Pañca Śīla and Psychological Well-Being: A Conceptual Perspective on Mental Health

Abstract

This paper explores the pañca śīla as a Buddhist theoretical and practical framework and explores a conceptual significance of contemporary psychological theory. The pañca śīla has argued that it is not only a religious training principles given by Buddha but also served as a coherent ethical and moral framework that related with moral discipline, emotional regulation, pro-social behavior, and mental well-being. This paper connects to moral psychology, self-determination theory, positive psychology, and mindfulness. This paper also identifies Buddhist five precepts are intimately linked and involved with the corresponding psychological action such as compassion, integrity, healthy relationships, psychological clarity, self-control and cognitive stability. It also considers the potential relevance of pañca śīla to modern challenges connecting with behavioral regulation and social well-being . The research gap indicates that the pañca śīla functions as a development framework for mindfulness, compassion, or ethics separately in the contemporary studies rather than as an integrated model. It suggests that pañca śīla provides a useful framework for ethical, self-regulation, psychological well-being.