ccc

1. WAR, CONFLICT AND HEALING - A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE

The roots of war and conflict are in us. There are afflictions in us to be recognized, embraced, and transformed: anger, hate, discrimination, conceit, despair. . .The practice is to look deeply into their roots, understanding them and learn how to transform them. We need to listen to our own suffering and the suffering of our family, community, and nation. We should be able to help each other in our relationship to recognize that these afflictions are there in each of ourselves and we have lived in such a way that have allowed these afflictions to grow, and each of us have to make the commitment not to water the seeds of violence, hate, discrimination and despair that are in us. In our relationship like partner/partner, father/son, mother/daughter, brother/sister, for instance, we should be able to help each other to practice, always learn to listen to each other with compassion, always use loving speech to help the other to recognize the afflictions on him/her. We should also use loving speech to water the seeds of understanding, compassion, joy and brotherhood that are inherent in the other person. We should help each other to heal in the context of our personal relationship before we can expect to help heal humanity and the Earth. Healing is possible with each breath, each step every time we say one thing, produce one thought and take one action, even the action of smiling to the other person. The Earth is ailing, our society is ailing, there is so much despair and violence. The Buddhist practice of right thinking (thinking in the line of non-discrimination, compassion, and understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood is so crucial for the healing that we all need. The young people should learn to practice the eight noble path in the context of their family and their school, and the use of non-confessional language to teach, it is always possible. Peace negotiation will lead to good result if body parties in conflict have mutual understanding and know how to use deep listening and loving speech.

2. BUDDHIST CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Manifesto 2000 with its 6 points is equivalent to the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings (Five Precepts). Both the 6 points and the 5 trainings address the issue of Peace and Social Justice at the fundamental level. In the Buddhist tradition, after having received the Five Mindfulness Trainings one has to recite them every two weeks and participate in session of learning and Dharma discussion to go more deeply into their meaning and to find better ways to apply them into their daily life both in the context of family life and society. The Five Trainings guide us how to live more simply, to develop time and energy and for protecting life and bring help to those who are real need. It is possible to be happy with simple living, to have time to take care of oneself, one’s family and to bring help to the needy and to promote more social justice. Running after Fame, Power, Sex, and Wealth may take all our time, and even with plenty of these four things people continue to suffer a lot, if they do not have understanding and love and do not have an environment providing them with understanding and love. The Buddhist 5 Mindfulness Trainings and the Manifesto 2000 6 points are true practice of understanding and love.

3. ENGAGED BUDDHISM AND DEVELOPMENT

Engaged Buddhism is first of all the kind of Buddhism that is practiced all day long without interruption, living in Mindfulness and Concentration, even when we walk, drive, cook, go to the toilet.. Engaged Buddhism is also the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings that is brought into our social environment. We practice with our family, in our workplace, with our working team, in school, in the hospital, in the city council, in the marketplace, the National Assembly, in correctional centers, in the factories, and business meetings. We do not necessarily need to use Buddhism terms to bring the practice into every walk of life in education, economic, culture, medicine, police forces, army, political parties, war, peace, etc... The presence of Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight of inter-being, the spirit of non-discrimination, understanding and compassion is the very presence of Buddhism. We do not have to convert people into Buddhism, but we can inspire them to live and work according to this noble path. We seek happiness in the development of understanding and compassion. Our index of happiness is not the power of consumption but the Level of Understanding and Compassion.

The Four Brahma Vihara (Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksa) are unlimited energies that can be developed for our happiness and happiness of the world without any fear of our over development. The practice of mindful production and consumption (the 5th Mindfulness Training) will guarantee that we will always follow the path of sustainable development. Our idea of true happiness should be the foundation of our policy of production, consumption and development. Our wisdom is inter-being; the Buddhist organic right view of the world: everything relies on everything else to manifest. If other species cannot survive, men are not going to survive either.   Protecting the environment is to protect ourselves. . . WE are not only our body and spirit, we are also our environment. Our environment is the retribution of our collective action (karma). Live more simply, develop understanding and love, taking care of our environment, committing with each other to a sustainable development, that is to follow the Buddha’s path.

