Engaged Buddhism Explained

Engaged Buddhism, also known as socially engaged Buddhism, refers to a Buddhist social movement that emerged in Asia in the 20th century. It is composed of Buddhists who seek to apply Buddhist ethics, insights acquired from meditation practice, and the teachings of the Buddhist dharma to contemporary situations of social, political, environmental, and economic suffering, and injustice.[1]

Modern engaged Buddhism emerged in Vietnam in the 1950s, from the teachings of Thiền Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh.[1] It was popularised by the Indian jurist, politician, and social reformer B. R. Ambedkar, who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement in the 1950s.[1] It has since spread to the Indian subcontinent and the West.[1] [2]

During the 1960s, the terms "engaged Buddhism" and "socially engaged Buddhism" were taken up by loosely-connected networks of Buddhists in Asia and the West to describe their adaptation of Buddhist values and ethical conduct to social and political activism. This included a range of non-violent social and political activities such as peacemaking, promotion of human rights, environmental protection, rural development, combatting ethnic violence, opposition to warfare, and support of women's rights.[1] With globalisation and technological advancement, engaged Buddhist organisations and efforts have spread across the globe; an example is the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.[1]

Origins

Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh coined the term "Engaged Buddhism" in his collection of articles, "A Fresh Look at Buddhism".[3] [4] Engaged Buddhism emerged from a need to respond to world crises, particularly the Vietnam War.[5] [6] [7] The term was new, but Buddhism that engages with social and political issues had already occurred throughout the world.[8]

Nhất Hạnh was inspired by the humanistic Buddhism reform movement in China by Taixu and Yinshun and later propagated in Taiwan by Cheng Yen and Hsing Yun.[9] At first, Nhất Hạnh described the concept by using Literary Chinese, the liturgical language of Vietnamese Buddhism, calling it . During the Vietnam War, he and his sangha (spiritual community) responded to the suffering around them, in part by adopting the nonviolence activism techniques of Mahatma Gandhi in India and of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.[10] They saw this work as part of their meditation and mindfulness practice, not as something apart from it.[10]

As early as 1946, Walpola Rahula identified an explicit social ethos present in the earliest recorded Buddhist teachings. He noted that the Buddha encouraged early monks to travel in order to benefit the largest number of people, and that his discourses to lay people often included practical instructions on social and economic matters, rather than being purely concerned with philosophical or soteriological concerns.[11]

Teachings

Engaged Buddhism applies the teachings of the Buddha to social life in order to bring about social change. Engaged Buddhists hope to connect traditional Buddhist beliefs to protest and social action.[12] One way to view Engaged Buddhism is through Thích Nhất Hạnh's "The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism", which serve as guidelines for living with a stronger social awareness:[13] B. R. Ambedkar also advocated for a type of Engaged Buddhism to inspire social change and provide dignity and humanity to himself and his community. Ambedkar's principles the commitment to Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, which stemmed from the Buddha's philosophy.[14]

In India

In India, a form of engaged Buddhism founded by B.R. Ambedkar started as a Buddhist revival movement called the Dalit Buddhist movement. Ambedkar's socially engaged Buddhism focuses on economic justice, political freedom, and moral striving.[15] Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956 and initiated what is called Ambedkar Buddhism, when on October 1956 in Nagpur, nearly 400,000 Dalits converted from Hinduism.[16] His book The Buddha and His Dhamma was published in 1957, after his death.

Buddhist teachings invite us to take responsibility for ourselves, and engaged Buddhists interpret this as taking responsibility for the entire sangha, the larger community, and our ecosystem. Ambedkar warns that if we spend too much time in personal meditation practice, in retreat from social relationships, we will be irresponsible to our community. So we need to get off the cushion, get out of the house, get out there and start to educate, agitate, and organise. This is a collectivist notion of sangha as people working together for a society of justice, wherein Buddhist practice becomes the engaged activity of social change.[17]

Socially engaged Buddhism in the West

In the West, like the East, engaged Buddhism attempts to link authentic Buddhist practice—particularly mindfulness—with social action.[18] [19] It has two main centers: the Plum Village monastic community in Loubes-Bernac, France and the Community of Mindful Living in Berkeley, California.[20] Both centers are tied to Nhất Hạnh's Unified Buddhist Church.[20]

The current Dalai Lama also encouraged Buddhists to be more involved in the socio-political realm:

Organisations

Many organisations were established to help build the movement of engaged Buddhists. These include the Soka Gakkai International, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Buddhist Global Relief, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, the Zen Peacemakers, and the Order of Interbeing. Other engaged Buddhist groups include the Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health and Insight, Gaden Relief Projects, Earthworks Centre foundation,[21] the UK's Network of Buddhist Organisations, Fo Guang Shan, and Tzu Chi.

The School of Youth for Social Service was established by Nhất Hạnh in 1964. It trained social workers through the teachings of Engaged Buddhism.[22] Members of the school helped relieve suffering and rebuild villages for those affected by the Vietnam War.

Notable figures

Prominent figures in the movement include Robert Aitken Roshi,[23] Joanna Macy,[23] Gary Snyder,[24] Alan Senauke,[25] Sulak Sivaraksa,[26] Daisaku Ikeda, Maha Ghosananda,[27] Sylvia Wetzel, Joan Halifax,[28] Tara Brach,[29] Taigen Dan Leighton,[30] Ken Jones,[31] Jan Willis,[32] Bhante Sujato,[33] Bhikkhu Bodhi,[34] and Ajahn Buddhadasa.

