Buddha is very much alive in Thailand. No Thai passes by a pagoda - the country boasts 36 000 temples - without making a wai, the joining of hands on the forehead as a sign of respect, neither does he fail to kneel in front of every statue of Buddha, were it a gigantic one made of gold or an assembly of stones set among historical ruins. As if there were not enough Buddhas in the country, new ones are built everyday in back alley workshops, or erected as landmark monuments.

As a rite of passage into manhood, young boys are ordained novices for two weeks. Every man is expected to spend some...