Sixth International Lay Buddhist Forum, October 30 – November 04, 2012, Malaga, Spain.

Urban Dhamma: Asoke Goodwill Market, Engaging Urbanites the Asoke Way

Bong Sue Lian, Malaysia, and Sangsehanat Suwida, Thailand.

________________________________________________________________________

Suggested citation:

Bong, S.L. and Suwida Sangsehanat. (2012). Urban Dhamma: Asoke goodwill market, engaging urbanites the

Asoke way. In ‘Lay Buddhism in the Modern World’, Karma Guen Diamond Way Buddhist Retreat Centre,

Malaga, Spain. P41-47. (Presented at the 6th International Lay Buddhist Forum, 30 October-04 November 2012,

Malaga, Spain).

________________________________________________________________________

Summary

This paper describes the goodwill-based business enterprise of Asoke in producing and

distributing (sharing and giving) goods and services to the public through the Asoke Goodwill

Market. It covers the origin and purpose of the Asoke Goodwill Market; its economic and trading

practices; the underlying guiding principles based on the Asoke Bunniyom system; policies and

features of the goodwill stores and how they are implemented according to the Bunniyom system;

and how the goodwill market engages the public and ‘infects’ the public to participate in the

goodwill practices. The Asoke Goodwill Market is a work station where the participants train

themselves spiritually in applying Dhamma (sīla, samādhi and paññā) in their everyday activities to

accumulate spiritual wealth (‘merits from wholesome minds’ ; progress in cultivating sīla, samādhi

and paññā), not amassing monetary or material wealth.

Introduction

The Asoke movement in Thailand, founded and led by Venerable Bodhiraksa, is progressive and

engagingly active in developing right communities that support and empower a way of life centred

in training and living by Buddhadhamma (sīla, samādhi, and paññā) in daily life economic activities

with attaining spiritual liberation as the goal, not amassing material or physical wealth for its own

sake or power or position. So far they have identified several tools of engaging themselves and

the public in applying right livelihood – promotion of Dhamma through multimedia channels and

products; promotion and popularisation of vegetarian diet; adoption of organic agriculture and

green farming technology; ethical and spiritually inspiring commercial practices through the Asoke

Goodwill Market; Bunniyom education; health (traditional medicine) and politics. They develop

environmentally friendly, sustainable and protective agriculture and cottage industries, and set up

a ‘Bunniyom or Meritism Society’ where members train and live in applying Buddhadhamma in all

aspects of works and lives, management of resources, production of goods, their consumption

and distribution. They set up their own schools and colleges where they apply an alternate

education system to the conventional one. The Asoke Goodwill Market is the urban work station

of the Asoke people (members of Asoke communities) for applying right livelihood and spiritual

training in their daily activities of producing, giving and sharing of goods and services. While

benefiting themselves and the public in body and mind, the Asoke people show and engage the

public on how these goodwill-based markets for the production and distribution of goods and

services could be an alternative model to the stressful self-centred life and profit-oriented

business operations seen elsewhere. The Asoke Goodwill Market is thus an enterprise geared

towards supporting right livelihood for spiritual training as one lives each day with the eventual

outcome that one lives for oneself (spiritual wellbeing) and others (fellow sentient beings and

environment). The conventional market (capitalistic) economics thrives on generating and

maximising profits for the few, exploiting every resource available in the shortest possible time

with minimal inputs, with the eventual outcome that physical wealth is amassed and concentrated

in a few (with no really useful or beneficial value or purpose) at the disastrous expense of self and

others (fellow beings and the environment; environment and economic or financial crises) in most

cases. This paper writes about the Asoke Goodwill Market, a socially engaging economic

enterprise operated by the Asoke Buddhist movement in Thailand.

Asoke Goodwill Markets and their Distribution

Asoke Goodwill Market is a non-profit oriented goodwill enterprise by which the Asoke people

engage themselves and the public in training and applying Dhamma in the distribution of goods

and services. There is a chain of these Asoke goodwill markets of non-monetary ‘merit-oriented’

(or wholesome minds) goodwill stores established by the Asoke people in major cities and towns

of Thailand over the past thirty years or so. The first Goodwill Market was established in Santi

Asoke, Bangkok; and now they are found in Nakorn Pathom, Chiangmai, Korat and Ubon

Ratchathani, to name the major ones wherever there is an Asoke settlement.

