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.

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. 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.

Teachings

Engaged Buddhism applies the teachings of the Buddha to social life in order to bring about social change. 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 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. 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 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. Joanna Macy, 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

  • Buddhist ethics
  • Buddhist Peace Fellowship
  • Buddhist socialism
  • Dalit Buddhist movement
  • Dhammayietra
  • Engaged spirituality
  • Humanistic Buddhism
  • Navayana
  • Religion and environmentalism in Buddhism
  • Religion and peacebuilding

References

Further reading

  • Main, Jessica L., and Rongdao Lai. "Introduction: Reformulating "Socially Engaged Buddhism" as an Analytical Category." The Eastern Buddhist, NEW SERIES, 44, no. 2 (2013): 1–34.
  • Visalo, Phra Paisal. Buddhists Engaged in Social Development.
  • Visalo, Phra Paisal. The Path to Social and Inner Happiness.
  • Engaged Practice
  • Buddhist Peace Fellowship
  • Zen Peacemakers
  • International Network of Engaged Buddhists
  • Engaged Buddhist Revival in India
  • Ecodharma Centre
  • Network of Buddhist Organisations (UK)
  • Amida Trust Home Page
  • Sulak Sivaraksa: A Socially Engaged Buddhism
  • The Engaged Zen Foundation
  • Buddhist Global Relief
  • Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health and Insight
  • Gaden Relief Projects
  • Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women
  • Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation