What to Do At the Wat: Advice for Visiting a Buddhist Temple

Ryan Farley | March 4, 2016

Don’t Forget to Feed the Fish!

Finally, we have some activities where you can rest easy. Breaching ancient etiquette is much harder for these, and ideally this is where you’ll get a chance to chat casually with the monks and have some fun.

Nearly every temple will have some type of karma activity where you interact with nature. The most of common of these is feeding fish in a nearby stream or pond, but releasing birds from cages is another one you may see. For these, a sign will be posted with the price of the fish food (or bird cage), usually paid on the honor system, and off you go.

Keep an eye out for wandering monks, if they are in this area they are available to hang out with and LOVE seeing foreigners at the temple.

Ryan Farley / Own Work

Going to a Buddhist temple can seem incredibly intimidating, and I’m sure that to a certain extent I have reinforced this notion. Like everything in Thailand, wear a polite smile and wai constantly and the orange clad men who call these beautiful grounds home will welcome you with open arms. After all, one of the most important tenants of Buddhism is joy and happiness. These men study the teachings of Buddha, and those teachings say, “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

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