THE SIX DIRECTIONS IN BUDDHISM AND THE CREATION OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE IN THE NEW NORMAL ERA

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explain the six directions in Buddhism and the creation of a new relationship between people in the new normal era. The six directions are as follows: 1) a front direction i.e., a father and a mother, 2) a right direction i.e., a teacher, 3) a back direction i.e., a husband and a wife 4) a left direction i.e., a friend 5) a lower direction i.e., an employee and an employer 6) an upper direction i.e., a priest. The above teaching can be found on Singghalaka Sutra which focuses on an application of these six directions on laities’ daily lives leading to a social relationship called ‘a society’. At present, the new way of life (New Normal) is defined by the Royal Thai Council of Communication Arts Council Royal Society as a new way of life because people’s daily lives have been affected so greatly that the typical and can be expected ways of lives cannot be predicted resulting in a new normal way. For a term ‘New Normal’ in this article, it is used In the COVID-19 context. That means there are changes of roles towards people in a society. As a Buddhist, therefore, we should review the principle of six directions and use it as a guideline to create a good personal relationship among people in a society. This principle still maintains the concept of rights to thinking, values, and other measures of self-conduct encouraging the changes based on the reality in a society.