Religion, World Order, and Peace: Buddhist Responses

Abstract

Religion, World Order, and Peace: Buddhist Responses Donald K. Swearer The following essay presents four outstanding examples of Buddhist leaders who have dedicated their lives to addressing the issues highlighted in “Religion, World Order, and Peace,” the document prepared for the U.N. Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. The authors of the document rightly point out that from a historical perspective the world’s religions have served to constitute a sense of social solidarity but they also have contributed to enmity and violent conflict. Doctrinally, the world religions uphold ideals of peace and non‐violence, but historically they have been instrumental causes of intolerance and discrimination. In the face of the complicated connection between religion and conflict, the authors call on religious and spiritual leaders to commit to mitigating violence and transforming it into constructive behavior in ways that involve rethinking the formation of the religious life, reexamining sacred symbols, and reallocating resources. While not ignoring contemporary instances of Buddhist intolerance and even violence, are there exemplary Buddhists who are responding in positive and creative ways to the challenge posed by the U.N. document? To answer this question, I shall look at four different examples: Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk credited with coining the phrase, “socially engaged Buddhism;” Sulak Sivaraksa, the Thai social activist and co‐founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists; A.T. Ariyaratne, the founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana movement, the largest Buddhist NGO in Sri Lanka; and Dharma Master Cheng Yen, the Taiwanese nun who established the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, the largest charity organization in Taiwan with centers in thirty countries. Although Thich Nhat Hanh’s current fame in the Americas and Europe is as a Zen meditation teacher who leads spiritual retreats, his vocation as monk and peace activist began in Vietnam during the waning days of French colonialism, World War II, and the Vietnam War. Receiving full monastic ordination in 1949, he founded the An Quang Institute of Buddhist Studies in Saigon in 1950, and Van Hanh Buddhist University and the School of Youth for Social Service in the mid‐1960s. The latter became one of the primary centers of socially engaged Buddhist activism dedicated to healing the violence of the Vietnam War on the streets of Saigon. In 1966, Nhat Hahn presented a five‐point peace proposal to Washington that included a timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal, and in 1969 he headed the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation during the Paris Peace talks. After the end of the Vietnam War, he helped organize rescue missions for Vietnamese refugees trying to escape from political oppression. In 1965, Nhat Hanh founded the Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien) headquartered at the Plum Village Monastery in the south of France with other centers in Europe and North America based on the fundamental principle that peace in the creation of human communities requires not merely political, economic, and social change but inner transformation. A prolific writer and widely sought‐after speaker, Nhat Hanh continues his activities as a peace advocate including peace marches at MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, in 2005 and 2007. He teaches the essential relationship between contemplation and action; that the realization of one’s deepest, spiritual self and active involvement on behalf of the well‐being of others are interdependent; and that the cultural transformation necessary for the development of just, harmonious communities goes hand in hand with the practice of mindful awareness. After he returned to Thailand in 1961 having completed university and law degrees in Wales and England, Sulak Sivaraksa became a major force in developing intellectual concern over the social, economic, and political problems facing Thailand and creating a series of NGOs to address them. They have included the Coordinating Group for Religion and Society (CGRS), an ecumenical Buddhist and Christian human rights organization; the Thai Inter‐religious Commission for Development (TICD) that has sought to encourage Buddhist student associations to participate in social service and social change programs, to act as a bridge between rural and urban sectors of society, and to promote educational projects for children in slum areas; and the Santi (Peace), Pracha (Democratic) Institute (SPDI). The SPDI’s...