THAI BUDDHIST UNIVERSITY MEET THE CRITERIA OF HEALTHY UNIVERSITIES UNDER THE AUN-HPN FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Thailand has recognized the importance of promoting health through institutional engagement, particularly by leveraging the collaborative capacity of higher education institutions under the ASEAN University Network-Health Promotion Network (AUN-HPN). This research article identified its primary objective as developing mechanisms and a management system for a Buddhist-oriented health-promoting organization within MCU. However, integrating AUN-HPN practices with religious contexts involved several key conditions that served both as limitations and protective factors-for example, the care of monks' physical health and avoiding smoking and drinking alcohol, which aligned with the principles of the Dhamma-Vinaya. Methodology: The study employed an implementation research design. It integrated the holistic framework of the "Three Spheres of Well-being" sīla (Moral Discipline), samādhi (Meditation), and paññā (Wisdom). These represented moral and ethical conduct in daily life, mental strength, adaptability, and knowledge application to foster health through Buddhist principles. This framework was used to guide practical health initiatives. A total of 36 stakeholders participated as members of the university's Health Promotion Committee to co-develop strategies. All 36 stakeholders were university policy-level actors who participated in focus group discussions, after-action reviews, and lessons learned based on their practical involvement in health promotion activities. Main Results: Driving the university toward becoming a Healthy University under the AUN-HPN framework through the Threefold Way required strong mental health, firm moral integrity, and a continuous readiness to adapt and learn. These dimensions were interconnected with physical health, mental health, social health, and spiritual/intellectual well-being. The findings revealed three key components: 1) The development of sīla-based well-being (Ethical Conduct), which focused on creating enabling environments through systemic structures and policy-driven networks within the AUN-HPN framework; 2) The advancement of samādhi-based well-being (Mental Concentration), which emphasized mental health, social connection, and work-life balance-aligned with the spiritual capital inherent in Buddhist practices, and 3) The promotion of paññā-based well-being (Wisdom), highlighted the internal development and external dissemination of health knowledge through the lens of socially engaged Buddhism. Involvement to Buddhadhamma: This research involved Buddhadhamma through the application of Applied Buddhism to promote the development of Healthy Buddhist Universities. The research findings reflected the Three Domains of Holistic Well-being, which were linked to Buddhist principles and contributed to the management and transformation toward a health-promoting Buddhist university. This holistic approach encompassed sīla (Moral Discipline), samādhi (Meditation), and paññā (Wisdom), served as an important model for other health-oriented organizations to adopt in their development efforts. Therefore, integrating Buddhism with the AUN-HPN framework was feasible and capable of transcending the contextual limitations of the religious contexts. It can be concretely applied at both policy and practice levels. Moreover, the Threefold Way helps to support the achievement of key indicators within the AUN-HPN framework-such as promoting strong mental health and establishing a smoke-free and alcohol-free university. Conclusions: The study concluded that integrating Buddhist principles into health promotion strengthened institutional strategies and fostered holistic well-being in university settings. Although implementing health-promoting university initiatives under the AUN-HPN framework was guided by structured operational models and evaluation indicators, in practice, successful health promotion at the university level required a profound understanding of social and cultural context. The AUN-HPN framework served as a valuable compass, enabling institutions to adapt and apply its components according to their unique settings. Nevertheless, Buddhist universities in Thailand were diverse and regionally dispersed. Future research should have involved lesson drawing and comparative analysis to highlight the contextual differences in implementation. Such an approach would have contributed to the sustainability of development efforts and facilitated more tangible progress toward achieving the health and education-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).