Socially Engaged Buddhism

Chapter 1 Introduction

CHAPTER 1 Introduction In the twentieth century, a politically and socially active form of Buddhism called Engaged Buddhism came into being and quickly became a large and powerful movement throughout Buddhist Asia; toward the end of that century, it also became very influential among Western Buddhists. In the Buddhist-majority countries of Asia, Engaged Buddhism became a vehicle capable of giving voice to the people’s political aspirations and bringing down national governments. It became a path of psychological and practical liberation to oppressed peoples and of economic development to impoverished peoples. The reader may be surprised to hear of Buddhists engaging in this way with the problems of the world. It is true that the West has a considerably greater history of this kind of activism than Buddhist Asia. Nonetheless, Engaged Buddhism is a thoroughly Buddhist phenomenon. What is Engaged Buddhism, and why did it emerge so dramatically in the twentieth century? Engaged Buddhism is a contemporary form of Buddhism that engages actively yet nonviolently with the social, economic, political, social, and ecological problems of society. At its best, this engagement is not separate from Buddhist spirituality, but is very much an expression of it. Engaged Buddhism is not a centralized movement. It did not begin with the vision of a single charismatic leader and spread from there. Consequently, it is not defined by geography but is found wherever there are Buddhists with sufficient political freedom to engage with social and political issues as they see fit. It also is not defined by sect; Engaged Buddhism is neither a new Buddhist sect nor does it belong to one of the established sects. Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and nonsectarian Buddhists all may be involved with Engaged Buddhism, 2 SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM though not all Buddhists of any of these forms are Engaged Buddhists. Engaged Buddhism is defined and unified by the intention of Buddhists of whatever sect to apply the values and teachings of Buddhism to the problems of society in a nonviolent way, motivated by concern for the welfare of others and as an expression of their own Buddhist practices. With this kind of profile, there are no absolute lines defining who is and who is not an Engaged Buddhist. Some individuals and groups clearly belong at the core of this movement, such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Sarvodaya Shramadana, and others are borderline, such as groups and individuals that conscientiously put loving-kindness at the center of their practice but avoid societal or institutional engagement. We will focus in this book on groups and individuals that are at the core of the movement. Engaged Buddhism came into being in the form of many individual movements in the various Asian Buddhist countries as a response to particular social, economic, political, and ecological crises facing each country. Its philosophical and ethical roots lie deeply within traditional Buddhist philosophy and values, which it applies to contemporary problems. This is the source of the unity evident among the Engaged Buddhists despite their dispersed and multiple origins throughoutBuddhistAsia.However,EngagedBuddhismisalsoamodern phenomenon and as such has been influenced by modern social, economic, psychological, and political forms of analysis of Western origin. It has also been strongly influenced by the great example of Mahatma Gandhi, who pioneered spiritually based, nonviolent social engagement for the entire world. The multiple crises that hit Asia in the twentieth century were devastating to much of Buddhist Asia. Large parts of World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War/war in Southeast Asia were fought there, directly affecting Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and much of the rest of Southeast Asia and resulting in millions of deaths. There has been genocide in Cambodia and foreign invasion and cultural genocide in Tibet, again resulting in millions of deaths in both countries. Countries such as Sri Lanka have been impoverished and politically uprooted by colonial occupiers. Buddhist Asia has generated some extremely repressive governments—for example, Burma/Myanmar. Ecological Introduction 3 crisis has become quite acute in some areas, such as Thailand, where deforestation has devastated some of the fishing and agricultural foundations of the economy. Buddhist Asia has also seen some long-term social ills come to a head in the twentieth century, owing in part to the encounter with Western cultures—notably the extreme social inequality, bigotry, and poverty suffered by the ex-untouchables in India and the repressed and inferior status of women in much of Buddhist Asia...