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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Vol. 30 No. 2 Apr.-Jun. 2005 516 Welfare Philosophy in Buddhism Welfare Philosophy in Buddhism* Pattamaporn Busapathumrong Associate Fellow of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, The Royal Institute, Thailand I. Introduction In most Asian countries, religion has been developed as a religious institution for many centuries. At the state level, religion contributes to the welfare function which the government provides for its citizens. At the local level, Buddhist doctrines influence the people to perform charity and philanthropic actions. In the late nineteenth century, most Asian nations became modernized, the government no longer considered social welfare as charity, or philanthropy, but as the basic rights that the citizen should enjoy. Simultaneously, non-govern- mental organizations also offered social service programs which incorporated and applied the Buddhist concept. As will be discussed later, Savodaya, a community based effort for peace in Sri Lanka, and Wat Sa Kaeo, a Thai temple, demonstrate the application of the Buddhist concept to social service programs. 1 II. Background of Buddhism (1) General Background As stated by Lyons and Peters, the origin of Buddhism goes * Lecturer, Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Asian University of Science and Technology, Chon Buri, Thailand. My sincere appreciation and thanks for their kind advice go to Phrakhrue Supatara Kanchanakij, Yensanit-Thammaram Temple (Kanchanaburi Province) and Mr. William M. Zabel, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Asian University of Science and Technology 1 Jo Anna Macy, çIn Indraûs Net : Sarvodaya & Our Mutual Efforts for Peace,é in The Path of Compassion, Berkeley : buddhist Peace Fellowship, 1988; B. Matthew, çDistrict Development Councils in Sri Lanka,é in Asian Survey, Vol. XXII, pp. 1117-1134. Abstract The Buddhist religion has been developed as a religious institution in various countries for centuries. Buddhism influences major concepts in welfare philosophy such as equality, philanthropy and its application in most Asian societies. This paper traces the origin of Buddhism with the emphasis on Theravada Buddhism, the expansion and the Teaching of the Buddha (or the Four Noble Truths consisting of dukka or suffering, samuthaya - the origin of suffering, nirodha - the cessation of suffering and marca - the paths leading to the cessation of suffering). It also refers to Buddhist texts in a few Suttas relevant to welfare philosophy in Buddhism such as Sigalovada Sutta - a framework of human needs and freedom. Savodaya (or the mutual efforts and cooperations), Sa Kaeo temple, and Yensanit-thammaram temple in Kanchanaburi Province exemplify the application of Buddhism in welfare philosophy. Key words : welfare philosophy, Buddhism. ∫∑∑∫∑«π æ‘ ‡»…