The Model of Explanations about Deities for the Modern Theravāda Buddhist Societies

Abstract

This thesis is the sociological explanations about deities for the modern Theravāda Buddhist societies. This is a documentary study with the critical and analytical approaches. Three objectives are explained in this thesis: (1) to study the Brāhmaṇical deities in the Theravāda Buddhist societies;  (2) to study the concept of deities in the Theravāda Buddhist scriptures; and (3) to study the analysis of deities from Theravāda Buddhist texts.

                   From the explanations of the first objective, the research findings for the modern Theravāda Buddhist societies are: first, they would be able to understand about the historic misconception of the deities; second, they would be able to understand about the true concept of deities in the Buddhist texts; third, they would be able to understand the modern belief in deities are partly wrong or totally wrong with the help of the explanations given in the thesis. Fourth, they would be able to generate the concept of deities within the human societies and environment of the pragmatical of our daily activities.

            From the explanations of the second objective, the research findings for the modern Theravāda Buddhist societies are: first, they would be able to understand much better when they would cross that the Buddhist texts signify mainly three types of deities: conventional deities, deities by birth, and deities by purification; then second, they would be able to understand clearly the deities are actually referred to the various classes of human beings according to their actions: good or bad; third, they will be motivated by doing good actions and thereby would be able to live a happy life without any mental torment.

            From the explanations of the third objective, the research findings for the modern Theravāda Buddhist societies are: first, they would be able to know how to become a noble person and performs the right rituals; second, they would be able to gain the economics and the other material benefits by applying the principles from Buddhism; third, they would be able to understand how the economics and the other materials things should be earned, that is they will earn in diligently and in skillfully; and fourth, they would be able to enjoy a happy life in the personal and the family and the greater societies.