Buddhist Welfare Movements

In course of different stages of its evolution, every great system is developed and refined in accordance with the ‘native genius’ of the people who embrace it. On this count, Buddhism stands out as no exception. Standing testimony to this view is the movement called engaged Buddhism which is still considered nascent and which is seeking to actualize Buddhism’s traditional ideals of wisdom and compassion in the contemporary world. Assumptions and claims that regard the central emphasis of Buddhism on the transmundane goal of nirvana, or in monastic withdrawal from the world and on individual extrication from the world, as Weber views Buddhism, are looked upon as antithetical to the social ethic of ‘Engaged Buddhism’. The fact is that it lays greater stress on world engagement rather than on world abandonment. It is the ‘Middle Way’ of the Buddha, which teaches that both extreme asceticism and extreme sensual indulgence are to be avoided; it has emphasized that even the lives and practices of monks who live austerely should not be excessively ascetic, and that the life of even the most lax Buddhist layperson ought not to be so pleasure oriented as to become an object of attachment. It is in avoiding these two extremes, that the ‘extent’ of the ‘Middle way’ is vast, wide, and very flexible.

After listening and observing the great teachings that the Lord Buddha had delivered to us, the practitioners partially realize the truth and the nature of the universe as disciples and follower of the Buddha. For example, they realize that the world is impermanent, that nations are unsafe and unstable and so on. When we first come across such assumptions, we find it hard to put them into our minds or even believe them at all. As we always hear that “It’s like we put the water on a Taro’s leaf” which is never absorbed. But if we observe the Teachings carefully and think over them we can reach the conclusion that they are simply beyond any comparison.

If we learn and put into practice the Teachings of Lord Buddha, we can avoid the evil speech, evil action, and evil thought and may have the opportunity to practise generosity, and loving kindness to other. Contemplating over everything that the Buddha has taught, we can gradually disentangle ourselves from the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, we should always bear in mind that for all Buddhist organization it is necessary to apply the valuable teachings in order to liberate oneself to let go all the attachment, and to help other in the sense of other’s needs in which making benefit or sharing the unfortunate life partially relief their suffering in both mental and physical fields. There are many organizations in Australia which are strongly engaged in bringing the Buddha’s teaching into every walk of day-to-day life. Those associated with these organizations have put their hands together to work in closely knitted and dynamic groups to propagate the Buddha's teaching, venerate the Triple Gems, and work towards the welfare and awakening of the world.

Among such organizations, the following deserve particular mentioning:

1. Karuna Palliative Care Centre/ Hospice Service
2. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship
3. The Buddha Light International Association (Fo Kuang Shan)
4. Association of Engaged Buddhists

The engaged Buddhist welfare movement has been playing a leading in Australia, particularly in the areas of environment, peace and human rights. Wherever these Buddhist organizations are involved, it is easy to identify their contributions. However, it is difficult to quantify the scope because it is the cumulative result of the actions of individuals, many of whom are not associated with formal Buddhist organizations but whose actions and styles of social intervention have been profoundly influenced by Buddhist philosophy.

The Karuna Palliative Care Centre (KPCC)/ Hospice Service:

Let’s start with the Karuna Palliative Care Centre/ Hospice Service, the first in the list of Australian organizations mentioned above. Here, the key Buddhist values of the dignity of all life, compassionate service, empowerment of clients and universal responsibility are a firm philosophical foundation for the service delivery. Value and dignity of all life mean that clients are valued equally regardless of beliefs, value preferences or social differences. All clients are seen as sharing basic needs for kindness, cooperation and respect. Dying is seen as an integral part of the living process and as providing an opportunity for the development of insight and the expression of love both for the dying and their families. Karuna Hospice Service is not involved in any action where the intent is to deliberately end life. Buddhist philosophy suggests that healing and growth can occur in dimensions other than the physical and as such a high quality of life is possible for people even up to their death.

Karuna is an organization dedicated to providing compassionate and caring support at home for terminally ill patient and their care-givers. It began its work in 1992, following its founding a year earlier by the Venerable Pende Hawter. Venerable Pende is an Australian-born Buddhist monk, trained as a physiotherapist and later ordained in the Tibetan Gelux tradition. He was encouraged to establish such a service by Lama Zopa, the Spiritual Director of the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), of which Karuna became a member. From small beginnings Karuna has grown into an organization with eighteen professional staff and about seventy active part-time volunteers. It is based in Brisbane, Queensland, and delivers services in the Brisbane North region.

The people directly served by Karuna are terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less. Most are non-Buddhists. Karuna’s fundamental objective is to provide material, emotional, and spiritual support for such people in their own homes, as well as their caregivers, relatives, and friends. The emphasis on caring for patients in their own homes, rather than in the impersonal and unfamiliar environment of a hospital or other institution, is expressed in the slogan: “We’d rather be at home with Karuna.”

