less than 5 monks. In addition, many monks are elderly monks. The number of young monks and novices is critically low. Most young monks ordain for a short period of time. The burden of continuing Buddhism falls on the elderly monks. A number of novices ordain to study and practice Dhamma in order to create religious heirs to continue Buddhism systematically. Start supporting the youth to ordain and study, support novices to ordain and continue to study as monks, create religious heirs who uphold the Tripitaka, and spread Buddhism in the 21st century. Start the process of continuing Buddhism in Thailand. Expand the education of the Sangha to cover every temple in every sub-district. Adjust the form of educational activities of the Sangha. Increase the number of religious heirs. Help develop the quality of life during the monkhood or even after disrobing. They can use their knowledge to develop their own quality of life and society. Help continue the teachings of Buddhism.