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http://www.UrbanDharma.org
...Buddhism for Urban America
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The
Urban Dharma Newsletter...
February 4, 2003
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In
This Issue:
1.
No One Praying?
2. Laying the Foundation for Social Action ... by Ajahn
Pasanno
3. eBook: Buddhsim and Social Change ... An eBook by Ken
Jones
4. Temple/Center/Website- of the Week:
Be the Cause- Portal for Progress
5. Book Review: Love in Action:
Writings on Nonviolent Social Change ...by Thich Nhat Hanh
-------------------------------
1.
No One Praying?
A
Christian missionary found a Chinese Buddhist priest chanting
in a temple. When the Buddhist priest had finished, the missionary
asked him: "To whom were you praying?"
"To
no one," replied the Buddhist priest.
"Well,
what were you praying for?" the missionary insisted.
"Nothing,"
said the Buddhist priest,
The
missionary turned away, baffled.
As
he was leaving the temple the Buddhist priest added: "And
there was no one praying, you know!"
2.
Laying the Foundation for Social Action
...by Ajahn Pasanno
*
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/pasanno.htm
Adapted
from a talk given at Fort Bragg, CA, March 23, 1998. Originally
published in Fearless Mountain, Spring, 1999, pp. 1,
4-5.
From
a Buddhist perspective, anything to do with other people can
be considered social action: how we relate to the individuals
close to us such as family or neighbors, to society at large,
and to the world around us. The field of social action expands
out, but it begins with ourselves and our relationships to others.
The individual is at the core of all relationships between any
parts of society. We must always return to that core, to recognize
that our own actions affect other people and the society around
us. This is simply the basic law of karma-anything we do affects
ourselves and others. It's not a matter of "me" and
"society," as if they were separate. There isn't really
any separation. The two are interrelated all the time.
What
we bring to the society around us are simply our own qualities
of mind, of heart, of being-our intentions and how they manifest
in our actions. In order to understand our effects on society,
we first have to understand ourselves, to see these qualities
more clearly. The ability we have to help others, or to do anything
to affect others, is dependent upon the clarity, intention,
and integrity with which we live our lives. These things are
inseparable. As such, the way we train ourselves is equally
important to any actions we take outside ourselves.
In
Buddhist practice, the training laid out for an individual begins
with how one practices with others. This is sila, or virtue-not
harming others, being honest in the way one deals with others,
being trustworthy in one's actions and speech. The practice
of keeping the precepts is already social action. The precepts
remind us of the ways our actions affect others. Oftentimes,
people may think, Let's get to the "real" stuff about
Buddhism-the liberation, the enlightenment; keeping the precepts
is just a social convention, just the basics. But this "basic"
stuff has an effect. It is important. The Buddha recognized
that our actions have effects for ourselves and for others.
While
virtue concerns itself with actions and speech, the second aspect
of the Buddhist training is meditation, or samadhi-a training
of the mind and the heart, a clarifying of mindfulness, awareness,
and composure. These are essential to cultivate. If we are going
to take any social responsibility, it has to be done with an
open heart and a clear mind. We must develop a standard for
reflection. We can then start to ask, what are the effects of
our words and actions? Sometimes people get enthused about social
action and forget about the ordinary activities in life. How
do I deal with my family? How do I deal with the people closest
to me? Or even how do I answer the phone? What do I put into
the universe when I am irritated or upset? These are very ordinary,
everyday things, preparing the ground for how we relate to the
world around us. Paying attention to these things is social
action. Dealing with the circle of people around us is social
action. It is not different.
From
a Buddhist perspective, the next step is recognizing the quality
of wisdom, or pañña. There are many different levels
of wisdom, but seeing things as they truly are is its essence.
With a reflective ability of the mind, we can begin to see things
as they truly are and start to turn towards that. This is not
simply gathering new bits of knowledge or being zapped with
some sort of enlightened energy. It is a turning inward to be
able to open to all the ways things truly are and allowing our
lives to be guided by that wisdom. How does this affect myself?
How does this affect others? What is the way to freedom and
liberation? What is the way out of suffering and dissatisfaction
for myself and for others? Wisdom is seeing the different ways
we entangle ourselves in things and the different ways we can
be free.
