Socially Engaged Buddhism during the Time of the Buddha

[Full title: Conceptualisation of “Socially Engaged Buddhism” During the Time of the Buddha]

At the time of the Lord Buddha, the term “Socially Engaged Buddhism” was already in existence but it did not have the same connotation as today. Basically, the words used then for the set of practices it signified were different because the language in which the practical essence of socially engaged Buddhism was conceived was different from our language. In spite of that, the fundamental implications of socially engaged Buddhism have always been identical. Given the fact that it has been existing since the enlightenment of the Buddha, it is hard to say that socially engaged Buddhism is a new form of Buddhism as some scholars have argued.

There are evidences in the ancient Pali canon which indicate that Shakyamuni Buddha saw individual serenity and social concord as inseparable. Based on his enlightened observation, he laid down a set of guidelines for the development of just social institutions. The Jataka tales note that “the Buddha is shown as not withdrawing from the world, but as acting with compassion and wisdom for the benefit of all living beings”. About two centuries after the passing away of Lord Buddha, Nagarjuna, the erudite founder of Madhiyamika, also undertook an elaborate discussion on the application of Buddhist principles in the social realm^[1] .

It is worthwhile here to note a prolonged misconception which asserts that the Buddha’s teaching can be followed strictly by those people only who are on the verge of retiring from life. In all likelihood, it can be regarded as nothing but an unconscious defense against practicing it. In the Buddhist literature, there are numerous references to men and women who, despite living ordinary, normal family lives, successfully practiced what the Buddha taught, and went on to attain Nirvana. Vacchogatta the Wanderer once asked the Buddha straightforwardly whether there were laymen and women, who followed the Buddha’s teaching successfully and attained high spiritual status even while leading a family life. The Buddha kindly stated that there not one or two, not a hundred or two hundred or five hundred, but many more laymen and women leading the family life who followed his teaching successfully and attained high spiritual status.^[2]

It may be agreeable for certain people to live a retired life in a quiet place away from noise and disturbance. But it is certainly more praiseworthy and courageous to practise Buddhism while living among fellow beings, helping them and being of service to them. In certain cases, it may perhaps be useful for a person to live in retirement for a time in order to improve his or her mind and character, as preliminary moral, spiritual, and intellectual training, to be strong enough to come out later and help other. But if someone lives an entire life in solitude, thinking only about their own happiness and salvation, and without caring for their fellow beings, this surely is not in keeping with the teachings of the Buddha which are based on love, compassion and service to others.

Furthermore, it is baseless to think that Buddhism is focused on lofty ideals, high moral and philosophical thought, while ignoring the social and economic welfare of people. The fact that the Buddha was always interested in the happiness of people is beyond any debate now. In his opinion, the state of perfect happiness was impossible to achieve unless one led a pure life based on moral and spiritual principles. At the same time, he was also absolutely conversant with the hard and practical reality that leading such a life was never easy for a common spiritual practitioner in unfavorable material and social conditions.

In this regard, it is important to remember that Buddhism does not consider material welfare as an end in itself: it is only a means to an end-a higher and nobler end. But as a means to a great end, it is indispensable for the realization of a higher purpose for human happiness. So Buddhism recognizes the need of certain minimum material conditions favorable to spiritual success even for a monk engaged in meditation in some solitary place.^[3]

The Buddha did not take life out of the context of its social and economic background. Instead, he looked at it as a whole, in all its social, economic and political aspects. Like an expert physician, the Buddha took upon himself the marathon task of curing his patients and in order to accomplish this mission, he went on to discover how to lead them out of suffering by teachings on ethical, spiritual, and philosophical problems. However, a lot about his teaching on social, economic, and political matters is still unknown to a great extent, particularly in the West. Notwithstanding this, there is no denying the fact that numerous discourses dealing with these problems constitute the core of several ancient Buddhist texts. Let us consider a few examples.

