Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by roughly 93.4 percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddhism in Thailand has also become integrated with folk religion (Bon), Hinduism from millennia of Indian influence, and Chinese religions from the large Thai Chinese population. Buddhist temples in Thailand are characterized by tall golden stupas, and the Buddhist architecture of Thailand is similar to that in other Southeast Asian countries, particularly Cambodia and Laos, with which Thailand shares cultural and historical heritages. Thai Buddhism also shares many similarities with Sri Lankan Buddhism. Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Laos are countries with Theravada Buddhist majorities.
Wat Phra Kaew, one of the most sacred wats in Bangkok
Dvaravati period stone dharma wheel, Phra Pathom Chedi National Museum
Phra Pathom Chedi, one of the earliest Buddhist stupas in Thailand, possibly dating to the time of the Ashokan missions
Prang Sam Yot, a Khmer Mahayana Temple in Lopburi, constructed during the reign of Jayavarman VII (c.1181–1218)
Thai temple art and architecture
Thai temple art and architecture is the art and architecture of Buddhist temples in Thailand. Temples are known as wats, from the Pāḷi vāṭa, meaning "enclosure". A temple has an enclosing wall that divides it from the secular world. Temples served as a stabilizing center in these communities because their sacred teachings became a basis of authority and boundaries, their precincts became places of instruction, their regimes of common ownership of property formed them into economic centers, and their functions allowed them to serve at the heart of these communities in a variety of ways.
Interior of Ubosot of Wat Hong Rattanaram, Bangkok
Ubosot, Ho Trai and Chedi (from left to right) of Wat Chiang Man, built in Lanna architecture
Ubosot of Wat Nimmanoradi, Bangkok
Ubosot with multiple front roof located at Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok