Humanistic Buddhism in Thailand

Practices, Local Patronage and Challenges

Authors

  • Yue Bai Department of Global Buddhism, Institute of Science Innovation and Culture, Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, 10120 Bangkok, Thailand
  • Yaoping Liu Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5712-6868

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35469/poligrafi.2025.500

Keywords:

Humanistic Buddhism, Thailand, government role, social harmony, modern challenges

Abstract

Humanistic Buddhism usually implements Buddhist ideas every day to advance social harmony and personal satisfaction. With an emphasis on three main aspects—individual, universal, and transcendental—and six of its features, this paper investigates the beliefs and practices, local support, and obstacles that Humanistic Buddhism in Thailand encounters. Using a mixed-method approach, this study gathers quantitative data using questionnaires distributed to 400 respondents at two sites in Thailand: the Tzu Chi Foundation in Bangkok and Fo Guang Shan. In-depth interviews also involved thirty respondents—religious leaders, community members, Buddhist scholars engaged in Humanistic Buddhism, and so forth. The results revealed that the beliefs and practices of Humanistic Buddhism were consistent with the three dimensions of the tradition. Three primary challenges in the practice of Humanistic Buddhism in Thailand involved: (1) the resolution of internal conflicts, (2) the promotion of compassion in social relations, and (3) the management of existential issues. This study recommends a multifaceted approach to policy development that promotes the sustainability of humanistic Buddhist practices in Thailand to amplify the roles of Buddhist organizations in community welfare and promote collaboration among Buddhist, governmental, and civil society institutions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Arunsutalangkarn, Phrakru. “Buddhism and Education in Thai Society.” Journal of Buddhist Education and Research (JBER) 2, no. 1 (2016): 8–16.

Ashiwa, Yoshiko. “Positioning Religion in Modernity: State and Buddhism in China.” In Religion in Today’s World, edited by Yoshiko Ashiwa and David L. Wank, 125–45. London and New York: Routledge, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804771139-004.

Behl, Prashant, Manoj Singh, and M. N. Sondhi. Awakening the Inner Self: The Spiritual Disciplines and Meditation of Swami Vivekananda. New Delhi: Shri Sai Printographers, 2023.

Chappell, David W. “Buddhist Social Principles.” In Psychology and Buddhism: From Individual to Global Community, edited by Kathleen H. Dockett, G. Rita Dudley-Grant and C. Peter Bankart, 259–74. New York: Springer, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/b105375.

Chen, Anran, and Yue Tang. “Exploring the Facilitating Environment for Mindfulness Meditation: Establishing a Framework through Analysis of Means and Exploratory Factor Analysis.” Mindfulness 15, no. 10 (2024): 2519–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-024-02442-2.

Chen, Jian. “Humanistic Buddhism: Plurality and Humanistic Buddhism in the Context of a Buddho-Christian Comparison.” 人間佛教學報 藝文= Humanistic Buddhism Journal, Arts, and Culture, no. 26 (2020): 164–205. https://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BJ010/bj010591739.pdf.

Culbertson, Kristin. Embracing the Non-Ideal: A Suffering-Oriented Ethical Approach. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Connecticut, 2021.

Douglas, Linda Jane. “Ethical Underpinnings and Social Work: A Case Study on the Role of Buddhist Compassion in Cambodian Sustainable Development.” Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought 43, no. 3 (2024): 348–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/15426432.2024.2365803.

Ennen, Timo. “The Self-Knowledge of Not-Self: On the Problem of Modern Buddhism and the Basic Character of the Buddha’s Teaching.” The Journal of East Asian Philosophy, 2024, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43493-024-00034-x.

Garfield, Jay L. “Buddhism and Modernity.” In The Buddhist Worldld, edited by John Powe, 294–304. Routledge, 2015. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315688114.

Goleman, Daniel, and Richard J. Davidson. Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. New York: Avery, 2017.

Goodell, Eric. “Conservative and Progressive Models for Buddhism under the Republic of China.” Religion, Culture, and the Public Sphere in China and Japan, ed. Albert Welter and Jeffrey Newmark, 43–68. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2437-5_3.

Gould, James. “Becoming Good: The Role of Spiritual Practice.” Philosophical Practice 1, no. 3 (2005): 135–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/17428170600595846.

King, Sallie B. “Mindfulness, Compassion and Skillful Means in Engaged Buddhism.” Mindfulness 14 (2023): 2516–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01847-1.

King, Sallie B. “Socially Engaged Buddhism.” In Buddhism in the Modern World, 195–213. London and New York: Routledge, 2012.

Kozlarek, Oliver. “From the Humanism of Critical Theory to Critical Humanism.” European Journal of Social Theory 24, no. 2 (2021): 246–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431020960958.

Larsson, Tomas. “The Political Economy of State Patronage of Religion: Evidence from Thailand.” International Political Science Review 40, no. 4 (2019): 576–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512118770178.

Liu, Yaoping. “A Study of Chinese Lay Buddhist Societies in Thailand: History and Current State.” Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, no. 16 (2021). https://thecjbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/75-114_Liu_Chinese-Lay-Buddhist-Societies-in-Thailand.pdf.

Liu, Yaoping, Pharatt Run, and Metteyya Beliatte. “Eco-Sattva: A Buddhist Response to the Plastic Waste Crisis in Thailand.” Frontiers in Psychology 16 (2025): 1482883. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1482883.

