Lao Buddhism, as a cultural form of Theravāda, is structured around merit-making and temple-centered devotion, yet it is deeply interwoven with animistic sensibilities. Merit (bun) is cultivated through giving to monks and temples, sponsoring ordinations and festivals, observing holy days, and engaging in acts such as almsgiving and listening to sermons. Laypeople commonly support the sangha with daily food offerings, maintain temple buildings, and participate in the cycle of Buddhist festivals such as Boun Phra Wet and Boun Khao Phansa, which mark key points in the ritual year. Chanting of Pali suttas and local Buddhist texts, along with basic meditation practices—often oriented toward calm and mindfulness—form part of the devotional rhythm, even if intensive meditation is not the primary focus for most. Temporary ordination, especially for young men during the rainy season, is regarded as a significant expression of piety and a powerful means of generating merit for oneself and one’s family.

Alongside these canonical Theravāda elements, Lao religious life gives sustained attention to the world of spirits (phi), which are understood to inhabit houses, villages, ancestral lines, and territories. Offerings are made at household and village spirit shrines, and guardian spirits may be propitiated before major undertakings or during times of communal vulnerability. Spirit specialists or mediums are consulted for healing, protection, and guidance, and protective rituals may involve the consecration of amulets or the use of sacred formulas. In this way, observance of Buddhist precepts and participation in temple rituals coexist with taboos and obligations directed toward an unseen spirit world, creating a layered moral and ritual landscape.

A particularly distinctive expression of this synthesis is the baci (su khuan) ceremony, in which the “vital essences” or souls of a person are ritually called back and harmonized. Performed at moments of transition—such as departures, returns, illness, or life-cycle events—this rite brings together Buddhist chanting, blessings from elders or monks, and offerings to benevolent spirits. The tying of white strings around the wrists symbolizes both communal support and the re-gathering of one’s scattered vitality. Similar blending appears in funeral and healing rites, agricultural ceremonies, and other communal observances, where Buddhist understandings of karma and merit are addressed alongside the need to appease or negotiate with spirits.

Through this ongoing interplay of temple-based Theravāda and animistic practice, Lao Buddhism fashions a religious world that is at once doctrinally Buddhist and intimately responsive to local landscapes, ancestors, and unseen powers. Merit-making, monastic support, and festival observance provide a shared ethical and ritual framework, while spirit veneration, baci rituals, and protective practices address the vulnerabilities and contingencies of everyday life. The result is not two separate systems awkwardly joined, but a single, integrated religious field in which the quest for liberation, the search for protection, and the maintenance of social harmony are pursued together.