A part of the Cakkavattisihanadasutta in the Digha-nikaya^[4] clearly states that poverty (daliddiya) causes immorality which results in the occurrence of crimes such as theft, falsehood, violence, hatred, cruelty, ect. Much like modern governments, the ancient kings tried to suppress crime through punishment. The Kutadanasutta of the same Nikaya explains the futility of this practice. It says that this method can never be successful and effective. In order to eradicate crime, as the Buddha argues, the economic condition of the people should be improved: grain and other facilities for agriculture should be provided for harmers and cultivators; capital should be provided for traders and those who are engaged in business; and adequate wages should be paid to those who are employed. When people thus get opportunities to earn a lot, they will be contented, will have no fear or anxiety, and consequently, the country will be peaceful and free from crime.

Keeping this in mind, the Buddha told lay people as to how important it was to improve their economic condition. This does not mean that he approved of hoarding wealth with desire and attachment, which is against his fundamental teaching, nor did he approve of each and every way of earning one’s livelihood. The fact is that there are certain trades like the production and sale of armaments, which he condemns as evil means of livelihood.

Once upon a time a lay disciple named Dighajanu visited the Buddha and asked: “Venerable Sir, we are ordinary laymen, leading the family life with wife and children. Would the Blessed One teach us some doctrines which will be conducive to our happiness in this world and hereafter?”

The Buddha replied that there are four things which are conducive to a man’s happiness in this world. First, he should be skilled, efficient, earnest, and energetic in whatever profession he is engaged, and he should know it well. Second, he should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow. Third, he should have good, faithful, learned, virtuous, liberal, and intelligent friends, who can help him along the right path away from evil. Fourth, he should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income, neither too much nor too little. In other words, he should not hoard wealth avariciously, and instead of being extravagant, should live within his means. The Buddha expounds the four virtues conducive to a layman’s happiness:

1) He should have faith and confidence in moral, spiritual, and intellectual values (Saddha).

2) He should abstain from destroying and harming life, from stealing andcheating, from adultery, from falsehood, and from intoxicating drinks (Sila).

3) He should practice charity, generosity, without attachment and cravingfor his wealth (Caga).

4) He should develop wisdom which leads to the complete destruction ofsuffering, to the realization of Nirvana (Panna).^[5]

Sometimes, the Buddha even goes into details on how to save and spend money. For instance, he tells the young man Sigala that he should spend one fourth of his income on his daily expenses, invest half in his business and put aside one fourth for any emergency.¹⁰

Thus, one can see that though the Buddha considered economic welfare as requisite for human happiness, he did not recognize progress as real if it was only material, and devoid of a spiritual and moral foundation. While encouraging material progress, Buddhism always lays great stress on the development of the moral and spiritual character for a happy, peaceful, and contented society.

The Buddha was just as clear on politics, as on war and peace. It is worthwhile here to reiterate that Buddhism advocates and preaches nonviolence and peace as its universal message, thereby disapproving of any form of violence or destruction of life. According to Buddhism, there is nothing that can be called a “just war” which is only a false term coined and put into circulation to justify and excuse hatred, cruelty, violence and massacre. After all, who decides what is just or unjust? Going by what usually happens, the mighty and the victorious are “just” while the weak and the defeated are “unjust”. To the former, war is always “just” whereas to the latter, it is always “unjust”. This position is not acceptable to the Buddha.

The Buddha not only taught nonviolence and peace, but also went to the battle field itself and intervened personally to prevent war, as in the case of the dispute between the Sakyas and the Koliyas, who had locked horns over the question of the waters of the Rohini. Also, it was his words that once prevented King Ajatasattu from attacking the kingdom of the Vajjis.

