This study had 3 main objectives: 1) to study and analyze the concept of Buddhist discipline as appeared in Mangalasutta; 2) to study the influence on thinking of discipline towards Thai society and 3) to study the application of discipline in Thai society. This study was the Documentary Research. Data collecting was gathered from the Buddhist scripture of the Three Baskets, commentaries, Monkaludthibhanee Book, academic textbooks and related research papers. The results of this study could be concluded as follows:
1. The concept of Buddhist discipline as appeared in Mangalasutta, it showed that discipline was the strategy to protect oneself and his companions for living with happiness. Moreover, discipline was also the regulations and rules to control the physical behavior of the people within the society to be the good ones and went on the same pattern so that everyone could live together with happiness without any affectation and far away from all evils. The one who had practiced, followed, behaved and studied well on discipline, he should receive the benefits, no matter for monks and laymen. Monks who had pure morality should deserve happiness with certain and strong hearts which would be the basis of Concentration and Wisdom. For laymen, they would become good persons because they followed the regulations and had discipline. Therefore, the discipline-trained person who behaved correctly and strictly on the principles of discipline of both mundane and moral world for benefits to most people in the society, individual and respected persons since the discipline was the principle of practice leading to the highest goal of life that was Phra Nibbãna (the extinction of the fires of greed, of hatred and of ignorance).
2. Influence on thinking of discipline towards Thai society, it appeared from the study that the importance of having discipline was greatly influenced towards Thai society, no matter for monks or laymen. Without the understanding on the importance of having discipline towards human’s way of life, no one could solve the problems of the society. Having the discipline assumed that it was another way of solving the problems of mankind’s society. At present, to solve the problems within the society by applying the Dharma principle or providing freedom according to the principle of virtue and morality in Buddhism was the practical Dharma principle which causing the real happiness in the human’s world.
3. The application of discipline as appeared in Mangalasutta in Thai society, for this part of the study, it was found that discipline was the instrument to practice both physical and mind to be higher quality which would bring happiness and warmth to the family, energetic community, prosperous society and the nation became firmness. Discipline helped to reduce human’s cruel and fierce, it also made a person become better and glorious than animal or even an ordinary man as well. The society could be existed peacefully because of the regulations and rules within it and the people had to respect and follow them strictly. To control the monks’ behavior, it was necessary to depend on the monastic discipline as the law for the monks in order to be the instrument to control the behaviors. For the laymen, to control their behaviors, they needed to behave themselves according to the discipline or the regulations of the society and the law of the country. The country would be in peace and calm because the people behaved themselves by applying Dharma principle in Buddhism, followed the religious precepts, practiced according to the Dharma teachings which all helped to create happiness to the society
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