APPLYING BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES TO PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CULTURE AMONG PEOPLE IN BAN LAO SUBDISTRICT MAE CHAI DISTRICT PHAYAO PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this research paper are: 1) to study the level of political culture in the democracy of the people in the area; 2) to compare the political culture in democracy of the people in the Ban Lao sub-district, Mae Jai district, Phayao province classified according to personal factors; and 3) to propose the application of Buddhist principles, specifically the Saṅgahavatthu IV (Four Bases of Social Solidarity), to promote democratic political culture in the area. This research is a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative research used questionnaires from a sample of people aged 18 years and older in Ban Lao sub-district and analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation. For the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 key informants, and the data were analyzed using content analysis.

The research results found that: 1) the level of democratic political culture among the people in Ban Lao Sub-district, Mae Jai District, Phayao Province, was at a high level. 2) Comparative analysis revealed that people in Ban Lao Sub-district, Mae Jai District, Phayao Province classified by personal factors, it was found that the people's gender, age, education, occupation, and income differed significantly in all aspects at 0.05, thus supporting the hypothesis. 3) The application of the Saṅgahavatthu IV principles to promote democratic political culture involves transforming political attitudes across four dimensions: D na (Generosity), Piyav ca (Kindly Speech), Atthacariy  (Useful Conduct), and Sam nattat  (Consistent Integrity). These principles foster social harmony and public benefit, effectively strengthening the political culture.