Types of Goodwill Stores of the Goodwill Market

Typically the Asoke Goodwill Market consists of four or five main types of goodwill stores or

sections – a supermarket or superstore; a vegetarian eatery; an organic produce store or street; a

multimedia and stationary publishing house; and a 4R (‘reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover’) store

of donated goods. Together the stores stock and supply goods and provisions and the usual daily

staples. The superstore is stocked with dry processed organic foods and grains, health foods,

supplements and herbs, local consumer goods including locally woven textiles and handicrafts,

household goods, kitchen wares, agricultural implements, toiletries, and other daily staples and

local products. The 4R store is an exchange centre that exchanges and sells new or used goods

donated for reuse, recycling, repairing and recovering. Santi Asoke in Bangkok operates the

largest, most established and well-known of the Asoke goodwill markets. The stores here are the

main suppliers to the rest of the Asoke goodwill markets established elsewhere in Thailand. It is

so widely known and recognised that the local neighbourhood grows into a special niche market

for health foods and goods as many more similar stores spawn in the neighbourhood, extending

the size of the Santi Asoke Goodwill Market. The Chiangmai Asoke community operates a smaller

‘one-stop’ complex of a dry goods-cum-multimedia store, 4R corner, a vegetarian eatery and fresh

organic produce corner. This complex is operated under the name of ‘Vegetarian Society’.

Origin and Purpose of Asoke Goodwill Market

The founder of the Asoke movement, Venerable Bodhiraksa believes that not only ordained

monks and nuns should practice, but lay people should train and practice to develop spiritually too.

He leads and guides his lay followers to practice sīla, samādhi and paññā, to follow the Noble

Eightfold Path in daily working and living, in adopting right careers (right livelihood) and right

action, and developing self-reliance and sufficiency. The three areas for right livelihood that the

Asoke identified that could support and contribute to developing and empowering the community

and to the overall balanced development of the community and country include:

1. Dry and wet waste management in conserving and managing resources and the

environment;

2. Organic and environment-friendly agricultural methods to produce healthy foods for their

own consumption and sharing of the surplus;

3. Organic fertilizer production for their own use and distribution to others.

Thus the Asoke Goodwill Market comprise stores for multimedia for the production and

distribution of Buddhadhamma products; organic food and produce; handicrafts and daily staples

and consumables; vegetarian eatery and the 4R store (for resource management).

The setting up of the vegetarian eatery could be traced back to the initial adoption of vegetarian

diet by the Asoke people for the health and good of body, mind (keep precepts, non-violence,

develop mettā) and the environment (and other factors such as economics and readily available

and more easily manageable resources for production). Because they wanted vegetable foods

that were safe and healthy, they started organic farming to produce fresh grains and vegetables;

studying, researching, collecting information and sourcing reliable supplies of healthy foods for

their consumption. As they find themselves with growing surpluses of these produce and

becoming better informed on health foods and vegetarian diet, they started sharing and

distributing the surpluses of good and healthy foods in their food hall in Santi Asoke. It is from this

point of distribution that a store was first set up and later a chain of the Goodwill Market of

goodwill stores for sharing and distributing the fresh organic produce, health foods, and daily

supplies become established in major cities and towns in Thailand. These stores also become

convenient one-stop centre for the public to gather up supplies of organic and health foods, and

daily supplies.

Economic and Trading Practices in Asoke Goodwill Market

The Asoke Goodwill Market, being a spiritual training work station for cultivating and generating

goodwill (kusala mind; reducing akusala minds of greed, aversion and delusion) is unlike

conventional commercial centres where practices are largely geared towards maximising personal

gains (tending towards generating and accumulating akusala minds of greed, aversion and

delusion). Therefore the approach in trading and development of the Asoke Goodwill Market is

different from that of the conventional self-centred monetary profit-oriented markets. The Asoke

Goodwill Market extends and expands through goodwill generated among the Asoke people and

the participating public. Members of the public participate in generating and extending goodwill

through donation of their goods and services, time and labour to the goodwill stores. In the

Goodwill Market, one experiences a culture of giving and appreciation and a friendly environment

of camaraderie where the ‘division’ between store operators and the customers becomes blurred.

This is in distinct contrast to the atmosphere in conventional markets where ‘self-interests’ and

‘profits’ mark the store owners from the customers. In the Goodwill Market, there is no pressure

or inducement (no advertisement) for the customers to consume or spend. There is however

encouragement for the customers to reduce unnecessary wastage and to contribute one’s own

efforts in self-service. All along in the line of production through to distribution and consumption,

ethics and responsibility to oneself and others, and the ecology (environment, community, nature,

cultures and traditions) are considered and applied.

