COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN PROMOTING THE UMBAT KAO WAT TRADITION OF WAT UTHAYAN AT BANG KRUAI DISTRICT IN NONTHABURI PROVINCE

Abstract

Objectives of this research article were: 1. to study the level of community participation in promoting the Umbat (carrying alms bowls to the temple) tradition, 2. to study factors influencing community participation in promoting this tradition, and 3. to present the community participation in promoting the Um Bat tradition at Wat Uthayan, Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province. A mixed-methods research design was employed. For the quantitative research, a questionnaire with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.950 was distributed to 399 samples. The statistics used included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. For the qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 key informants, and the data were analyzed using descriptive content interpretation.

The findings revealed that: 1. The overall development of community participation in promoting the Um Bat tradition at Wat Uthayan, Bang Kruai District, Nonthaburi Province was at a high level. 2. The application of the PDCA cycle significantly influenced the development of community participation in promoting the Um Bat tradition, predicting 86.2% of the variance, while the six principles of Saraniya Dhamma jointly predicted by 33.5%. 3. The application of the six principles of Saraniya Dhamma to enhance community participation in promoting the Um Bat Khao Wat tradition was also found to be at a high level, consisting of: 3.1 Metta-kayakamma, acts of goodwill,-community members participated in meetings, planning, and jointly proposing ideas; 3.2 Metta-vacikamma, kind speech, during decision-making processes; 3.3 Metta-manokamma, thoughts of goodwill, participants demonstrated goodwill and positive intentions toward one another; 3.4 Sadharanabhogi, sharing of resources,-members exchanged information and resources for the common good; 3.5 Silasamanyata, moral harmony, participants conducted themselves with honesty and adhered to shared ethical principles; and 3.6 Ditthisamanattata, harmony in views, all parties shared a common perspective and goals.