Abstract

          This research is of 4 objectives :-  1) to study the concept and the principle in volunteer spirit working,  2) to study the Buddhist concept and the principle in volunteer spirit working,  3) to study the experiences in volunteer spirit working of the exemplary persons and the volunteering organizations in Thailand  4) to integrate the Buddhist concepts and principles in volunteer spirit working, including the concepts and principles in volunteer spirit working , as well as the experiences in volunteer spirit working of the exemplary persons and the volunteering organizations in Thailand.       The said points include the presenting of the new theory – “The principle of the integrating Buddhist volunteer spirit working” in order to apply them to the volunteer spirit working.    

            From the research, it is found that the meaning and concept of volunteer spirit in the present societies means the volunteer spirit for helping other people to be free from suffering in different ways or helping other people to be happy or to live better without the hoping for any compensation.  It is not the silent mind, when it comes across the problems and the suffering arising to other people and societies. The volunteer spirit is the mind ready to sacrifice the time, the labour force, the mind, the wealth and the intelligence for good result to others and to the public benefit including the doing of goodness to societies and the environment.

            As for the Buddhist concept and principle in volunteer spirit working in this research, the word and concept of the volunteer spirit was not enacted in the Tipiṭaka, but Buddhism is of the concept about the volunteer spirit appearing also in                   the Buddha’s teaching and the Buddha’s words including the disciples’ conducts (Cariyā), especially in the point of having the loving – kindness (Mettā), the compassion (Karuṇā), the sacrifice and desire to help other people be free from suffering and achieve happiness and benefit without any compensation. The Buddha’s conducts (Buddha - Cariyā) consist of pure compassion (Karuṇā) without defilements.                The researcher thinks  that the Buddha’ s virtue and the Buddha’s working principle for helping the living creatures can bring to be a convention or concept for application to volunteer spirit working suitable in the present societies, such as the Buddha’s virtues (Buddhaguṇas) called wisdom (Pañña), purity (Visuddhi) and compassion (Karuṇā) including the Buddha’s working principles for helping the living creatures to be free from the problems and the suffering both of the mundane happiness and the supermundane one through the Buddha’s conducts (Buddha - cariyā) i.e. Lokattha – cariyā, ñātattha – cariyā and Buddhattha – cariyā, including the many Dhamma principles.

            As for the meaning and the concept of volunteer spirit from the experiences of the exemplary persons and the three volunteering organizations in Thailand, the volunteer spirit means :-  having the good desire and the desire to help the other people or helping other people or any person who are suffering or having problem including the practice for public with self-sacrifice from the pure mind and the volunteering without the hope for any compensation.  The method and the principle of volunteer spirit working have different types.  However the volunteer spirit working mainly holds the helped person’s benefit and happiness.

            From the final objective of this research, the researcher has integrated the three concepts for the new theory :– Regarding “The principle of the integrating Buddhist volunteer spirit working” in order to apply it to the way of volunteer spirit working at the present time, the researcher created and presented the concept and the model of the principle of the integrating Buddhist volunteer spirit working that has been divided to be “the concept” that emphasises to the creation of the understanding or the  inside-mind quality by the application of the Buddha’s virtues (Buddhaguṇas), the Buddha’s conducts (Buddha-cariyā) and the Buddha’ s Dhamma together with the outside preparation for the volunteer spirit working and then into the practical part by using the methods for being the ways to integrately help the others through four categories of volunteer spirit working  :-  (1) the physical side, (2)    the mental side, (3) the intellectual side and (4) the social side, all of which will support and help both the donation of requisites (things) and the donation of Dhamma (especially the knowledge of Dhamma or the truth for solving the suffering problems) the fact of which has been emphasized, including the application of modern managership for administration of volunteer spirit working leading to “expected result” which is the happening of benefit for the volunteer, and the person getting the help and the societies to get both the mundane happiness and the supermundane happiness.

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