The research is conducted with three main objectives; i) to study the process of community development using Buddhist approach of Watthakhanun’s monks, ii) to explore the activities that Watthakhanun’s monks organized for mind and intellectual development of the nearby community and iii) to present Watthakhanun community development model. It is a qualitative research which in-depth interview is used as main approach and content analysis technique is used to analyze collected data.

The findings are concluded as follows:

1. The community development of Watthakhanun comprised of three dimensions: economic, moral and educational. Each contains its own process that economic development started with joint meeting between the community and the monks to search for community’s cultural capital then developed it for tourism. While moral and educational development are started from the temple that monks teach Dhamma to develop mind and intellectual of the people and provide educational fund for students.

2. The activities that Watthakhanun’s monks organized for mind and intellectual development can be grouped into 3 categories based on each’s target groups; internal radio broadcasting and meditation practice for the temple’s personal resources, the celebration of Buddhist holidays within Buddhist tradition for laypeople, and Buddhabutra camp is organized for youth and students..

3. Watthakhanun community development model demonstrates the collaboration between monks, state officials and community. The concept of the Four Noble Truths; suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering is applied to their daily life and used as guideline for the people to live sustainably and peacefully.

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