Everybody works, serves and contributes to the Goodwill Market in the spirit of training for a

higher mind. Goods and services are priced as low as the community is able to sustain, and are

different among the Asoke goodwill markets in different localities. The Asoke vegetarian eateries

provide ‘Bunniyom meal’ (rice with one vegetable topping) for free or at 5 (less than 15 US cents),

7 (less than 20 US cents) or 10 Baht (less than US 35 cents) to promote and encourage people to

try vegetarian food, and to reduce the frequency of taking non-vegetarian meals. The multimedia

store serves as a Dhamma exchange and distribution centre. The revenues collected from 4R

corner go to support the Asoke TV station for teaching and propagating Dhamma. All items in the

superstore or commodity shop show two prices, the cost of the item and its selling price to let the

customer know exactly the monetary profit (loss in merits or kusala mind) or loss margin (gain in

merits or kusala mind). If there is any ‘monetary profit margin (= negative merit margin)’, it is to

cover the overhead and other costs.

Overhead cost is low because most of the workers or operators are volunteers, drawing little or

no salary, and sometimes some of the goods are donated. The superstore, Palungboon Company,

has operated for more than 27 years now and the highest salary drawn in the company remains at

2,000 Baht per month and many are fulltime volunteers drawing no salary at all (Bodhiraksa, 2012).

Customers also participate in cost reducing measures such as self-service, using their own

shopping bags, and returning the trolleys to the stores after use.

The economic policy for Asoke community is to be debtless, self-reliant and self-sufficient, and

surpluses are given away or shared. As a policy and practice, Asoke members are free to choose

whatever jobs or works they enjoy doing. This policy enables the Asoke to run their business

without stress in good or bad times as when the country is in economic crisis or when the world is

reeling from one economic crisis to another (Sangsuriyajan, 2011). Paraphrasing Venerable

Bodhiraksa (Bodhiraksa, 2012), ‘they can close the stores anytime when they need time to do

community retreat, annual gathering and Dhamma celebration, and/or participating social

movement activities. They enjoy this freedom and independence because they don’t have debt or

rent to worry about and they are self-reliant and more than self-sufficient even without resorting

to making money from selling, in sharp contradistinction to the way modern day capitalistic

business is run.’

The main input that makes the Goodwill Market operation sustainable and grow from strength to

strength over the three decades or more is simply goodwill and faith in the Buddhadhamma

practice that inspires the Asoke people and their supporters and adherents to be diligent and to

donate the products and volunteer their effort and time. Other major contributing factors are

their skilful management of resources and a spiritually disciplined life style (governed by the

precepts they undertake to keep) that is frugal and not enslaved to consumerism and unnecessary

spending (Sangsehanat et. al., 2009; Sangsuriyajan, 2009; Sangsehanat and Bong, 2010). There

exists also a strongly cohesive community (united by the same precepts, belief and faith) the

growth of which is supported and guided by the principles of the Bunniyom system as elaborated

below.

Underlying Guiding Principles – Buddhist and Economic

Whether by design or not, these goodwill (and right livelihood) stores also serve to demonstrate

the viability and sustainability of an ‘alternative trading system’ that operates in what the Asoke

calls the Bunniyom (Merit-ism) Society that values the quality of lives and spiritual development as

the topmost priority goal of living in distinct contrast and opposition to the consumer capitalistic

view of life which cannot see life, its meaning and goal beyond endlessly pursuing sense pleasures,

making and accumulating material wealth, stressing out physically and mentally, and getting sick

in the process.

In the Asoke Bunniyom system, the practitioners accumulate spiritual wealth, not monetary or

material wealth for oneself. The stark differences in values and practices between the

conventional monetary gains- oriented capitalistic enterprises and the Asoke Goodwill Market of

the meritism society are best summarised below in Table 1 (Sangsehanat, 2007).

Table 1: Contrasting Values of Practices in Capitalistic and Bunniyom (Merit-ism) Society

Parameter Capitalistic society Merit-ism society

Virtue Giving with expected returned benefits (positive return from investment, e.g. returns from making a donation).

Giving with a pure mind, no returns expected.

‘smartness’ Score advantage over others, e.g. making profits by all means, devious or not.

Serving society without seeking profits or advantages

Profit Getting back more from the original sum of investment.

Giving more than getting back any.

