THAILAND: Temple Buzzes with the Buddha’s teachings – and IT

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Chayanit Poonyarat

NONTHABURI, Thailand, Feb 26 2003 (IPS) - Thai Buddhist monks usually return from their alms rounds to quiet surroundings to pray or study the Buddha’s teachings, but in a temple here they also come back to a familiar sight: a tangled mountain of computers, monitors and peripherals.

Starting their days at 4 a.m., the abbot Phra Phisal Dhamma Phati and monks at Suan Kaeo temple here north-east of the Thai capital Bangkok, get busy with their various community projects – including one where technicians fix and sell second-hand personal computers donated to the temple.

”We accept everything. It is up to the donor, whether it is an 8086 model or something else, and regardless of its condition,” said Niti Lukkananukul, a lay person who manages the Suan Kaeo Foundation that oversees the computer project.

Some of the equipment among the mass of computers, monitors and peripherals, which occupy a large open-air hall in the temple compound, are still functional, while others need to be fixed. Every month, the foundation receives up to 300 computers.

”Every part of these computers will be tested. If they cannot be operated, then we will have to fix them,” Niti said.

After the computers are repaired, some are donated to schools or other temples in remote areas in Thailand, while some are kept for sales and auctions that start around midday every Monday and Friday.

The prices vary from a few hundred baht to a couple of thousand baht – from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars – depending on the specifications of the equipment.

”A couple of days ago, there was a second-hand vendor who got many computers and parts for only 20,000 baht (467 U.S. dollars),” added Niti.

The temple made about 600,000 baht (14,015 dollars) from the sale of discarded computers alone last month. This money is used to help run the foundation, covering fees for electricity, water or even labour costs.

The five year-old computer donation programme is one of the newest among the many development projects of the Suan Kaeo Foundation, located in the 16-hectare area of the temple.

Established by the abbot Phra Phisal Dhamma Phati in 1986, the foundation has projects that include weekend camps on Buddhism, training for the handicapped and a supermarket for the poor.

According to the foundation manager, more than 800 people currently live with support of the Suan Kaeo foundation.

While computers and information technology are very much of this material world, Phra Phisal Dhamma Phati, known not only as an extraordinary preacher but an innovative monk, says the foundation also seeks to make use of these tools to empower people in this life.

This has special appeal in country like Thailand, where 95 percent of its 63 million population are Buddhist.

”To be a good monk, it is not only about learning ‘Dhamma’, the Buddha’s teachings, but also to make use of them for people and society,” said Phra Phisal Dhamma Phati.

The people the temple and the foundation reaches through different projects – the poor, unemployed and orphans – are full of potential, he said. They need only the opportunity to prove that like other people, they can create good things for society, he explained.

”What we do is only put them in the right jobs according to their abilities. Those who have no knowledge skill are first to be trained,” said Niti.

In the future, Suan Kaeo temple aims to open a market selling secondhand computers, as well as offer computer classes to young people and monks.

The temple is already receiving a growing list of young people interested in the courses ahead of the summer vacation in March, according to Niti. All classes and training provided in the temple are free of charge. Beyond giving underprivileged people opportunity and some money to support their lives, the temple also has its own strategy on teaching them Buddhism.

The abbot says that through computer lessons, students are taught not to become materialistic but to learn how to make use of technology for themselves and others.

Moreover, ”giving them opportunity is one thing but what is more important is to let ‘Dhamma’ or the Buddha’s teaching guide their lives,” said Phra Phisal.

The five Buddhist precepts are among the most prominent aspects of ‘Dhamma’ that the monks share with the community that takes part in the different projects. These focus on staying away from killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, speaking falsely and abusing alcohol or drugs.

The abbott says those who give donations, including the computers, can find comfort in sharing with others. ”For the donors, they gain happiness through the practice of offering,” said Phra Phisal.