Like many rulers today, there were rulers in the time of the Buddha too who governed their countries unjustly. People were oppressed, exploited, and persecute. They were also subjected to excessive taxes and cruel punishments. The Buddha was deeply moved by the suffering of the common masses caused by these inhuman practices. The Dhammapadatthakatha records that he directed his attention to the problem of good government. His views should be appreciated against the social, economic and political background of his time. He had shown how a whole country could become corrupt, degenerate, and unhappy, when the head of its government, that is the king, the ministers, and administrative officers become corrupt and unjust. Thus, for a country to be happy, it must have a just government. The way this form of just government could be realized is explained by the Buddha in his teaching of the “Ten duties of the King” (Dasarajadhamma), as given in the Jataka text.^[6]

The term “king” (Raja) of yore has now been replaced by the term “Government.” So, “The Ten Duties of the King” are applicable to all those who constitute the government such as head of state, ministers, political leaders, legislative and administrative officers, and so on.

The first of the “Ten Duties of the King” laid down by the Buddha is adherence to a set of positive and morally empowering values like liberality, generosity, and charity (dana). The ruler should not have craving for and attachment to wealth and property, but he should give it away for the welfare of the people.

The second duty of the king is to have a high moral character (sila). He should never destroy life, cheat, steal and exploit others, commit adultery, utter falsehood, and take intoxicating drinks. In other words, he must at least observe the Five Precepts, the minimum moral obligations of a lay Buddhist- 1) not to taken life of other, 2) not stealing, 3)not to commit adultery, 4) not telling lies, and 5) not taking intoxicating drinks.

The third of the king’s duties prescribed by the Buddha is to sacrifice everything for the good of the people (pariccaga). To put it otherwise, he must be prepared to give up all personal comfort, name and fame, and even his life, in the interest of the people.

Fourth of the king’s duties is to have honesty and integrity (ajjava). According to the Buddha, the king must be free from fear and favor in the discharge of his duties, must be sincere in his attentions, and must not deceive the public.

To have kindness and gentleness (maddhava) is the fifth of the king’s duties. He must possess a genial temperament.

As the sixth duty, the king should be austere in habits (tapa). He must lead a simple life, and should not indulge in a life of luxury. He must have self-control.

Freedom from hatred, ill-will, and enmity (akkodha) is the seventh duty of the king. He should bear no grudge against anybody.

Eighth duty of the king is to stick to the principle and practice of nonviolence (avihimsa). It not only means that he should harm nobody, but also that he should try to promote peace by avoiding and preventing war, and everything which involves violence and destruction of life.

Ninth and last duty of the king is to have patience, forbearance, and tolerance with understanding (khanti). It implies that he must be able to bear hardships, difficulties and insults without losing his temper.

Tenth and last duty of the king is to observe non-opposition and nonobstruction (avirodha). Thus, he should not oppose the will of the people, should not obstruct any measures that are conducive to the welfare of the people. In other words he should rule in harmony with his people.^[7]

One should overcome anger through kindness, wickedness through goodness, selfishness through charity, and falsehood through truthfulness. That is the essence of what the Buddha has taught as regards the moral strengthening of the king’s character_.

Buddhism aims to create a society where the ruinous struggle for power is renounced; where calm and peace prevail away from conquest and defeat; where the persecution of the innocent is vehemently denounced; where one who conquers oneself is more respected than those who conquer millions by military and economic warfare; where hatred is conquered by kindness, and evil by goodness; where enmity, jealously, ill-will and greed do not infect men’s mind; where compassion is the driving force of action; where all, including the least of living things, are treated with fairness, consideration and love; where life in peace and harmony, in a world of material contentment, is directed towards the highest and noblest aim, the realization of the Ultimate Truth, Nirvana.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Susan. M. (Ed), Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism, United States of America, 2004, p. 155

[2]:

Majjihima-nikaya, I (Pali Text Society edition), p. 30-31.

[3]:

Majjihima-nikayatthakatha, Papancasudani, I (Pali text society), p. 290

[4]:

Digha-nikaya. No. 26

[5]:

Anguttara-nikaya, ed. Devamitta Thera (comlombo,1929) and Pali text Society, p.786.¹⁰ Digha-nikaya,III, ed. Nanavasa Thera (Colombo, 1929),p.115.

[6]:

Jataka I, 260,399;II, 400,274;v, 119,378.

[7]:

W. Rahula, What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts From Suttas and Dhammapada. 1974. p. 107-109