Implanting Moral Values in Buddhist Wisdom School Students in Thailand
Buddhist wisdom schools, as innovative schools, are now blooming in Thailand. The schools have been created afer the 1999 Education Reform Act with an emphasis on students' morals and ethical cultivation. They account for approximately 5 percent (14,000 schools) of all schools. The schools have practised the Buddhist principle of threefold training in one's life: the training of morality, concentration, and wisdom. The meditation develops mindfulness, concentration, tranquillity, and wisdom. Wise habbits such as desiring knowledge; truth and goodness; upholding integrity; putting forth effort persistently; forbearing; calm and firmly focused; and skillfully apply the mind, have been implanted in the students. Research findings revealed that in order to manage the schools efficiently, the school administrators and teachers have to be faithful, and behave according to Buddhist principles especially the 5 moral precepts. Their being models of moral manners is important. The cooperation from local community and temples (monks) should be also encouraged. Camping activities for mental and wisdom development are useful and consequently the students'discipline, responsibility, honesty, concentration, wisdom etc. have changed to a good level. The teachers, in general, are satisfied with their working condition at a high level. The problems for implementation are mostly found at a moderate level, and first of all, the development of teachers' morality is the most significant.