After the election of Donald Trump as president of the U.S., members of the Secular Buddhist Network (SBN) began discussing the need to create a broad-based coalition of Buddhists to respond to the harms caused by the Trump administration.

These discussions and outreach to other Buddhist groups and individuals have led to the creation of the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy. On March 17, 90 people attended an online meeting of the group. In addition to SBN, there were representatives from Zen, Shambhala, Thich Nhat Hanh, Insight, and Reflective Meditation sanghas, as well as individual Buddhist practitioners.

In a short period of time, the group has created a Call for Action and Statement of Principles, and begun to set up a variety of committees.

The Call for Action lays out the composition and purpose of the group:

We are the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy, a newly formed alliance of Buddhist sanghas and individuals representing multiple traditions and lineages. We welcome alliances with other civic, religious, political and legal organizations who share our values. We feel called upon to respond collectively to the ongoing destruction of democratic principles, institutions, and norms, the rule of law, and to the demonization and persecution of vulnerable groups. As Buddhists, we are called to witness the suffering of the world and to mindfully, wisely, and compassionately respond to it. We represent a broad coalition of members with differing political philosophies—radical, progressive, liberal, centrist, and conservative—who share a common love for a thriving democracy and are committed to ensuring its survival.

The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy stands for the following principles:

• We believe in the structures, norms, and laws that enable free societies to flourish: free and fair elections; the separation of powers; a free press; freedom of speech, religion, and association; the rule of law; an impartial justice system; and a military committed to preserving and protecting the Constitution.
• We believe no one should be discriminated against or subjected to cruelty on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion, country of origin, political beliefs, age, gender, or sexual orientation.
• We believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which affirm the dignity and basic rights of every individual.
• We believe everyone should have access to the necessities of food, shelter, clothing, a living wage, a decent education, and quality health care.
• We believe government officials should speak truthfully and transparently, avoid conflicts of interest, and not govern to enrich a selected few.
• We believe that society flourishes best when free inquiry and creativity are promoted and supported in medicine, science, the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts.
• We believe human flourishing is imperiled by climate change, ecological destruction, and biodiversity loss and that governments are responsible for protecting it.

If you are interested in participating in the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy, click here to sign on to the Call for Action and to join one of the committees.