is widely believed by Thais, that theirs was one of the
countries that Asoka sent Buddhist missionaries to in the 3rd
century BC. While this is quite possible, there is at present no
evidence to support this belief. However by the 6th century AD
Buddhism was well established in south and central areas of what
is now Thailand. Later Mahayana and Tantra together with
Hinduism became the prominent religions. But in the 13th and
14th centuries monks from Sri Lanka succeeded in establishing
Theravada Buddhism and it has remained the state religion ever
since. having been conquered by the colonial powers, Thailand
was never subjected to assaults by Christian missionaries or
imposed Western influence, and today some 94% of Thais call
themselves Buddhists. In the 19th century King Mongkut, himself
a former monk, conducted a campaign to reform and modernise the
monkhood, a movement that has continued in the present century
under the inspiration of several great ascetic monks from the
north-east of the country. The Wes