Influence of the Making Merit in Theravada Buddhism towards People’s Lifestyle in Fresh Food Market, Nai Muang Sub-district, Muang Buriram District, Buriram Province

Abstract

        This thesis entitled “Influence of the Making Merit in Theravada Buddhism towards People’s Lifestyle in Fresh Food Market, Nai Muang Sub-district, Muang Buriram District, Buriram Province” has three objectives: 1) to study the principle of teaching in the merit in Theravada Buddhism, 2) to study the practice of merit according to the principle of the ordinances of the people’s lifestyle in fresh food market, Nai Muang sub-district, Muang Buriram district, Buriram province and 3) to study the Influence of the merit in Theravada Buddhism towards the people’s lifestyle in fresh food market, Nai Muang sub-district, Muang Buriram district, Buriram province. This thesis deployed the qualitative research methodology by studying documents from the Tripitaka and the Buddhist academic works, as well as field studies where the data were collected from in-depth interviews and observation with 25 key informants. The participants were selected by purposive sampling. Finally, to present the analytic descriptive.

The results of this research were found:

             The principle of teaching merit in Theravada Buddhism states that the Buddhist term “Puñña” means the good deeds that a person has done to rejuvenate his heart, a cleansing of a person’s mind from immorality, a good deed, and happiness, physical, verbal, and mental conduct. The merit is a means for developing a person’s mental quality to a higher level. The merit is significant at the individual level, which is good health, at the social level, which is peace, and at the personal level, which is self-sufficiency. The governance is a society of peace. There are three types of merit: physical merit, verbal merit, and mental merit. The basis of meritorious action is called Puññakiriya-vatthu; there are three kinds, viz, generosity, moral behavior, and mental development. There are three levels of merit in Buddhism: (1) the benefit of present happiness is to bring about the good fortune of the servants, (2) the benefit of higher happiness is the development of a higher level of mind, and (3) the great benefit is the real material benefits of life.

          The practice of merit according to the principle of the ordinances of the people’s lifestyle in the fresh food market, Nai Muang sub-district, Muang Buriram district, Buriram province found that the ordinances related to the merit are important for the way of life in the community in aspects: (1) in terms of lifestyle, people in the community have various forms of merit such as giving alms, offering alms, the annual Kathina ceremony offering, merit of the community robe offering etc., (2) offering alms in various festivals, (3) keeping the five precepts, and eight precepts, (4) intellectual development, including developing the mind and praying in the way of life and listening to sermons on the occasion of important days.

            The Influence of Merit in Theravada Buddhism on the People’s Lifestyle in Fresh Food Market, Nai Muang sub-district, Muang Buriram district, Buriram province found that there were five dimensions; namely, merit has an influence on the lifestyle of people in the community, including the concept of merit, which is a belief in doing good deeds, believing that doing a good deed, results is good, making merit can get the results of merit, and singing can sin. (2) The merit influences the family aspect, i.e., any family that likes to make merit, that family only has peace. Parents are good examples for their children. (3) The merit is influential in the social aspect, i.e., any society has members who like to make merit, and that society will be mutually supportive in various aspects. (4) Merit influences the economy, including the influence of indirect merit, which is the economic stimulus in the community. Finally, (5) merit is influential in the governance aspect, including being a social means to build good relations among people in the community and helping to govern in order.