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Thailand has complete freedom of worship that is protected by the constitution. Today in Thailand, there are followers of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity but Buddhism is the faith of about 94% of the Thai population.
The type of Buddhism practised in Thailand is “Theravada”, (“the Elder Tradition”), as opposed to Tibetan Buddhism (“Mahayana”). The Theravada tradition is based on the way to enlightenment for the individual, whereas the Mahayana tradition lays more emphasis on service to and compassion for others.
Buddhism may have been introduced to the country by missionaries sent out from 
India during the reign of King Ashoka Maurya, who became emperor of India about 268BC. Through conquest Ashoka made his empire the largest to be seen till the days of the British Raj. After a particularly bloody campaign, Ashoka realised the cruelty of his ways, and for the remainder of his long reign promoted Buddhism in India, and, according to Sinhalese historians, sent missionaries to South East Asia.
From the 5th to the 15th century, the dominant power in the area was the Khmer empire, in which various forms of Hinduism & Mahayana Buddhism were popular. There were in fact various schools of Buddhism, with the Mon people of Haripunjaya in northern Thailand being followers of Theravada. The Thai people who came into northern Thailand from Southern China in the 13th century, had been adherents of the elaborate Mahayana tradition but found the Theravada tradition more congenial. The Theravada received royal patronage and before long replaced its rivals.
The Buddha, whose personal name was Siddhattha Gotama, came from a family known as the Sakyas, and was born at Kapilavatthu in the foothills of the Himalayas in about 566BC. He came from a wealthy family and led a sheltered and privileged life till he reached the age of twenty-nine. Having been protected by his parents from anything to do with the harsh realities of life, he was horrified to discover that he too, as a mortal being, was subject to the trials of birth, disease, old age and death. He left behind his wealth & family to go in search of spiritual knowledge.
The Buddha studied under various teachers, practising austerities and learning meditation techniques, until, seeing that the solution lay in following the “middle way” between extremes, he attained Nibbana (Nirvana), (the state of complete awakening), seated under a large tree, later known as the Bodhi Tree or "Tree of Enlightenment". He devoted the rest of his life to preaching his Way, and died in about 486BC.
The heart of the Buddha’s teaching lies in the Four Noble Truths: that all life is suffering; that the cause of suffering is desire, craving & expectation; that the end of suffering is Nibbana; and that the way to end suffering is to follow the eightfold path – that is: the Middle Way, of Wisdom, Morality & Meditation, which is as follows:
The Eightfold Path is a path of self-transformation in which a person is oriented from selfish, limited objectives towards a horizon of possibilities & opportunities for fulfilment.
Since the time of the Buddha, there have been Councils held to revise Buddhist doctrines & practices. In 1477 the Eighth World Buddhist Council met at Wat Jet Yod in Chiang Mai.
One of the most familiar aspects of Buddhism is "Karma", which is well-expressed in the Thai proverb: "Tham dee, dai dee; th
am chua, dai chua", which translates as "good deeds get good results, bad deeds get bad results".
It is common in Thailand for a man or young boy, to ordain as a monk for a short time, to "make merit", perhaps for his parents, or because of social pressure to do so. All government departments and many private companies allow up to four months "ordination leave" for their male employees.