AN APPLICATION OF BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES FOR THE PROMOTION OF RECONCILIATION IN LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATIONS, NAKHON SAWAN PROVINCE

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the promotion of reconciliation in administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan; 2) to study the relationship between the factors in the administration and Buddhist principles to promote reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan; and 3) to present the form of the application of the Buddhist principles to promote reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan.

The research mythology was a combination of research methods between a quantitative research and a qualitative research. For the quantitative method, questionnaires were taken to collect the data which provided a reliability of 0.992. The sample size was calculated based on Taro Yamane's formula. The sampling group selected by Stratified Random Sampling consisted of 385 out of 10,543 officers working in Provincial Administrative Organization, Subdistrict Administrative Organization, and Municipality. The data were analyzed by using SPSS for computing frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. 18 key informants provided the information in in-depth interviews in the qualitative research method. A Focus Group Discussion composed of 10 qualified persons. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the basic features of the data in the study.

The findings of this research were as follows:  

1. The promotion of reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan consists of three parts: 1) the participatory administration and mutual acceptance shall have equal legal force; 2) the administration with equal legal force must apply to all of the participants; and 3) a campaign in building reconciliation and an idea of common interest in the organization was accomplished through projects and activities.
2. The factors in the administration were related to the Buddhist principles in enhancing reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan providing a positive correlation at high level (r = 0.780) with a significance level of 0.01. Saraniyadhamma VI and the promotion of reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan were related which contributed to a positive correlation at a very high level (r = 0.874) with a significance level of 0.01. The Seven Conditions of Welfare (Satta Aparihaniya Dhamma) and the promotion of reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan were also related which contributed to a positive correlation at a very high level (r = 0.809) with a significance level of 0.01. A null hypothesis is accepted.
3. The three types of forms in the application of the Buddhist principles to promote reconciliation in the administration of Local Administrative Organization in Nakhon Sawan were as follows:

                   1) Participatory administration and mutual acceptance consists of equal legal force, consultation meetings on a monthly basis, space for changing ideas to build acceptance and the way to promote reconciliation in the organization, and consideration of ethical and moral principles in making decision.

                   2) The administration using equal legal force consists of fostering learning of equal legal force in community; enhancing community to solve problems together by contributing duties; and encouraging tradition and customs by considering ethical and moral principles in making decision.

                   3) The campaign in building reconciliation consists of building ideas of common interest and benefits of the nation, and emphasizing networking and cooperation of the parties. To encourage community self-management, it was accomplished through community meetings, supporting self-management, encouraging cooperation, and educating community self-management. As a result, they could handle internal conflicts by themselves which the solution appeared to meet the needs of the community.

Keywords: An Application of Buddhist, Reconciliation, Local Administrative Organizations