Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu and HIV/AIDS education

Abstract

The objectives of this thesis are to study the Buddhist monk, Phra Alongkot Tikkhapanyo’s activities in caring for PLHAs (People Living with HIV/AIDS) and providing HIV/AIDS education at Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu and at the community level, and to investigate and analyze the role and the influence of Phra Alongkot’s activities on visitors to Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu in terms of education for HIV/AIDS prevention and the development of compassion for and understanding of PLHAs. Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu, located in Lopburi Province, is a Thai Buddhist temple which has been providing care for PLHAs since 1992. Phra Alongkot Tikkhapanyo, abbot of Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu, actively provides care based on Buddhist teachings for PLHAs at the temple and also goes out to various communities doing advocacy work on HIV/AIDS and PLHAs. Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu is open to the general public, and over 100,000 people visit the temple every year. In this research, field-based research on Phra Alongkot’s HIV/AIDS care at Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu and at the community level and in-depth interviews with Phra Alongkot, lay temple staff, as well as school teachers were conducted. Questionnaire surveys were also conducted with general visitors to Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu and with Grade 7-12 school students visiting the temple as part of their social studies curriculum. Collected data shows that Phra Alongkot’s HIV/AIDS activities have a positive influence on the understanding of visitors to Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu towards the disease from the perspective of HIV/AIDS prevention and development of compassion for PLHAs. The research finds that Phra Alongkot’s role in HIV/AIDS activities is effective 1) in caring for PLHAs, 2) as a preventative measure for people who are not suffering from HIV/AIDS and 3) in developing compassion for and understanding of PLHAs.