Making Merit, Making Waste: Buddhist Offerings and Environmental Sustainability in Contemporary Thailand

Abstract

This article examines the environmental impact of popular offerings to Buddhist monks in contemporary Thailand. The two most common types of offerings to monks, morning food donations (pindapata) and monastic gift sets (sanghadāna), are analyzed from the perspective of environmental sustainability. While these offerings constitute important material interactions between the laity and Thai Buddhist monks, they are also significant sources of plastic waste. This research estimates, for example, that every year approximately 750 million single-use plastic bags are donated to Thai monks in morning food offerings. The relationship between these offering practices and the Thai Buddhist monastic code (Vinaya) is examined through the lens of sustainability. Efforts to reduce the negative environmental consequences of Thai Buddhist offering practices are also presented in this research. Methods to address these problems include increased use of tiffin and leaf wrappers, donation of food directly to temples, and other more sustainable options to current practices.