Loss Incurring a disadvantage. Taking or getting back more than giving.

Objective Make Money Make merit/good kamma/good mind from sīla, samādhi, and paññā.

End results Crisis from despoliation and squandermania

Peace from living a simple life, one of moderation in consumption.

Source: Translated from Samanalakkhano, 2001: 24 by Sangsehanat (2007)

In this Bunniyom system, one is praised for contributing, not taking, in contrast to the

conventional economy where wealth is built on taking and maximising gains for oneself and giving

or minimising gains for others most of the time. In the Bunniyom model of economic operation,

there is the emphasis on ethics and spiritual values (right livelihood, right living), in distinct

contrast to the capitalistic ‘all about money/profits and little else matters’ type of operation.

This Bunniyom concept and its practice is not easily understood even among some Asoke people,

not to mention many local Thais and foreigners who have not seen it in practice. The individual

Asoke has to practice the Bunniyom type of trading until he/she realizes personally that there is no

need to compete, no need to accumulate, no need to advertise, that ‘giving is a human virtue;

giving leads to happiness and competition does not.’ (Bodhiraksa, 2012).

Mrs. Tharnrung Khamsokecherk, a volunteer manager (or ‘servant’ by the Asoke designation of

the post) at the Santi Asoke vegetarian eatery described her training and development thus to the

authors in an interview conducted on February 03, 2012,

‘We practice giving rather than being greedy; to stay calm and not getting annoyed with

some greedy customers who often seem to take advantage of the Bunniyom (free) meals

served in the eatery. As the vegetarian eatery becomes better known and there are more

customers, we have to practice to curb our greedy mind to want to make more money

and to refrain from increasing the prices of the foods. For example, during the time when

Thailand was hit with a huge economic crisis in B.E. 2540 (C.E. 1997), the Asoke vegetarian

food eatery became more popular because of the cheaper price of the foods. When there

were more and more customers coming, some Asoke members proposed in their

community meeting to raise the food price from 5 Baht to 7 Baht per serving. Many

members agreed. There were also many who disagreed. Then, Venerable Bhodhiraksa

taught us that we had to practice and step out of the capitalistic mindset of making profit.

When the business was good because the customers were in trouble in times of economic

crisis, we should have compassion for them, give and help them more than at other times.

Even when our cost had also increased in those economic hard times, our increment in

costs was much smaller than the other businesses’. If we had the ability to give, we

should give. Don’t get trapped in a mind of cost or profit making too much. Eventually,

the Asoke community decided to agree on not increasing the price and tried harder to

reduce the price instead. It is not easy to overcome this mind that habitually tends

towards developing more greed, so we have to be watchful of our mind all the time.’

In Bunniyom society, a more able and spiritually developed or accomplished person is one who

gives more and takes little or less or none. Venerable Bodhiraksa tries to put into practice the

model of the Bunniyom economic ‘Support System’ or foundation base. In this model, the one

who occupies the highest position, the owner or chief of an enterprise, or the main supporting or

foundation branch must do and contribute more, and draw less salary or benefits because these

positions are the support of the whole system, to support those of lower ranks or those who are

less able (‘poorer’ in spiritually development or mind) people. The position (service of giving) vis-a-

vis salary (returns or benefits or taking back) is depicted in a pyramidal structure illustrated below

(Figure 1).

Among the Asoke stores, Khob Khun Wholesale Company staff are all non-salaried volunteers. This

company is the main distributor and is the pillar of the Asoke goodwill markets. It supplies and

supports the other stores of Asoke groups. The success of an enterprise is reflected by how much

less members could afford to take for themselves and how much more they could give away.

Another example is the practice of the multimedia publisher and store, Fah-Apai Company. As the

company has grown steadily over the years to be able to enjoy better welfare and material

comfort with good office building, members voluntarily met and agreed to reduce their salary

from the highest of 3,000 Baht to 2,500 Baht per month. The Asoke people have to train

themselves until they realise personally the values advocated in the Bunniyom economic practice,

in developing and contributing more than in taking for oneself, in cultivating higher mind to

accumulate spiritual wealth (progress), and in not taking advantage of others or making monetary

profits and material gains.

Those at highest level draw no

salary or take no share of any

profits; serve or give away more;

take back less, profit in merit,

reflect higher level of appreciation

of Dhamma in spiritual training.

Those at the lowest level draw the

highest income and incur highest

welfare expenses. Less ability,

draw higher salary and consume

more; give less, less capable; take

more, loss in merit, poorer in

spiritual training.

