Phrakhru Sakorn’s Community
Before Phrakhru Sakorn Sangvorakit came to Wat Yokkrabat at Ban
Phrao in Samutsakorn, most people who lived there were impoverished
illiterate farmers. The area was often flooded with sea water which
destroyed the paddies and left the people with no means of subsistence.
Realizing that poverty could not be eradicated unless new crops
were introduced, since salt water was ruining the rice fields, Phrakhru
Sakorn suggested planting coconut trees, following the example of a
nearby province (Sivaraksa, 1992:50).
Once the people of Yokkrabat started growing coconuts, he
advised them not to sell the harvest, because middlemen kept the
price of coconuts low. With assistance from three nearby universities
that were interested in the development and promotion of community
projects, the people of Yokkrabat began selling their coconut sugar all
over the country. In addition to advocating the cultivation of coconut
plantations, Phrakhru Sakorn led the villagers to grow vegetables and
fruits and encouraged the growing of palm trees for building materials
and the planting of herbs to be used for traditional medicine. Fish
raising was also advised. Under his guidance, within a few years the
people’s livelihood improved significantly (Phongphit, 1988:48).
Phrakhru Sakorn believed that a community’s basic philosophy
should be self-reliance and spirituality. He urged Yokkrabat residents
to first determine what they need in their family before selling the
surplus to earn money and buy things they could not produce by
themselves. In this way, villagers depended less on the market. This
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138 —Tavivat Puntarigvivat
principle of self-reliance also underlaid the community’s credit union
project; members were encouraged to borrow money for integrated
family farming rather than for large enterprises in cash crops. Since
Phrakhru Sakorn was convinced that there could be no true development
unless it was based on spirituality, in addition to the projects in
economic development, he taught the villagers Dhamma—the teachings
of the Buddha—and meditation (Phongphit, 1988:51–52).
Phrakhru Sakorn trained the younger generation of monks and
novices for leadership and encouraged them to take greater responsibility
for their own local communities. Although he “disrobed” some
twenty years ago, he has continued to support the community.8
The
self-reliance and ethical values he has inculcated have made Yokkrabat
an exemplary Buddhist-based community in Thailand.