Buddhists here in Syracuse often feel frustrated about the social injustices surrounding them daily. It is the desire of the Buddhist community of Syracuse not simply to pray for an end to social, political, and environmental injustices, it is their desire to actually also work hard in order help envision positive reforms to help make this community and the world a better place to live for us all. Matteo Pistono, a Washington Post reporter, has written for The Buddhist Channel, "Engaging the world through Buddhism", http://bit.ly/nxU0jQ. What is meant by Engaged Buddhism is the searching for ways to practically apply insights from Buddhist meditation practices and spiritual teachings to work to alleviate social, political, environmental, and economic suffering and injustice.
The actual roots of Engaged Buddhism can be found in the teachings and actions of the Buddha himself. With Engaged Buddhism it is not enough to simply be a Buddhist who is working for political reforms and social justice. Instead Engaged Buddhists go further to critically and creatively apply the Buddha’s teachings to transform themselves and also to transform their societies. Modern day Engaged Buddhists who have guided organizations such as the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the International Network of Engaged Buddhist, and the Zen Peacemakers have included Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam, Ajan Maha Ghosanand of Cambodia, The Dalai Lama of Tibet, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, and Ajan Sulak Sivaraksa of Thailand.
It is hoped that the teachings of Buddha will help all Buddhists become Engaged Buddhists who place a priority on acting on the behalf of others. We all have pain from misfortunes in our lives and what we must learn from this is that there are also many other people who have similar pain from misfortunes in their lives. And so when we decide to act to try to correct the injustices which have lead to our pain we must consider acting on the behalf of the pain which we understand others have. Engaged Buddhists all have a shared responsibility to work to affect changes that will bring about the conditions to help others to find contentment and happiness.
Photographer: hinnamsaisuy
Mandel News Service: www.mandelnews.com