Virtue,
meditation, and wisdom are the tools we use in training ourselves
in how to relate to the world around us. This training will
help us to see the qualities that bring true benefit to our
society-the qualities of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic
joy, and equanimity. These are the Brahma viharas, or divine
abodes. In a way, these can be considered a goal of social action:
creating a way in which human beings should live. Loving kindness
is the wish for another's happiness; compassion is the wish
to alleviate another's suffering. Sympathetic joy is the happiness
we feel in the success of another. And equanimity is the ability
to stay centered in the midst of life's ups and downs.
The
quality of sympathetic joy is an interesting one in terms of
social action. Its opposite is jealousy or envy. In many ways,
envy is the foundation for competition and conflict. If a society
is based upon competitive accumulation-like some societies we
know-it can create conflict and a lack of appreciation and willingness
to enjoy each other. Having come to the United States after
living in Thailand for twenty-three years, the sense of competition
here is very striking. In Thailand, there is a wide stratification
in terms of socio-economic level and opportunity within society,
but there is not a lot of envy or competition. People are often
motivated to improve their economic lot, but they don't resent
those who already have wealth or privilege. Similarly, there
is usually not a looking down on or shunning of those in economic
difficulty or from a poor background. There is an acceptance
that people have accumulated different tendencies and have different
abilities.
This
acceptance has imbued people's consciousness. It is a sense
of karma playing a role in people's lives over many lifetimes,
a feeling of "who knows?" This lifetime can change;
in other lifetimes it might be different. Rebirth is an accepted
part of how they perceive the world - it's a long view on life.
This takes away the edge of selfishness and competitiveness
and brings a sense of appreciation for each other as human beings,
a joy in each other's happiness. By turning toward this quality
of joy, we can draw on our wish to help others, to be of service.
Acceptance
also brings the quality of equanimity, a non-reactive clarity
that allows one to stay centered. Equanimity is not indifference.
It is the ability to return to a place of stillness, to be non-reactive,
and to weigh things carefully. This is an important quality
especially when considering social action or social responsibility.
Without equanimity, we can get drawn into our own reactiveness-our
views and opinions. We can think that we're always right, that
other people are just a bunch of idiots. It's easy to get turned
around and out of balance. Not being drawn into the web of our
views and opinions but being able to settle and reflect-to ask,
what is the way of balance?-equanimity is essential in undertaking
social action.
*
* *
In
the social action projects I have been involved in, the Buddhist
perspective has taught me some important things. Take a particular
project, like protecting the forests. The monastery in Thailand
at which I was abbot was quite well-known, with a large community
of monks, novices, lay men, and lay women practicing and training
there. I thought it would provide a good balance to set up a
more remote branch monastery. Our new location was right along
the Mekong River. It was in one of the last forests in the province,
and around that time, the area was made into a national park.
But this was just a designation on the map, and it caused a
lot of problems. The area was full of stumps. It was being logged,
and many villagers had made their fields there.
The
Buddhist perspective was very helpful. We couldn't simply say,
"These are awful, nasty people. The planet would be a fine
sort of place if they weren't doing this." The reality
was that they are doing this and that they are people just like
us. They are trying to look after their families and to get
ahead in the world. In order to do anything to protect the forest,
we had to find ways to include them. How do you involve the
people who are cutting down the forest? How do you include the
merchants who are paying them? How do you include the civil
servants who are taking the bribes to allow the cutting?
The
teachings told us that problems come from people not understanding
how they are creating suffering for themselves and for others.
Problems and suffering come from desires and attachments. You
can't simply wish that away. You've got to work on the basic
problems of bringing knowledge and education into their lives.
Why were they cutting down the forest? Of course, they wanted
to live comfortably, to look after their families. So, we had
to find ways to provide for them. Otherwise, it would be like
trying to build a wall to stop the tide from coming in. Good
luck! It's going to find a way. Instead, you have to think clearly
and find ways to address peoples' needs, to include them and
bring them in. This takes time.
This
understanding reflects our own personal spiritual practice.
We'd all like to sit down, cross our legs, close our eyes, and
become enlightened-just like that. Instead, we have to take
the time to lay a foundation, to become patient and clear enough
to develop the path in a comprehensive way. Just as the Buddha
taught us the Four Noble Truths as the basis for our own practice-suffering,
the causes of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the
path leading to the cessation of suffering-the same applies
to social action. We've got suffering, we've got a problem.