4. BUDDHIST RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

The meat industry and the car industry together with our unmindful consumptions are main causes of global warming. According to a United Nation study published in 2007, to reduce the activity of the meat industry by 50 % and to drive our car when it is truly necessary, with the use of cleaner fuel, is the solution. May Buddhists do not eat meat. Reducing the eating of meat and the drinking of alcohol by 50 % is not something too difficult to do. People who are truly enlightened on this matter, should take action immediately. We can practice one no car day every week. We can use a hybrid car. We can run our car on vegetable oil. We can bike to workplace or to school. There are many things we can do right away to save the planet. This civilization of ours can be extinguished if we do not wake up in time.

5. FAMILY PROBLEMS AND THE BUDDHIST RESPONSE

The most precious gift that parents could make to their children is the happiness of the parents themselves. It is very crucial that parents should have time to take care of each other, not to allow themselves to be carried away by too much of work and projects. Again simple living is the answer. The practice of deep listening and loving kindness help preserve and restore communication. Children naturally learn from their parents as how to love and to take care. If parents smoke and get drunk, children will smoke and get drunk. The Five Mindfulness should be the code of ethics for family life. Going to the temple to recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings every two weeks and to practice Beginning Anew is still alive as a tradition. Family is the soil from which the tree of children grow. Without the practice of Beginning Anew the practice of watering good seeds in each other, the skill of deep listening and loving speech, a couple cannot nourish their love and keep their communication alive. With the practice, transformation and healing is possible, and parents can avoid divorce.

6. BUDDHIST EDUCATION: CONTINUITY AND PROGRESS

Buddhist Studies have become to theoretical in our times. We get PhD degrees in Buddhist studies but we do not know how to transform our own suffering and afflictions. We do not have the skill to build a Sangha, to help reconcile to practice Sila, Samadhi, and Prajna. Our knowledge of Buddhism only allow us to write books on Buddhism and to teach Buddhism in schools. We have to reorganize our Buddhist studies, make our learning institutions into practice centers at the same time. Teachers and students should practice together and teachers should have experiences of transformation and healing before they are allowed to teach. Let us set up institutions of Applied Buddhism, and offer courses and practices aiming at transformation and healing. In schools, our children should have the chance to learn how to deal with the anger and violence within themselves, how to listen with compassion, and to use loving speech, to say “ I am sorry” every time they commit an unskillful act. Civic instructions and Buddhist ethics should be taught in such a way that could be practiced by very young ones.

7. BUDDHISM IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The Dharma becomes available to so many people in the Digital Age. People can participate in a live Dharma talk, Dharma discussion or even a sitting session with a Master and a Sangha even if they are in their own home away from the Teacher and the Sangha. It is possible to profit from the Sangha’s energy at great distance. It is possible to download materials for learning the Dharma. Yet nothing can replace the intimacy between the teacher and a disciple, a Sangha member and the Sangha. The practice of Sangha building is therefore a necessary process to go through. Sangha building needs deep listening, loving speech, understanding, love and support. A Sangha by correspondence is not enough. A Sangha with good practice always carries with it the living Buddha and living Dharma, therefore, learning ways to build good Sangha is an essential practice. A good Sangha can be the refuge of so many people. In our Buddhist Institutions, Sangha building should be an important subject of learning and training.

The Buddha has shown us the basic principle for a good diagnostic in the form of the Four Noble Truths. Ill-being, the roots of ill-being, the Cessation of ill-being and the practice of uprooting ill-being. Buddhism should be practiced in the light of the Four Noble Truths, and the transformation in healing we need should happen in the here ad the now, not later in another world. We are quite good in presenting Buddhist theories, but we are not good enough to put the beautiful teachings into practice in the here and the now. The Practice, namely the living Dharma, should be lovely in the here and the now. Let us take this opportunity to share our insight and awakening, let us commit ourselves to live our daily life in the light of that insight and awakening, let us get the support of each other in order to do so, let us support each other to do so. Buddhist contributions to change Society and the World should be seen in our practice, namely in our way of daily life. With our awareness, with our awakening, with our commitment, we can be the change that we have been talking about.

by THICH NHAT HANH

(back to top)