A Buddhist Contribution to Community Empowerment Models

(1) * Fany Amelia Sari Mail (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Agama Budha Smaratungga, Indonesia)
(2) Ari Suryana Mail (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Agama Budha Smaratungga, Indonesia)
(3) Kabri Kabri Mail (Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Agama Budha Smaratungga, Indonesia)
*corresponding author

Abstract


This article proposes a novel integrative framework for community development that synthesizes Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) with the ethical and philosophical underpinnings of Socially Engaged Buddhism (SEB). The study responds to two core theoretical critiques of ABCD: its inadequate treatment of intrinsic human motivation and its neglect of structural power dynamics. Employing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology, the research maps the conceptual foundations and criticisms of ABCD, explores key teachings of SEB and canonical Pāli texts, and identifies a research gap in integrating these paradigms. The resulting Social-Spiritual-Critical Empowerment Model incorporates Buddhist values such as compassion (karuṇā), interdependence (paṭiccasamuppāda), and distributive justice into the ABCD methodology. The model offers a multidimensional approach to empowerment, social, spiritual, and critical, that enables communities to mobilize internal assets, cultivate resilience, and engage in structural critique. This framework provides a theoretically grounded, ethically sustainable, and contextually adaptable model for holistic community development.


Keywords


Asset-Based Community Development, Socially Engaged Buddhism, Spiritual Empowerment, Structural Justice, Compassion, Interdependence

   

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57235/qistina.v4i2.7450
      

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