What are all the different causes of that problem? What kind
of end can there be to that problem? If we haven't understood
the problem, we won't be able to see the causes. And if we aren't
really clear about the goal we are working towards, we won't
really know what kinds of path to develop. It works in society
the same way it works in our own practice. The more we reflect
on and practice with those truths for ourselves, the more we
are able to apply them in our life, in very ordinary situations,
with our friends, with our family, at work, with different problems
happening in the community. That is social action.
How
can we work together to do this? With our project along the
Mekong, we began by drawing in people affiliated with the monastery
who were interested in helping. In a Buddhist society, the monastery
is a foundation we could build on, a field for social action.
Because the monastery is dependent on lay people to support
it, there is a day-to-day connection with the neighboring society.
It is a web of support and interaction, so that when there is
a problem in the community, we can easily recognize who is interested
in helping. At first there were a few volunteers. When there
was too much work for volunteers to do, we hired some people.
Again, the money for their salaries came from offerings to the
monastery from people in the community.
The
forest project continued to grow. We even drew in people like
the police. They had power, especially when it came to controlling
who was taking logs out. Rather than getting into a confrontation
with them, we asked how we could work with them. That was very
easy at the time because one of the supporters of the monastery
was the Deputy Superintendent of Police. He was a great resource
for drawing in other honest police officers, who then had a
few words with even more police officers and got them on our
side. This takes time, it takes patience, it takes clarity.
If you work in a confrontational way, it's difficult to achieve
this. By having a strong focus on one's personal practice and
integrity, by becoming more clear, centered, and pure-hearted
in one's intention for doing good, the more one starts to connect
with other people. In terms of social action, this seems to
be a magnet, drawing other good people. It gets its own momentum
going. So far, the forest project is working. And besides
being successful in its own right, it has been adopted as a
model for trial projects in other national parks in Thailand.
During
one of the recent elections in Thailand, I saw a handwritten
sign on the side of a building. It said something like, "The
forces of corruption are given more power when good people retreat."
The "system" gains more momentum when we decide we
don't want to deal with it, that things are hopeless. With social
action work, we have to be patient, discerning, equanimous.
We have to be willing to try and to fail. We have to recognize
that sometimes things will work and sometimes they won't. And
that they always work out in ways we may never have conceived.
This is the same as returning to the foundation of one's own
practice: keeping the precepts; developing clarity, tranquillity,
and peace of mind; establishing wisdom through reflective investigation;
cultivating the qualities of kindness, compassion, sympathetic
joy, and equanimity. These form the foundation that allows us
to move out into the realm of social action.
Ajahn
Pasanno is co-abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery. Originally
from Canada, he spent 23 years as a monk in Thailand and served
as abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat for 15 years. This talk was first
published in the Abhayagiri Newsletter in Spring 1999.
3.
Buddhsim and Social Change
... An eBook by Ken Jones
[Starting
with this issue, I am going to add an eBook as an attachment
once or twice a month. An eBook is a cross-platform (both Mic
& Mac) PDF file that will let you read and print the original
fonts and graphics. It let's the author have more control over
his/her work, and it makes large print files (20 or more pages)
more manageable. As far as I know, every new computer ships
with the 'Adobe Acrobat Reader.' The Adobe Acrobat reader is
a free download from http://www.adobe.com, as
is their free Adobe eBook Reader (more advanced than
the Acrobat reader).]
*
Find below a excerpt from the attached eBook; Buddhism and
Social Change by Ken Jones.
1.1
Buddhism and the new global society
It
is the manifest suffering and folly in the world that invokes
humane and compassionate social action in its many different
forms. For Buddhists this situation raises fundamental and controversial
questions. And here, also, Buddhism has implications of some
significance for Christians, humanists and other non-Buddhists.
By
"social action" we mean the many different kinds of
action intended to benefit mankind. These range from simple
individual acts of charity, teaching and training, organized
kinds of service, "Right Livelihood" in and outside
the helping professions, and through various kinds of
community development as well as to political activity in working
for a better society.
