June 11 1963 Self-immolation by a Vietnamese monkWhat is Engaged Buddhism?
Engaged Buddhism refers to social activities by Buddhists / Buddhist organizations and social movements inspired by Buddhist teachings.
It is said that this term was coined by the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nath Hanh, who used it explain the anti-war protests and self-immolations by Vietnamese Buddhists monks during the Vietnam War.
It is said that this term was coined by the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nath Hanh, who used it explain the anti-war protests and self-immolations by Vietnamese Buddhists monks during the Vietnam War.
Various Examples of Engaged Buddhist movements are:
- Tibet liberation movement led by Dalai Lama
- The Neo-Buddhists movement in India by the lower caste Buddhist converts
- Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka.
- Buddhadasa Bhikku and “development monks” or “ecology monks” of Thailand.
- Maha Ghosananda and Dhammayietra (Peace Walk) in Cambodia.
- Peace movements by Japanese Buddhists e.g. Nipponzan Myohoji, Soka Gakkai, Rissho Kosei-kai.
Study of Engaged Buddhism
The study of Engaged Buddhism is emerging as a new area of research on contemporary Buddhism.
Christopher Queen, Sallie King and others Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia (1996); Engaged Buddhism in the West (2000); Action Dharma: New Studies in Engaged Buddhism (2003), Joanna Macy Dharma and Development (1991) ; Kenneth Kraft Inner Peace, World Peace (1992)…… to name a few researches on Engaged Buddhism by western scholars.
Engaged Buddhism in Japan
社会参加仏教 (Syakai Sanka Bukkyo) Japanese translation of Engaged Buddhism.
This term is coined by Ranjana Mukhopadhyay. It appears in the title of her book, Nihon ni okeru Syakai Sanka Bukkyo (Engaged Buddhism in Japan) Toshindo, Japan: Tokyo, 2005.
In this Book ~
Engaged Buddhism is used as an analytical concept to study the modern transformation of Japanese Buddhism and identify the main patterns of social engagement of modern / contemporary Japanese Buddhism.
This conceptualization of ‘Engaged Buddhism’ is based on the interactions between Buddhism (religion) and other modern social institutions (e.g. state, civil society, education etc.) that emerges as a consequence of its social activism.
