Ceremony of great merit
The Isan ceremony Boon Phaves is not known among many people outside the northeast of Thailand. Boon means merit-making and Phaves means Phra Vessantara, the Lord Buddha’s most recent previous life, which was devoted to giving. The heart of this ceremony is Thes Mahachart, the delivering of sermons on the theme of “Vessantara Jataka”, the life of Phra Vessantara.