Buddhism
is a pragmatic teaching which starts from certain fundamental
propositions about how we experience the world and how we act
in it. It teaches that it is possible to transcend this sorrow-laden
world of our experience and is concerned first and last with
ways of achieving that transcendence. What finally leads to
such transcendence is what we call Wisdom. The enormous literature
of Buddhism is not a literature of revelation and authority.
Instead, it uses ethics and meditation, philosophy and science,
art and poetry to point a way to this Wisdom. Similarly, Buddhist
writing on social action, unlike secular writings, makes finite
proposals which must ultimately refer to this Wisdom, but which
also are arguable in terms of our common experience.
In
the East, Buddhism developed different schools of "traditions,"
serving the experiences of different cultures, ranging from
Sri Lanka through Tibet and Mongolia to Japan. Buddhism may
thus appear variously as sublime humanism, magical mysticism,
poetic paradox and much else. These modes of expression, however,
all converge upon the fundamental teaching, the "perennial
Buddhism." This pamphlet is based upon the latter, drawing
upon the different oriental traditions to present the teachings
in an attempt to relate them to our modern industrial society.
From
the evidence of the Buddha's discourses, or suttas in the Digha
Nikaya, it is clear that early Buddhists were very much concerned
with the creation of social conditions favorable to the individual
cultivation of Buddhist values. An outstanding example of this,
in later times, is the remarkable "welfare state"
created by the Buddhist emperor, Asoka (B.C. 274-236).
Walpola
Rahula stated the situation -- perhaps at its strongest -- when
he wrote that "Buddhism arose in India as a spiritual force
against social injustices, against degrading superstitious rites,
ceremonies and sacrifices; it denounced the tyranny of the caste
system and advocated the equality of all men; it emancipated
woman and gave her complete spiritual
freedom." (Rahula, 1978). The Buddhist scriptures do indicate
the general direction of
Buddhist social thinking, and to that extent they are suggestive
for our own times.
Nevertheless
it would be pedantic, and in some cases absurd, to apply directly
to modern industrial society social prescriptions detailed to
meet the needs of social order which flourished twenty-three
centuries ago. The Buddhist householder of the Sigalovada Sutta
experienced a different way of life from that of a computer
consultant in Tokyo or an unemployed black youth in Liverpool.
And the conditions which might favor their cultivation of the
Middle Way must be secured by correspondingly different -- and
more complex -- social, economic and political strategies.
It
is thus essential to attempt to distinguish between perennial
Buddhism on the one hand and, on the other, the specific social
prescriptions attributed to the historical Buddha which related
the basic, perennial teaching to the specific conditions of
his day. We believe that it is unscholarly to transfer the scriptural
social teaching uncritically and with careful qualification
to modern societies, or to proclaim that the Buddha was a democrat
and an internationalist. The modern terms "democracy"
and "internationalism" did not exist in the sense
in which we understand them in the emergent feudal society in
which the Buddha lived. Buddhism is illserved in the long run
by such special pleading. On the other hand, it is arguable
that there are
democratic and internationalist implications in the basic
Buddhist teachings.
In
the past two hundred years society in the West has undergone
a more fundamental transformation than at any period since Neolithic
times, whether in terms of technology or the world of ideas.
And now in the East while this complex revolution is undercutting
traditional Buddhism, it is also stimulating oriental Buddhism;
and in the West it is creating problems and perceptions to which
Buddhism seems particularly relevant. Throughout its history
Buddhism has been successfully reinterpreted in accordance with
different cultures, whilst at the same time preserving its inner
truths. Thus has Buddhism spread and survived. The historic
task of Buddhists in both East and West in the twenty-first
century is to interpret perennial Buddhism in terms of the needs
of industrial man and woman in the social conditions of their
time, and to demonstrate its acute and urgent relevance to the
ills of that society. To this great and difficult enterprise
Buddhists will bring their traditional boldness and humility.
For certainly this is no time for clinging to dogma and defensiveness.
4.
Be the Cause... Portal for Progress
*
http://www.bethecause.org/portal/
Contact
Info
E-mail
Addresses:
General:
change@bethecause.org
Website:
admin@bethecause.org
Networking:
coalition@bethecause.org
Mailing
Address:
Be
The Cause
PO
BOX 3575
Tustin,
CA 92781
Telephone:
714-679-2983
The
only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will
have sought and found how to serve – Albert Schweitzer
The
term Be The Cause means many different things to many
different people. Our favorite definition was given to us by
a volunteer during the first three months of operation: “Be
The Cause is an empty space in which you can enter to be of
service.”
