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Wikipedia / Engaged Buddhism

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.

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

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. With globalisation and technological advancement, engaged Buddhist organizations and efforts have spread across the globe; an example is the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

Origins

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

Nhất Hạnh was inspired by the humanistic Buddhism reform movement in China led by Taixu and Yinshun and later propagated in Taiwan by Cheng Yen and Hsing Yun. 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. This work was seen as part of their meditation and mindfulness practice, not as something apart from it.

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.

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. 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: B. R. Ambedkar, a civil rights activist and politician, also advocated for a type of Engaged Buddhism; known as Navayana Buddhism. This branch of Buddhism aims to inspire social change, providing dignity and humanity to Ambedkar and the Dalit community. Ambedkar's principles stemmed from reinterpretations of Buddhist beliefs such as varna, and the commitment to Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

B. R Ambedkar beliefs strayed from typical Buddhist understandings:

Varna and Jati were seen as a system woven together to form the Hindu Caste System. Ambedkar argues that Varna gave Hindus the religious justification for a structured caste system, while Jati was the everyday people experienced. This narrative pushed against claims of the caste system deriving from a primitive system of labor division.

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. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956 and initiated what is called Ambedkar Buddhism, when in October 1956 in Nagpur, nearly 400,000 Dalits converted from Hinduism. His book The Buddha and His Dhamma was published in 1957, after his death.

Buddhist teachings invite followers to take responsibility for themselves, which in engaged Buddhist interpretation, is taking responsibility for the entire sangha; the larger community, and our ecosystem. Ambedkar warns that if followers spend too long in personal meditation practice, secluded from social relationships, it could result in an irresponsible community. 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.

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. It has two main centers: the Plum Village monastic community in Loubes-Bernac, France and the Community of Mindful Living in Berkeley, California. Both centers are tied to Nhất Hạnh's Unified Buddhist Church.

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

Organizations

Many organizations 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, Peace is an action movement, 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. 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, Joanna Macy, Gary Snyder, Alan Senauke, Sulak Sivaraksa, Daisaku Ikeda, Maha Ghosananda, Sylvia Wetzel, Joan Halifax, Tara Brach, Taigen Dan Leighton, Ken Jones, Jan Willis, Bhante Sujato, Bhikkhu Bodhi, B. R. Ambedkar, and Ajahn Buddhadasa.

See also

References

Further reading