Social and Political Engagement Recommended Archives

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Social and Political Engagement Recommended

The Dharmic Imperative Towards Radical, Socially Engaged Buddhism

Alexandra Cain argues that Buddhist practice should not stop at the individual but challenge the craving and greed that drives exploitative and oppressive social institutions.

The value of meditational awareness and Buddhist ethics for progressive groups

Katya de Kadt explains how meditational awareness and an ethics based in the values and wisdom of Buddhism can help activists avoid burnout and play a productive role in the struggle for social change.

What is engaged Buddhism missing? The Buddha on poverty and plutocracy

In a recent dharma talk, David Loy emphasized the economic roots of the climate crisis and calls for structural, not just individual, change. According to David, 'the ecological crisis is deeply implicated in the basic structure of our economic system. . . In other words, the eco-crisis is also an economic—especially a class—crisis.'

How Buddhist insights and values can help sustain political activism

Mike Slott explores the ways in which Buddhist insights and values can enable political activists to sustain their activity in various movements and to make a positive contribution to the organizations in which they participate.

Understanding and alleviating suffering (dukkha)

We suffer not only because we have the tendency to be angry, greedy, and deluded, but because social, political, and economic structures foster these tendencies and amplify their impact. John Danvers discusses the characteristics of a society which would facilitate their opposites: compassion, non-harming, cooperation, and mindfulness.

An interview with Yanai Postelnik on meditation and climate change activism

Bernat Font Clos interviewed Yanai Postelnik, a meditation teacher who in recent years has been devoting more and more time to climate activism with the group Extinction Rebellion, a decentralized, international movement using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to persuade governments to act on the climate emergency.

A secular Buddhist perspective on the threat of climate extinction

Stephen Batchelor argues that a wise and compassionate response to the threat of climate extinction demands direct engagement with life itself irrespective of any a priori beliefs about the origins and end of suffering. By entering into a contemplative, empathetic, and existential relationship with the pain of the world, one seeks to respond with situation-specific compassion.

Engaged Buddhists need radical social theory

We need both the Buddha's insights on the human condition and a non-deterministic, humanistic Marxism to create a 'culture of awakening' and just society in which all human beings have the opportunity to flourish. As each perspective has strengths and weaknesses, we need to bring these perspectives together in a complementary, mutually enriching way.

A secular Buddhist perspective on dharmic citizenship

Winton Higgins urges secular Buddhists to be active citizens and contribute to social and political change. Given the crises facing our society, 'nowadays politics matters like never before!'

A dharmic understanding of evil: the banality of climate change

The mythical figure of Mara in the Pali canon provides us with an obvious starting point for understanding evil. He appears again and again to the Buddha and his advanced disciples, preferably when they’re meditating. He’s disguised as a well-meaning stranger offering friendly, banal advice, the import of which would throw the hearer right off course if s/he heeded him.