160 Kanokporn Vibulpatanavong
karma can both “encourage the social inclusion of people with disabilities” or “serve
to isolate them” (p. 20). Some people may see disability as the fault of the person,
because they [the person] accumulated bad merit in their past life. As a result, there
may be “a lack of initiative by the community to provide services to improve qual-
ity of life and opportunities, and an overall lack of compassion” (Kilbort-Crocker,
2012, p. 20). However, the principles of virtuous existence, called Brahmavihara, are
often emphasized in the lives of Buddhist people in Thailand. The four principles
include “metta” (ability to be kind or to share happiness with others), “karuna”
(ability to share in others’ sufferings and also act in order to help), “mudita” (the
ability to rejoice in the happiness of others), and “upekka” (equanimity towards
both good and bad situations in life) (Naemiratch and Manderson, 2009). Through
practicing Brahmavihara, Buddhist people believe that they can accumulate good
merits, which, according to the law of karma, will positively enhance their lives.
Brahmavihara underpins the Thai social values of giving and helping other people
(Naemiratch and Manderson, 2009) and promotes the social participation of per-
sons with a disability.
In interviewing a group of teachers from a Buddhist-based school, the teachers
were asked what they thought about educating children with Autism in regular
settings. One teacher said, “One must have ‘metta’. This is the core. It must be their
past karma. If we don’t help, who will?” Another teacher added:
We accept all children; at least we allow them to be in the community, to
be with friends.... We think about Bapbunkhuntode (good merits and bad
merits). If we do not accept them, where are they going to go? If they were
our children, and no one would accept them. We accept them because of
‘bun’ (good merits).... Our teachers here receive ‘bun’. No matter how hard
it is, we think of it as ‘bun’. Every morning, there is bun and it is refreshing.
It’s a profit. We don’t just receive salary. We also receive ‘bun’. The more we
do, the more ‘bun’ we receive.The Buddhism beliefs in Thailand can be interpreted in the way that promotes
acceptance of children with Autism into regular settings and encourages regular
children to try to understand their peers with Autism. In the Buddhist-based school
noted above, students are taught to have compassion for and to help other students.
Buddhist practices, such as listening to Dharma, making food offerings to Buddhist
monks, and participating in meditation sessions, both in school and at temples, gives
children with Autism opportunities to be a part of the community.
In addition to the religious beliefs, in Thailand there is a prevailing social per-
ception of ‘songsarn’ toward persons with disabilities (Naemiratch and Manderson,
2009). Depending on the context, songsarn can mean empathy, compassion, or pity
(Kilbort-Crocker, 2012). Thai people often feel ‘songsarn’ when other people are
in difficult situations, or are less fortunate than themselves. At another school in the
same province, when teachers were asked how they help children accept children
with Autism, a teacher said, “Mostly, the school director will do it at the beginning