Abstract:
The research entitled "The Enhancement of the Buddhist Organizational Network for Sustainable Social Development" had its objectives to study the social development of the Buddhist organization in Chachoengsao Province, to study the building of the Buddhist organizational network for sustainable social evelopment, and to analyze the network and the propulsion of the Buddhist organization for sustainable social development. The population used in this study research were administrators, staff, and scholars. The researchers used a purposive sampling method to select the divisions relating to the building of the Buddhist organization network, organizations which took part and had an involvement in the process of enhancing the Buddhist social development network were 1) Chachoengsao Provincial Office of Buddhism, 2) Cultural Office of Chachoengsao Province, 3) Buddhasothorn Buddhist College, 4) Buddhist Temple: Wat Veerachote Dhammaram, 5) Buddhist Temple: Wat Samanrattanaram, and 6) Pothiwanna Foundation for the sampling size of 20 persons. The tool in this study was an in-depth interview.
The results were found that:
1. The result in the social development of the Buddhist organizations in Chachoengsao province was revealed that there were various types of the social development through the form of activity arrangement called 'project'. This focused on the social development to be a moral society by firstly promoting morality and ethics to the people, then expanded to divisions, organizations, and provinces. This aimed to enhance and develop the society to be a moral society with a sustainable strength covering all areas. It aimed at enhancement and development of the society to be a moral society where the people could live their lives following the teachings of any respectful own religion, with the philosophy of sustainable economy and the way of virtuous Thai culture. So, the people would be happy and lived a good quality of life with the short-term and long-term development plans in the forms of activity and project.
2. For the building of the Buddhist organizational network for sustainable social development, it was found that the Buddhist organizations in Chachoengsao province had cooperated to build up a network for sustainable social development. In building up this provincial organizational network, its character was both MOU of the mutual agreement with writing and non-writing. When there were either activity arrangement or important project which would be beneficial toward the society and the whole community, all organizations would cooperate and help each other well.
3. For the analysis of the network and the propulsion of the Buddhist organization, it was found out that the Buddhist organizations in Chachoengsao province aimed at developing their people to have morality and ethics through the focus on the mental development as well as the learning in order to promote strong community and society which was the firm foundation of a country. In propelling the Buddhism, it was necessary to rely on cooperation from all sectarian parts. Then in order for the propulsion of Buddhism to be affect in practice, it required a very close working together for every unit and the continuous cooperation. To do so, it had to follow these steps: 1) to study the fundamental background of the targeted network, 2) to enter the area to meet the leaders of the different network, 3) to arrange the meeting for building understanding with unit leaders, organizations, communities which were the targeted networks and this would be the platform in exchanging the mutual learning, 4) to build an apprehension of the members in communities, organizations, and targeted networks by arranging the community meeting in the communities or among members of the organizations, and 5) to integrate the social development operation together with the networks closely through the activities and projects for the sustainable social development continuously.
Keywords: Network Propulsion, Buddhist Organization, Sustainable Social Development