Berkeley, Parallax, 1996 (Ed. Kindle)
Historically,
Buddhism could be seen as a way to take distance from reality as opposed, for
example in China, to the active social engagement encouraged by Confucianism.
Yet, in the early tradition, Nagarjuna advised the King on the best policies to
follows for the general well-being of the people, and one could make the point
that the concept of altruism, so naturally connected not only with the Mahayana,
but also with the Hinayana schools, leads necessarily to commitment. In recent
decades, the concept of engagement has been brought forward explicitly by some
of the best known Buddhist masters, and especially Thich Nhat Hanh and the
Dalai Lama.
The concept
of altruism as propeller of engagement is emphasised in this volume by various
authors. The Dalai Lama, perhaps most clearly, says that in fact “the key is
our altruistic mind” (p. 4), an idea to be extended from individuals to nations,
and Thich Nhat Hanh maintains that “compassion is a sense of our shared
suffering”, and additionally “the near enemy of equanimity is indifference” (p.
14).
Thich Nhat
Hanh tells his experience as a peace campaigner at the time of the Vietnam War.
He discusses also the controversial issue of monks who burnt themselves alive
to sensitize public opinion despite the Buddhist precept no to destroy life,
including one’s own. The pacifist anti-war campaigns in Vietnam were dictated
by the necessity to “go beyond passive resistance and undertake positive
efforts to overcome the war and the oppression” (p. 58).
So
basically, in Kenneth Kraft’s own words, “the term ‘engaged Buddhism’ refers to
[…] active involvement by Buddhists in society and its problems” (p. 65), and
even, according to Sulak Sivaraksa, it implies to “build up political awareness”
(p. 74).
The main
areas of Buddhist engagement are peace, toleration, environmental
issues, and oppression of freedom and democracy.
[Roberto
Bertoni]
