Temple Management For the Stability Of Buddhism in the Mueang District Phitsanulok Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the problems and obstacles of small, medium, and large temples in temple management according to the Sangha rules, to study factors affecting temple management, and to study guidelines in temple management. It is mixed method research: quantitative and qualitative. In terms of quantitative research, the samples were 400 people through Taro Yamane’s formula and analyzed by employing frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and stratified multi-regression analysis with a statistical significance of .05.  In terms of qualitative, the informants are 88 participants (monks and people) by purposive sampling.  The data were collected by using interviews and content analysis.  The findings were as follows :

1. The problems and obstacles of small, medium, and large temples found that small temples lack systematic management, lack of personnel with good management skills, lack of resources from the government or charity organizations to support management, lack of monks or personnel with knowledge and ability which makes it difficult to care for and manage assets or make decisions on various matters without according to regulations. Medium temples lack effective management, they may have more resources but still lack organized and systematic management within the temples, and lack coordination with various parties; in terms of financial problems and allocation of resources to suit needs in each area, such as the propagation of Dharma, educational management lack of skills in following regulations although a medium-sized temple has many personnel, they sometimes lack the skills to follow the rules and regulations set by the Sangha, such as managing finances or taking care of property as specified. Large temples:  they have complex management with many departments or departments that make administrative management complex and need to coordinate effectively with other parties.  The follow-up problems can be difficult.  The problem of improper resource allocation in some cases, as a result, some departments or agencies may have insufficient resources. Furthermore, they lack transparency in administration, and lack coordination between various sectors which leads to difficulty, resulting in operations not going as planned.


2. Factors affecting temple management according to the Sangha rules, overall, it is at a high level. The aspect with the highest mean was the governance factor, followed by

religious education factors, factors in educational welfare, factors in the propagation of Buddhism, public welfare factors, and the factor of public assistance. The factor that has the greatest effect is the factor of public assistance (Beta = 0.905) with an Adjusted R Square = 0.579 or 57.90 percent with a statistical significance of 0.05.

1.   Guidelines for temple management according to the Sangha rules found that there should be development of management personnel covering homes, temples, schools, and related agencies.  They should create a transparent internal audit system, in addition, they should have a clear plan consistent with the mission of the temple, and strengthen the network of cooperation between the government and other organizations, as well as using technology in management to improve management processes for efficiency to lead to the stability of Buddhism and be able to respond to the needs of the community sustainably.