There is an old Thai proverb – if you do good, you will receive good, if you do evil, you will receive evil. It is all about karma. It would not be wrong to suggest that merit-making has been the way of life for most Thai people. Making merit could be done for numerous reasons. However, the most common reason would be when starting a new business, the Thai people would conduct Company Merit Making (ทำบุญ บริษัท, which is the term in Thai). It would be done for the success of the company.
Ways Of Merit Making
There have been a few ways of making merit. Foremost, you could give alms. You might come across numerous monks walking up and down the streets of Thailand with empty bowls. It would be an opportunity for the people to gain merit by filling the bowls of monks with food. It would be worth mentioning here that monks are forbidden to store or cook food. As a result, through the process, the monks are fed and the person gains merit. A majority of small stores and temples have people selling alms baskets, candles, small beach buckets filled with rice, flashlight, incense, and various other things required by the monks. Consequently, these baskets would be given to the monks at the temple giving people a chance to gain merit. Rest assured that being generous to the less fortunate has been a huge staple in the merit-making process. In the Company Merit Making process, the monks would pray for the success of the business by seeking the blessing of Buddha. The business owners would choose an auspicious day and date, invite the Buddha, and prepare food for Buddha, monks, the shrine, and the guests. It would be vital for the business owners to organize a monk ceremony for Company Merit Making.
Yet another way to make merit would be through prayer. It would be done at the local temple. It would open the mind to the spiritual side, thereby, gaining merit.
Numerous Chances To Make Merit Everywhere
You would be given several chances to make merit almost everywhere you go in Thailand. Children carry several small cages of various colors with small birds inside around temples. The belief goes that releasing these birds at the temple and giving them their freedom would help you gain merit. You could also buy an alms bucket to give to the monks near the temple.
Making merit is the path to gaining happiness in this life and earning a better position in the next life.