Figure 1. Hierarchy in Bunniyom System

The Asoke goodwill markets are practical examples of how the Asoke people train, practice and

apply Buddhadhamma in business enterprises based on the Bunniyom System that benefit and

empower themselves and others at personal, society and community levels.

Features and Policies of the Asoke Goodwill Market Stores and their Implementation Based on

the Bunniyom System

Products and services ‘sold’ or ‘distributed’ at the Asoke Goodwill Market are best regarded as

‘merit products and services’ because they are actually produced and distributed through goodwill

at the lowest price the suppliers can afford without the usual intention to take material or

monetary advantage of the ‘customers’. While the goods and services may be similar to those in

the markets out there, they are ‘priced’ much lower and supplied for the good of the consumers in

mind. Examples of some policies and features of the practice based on the Bunniyom system are

given below.

a. Goodwill Superstore

The policies are based on ethics and goodwill in accordance with the Bunniyom system as

enumerated here:

1. Goods sold in the stores are good for the health and mind of the people.

Although the Asoke Goodwill Stores have no registered trade mark or advertisement,

they are recognised and trusted by their customers as stores that are ‘all about health

and not about money’.

2. Affordable pricing and transparency in trade where there is no unfair advantage or

disadvantage practiced in the store.

There are four ‘merit levels’ of pricing of the goods. Goods are priced as ‘free’, or sold below or at cost, or slightly above cost. All items are labelled with the cost price and the selling price to show the margin of difference (free = merit++; below cost = merit+; at cost= no merit or merit = 0; slightly above cost=merit- or loss of merit). The pricing reflects the Bunniyom economic system where the value of giving/sharing

(higher mind of displacing greed with generosity) is prioritised and highly ‘praised’

whereas monetary gain and the necessity for it where it occurs is acknowledged though

not ‘prized’.

3. Measures for minimising of costs and resources, and protecting the environment include

no-frill packaging, not providing plastic bags, and encouraging self-service among the

customers in packing their own goods and returning the shopping trolleys to the stores

after use.

4. There is no advertisement or inducement to encourage consumption and spending.

Publicity is not completely eschewed; there is publicity in Asoke’s own media.

b. Vegetarian Eateries

1. Quality of materials: organic, safe and healthy.

All vegetarian food shops of Asoke communities use organic produce. Materials are either from the community’s own farms or other farms. Produces are examined and verified for safety and organic status at the farms and upon arrival at the Asoke stores by the Asoke’s own safety monitoring department.

Varieties – promotion of health foods such as herbal drinks, vegetable and fruit juices; fresh fruits; and cooked vegetables without unnecessary food additives such as monosodium glutamate.

2. Pricing: The policy is to set the lowest price that can be afforded or sustained by the

community since the emphasis is on giving rather than profiting. Bunniyom meal of rice

and one vegetable topping for free at some or for 10-15 Baht at other eateries1; rice with

toppings of two or more are priced as low as possible. Table 2 below gives some

indications of the range of prices at various Asoke eateries and non-Asoke eateries during

the Thailand Vegetarian Festival in 2011.

Table 2. Comparative Prices of Vegetarian Meals at Different Eateries (2011 Vegetarian Festival)

Items

Gener

al

eateri

es(a)

food

court,

Depar

tment

al

Stores(b)

Santi-

Asoke

Eatery,

Bangkok (c)

Pathom

Asoke

Eatery,

Nakorn

Pathom(d)

Ratchath

ani Asoke

Eatery,

Ubon

Ratcha-

thani(e)

Chiang

mai

Asoke

Eatery,

Chiang

mai(f)

Sima-

Asoke

Eatery,

Korat(g)

one

topping 30 40 Free Free 10 free free

two

toppings 40 50 15 15 15 15 15

three

toppings 50 60 20 20 20 20 20

special

food 50-60 60-100 15 20 15 15 15

fried food 30 50 - n.a. 20 n.a. n.a.

Dessert 15 up 30 up n.a n.a. n.a. 5 n.a.

take home

meal (no

rice)

50 60 10 15 10 n.a. n.a.

n.a. = not available.

Source of data: (a)-(b), from authors’ survey; (c)-(g), from various reports in Saan Asoke

(Asoke Journal), Vol. 321, July-August 2011.

Public Participation and Customers’ Experience

The Goodwill Market is not only a place for the Asoke people to train themselves for spiritual

growth. The public also participates in it with similar goodwill. It is a place where customers could

just walk in and perform random acts of kindness and generosity and sharing of meals and joy.

