Research & Article

The research aimed to explore the wisdom heritage as the common social and cultural identity of ASEAN countries of Thailand, Lao and Cambodia. The work was part of the research titled ‘a cooperative mechanism to perpetuate and preserve the wisdom as a common social and cultural identity’. The research sources consisted of 1) relevant documents and evidence, concepts, theories and related research and 2) target population comprising Buddhist monks, academics, experts, and other agencies concerned from three countries. A total of 21 subjects were selected by a snow-ball method. The research found that a total of 66 social and cultural identities were commonly found in the ASEAN countries under study. It was also found that there were 19 social and cultural identities which were at a potential risk of being assimilated or totally dominated by material streams. Nineteen identities in question could be categorized into three groups: personality or personal habits; system or social norms, and traditions, rituals, and culture.