Malin, Yael. “Humanistic Mindfulness: A Bridge between Traditional and Modern Mindfulness in Schools.” Journal of Transformative Education 21, no. 1 (2023): 102–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/15413446221084004.

Mustafa, Hasrina, Sharifah Nadiah Syed Mukhiar, Shariffah Suraya Syed Jamaludin, and Norhani Mohd Jais. “Malaysian Generational Cohorts in the New Media Era: Historical Events and Collective Memory.” Media Asia 49, no. 3 (2022): 235–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.2021.2018536.

Naranjo, Claudio. The Revolution We Expected: Cultivating a New Politics of Consciousness (Berkeley, CA: Gateways Books, 2018).

Nguyen, Dat Manh. Crafting a Buddhist Public: Urban Buddhism and Youth Aspirations in Late-Socialist Vietnam. Boston, MA: Boston University, 2020.

Ortner, Catherine N. M., Sachne J. Kilner, and Philip David Zelazo. “Mindfulness Meditation and Reduced Emotional Interference on a Cognitive Task.” Motivation and Emotion 31 (2007): 271–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-007-9076-7.

Pirson, Michael A, and Paul R Lawrence. “Humanism in Business – Towards a Paradigm Shift?” Journal of Business Ethics 93 (2010): 553–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0239-1.

Rocha, Cristina. “Buddhism and Globalization.” In Buddhism in the Modern World, edited by David L. Mcmahan, 289–303. London and New York: Routledge, 2012.

Rošker, Jana S. “The Human Being as the Core of Humanism.” In Humanism in Trans-Civilizational Perspectives: Relational Subjectivity and Social Ethics in Classical Chinese Philosophy, 77–103. Springer, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37518-7.

Segall, Seth Zuihō. Buddhism and Human Flourishing: A Modern Western Perspective. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37027-5.

Shi, Jianxun. “The Path to Liberation.” In Jianxun Shi, Mapping the Buddhist Path to Liberation: Diversity and Consistency Based on the Pāli Nikāyas and the Chinese Āgamas, 21–50. Singapore: Springer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1152-0.

Singh, Kamlesh, Kamalpreet Kaur Sohi, Harshmeet Kaur, and Purnima Singh. “Buddhism and Its Contribution to Positive Psychology.” In Religious and Spiritual Practices in India: A Positive Psychological Perspective, edited by Kamlesh Singh and Gaurav Saxena, 113–39. Singapore: Springer, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2397-7_6.

Srichan, Phramaha Danai, Phra Thongjaroen Khotdinkhao, Phramaha Sarayut Nonthapa, and Phra Phra Dhammanan Sankaew. “The Soft Power of Buddhism: Fostering Social Harmony and Cultural Identity in Thai Society.” The Journal of International Buddhist Studies College (JIBSC) 10, no. 1–2 (2024): 301–19. https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ibsc/article/view/280168.

Stapleton, Theo, and Yu Tao. “The Emergence of Transcultural Humanistic Buddhism through the Lens of Religious Entrepreneurship.” Asian Studies Review 46, no. 2 (2022): 312–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2021.1970105.

Swearer, Donald K. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia. Albany, NY: Suny Press, 2010.

Takeda, Makiko. “Building Equality and Social Cohesion in Myanmar: Plurilingualism as a Platform for Establishing Peace Culture.” In Social Transformations in India, Myanmar, and Thailand: Volume I: Social, Political and Ecological Perspectives, edited by Chosein Yamahata, Donald M. Seekins and Makiko Takeda, 29–50. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9616-2.

Thero, Makola Mangala. The Evolution of the Concept of the Buddha Within the Pāli Canon and Commentaries. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of the West, 2022.

Xie, Qiang, Rachel L. Dyer, Sin U. Lam, Corrina Frye, Cortland J. Dahl, Andrew Quanbeck, Inbal Nahum-Shani, Richard J. Davidson, and Simon B. Goldberg. “Understanding the Implementation of Informal Meditation Practice in a Smartphone-Based Intervention: A Qualitative Analysis.” Mindfulness 15, no. 2 (2024): 479–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-024-02304-x.

Yu, Xue. “Re-Creation of Rituals in Humanistic Buddhism: A Case Study of FoGuangShan.” Asian Philosophy 23, no. 4 (2013): 350–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2013.831609.

Zheng, Dongxiao, and Yaoping Liu. “China–Thai Cultural Diplomacy Through the Buddhist Wat: A Case Study of the Thai Wat in Chaozhou Kaiyuan Si, Guangdong.” Religions 15, no. 11 (2024): 1365. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111365.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-18

How to Cite

Bai , Yue, and Yaoping Liu. 2025. “Humanistic Buddhism in Thailand: Practices, Local Patronage and Challenges”. Poligrafi 30 (119/120):259-94. https://doi.org/10.35469/poligrafi.2025.500.

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 119/120 (2025): Human Condition in Digital Age: Ethical, Spiritual and Social Transformations and Challenges

Section

Regular papers

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yue Bai , Yaoping Liu

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Open Access Policy and Copyright

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors grant the publisher commercial rights to produce hardcopy volumes of the journal for sale to libraries and individuals.
  3. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.