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The man who gathers flowers (of sensual pleasure), whose mind is distracted, and who is insatiate in desires, the Destroyer brings under his sway.Dhammapada (Puppha Vagga)

"Sufficiency Economics" - An Alternative Buddhist Economic Path For Asia?

by Kalinga Seneviratne

In recent years Buddhism has attracted the attention of the West for its teachings on calming one's mind in this fast-moving world of internet-driven commerce and communications. As increasing numbers of Westerners embrace Buddhism, 'Bhavana' or Buddhist meditation, has become a modern psychotherapy.

While modern psychology is being greatly influenced by Buddhism these days, is there anything in the 2500 year old teachings, which could influence modern economics?

According to a growing grassroots Buddhist social movement in Thailand, yes, there is. They call it "Sufficiency Economics", a name coined together by their own King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1997.

The concept of "Sufficiency Economics", embrace all three pillars of Buddhism - Dana (Giving), Sila (Morality) and Bhavana (Meditation). It is a philosophy based on the Buddhist principle of the 'Middle Path' - that is not embracing any of the extremes.

The principle of Sufficiency Economics was spelt out in a statement endorsed by King Bhumibol in 1998, which said, that "sufficiency means moderation and due consideration in all modes of conduct, as well as the need for sufficient protection from internal and external shocks". To achieve this, "it is essential to strengthen the moral fibre of the nation, so that everyone, particularly political and public officials, technocrats, businessmen and financiers, adheres first and foremost to the principles of honesty and integrity".

The concept of 'Sufficiency Economics' was first mooted by the King at the height of the 1997 Thai financial meltdown, and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remedies based on free market economics failing to get Thailand out of the economic doldrums, moves towards an alternative economic development path based on Thailand's age-old Buddhist traditions and knowledge are gathering momentum.

Towards this goal, a grand coalition is taking shape in Thailand, which includes Buddhist social activists, rural monks, grassroots peoples' organizations, economists and even the Royal Palace.

"To apply the King's Sufficiency Economics' model actually implies that we must reorient our economic activities in the direction of economic security and full employment for all at grassroots level. This direction implies that we will not be aiming at rapid growth for a certain period of time" says Prof Apichai Puntasen, an economist at Bangkok's Thammasat University.

Prof Apichai has set up a Buddhist economics unit at the university aiming to give a theoretical foundation for what he sees as an alternative economic path for Asia. His unit which has a number of post-graduate students doing PhDs, is called the Programme for Natural Laws and Moral Sciences.

Right at the root of the Buddhist teachings is the eradication of craving. Thus, it seems the consumerist economic development path followed by Thailand and most other Asian countries for the last 2 to 3 decades is in conflict with the Buddha's teachings.

"Consumerism has led people to believe in only one thing. That is, you can be happy from only consumption and this is what's gone wrong in economics" argues Prof Apichai. "The goal of economics is to improve human welfare. According to Buddhism, consumption is one way to improve human welfare, but not the only way".

Drawing on Buddhist teachings of developing mindfulness - Bhavana - he argues that human well being will depend on consumption to a certain extent, to satisfy one's psychological needs, but beyond that, it is not necessary. "You can have your well being from other means, even from loving kindness you can generate well being" he adds.

"According to the Buddha's teachings, the unlimited desire and not been satisfied with what one has, will cause suffering" explains Venerable Bhavana Visutthikhun, a former accountant turned well known Buddhist meditation teacher.

He argues that the 1997 economic crisis is a clear example of what happens when people don't pay attention to the Buddha's teachings, instead prefer to just follow their desires. "Many businessmen made loans far beyond their capability, in order to make a huge profit. At the same time, the banks were happily giving away loans in order to get interest in return. So when people get money easily from the bank, they get tempted to spend an excessive amount of money on their sense desires" points out Ven Bhavana.

"When the bubble burst, many companies couldn't pay their loans, they had to shut down and unemployment rose. This is a good example how unlimited craving causes suffering, not only to the individuals, but also to the community and the country" he says.

According to the Thailand Development Research Institute, since the 1997 bursting of the economic bubble, 3 million more people have joined the ranks of the poor in the country, bringing the total number to 10 million or 16 percent of the population.

Buddhist social activist Mr Sulak Sivaraksa, argues that most Thais practice "Capital B Buddhism" which is both consumerist and nationalistic. They believe that to give money to temples will bring them more wealth and good karma. But that doesn't solve the problems of 85 percent of the Thais who are poor. Buddhism needs to make people understand the suffering of the poor and structures which gives rise to their plight.

"Buddhists have to realize that to cultivate 'dana' is not to be a goody goody to help the poor, but to cultivate your mind to feel happy that to give is more important than to take. And to develop 'sila' means merely not to kill or steal, but to help reduce violence in the society ... structures of violence which makes the poor poorer" he notes.

For decades, mainstream political parties in Thailand have neglected the poor. But, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai Party (TRTP) brought the plight of the poor to the center stage of his election campaign last year, earning him a landslide victory.

One of the center-pieces of the TRTP's election campaign was a scheme to give a million bhat to each of Thailand's 70,000 villages, as well as debt moratorium on farm loans.

While free-market economists have criticised this policy as a populist platform, which will impede Thailand's economic recovery, advocates of the sufficiency economics model have cautiously welcomed it.

"Thaksin has made some attempt to reorient the Thai economy at grassroots level in the direction of the King's sufficiency economy" argues Prof Apichai. "On the other hand there is a stronger force to open up the country more to foreign investments, the area that Thaksin and his business groups will also benefit".

