[Fcm-News] Dharma and politics

[FCM UPDATES]

Dear Dharma friends,

 

During the past months, several people have asked me about the "Buddhist
view" on the current elections (and politics in general), and, of course, I
have been reflecting to see my own way clear on this significant issue.  I
want to share my reflections with you.

 

We can begin with the major thrust of Mahayana Buddhism (the Great Path),
which is the tradition that both Zen and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen)
developed within and is the tradition that I have mainly practiced.  It is
called the Great Path, because its concern is with the welfare and
liberation of all beings (not just myself or a few chosen others) and seeks
both the short and long term remediation of the suffering of sentient
beings.  What are the tools that the Mahayanist uses to see clearly the
needs of beings and the means to liberate them?  They are wisdom and
compassion, i.e. the capacity to see deeply, act wisely and always maintain
an open, loving and non-judgmental heart.  A tall order when it comes to the
fractious, often negative, and highly competitive win-lose political arena!

 

More specifically, our community (the Florida Community of Mindfulness)
practices in the "spirit" of Thich Nhat Hanh, which primarily refers to his
profound and eminently practical elucidation of "engaged Buddhism." Many
persons, mistakenly, think that "engaged Buddhism" is synonymous with
"social activism".  Actually, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thay or teacher/master
in Vietnamese by his students) has repeatedly said written that engaged
Buddhism is a Buddhism that is engaged with the world and the reality of
ones individual and societal life.  Thus, an engaged Buddhist manifests his
or her practice in the personal, interpersonal and community/societal arenas
with impartiality.  As Thay has said, he did not involve himself in his
anti-war activities during the Vietnam War because he was an anti-war
activist, but because he was an engaged Buddhist.  When he saw the immense
suffering and social dislocation the war was causing to his country and to
his fellow Vietnamese outside the walls of his temple, how could he not
respond? Thus, the engaged Buddhist responds to the sufferings of the world
from a heart-mind that is present to reality, and not from an ideological or
theoretical view or position. Another synonym for engaged Buddhism could be,
"love in action."

 

Let us now look at our present situation and the reality that confronts us
as Americans.  On our meditation cushion, we seek to develop harmony and
awareness in our minds and lovingkindness and compassion in our hearts.  In
our sanghas, we seek to create communities of mindfulness, mutuality and
openheartedness. Then, we seek to extend these ways of being to everyone we
encounter.  Obviously, politics and elections touch a more noticeable
interconnection with the world than our individual practices, and can, in
the short run, have more far-reaching effects (positively and negatively).
The political systems capacity for promoting the "good" or the "bad" is
far-reaching due to the broad reach of our extremely powerful government,
nationally and internationally.  Government, however imperfect an
instrument, through its policies is definitely a major influence in the
unfolding of our nations and the world's karma.

 

So how does an engaged Buddhist relate to the political realm?  As an
engaged Buddhist, when I enter the world of politics, my intention is to
make causes for a more "enlightened" society, meaning a society that is
based on dharmic principles, i.e.,  in this vast web of interconnection and
interbeing, do no harm, actively promote virtue, and work unceasingly for
the liberation of all beings. As examples of how one might look at the
social/political/economic choices we all face, one might support:

 

*More non-violent/diplomatic/negotiated solutions and less
violent/unilateral/military solutions; 

 

*More compassionate actions focusing of promoting the well-being of beings
and meeting their basic needs (including safety and security) and less
indifference/callousness/selfishness in social and economic policy;

 

*More open communication and mutual problem solving among peoples and
nations and less threatening verbiage/physical intimidation/independent
actions in foreign policy;

 

*More understanding of interdependence and interconnection among the world's
inhabitants and how our choices affect the world's natural resources and
less narrow-minded/parochial/country-centric decision-making;

 

*More understanding of the need for tolerance, mutual respect and acceptance
of diversity and less demonizing of the "enemy", less "we versus them", less
national self-righteousness and  intolerance of differences. 

 

As I write this list, I realize that it could go on-and-on, but I believe
you get my 'drift' (and perhaps could write a better list!).

 

Next is the reality that the current political atmosphere is sorely poisoned
by deceptive speech, endless finger pointing, disingenuous posturing and a
surplus of self- righteousness.  A less than ideal environment for an
engaged Buddhist to feel at-home or welcome! Yet, as practitioners of
non-violence (ahimsa), we are inspired to live a life that does "no-harm" in
our thoughts, words, and actions. The example of ancestral non-violent
exemplars inspires us to bring deep listening, compassionate speech and
mutual respect into the political arena.  Can we disagree with another's
"politics" without needing to demean them as people, cast aspersions on
their motives, and not see the commonality of intention that may motivate
all of us?  Can we find ways to acknowledge the unity of goals, and, at the
same time, see that the issues are often a disagreement about means?  Dharma
always seeks the good, the noble in human situations and does not seek to
promote conflict, division, and the ignoble in social discourse.  

 

We are currently five to six weeks away from our national election.  Our
nation and the world are facing major issues of war and peace, economic
crisis and financial instability, environmental degradation, global warming,
vast economic disparities between the lives of the rich and the poor, to
name a few. As individuals looking at our election choices, please let us
use our "dharma eyes" to see deeply into the political morass, see beyond
words and labels, and to be unafraid in bringing our values and good wishes
for the world into our political choices. Also, be aware that our choices
are not black and white, not simply right versus wrong.  The patient is
quite ill and may take a long time to heal, but we can prescribe medicine
that can begin the healing process and lessen the patient's immediate
suffering.

 

Acting from a wise and loving heart, let us involve ourselves with this
wounded world and work compassionately to heal and transform it.  While our
personal practice is certainly the basis for our actions, we should not turn
our back on the political process, but be willing to enter the perfectly
imperfect world of candidates, voter registration, campaign involvement, and
voting without losing our sense of groundedness or peace of mind. 

 

Thank you for your patience with this rather long letter, but I think the
difficulties of our times deserve some deep looking.  I certainly would
recommend for all of us to reacquaint ourselves with the Fourteen Trainings
of the Order of Interbeing (can be found on the web or in the book,
Interbeing).

 

In the Dharma, Fred

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.floridamindfulness.org/pipermail/fcm-news-floridamindfulness.org/attachments/20080930/39c817e7/attachment.htm>