Be
The Cause properly defined is a movement dedicated to fostering
progressive change. We see our mission as three-fold:
Progress
Together
To
facilitate projects designed to create opportunities of collaboration
among progressive organizations and individuals: With strength,
in unison, and in numbers, we can create the change that we
all wish to see in the world. We know that what we do is not
about any one organization or any one individual. We know that
we are all part of one big universal team, one big family. Through
our collective efforts we will write the pages of a new history.
Inspire
Change
To
facilitate projects that build inspiration in the lives of the
general masses: We believe that reaching out to the general
public is a necessary aspect of re-creating a peaceful planet.
It will take the few of us to lead the change for the rest of
us. In the end we believe that Be The Cause will have a membership
of 7 Billion volunteers.
In
Service
To
facilitate projects that are designed to assist with humanitarian
efforts around the globe: Our global long term vision is to
ensure that every being is entitled to food, water, shelter,
clothing, education, and world peace.
Be
The Cause is not just a network of progressive organizations
and individuals. It is a network empowered. We will not just
discuss ways to work together, we will work together.
We will organize and partake in numerous projects, each with
the goal of building inspiration in the lives of everyone we
touch. Our long-term vision is to continue to support humanitarian
projects around the world, to continue to build the network
of progress, and to continue to build inspiration everywhere.
More
on our vision
Like
the many definitions of Be The Cause, there may also be many
reasons why you choose to be involved. Some of you may understand
the earlier quote by Albert Schweitzer and your involvement
may come through your search for happiness. Some of you may
understand that everything in the universe has been built on
the principle of giving: the nature of the sun is to give, the
nature of a flower is to give, the nature of us human beings,
albeit forgotten, is to give.
Some
of you may be here to be part of the change. Your recognition
of the irrational behavior that the human species have displayed
throughout time is what led your here. The quick degradation
of our environment, our necessity to wage war on each other,
our inability to provide for those not as fortunate… Being
the intelligent beings that we are, we were probably sent here
as the care-takers of this land. A quick overview of everything
that exists will uncover that we are in fact the only species
set out to destroy.
Irrespective
of your own reasons of being here, you are already part of the
change. Take a look at what you think needs to change, and work
towards that end. Never give up, never give up hope, the planet
depends on your dedication and faith. In the end, it will take
our collective efforts to write the pages of a new history.
We
welcome your assistance and suggestions on how to structure
our organization to better facilitate the progressive change
that we are all after.
5.
Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change ...by
Thich Nhat Hanh
*
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0938077635/wwwkusalaorg-20
Amazon.com-
Reviewer: Anne T. Hogan from Brooklyn, N.Y. United States...
Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the planets greatest resources.He
has given his life to teaching and the eradication of suffering[or
perhaps the transformation of suffering]. I first encounterd
Nhat hanh in a jewel of a book, THE RAFT IS NOT THE SHORE,a
dialogue with Daniel Berrigan,S.J.[soon to be reprinted]Sine
then, i have read as much of Thich hat hanh as I can.This book
is a group of essays and statements to the press covering a
period form early in the vietnam war{Nhat Hanh has been in exile
since the mid 1960's] up to the gulf war. The opening is a play
{a short one] that takes place in vietnam. The other essays
[very well written] cover like minded subjects: Buddhism in
Vietnam, on simplicity,refugees {boat people,specifically] and
the title piece.Along with Maha Ghosananda, {called the Gandhi
of cambodia, the patriarch of Cambodian buddhism] nhat hanh
is a boddhitsatva, a living saint. we are graced by his presence,and
his writings.
Amazon.com-
Reviewer: E. Alexander Gerster from South Miami, Florida
USA... This collection of writings by Thich Nhat Hanh spans
over two decades of his reflections on nonviolence, peace, and
reconciliation. The voice of a poet is mixed with the inner
strength found in the works of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and
the Dalai Lama. It is an important resource for anyone working
for social change, or searching for strength from within.
Of
Thich Nhat Hanh's more than sixty books, this one would be one
of my picks of his "top ten," following closely behing
PEACE IS EVERY STEP and BEING PEACE. Highly recommended.
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