THE ROLE IN PUBLIC WELFARE OF WAT KHAO SALA ATULLA THANACHARO BUDDHIST PARK

Abstract

At present, the Buddhist park of Khao Sala Atulla Thanacharo temple has fertile forest conditions in Surin province that the Tourism Authority of Thailand has promoted the temple to be an eco-cultural tourism destination with a model footprint of the Buddha indicating the ancient civilization of ancient Khmer and the Fine Arts Department has registered Pha Nangkoy or Nangkoy cliff as Pha Phra or Phra cliff. All of these developments are the products attained from the conservation of forest resources of monks in Buddhism. Therefore, Buddhism for society of Khao Sala Atulla Thanacharo temple can be concluded in 2 statuses including: The principal status is to interpret the principles of Buddhism to cover all aspects of society through introducing the principles of Buddhism to apply for the benefit of the majority of the society and adjust the pattern to be a more social phenomenon; and the operational status including the process of activities for social benefit as well as mental development. Moreover, it is also the adjustment of the religious propagation model that does not only focus on Dhamma preaching and meditation teaching, but also propagate in forms of social welfare with the responsibility in solving social problems in all eras.  This deals with the responsibility of social movement process including the rehabilitation and conservation of natural resources, ecological environment and all living things.