Buddhist Approaches to Social Action

Abstract

Effective tools for understanding and working with the current planetary crisis are found in Buddhist metaphysics and Buddhist practice. The Buddha's central doctrine of dependent co-arising, clarifying the interdependent nature of reality, helps us transcend outmoded dichotomies between the personal and the political. Practical applications are offered in the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka, where Buddhist theory and practice mobilize villagers for community development, and in Macy's despair-and-empowerment work in our own society, helping people respond creatively to the nuclear peril, environmental destruction, and other causes of suffering.