Conference paper
Saṅgha Pariṇāma for Gāma: A Case Study of the Royal Thai Monastery in Lumbinī, Nepal
Sushma Acharya
Ph.D. Scholar, Faculty of Buddhist Studies, LBU
Abstract
This study examines Saṅgha Pariṇāma (monastic transformation) as a doctrinally grounded institutional process shaping community (Gāma) development within the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of Lumbinī. Through interpretive ethnography and Buddhist doctrinal analysis of the Royal Thai Monastery, it argues that monastic transformation is an ontologically embedded process grounded in impermanence, dependent origination and skilful means. It introduces the Saṅgha–Society Interaction Model (SSIM) for post-secular heritage governance, contributing to decolonising tourism theory.