Nevertheless, Charles Keyes argues that the money donated to the wat has been,
in fact, spent wisely by the wat on construction of various buildings in the wat for the
good of the community. Furthermore, villagers are normally hired for such constructions.
The result is an improvement of employment conditions in the village, i.e. more jobs
available for villagers. The wat is also seen as a centre for social welfare, particularly for
those who need helps. As many ceremonies are held at the wat, it is thus normal for the
wat to collect all necessities, such as tables, chairs, dishes, pots and pans and even
blankets, pillows and bed sheets for uses in community ceremonies. Such necessities are
often lent out to villagers on many occasions, such as house blessings, marriage
ceremonies and the likes. Finally, it is found that money donated by the poor may, as has
been claimed, amount to twenty percent of their incomes. But the rich spend less probably not exceeding 5% of their incomes, though the amount of money is larger.
This means that savings and investments in economic activities, i.e. economic motives,
are not lacking. Buddhism teaches people not to be greedy, but at the same time one has
to carry out one’s own life in a rational way.1 During economic downturn of 1990’s,
Buddhism provides a way out to the Thai rural people. One has to be content and
satisfied with one’s lots. Those who work in the cities lost their jobs and returned to their
hometowns. They have managed to live in a simple way and have not lost their faith and
hope to have a better life economically again. They will certainly go back to work again
if the economic conditions are favorable. Buddhism, therefore, is not a hindrance though
not a direct stimulation for economic development. It teaches people to live in a simple
life and be satisfied with all they have got. Anyway, I am not saying that village people
are all happy. What I am trying to say is that the rural economic niche helps to lessen the
hardship of the life of people. In the village, people do have “social capital”, to use the
term coined by the World Bank, to maintain at least a minimum level of living standard.
That is they can, at least, survive during the period of economic downturn.