Prof Apichai says that Buddhist economics does not reject technology, but it should be used wisely to benefit the majority. " What Buddhist economics is aiming to achieve is a peaceful society. A society that is free or has much less as possible, social problems" he says, adding, "the goal of Buddhist economics is sustainable development".

With this aim the Buddhist economists are promoting integrated farming methods, where you raise animal and grow plants that support each other. So in the end you don't have waste in the production process. Another is natural farming, which is being adopted for rice farming especially in the central Thailand and some parts of north east region. Here rice paddies co-exist with natural plantations and fruit trees.

"You may call these Buddhist economics or Buddhist agriculture, because the aim is to be able to produce for your own consumption to be self-sufficient in life, and be able to control your own production technology. So the concept of self-reliance in Buddhism is there in it," he points out.

To promote such a Buddhist economic model, monks at grassroots level have been mobilized to act as environmentalists, bankers, educators, motivators and even shopkeepers.

At the height of the 1997 economic crisis, 49 year old monk, Phra Payom Kalyano launched the 'Thai help Thai' campaign. As part of it, he even set up a supermarket in a six-story building along a trunk road leading to Bangkok in Nonthaburi district.

His philosophy was simple. As a result of excessive consumerism many Thais have accumulated goods, which they do not need. While there are many other Thais who may need these goods but are too poor to buy them. Thus his supermarket became the exchange between those who have and those who have not.

"I use the monk as the merit bridge - from the person that have more than enough to person that don't have", was how he described his enterprise to me during an interview given last year.

The scheme works on the basis of the Buddhist concept of 'dana' - where devotees donate what ever they don't need to the temple. Phra Payom has people, who have come to the temple for refuge, to fix these up and put up for sale at his supermarket. All prices there are market at 10 percent of the normal market price. Not surprisingly, it is very popular with the poor.

Meanwhile, in Trat, near the Cambodian border, another young dynamic monk, 48 year old Phra Subin Paneeto runs a chain of Buddhist financial institutions. These community saving banks are called 'Sajja Sasomsap' (Honesty Savings) and works on the group loan principle. From one, 10 years ago, these banks have now expanded to over 110 in villages right across north-east Thailand.

Phra Subin used to travel around the villages preaching the Buddhist teachings and after doing this for many years, he was frustrated that people could not be weaned away from alcohol, stealing and other crimes.

"My movement is to get all the people together and teach them how to live in harmony. Teaching just in form of words is not enough. You have to put these words into action" argues Phra Subin.

Explaining how Buddhism could be incorporated into running a banking scheme, Phra Subin argues that in a Buddhist economy you need to divide the wealth between yourself, your family and charity (dana). Also by pooling their resources together it will build friendship and harmony in the society.

To become a member of the bank, one has to contribute 10 to 20 bhat a month, which becomes a share. The deposit is limited to 100 bhat per person a month to avoid speculation by richer members. Right after depositing they can borrow and if the loan is larger than their deposits, they need to get a guarantor from among the membership. Interest paid is very low, and half of the profits at the end of the year is paid as dividends to members, the other half goes into a welfare fund for the village.

"This self-help programme is to gather the people so that they don't have to leave their home towns and family members to look for a livelihood. So they can be self-helping within the community" explained Phra Subin.

Another area where the Buddhist social activist movement is strong is in Surin, in the dry north-eastern plains of Thailand. In addition to community banking, Buddhist monks are very active in environmental protection. They have been organizing large scale tree ordination ceremonies, using the age-old Buddhist ordination rituals, to save trees.

"Its better to put monks to protect forests, because the lay people respect the monks" says Phra Suthat Suntikaro, a village monk near Surin. "We also teach the people how to preserve forests, and why we need the forests".

Founded in 1995 by Mr Sulak Sivaraksa, the Spirit in Education Movement (SEM) has been instrumental in mobilizing and training the growing Buddhist social activists across Thailand. Their grassroots leadership programmes are run from the Wongsit Ashram, an alternative simple living and spiritual practices center in Nakhorn Nayok about 2 hours drive from Bangkok.

"We train them in subjects like non-violence, how to do negotiations or demonstrations with non-violence. We also train them in some vocation, so that they can earn something and solve problems by themselves" explained Mr Somboon Chungprampre, Project Manager of SEM's Grassroots Leadership Training programme.

He explained further that the real essence of their training is to make people understand their life through the contents of their own life. For example, if they are living in a bamboo hut and feel it is not modern and they need money to build a concrete home, SEM would try to explain to them that it is not harmful to the environment, and suitable for their needs, why waste money in building something unsuitable.

SEM has been instrumental in mobilizing and training the 'Assembly of the Poor' (AOP) a grassroots protest movement, who camped opposite the Thai Prime Minister's office in Bangkok for over a year. They dismantled the roadside tents only after Thaksin's government came to power with their pro-poor programme.

"This Assembly of the Poor is not violent" explains Mr Sivaraksa. "The dhamma (Buddhist teachings) teach them to be non-violent, to be united, to be self-sufficient".

Critics say that Sufficiency Economics may slow down Thailand's growth and interfere with its industrialization and development. Yet, not many in Thailand are willing to openly criticize a model the King himself is promoting.

"Buddhism should not be used as an excuse to reject the market economy" argues Dr Medhi Krongkaew, an economist at Thamassat University. But he adds, "Buddhism teaches everyone of us to perform our duties to the best of our ability. This is in keeping with the concept of efficiency in mainstream economics".

* Kalinga Seneviratne is a lecturer in media studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. He has just completed a television documentary on Buddhist economics and most of the quotes in this article were taken from interviews recorded for the documentary.

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