#SelfReliance

In a world that often romanticizes tight-knit circles of friends and family, a growing number of people are quietly navigating life with limited personal support. New research unpacked in a recent VegOut Magazine article shines a spotlight on the adaptive, sometimes isolating habits of individuals who have no close friends or relatives to count on—offering both insight and actionable strategies for those walking this solitary path VegOut Magazine.

Increasing urbanization, shifting work patterns, and technological disruption have fostered rising social disconnection in many societies, including Thailand. This article is particularly timely for Thai readers, as national data has periodically flagged the country’s climbing rates of loneliness and social withdrawal, especially among urban youth, elderly citizens, and internal migrants. Against this backdrop, understanding how people adapt to a lack of close social ties is more relevant than ever.

The principle of self-reliance stands as a central pillar in Buddhism, shaping not only the core of religious practice but also cultural attitudes in Thai society. This teaching, which is grounded in the Buddha’s encouragement that individuals take responsibility for their own actions and inner development, remains relevant in modern Thai life amid rapid social changes and ongoing spiritual quests.

Buddhist self-reliance, or “attāhi attano nātho” (one is one’s own refuge), is rooted in the historical context of the Buddha’s own life in ancient India. According to the Pali Canon, the Buddha repeatedly emphasized that liberation from suffering cannot be outsourced or bestowed by outsiders—such as deities, spirits, or even the Buddha himself—but must be achieved through cultivating wisdom, ethical conduct, and mental discipline personally (Watnyanaves.net). This foundational teaching has permeated Thai Buddhism for centuries and continues to inform both monastic and lay practice.