Portrait of a young Buddhist monk taken in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

I’m usually pretty good at getting up early. It’s part of the job description for photographers. But this Sunday was a struggle, thanks to a little over-indulgence with friends the night before.

I almost persuaded myself to stay in bed rather than get up at 5 am and head to Rajprasong in central Bangkok for the last of three annual mass almsgiving ceremonies.

I’ve been to a couple of these in the past so it wasn’t essential for me to go again but I’m glad I made the effort because there’s some great photo-opportunities to be had.

The almsgiving is organized in most part by the  Dhammakaya which is located at a huge temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. This controversial foundation is skilled at staging high profile and visually dramatic events, and is popular with a certain segment of the Thai middle class.

On Sunday, as part of Buddhist Lent, the almsgiving was held to honour the Triple Gem, namely Buddha, Dharma and Sangha or the Lord Buddha, his teachings and the Buddhist community.

At 5.30 a.m., ten thousand saffron-robed monks who had been bussed in for the occasion gathered in downtown Bangkok for a prayer ceremony. This was followed by the almsgiving by an equally large number of followers, all dressed in white.

The offerings, mainly dried instant noodles, rice, UHT drinks and coffee powder will be distributed by the army to temples in the troubled southern provinces where daily violence by militant Muslims has made it difficult for monks to go out to receive alms.

Despite the large turnout at the event, it must be said that a lot of Thai Buddhists don’t like these large-scale gatherings because of the involvement of Dhammakaya, an organization that is viewed by many as placing too much emphasis on financial contributions.

The entire event is extremely well organised and runs like clockwork. Plastic sheeting laid out on the road in front of Gaysorn Plaza and Central World have clearly defined areas for worshippers to sit and monks to walk.

After prayers, the monks proceed down the walkway and are presented with offerings. Once the bowls are full, young soldiers empty the the contents into plastic sacks so more offerings can be made.

Those who can’t find a place to sit simply stand at the side of the road and pray.

The majority of those taking part in the ceremony wear white clothing.

Many novice monks take part in the event.

Individual donations are small but plentiful and truckloads of items are collected to be sent down south.

There’s no shortage of colourful characters.

Once the ceremony is over, the monks gather in groups and head back to their buses. The road is then quickly cleared and Bangkok’s notorious traffic returns.

I’ve always found large gatherings of people or any so-called mass consciousness rather disturbing to be around. The herd instinct if you like. It is even more unsettling when it is a religious event.

On Sunday I went to photograph the final day of a series of large scale alms giving ceremonies that have been carried out around Thailand to celebrate the 2,600th anniversary of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment. Each event has seen 30,000 monks (one million in all) and thousands of followers gather for prayers. Much of the food collected has also been donated to Buddhists in the south, an area experiencing increasingly violent separatist unrest by Muslims. The final gathering was held near Wongwian Yai in Bangkok.

Although you cannot deny the visual impact of the gathering (as a photographer that is of course why I was there, I found the whole thing distinctly creepy. The fact Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Bangkok temple known for aggressive fundraising, was the main organiser didn’t help. Like all religions, the Buddhist institution is riddled with corruption and cultism.

The ceremony started at 6 a.m. and lasted just over two hours. Of course the prayers were interspersed with plenty of requests to part with your money. The underlying theme seemed to be ‘Practice non-attachment, particularly to your money, land and property – it’s ok, we’ll take care of it for you’. Alas, the call for money is all too frequently heard at Buddhist temples these days .

What Buddha would have thought of it, we can only guess.

The photo above shows some followers at the event being greeted by monks. The ladies were seemingly oblivious to the backdrop. The writing says ‘Nude Resort’.

The former capital Rakhine State in western Myanmar (Burma), Mrauk U – pronounced Mror Oo – is an atmospheric town and home to many beautiful ancient temples. It is reached following a 6 hour boat journey from Sittwe. Although the area currently welcomes few tourists that will soon change and won’t be too long before an airstrip opens to cut out the boat trip.

The town and surrounding countryside is scattered with temple ruins, many of which are still used by local people and monks.

I was lucky enough to be there on the night of the full moon, always a special time to be at a temple in Myanmar, and get some nice shot of monks relaxing as the sun set.

You can see more images in the Portfolio section.