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Gleig . Ann . 28 June 2021 . Engaged Buddhism . Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion . . . 10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.755 . 9780199340378 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210707132646/https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-755 . 7 July 2021 . live . 8 August 2021. subscription .
  2. Book: Queen. Chris. King. Sallie. Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. 1996. Albany State University Press. New York. 2. 0-7914-2843-5.
  3. Hanh. Thich Nhat. 6 May 2008. History of Engaged Buddhism. Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge. 6. 29–36.
  4. Web site: Duerr. Maria. An Introduction to Engaged Buddhism. PBS. 26 March 2010. 7 September 2019. 8 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190908104500/http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/blog/2010/Mar/26/introduction-engaged-buddhism-maia-duerr/. dead.
  5. Book: King, Sallie B.. Socially engaged Buddhism. 2009. University of Hawai'i Press. 978-1-4416-2017-0. Honolulu. 436233232.
  6. Sieber. Alexander. 2015. Hanh's Concept of Being Peace: The Order of Interbeing. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society. 5. 1. 1–8. 10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v05i01/51097. 2154-8633.
  7. Magnuson. Joel C.. Pragmatism, Institutionalism, and Buddhism: Toward a Synthesis for Socially Engaged Buddhist Economics. Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies. 2020. 74–116.
  8. Book: King, Sallie B.. Being benevolence: the social ethics of engaged Buddhism. 2005. University of Hawaiì Press. 978-0-8248-6162-9. Honolulu. 698035503.
  9. Book: Queen, Christopher. Engaged Buddhism in the West. 2000. Wisdom Publications. Somerville, MA. 36. 0-86171-159-9.
  10. Web site: Malkin. John. In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You. Lion's Roar. 1 July 2003. 7 September 2019.
  11. Book: Rahula, Walpola. Walpola Rahula. The Heritage of the Bhikkhu. registration. Grove Press. 1st English. 1974. New York. 3–7. en. 0-8021-4023-8.
  12. Hanh, Thich Nhat (Fall 2002). "The fourteen precepts of Engaged Buddhism. (Special Feature)". Gale General OneFile. Social Policy. Retrieved 7 March 2021
  13. Web site: Hanh. Thich Nhat. Thich Nhat Hanh. 12 April 2017. The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism. 7 September 2019. Lion's Roar.
  14. Meshram, Manish T. "Engaged Buddhism in India: Buddhist Approach of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to Sustainable Society in India." Mindful Leadership for Sustainable Peace, edited by Từ Nhật and Thiện Nhật, Hong Duc Publishing House, 2019.
  15. Web site: Queen. Christopher. The Great Conversion. 26 November 2020. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. en.
  16. Web site: Ambedkar Buddhism. 26 November 2020. oxfordbibliographies.com. en.
  17. Web site: Queen. Christopher. A Fourth Turning of the Wheel? Ambedkar Buddhism. 26 November 2020. buddhistinquiry.org.
  18. Web site: Jonas. Robert A.. Engaged Buddhism. Empty Bell. 2006. 7 September 2019. 20 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181120051204/http://www.emptybell.org/articles/engaged-buddhism.html. dead.
  19. Web site: Loy. David. David Loy. What's Buddhist about Socially Engaged Buddhism. zen-occidental.net. 7 September 2019.
  20. Book: Irons. Edward. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. 2008. Checkmark Books. New York, NY. 9780816077441. 176–177.
  21. Web site: Wuxingheqidao . Earthworks Centre.org.
  22. Web site: 2 February 2016. Mindfulness in times of war. The School of Youth for Social Service. 1 April 2021. leadership for sustainability. en.
  23. Web site: Winston. Diana. Justify Your Love: Finding Authority for Socially Engaged Buddhism. Urban Dharma. 7 September 2019.
  24. Web site: Jeschke. Matt. Interview with Gary Snyder. cuke.com. 23 December 1994. 7 September 2019.
  25. Web site: About Hozan Alan Senauke. Lion's Roar. 7 September 2019.
  26. Web site: Lewis. Craig. Compassion and Kalyana-mittata: The Engaged Buddhism of Sulak Sivaraksa. Buddhistdoor. 6 June 2018. 7 September 2019.
  27. Web site: Bloomfeld. Vishvapani. Obituary: Maha Ghosananda . The Guardian. 28 March 2007. 7 September 2019.
  28. Web site: About Engaged Buddhism: Roshi Joan Halifax. Upaya Zen Center. 8 August 2013. 7 September 2019.
  29. Web site: BuddhaFest Teaching: Tara Brach on Love. . 22 June 2011. 7 September 2019.
  30. Web site: Our Guiding Teacher: Taigen Dan Leighton. Ancient Dragon Zen Gate. 7 September 2019.
  31. Web site: Ken Jones, Welsh Author and Activist, Dies at 85 . . 10 August 2015 . 7 September 2019.
  32. Web site: 29 November 2020. Learning Should Be Sweet: Jan Willis on Engaged Buddhist Pedagogy. 27 April 2021. Nothing Never Happens. en.
  33. Web site: Lam. Raymond. An Afternoon with Ajahn Sujato: Personal Courage and Restoring the Sangha's Moral Purpose. Buddhistdoor Global. 9 December 2016. 7 September 2019.
  34. Web site: Valdez. Regina. Fusing Contemplative Practice with Social Action. . 4 October 2016. 7 September 2019.