Abstract
This research contains following objectives: 1) to study the concept of good citizenship, 2) to study the concept of the good citizenship according to Buddhism and 3) to propose how to develop the good citizenship according to Buddhism. This is a qualitative research where the researcher analysed and synthesised documents, concept, theories and related researches and welcome the comments from the experts in focus group.
The research result indicates that the good citizenship is the characteristics that indicate the basic personal qualifications needed for a citizen in democracy, that reflect the rights, the freedom and the equality under the law and that are the important indicators of social and national development. There are four important characteristics of the good citizenship that are to be developed in the Thai society which are: 1) Physical qualifications comprising of environmental preservation ability and communication and receiving of information 2) Social skills comprising of accountability, respect to the law and honesty 3) Moral qualifications comprising of awareness of Thainess, justice and social responsibility and 4) Intellectual qualifications comprising of creativity, political participation, peaceful problem-solving and respect to diversity. The good citizenship according to Buddhism is the characteristics that indicate the social membership that includes rights, duties, commitment to the society and that are aligned with the principles of Dhamma-vinaya.
The personal development of the good citizenship is integrated and balanced based on the Four Mental Development with the Threefold Training as the core. It aims to develop the citizen in a holistic manner and covers all the factors affecting their lives: physical, behavioural, mental and intellectual. In addition, it includes the western concept that gives importance to freedom and equality with responsibility, view of peace, conflict avoidance and appropriate actions.
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