The Role of the Sangha in Developing the Quality of Life of the Community in Bang Sue District Bangkok with the 5 Precepts

Abstract

           This research aimed to analyze 1) the level of compliance with the Five Precepts,     2) the role of monks in developing quality of life, 3) the level of quality of life, and 4) to propose guidelines for the daily practices of the Sangha in developing the quality of life of the Bang Sue community with the Five Precepts. This research was a mixed-methods study. The sample consisted of 399 people living in the community who made merit at temples in the Bang Sue area using Yamane's method. The target group consisted of abbots, community leaders, temple committee members, and people from 5 temples, totaling 20 monks and laypeople. The research instruments were questionnaires and structured interviews with an IOC value of 0.96. The statistics used for data analysis were frequency, mean, and standard deviation, One-way ANOVA, t-test, F-test and LSD.
          The findings revealed that:
           1. Overall, compliance with the Five Precepts was at a high level, and the precept with the highest mean was precept 3, abstaining from having an affair with another person's wife, which was practiced at the highest level.
          2. The role of monks in improving the quality of life as overall, monks have a very good role in practice, while by each aspect the highest means is religious education.
          3. The overall quality of life among the population was deemed good, while the social aspect illustrated the highest average value.
          4. The proposed guidelines for the daily life practices of the Sangha in developing the quality of life of the Bang Sue community through the 5 precepts approach, it showed that the daily practice of monks is at a very good level and as a good example.