chownah wrote:
You have to understand (actually you don't have to) that in Thai culture the temple is a civic centre as well as a religious center. In my village just about all community get togethers happen at the temple grounds which means that although some westerners might think that some of what goes on is inappropriate it should also be realized that it does tend to keep some activities from getting too far out of hand which is a blessing for the community.
chownah
That makes a lot of sense, for Thai culture anyway. I'd hesitate to say the same about Buddhist temples in the United States, though. Maybe some Christian Churches that hold a lot of community activities would be the closest parallel over here.