The public also donate their surplus organic produce and goods to the vegetarian eatery and 4R

store. They like the opportunity to contribute their labour too in keeping the eatery clean by

cleaning up the tables and their own dishes before they go, in being direct participants of the

Bunniyom commercial activities. Prices of the meals are so affordable that customers often buy

1 The Chiangmai Lanna Asoke community is able to give Bunniyom meal for free because their

community’s cost and maintenance is lower, and the community is are richer in resources. Their

lands are on the hills and richly endowed with wild vegetables that they collect for free; and there

are also regular donations of fresh produce from the local public. Members here are mostly

holders of eight-precepts who consume less and need less to maintain. Ratchathani Asoke

community cannot afford to give Bunniyom meal for free because of their higher consumption

and lower production rates. Their land is flooded for three months each year during which the

land could not be worked on. Most of the members there are holders of five precepts who have

younger families to look after and they consume more.

up many to distribute to friends and relatives to encourage them to have at least one vegetarian

meal and to consume less meat for that day.

In a cursory survey conducted in January 26-27, 2012 at the Chiangmai vegetarian eatery, many

customers reported that they enjoyed the foods and the atmosphere of camaraderie that exuded

in ‘a place that is all about health, not about money’, in the words of one of those surveyed.

Outsiders can walk in and volunteer there too to contribute their labour and time. In this place,

there is spontaneous sharing of joy and generosity. Similar joyful festive atmosphere and public

participation as volunteers or customers in Bunniyom activities was also reported in the Asoke

Vegetarian Festival of 2011 (Look Baan Raj Muang Reo, 2011),

‘Customers told us that these foods that they purchased will be given as merit gifts for their

relatives and friends. They make good presents because our foods are good (wholesome and

healthy) and cheap. Many customers greeted and smiled to each other. It was a beautiful

picture that made me smile with them.’

Concluding Remarks

The Asoke community, through their goodwill markets, actively engages the urban public to see

for themselves and/or participate in an economic life style that is spiritually beneficial to oneself

and others and the environment. Economic activities do not have to be pursued to the extent of

being exploitative and destructive as to generate crises for oneself and others. The Bunniyom

system advanced by the Asoke movement is now entrenched in various aspects of lives and

economic undertakings like the goodwill markets of the Asoke communities. As environmental,

financial and economic crises continue to break out, would goodwill markets like the Asoke’s and

its foundation Bunniyom system or their variants that empower local communities and insulate

them from external crises be attractive enough to others as to spread further beyond the Asoke

communities?

References

1. Bodhiraksa, 2012. Authors’ interview with Venerable Bodhiraksa on 5th February, 2012, in ‘Note

from Patcha Samana (Secretary of Venerable Bodhiraksa)’, Saan Asoke (Asoke Journal), Vol.

324, February-March 2012: 59-63.

2. Look Baan Raj Muang Reo, 2011. ‘Thamma Prathabjai (Dhamma Impression)’, Saan Asoke

(Asoke Journal), Vol. 321, July-August 2011: 59-60.

3. Sangsehanat, Suwida, 2007. ‘Beyond the “capitalist” world-system: Buddhism in action.’ Journal of Population and Social Studies, Vol. 16 (No. 1): 65-78.

4. Sangsehanat, Suwida, S., and C. L. Bong, 2010. ‘Right Education – the Srisa Asoke Model’ in Lay Buddhist Forum 2010: Buddhism for a New Generation, September 30 - October 04, 2010. (Buddhist Chongji Order, South Korea, 2010), pages 16-31 (English version).

5. Sangsehanat, Suwida, C. L. Bong, and Sikkhamat Chinda Tangbhoa, 2009. ‘Sādhāraṇabhogī: A Buddhist Social System as Practiced in Asoke Communities.’ in The 3rd Lay Buddhist Forum: Lay Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism, October 22-26, 2009 (Buddhist Chongji Order, South Korea, 2009), 27-38 (English version).

6. Sangsuriyajan, Thamrong, 2009. ‘Asoke communal consumption community: a Buddhist way

of living.’ http://buddhist-economics.info/papers/Thamrong.pdf; accessed 16:30hr, June 08,

2012.

7. Sangsuriyajan, Thamrong, 2011. ‘Sufficiency Economy as the Model of Thailand’s Community

Development.’ International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 1 (No. 5): 74-82.