Abstract:
The objectives of this study were: 1) To study the behavior of the people following the teachings of the Lord Buddha, 5 Precepts; 2) To understand the ways of conduct before and after entering the 5 Precepts and if the results showed any differences with public participation and with the government; 3) To provide recommendations for education development and practice for benefits, happiness, prosperity, and peace to all groups of society and the nation. This study was qualitative research and analyzed data from relevant documents. Interviews were conducted with senior executives of Hua Ngom Subdistrict Administration Organization, namely the President, Deputy Chief Executive, Head of the Office of the Chief Executive, Abbot of Suthiwararam Temple, Abbot of Wat Si Mueang Moon and Village Headman of Moo 4,8,9 (through sampling) related to the reconciliation project using Buddhist principles, Village to Observe the 5 Precepts, for a total of 8 people.
The results found that the overall problems in Thai society result from numerous problems, causing changes in the economy, society, politics, and the ruling elite. Corruption in morality leads to social inequality, which is considered a significant problem in the community and causes problems of selfishness and a lack of unity that leads to problems for national development. Therefore, the society must be encouraged to gain immunity and eliminate the problem by bringing the teachings of the Master to be instilled in the minds of the people in order to understand and be afraid of sin, then refrain from evil deeds which are the source of selfishness that causes trouble and act against the 5 Precepts. After the people of Hua Ngom district learned to become a righteous person through applying the five principles of Dhamma from 2014-2020, results showed that they had become afraid of sin, seen that the way of life had changed for the good, along with lowered drug usage, honest people, and the community became more peaceful.
However, creating virtuous habits within people is a delicate matter, because observing the 5 Precepts requires spiritual cultivation over a long period to create good people and habits. Mindfulness, civil actions, and speech would uphold the 5 Precepts, true happiness, and societal peace according to the teachings of the Master and would persist naturally and become sustainable forever. Therefore, the regular learning of the principles of the 5 Precepts for proper understanding and guidelines are especially important.
Suggestions for future research should consider further quantitative studies to collect more data and analyze it according to indicators of scientific processes, which would provide evidence and test the confidence level of the data in more comprehensive manner.
Keywords: 5 precepts, Dharma, Buddhas teachings, Hua Ngom sub-district.