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Story: Thais

Buddhist monks

Buddhist monks

Buddhist monks Daeng (left) and Pakorn sit on the building site of their future temple in Kaitemako Road, Welcome Bay, in the Bay of Plenty. Most Thais in New Zealand are Buddhists. Theravada Buddhism, with its focus on tolerance and acceptance, has been the predominant religion in Thailand for centuries.

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How to cite this page

Rosa Chhun, Thais – Religion and community, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1098/buddhist-monks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rosa Chhun, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.

Comments

Jelle
25 January 2016
Dear monks I recently started to explore meditation as a tool to bring me closer to god, I'm a Christian but traditional churches do not do anything for me and would like some assistance getting closer to god through meditation as it is hard o for me to focus my mind and block out my thoughts. Life has been a huge struggle in every way imaginable and this is pretty much the only way I seem to be able to get some peace so would be great to become more adept with meditation. Can you please advise me of any monks in the bay of plenty area that could help, kind regards Jelle van gestel
Daniel
19 December 2014
Is the temple complete? I need guidance of the monks, but don't know how to start?
Neil
21 March 2011
One doesn't have to be a Buddhist to assimilate wise learning from Buddhist culture. I am fascinated by it, tolerance and acceptance have become part of my behavior and vocabulary since I last read a book on Buddha Maitreya.