12,500 Monk Alms Walk

On Sunday, November 28th, 2010, some 12,500 Buddhist monks gathered in Chiang Mai for a special alms walk.  Food was collected for the monks who live in the three southern provinces of Thailand. Because of the unrest in the south, it is no longer safe for monks to go out on their morning alms. 



The event was organized by the Dhammakaya Temple, the largest in all of Thailand.  Dhammakaya has a rather unique Buddha figure.



In addition to the thousands of monks, there were thousands of Thai who came to give food to the monks.



The special alms walk was organized by the Dhammakaya Temple.  I have never visited this temple, so downloaded this photo from the internet.  It is located in a province north of Bangkok and is Thailand's largest Buddhist temple. 



The street turned orange during this special alms walk.



People giving food to the monks. 



Long lines of monks, walking through the crowds  who gave them food for the monks in the south of Thailand.



Buddha figure at the special alms walk,

 

Soldiers walked with the monks, to receive the food once the monk's bowl was full.  The food people gave, was prepackaged so it could be sent to the south.



It is said 1,000,000 people can meditate at the same time at the Dhammakaya Temple.