The inspiration for Karuna’s work derives from the cardinal Buddhist ideals of compassion, selfless giving, and respect for life (‘karuna’ is a Sanskrit term for compassion). However, the spiritual component for the support itself is not explicitly Buddhist, unless the patient so desires. Counselors take due account of their patient’s own world_-view and religious orientation. Karuna’s eighteen professional workers are trained nurses, qualified in all aspects of palliative care provision, and are paid accordingly. Working either full time or part time, they meet patients’ varied needs, from symptom relief to psychological counseling. The seventy-odd part-time volunteers acquire the relevant skills through a six-week training course, provided by Karuna, before they begin work. Volunteers usually contribute one day per week, and commit themselves to maintaining this level of contribution for a year at a time. They mainly provide companionship for patients and respite for care-givers. With this workforce of professionals and volunteers, Karuna is able to serve about 120 families in the course of a year. Among them, many have already lost the family member and are receiving bereavement counseling, a service that continues for up to a year following the death.^[1]

Thus, compassionate service is at the heart of the Buddhist worldview that recognizes the suffering is a universal experience as is the longing to be free from suffering. Compassion arises from open hearted empathetic and non-judgmental environment for clients and staff so that there is deep acceptance and loving–kindness expressed throughout the palliative care service.

Empowerment of clients to make their own free choices around their living and dying is supported by the Buddhist world-view that individuals must take responsibility for their own choices and should not be coerced into believing or following out of blind faith.

A gratifying development for Karuna and its supporters has been the recent successful establishment of a branch service, Cittamani Hospice, near the town of Nambour, a two-hour drive north of Brisbane. Other hospice services, modeled more or less closely on Karuna but operating independently of it, have developed into centers more remote from Brisbane. These include the Hospice of Mother Tara in Bunbury, Western Australia; the Karuna Hospice Group in Bedigo, Victoria; the Tara Institute in Melbourne, Victoria; and the Amitayus Hospice Service in Mullumbimby, New South Wales.

Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF):

In Australia, Buddhist activists share a style of activism that is characterized by at least the following characteristics, eloquently articulated by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.^[2]

Buddhist peace fellowship was founded by Robert Aitken in 1978. It was first confined with the organization of United States of America. According to Sherwood Patricia stated that Aitken Roshe was much concerned about the absence of active social and political involvement of Buddhist organizations in the United States.

As engaged Buddhism has emerged as a movement in Australia, it must be acknowledged that Aitken Roshi has served as dean, mentor, as well as the strongest supporter of it. His strong moral, almost righteous approach has influenced many people in both Buddhist and peace movements.

Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) continues its leadership around the world particularly to the Australian society, recognizing the interdependence of all things, that the suffering of other is also one’s own suffering, and that the violence of other is also one’s own violence. As a result of this maturity, BPF is putting its energies into addressing structural violence in Australia and throughout the world. At the same time, the BPF leadership recognizes the fundamental, guiding principle of engaged Buddhism, in which “social work entails inner work, and social change and inner change are inseparable.” This purpose of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship is to bring a Buddhist perspective to the peace movement and the peace moment to the Buddhist community^[3] .

Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a non-profit organization, an affiliate of the international peace consortium Fellowship of Reconciliation. The organization which almost had four thousand independent Buddhists from a variety of lineages, traditions, and communities who hold a common allegiance to Buddhist practice and to social engagement. For the last two decades it has provided the venue for the discussions that have shaped the American engaged Buddhist identity.

In the context of American engaged Buddhism, BPF’s journey has been largely a grassroots movement. Though there have been influential Asian and American Buddhist teachers who have advised and guided the organization, the vision and identity of BPF have been help by the collective of members, staff, and board, who have been for most part Euro-American lay people, heavily representing West Coast Zen and Vipassana practitioners.

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship has also been able to appear directly to unaffiliated Buddhists and to non-Buddhist, especially Christian, organizations. Its challenge has been the criticism that its social action agenda has suffered from purely conventional thinking, polarizing the oppressor and oppressed, and that its actions have no distinctly Buddhist analysis or strategy behind them.

Today, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a network of people throughout the United States who are linked by their common concerns with bringing about peace in the world and by Buddhist meditation practice of a variety of traditions. Because Buddhist Peace Fellowship has not been led by a single charismatic spiritual leader and has not been affiliated with a single school of Asian Buddhist practice, it is at times difficult to identify a coherent and consistent philosophy. Rather, it is important to study the materials disseminated by the board and executive staff regarding BPF’s identity, its mission, and its strategies for action.

According to its current literature, Buddhist Peace Fellowship has a five point mission, expressed in this way:

1. To make a clear public witness to Buddhist practice and interdependence as a way of peace and protection for all beings;
2. To raise peace, environmental, feminist, and social justice concerns
3. To bring a Buddhist perspective of nonduality to contemporary social action and environmental movements
4. to encourage the practice of nonviolence based on the rich resources of traditional Buddhist and Western spiritual teachings
5. to offer avenues for dialogue and exchange among the diverse North American and world sanghas.^[4]

If we examine the underlying principles and approaches of Buddhist Peace Fellowship, we can recognize the following features in its charter, its goals, and its actions.

The Buddha Light International Association (BLIA):

Mater Hsing Yun is the founder of The Buddha Light International Association or the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. He has been recognized by international leaders for his bold and innovative methods to spread Buddhist Teachings.

BLIA (The Buddha Light International Association) is an organization consisting of lay Buddhists who observe the practice of Humanistic Buddhism in daily life. Its primary objective is to serve all beings, spread a joyous spirit amongst people and nurture the virtue of compassion. It places emphasis on education, culture, cultivation and service. The Association was initially formed on February 3, 1991 in Taiwan. It was officially inaugurated as "Buddha's Light International Association" in Los Angeles, California on May 16, 1992. The Association also engages itself in activities which are beneficial to society at large.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Association participates in activities such as Clean Up Australia Day, National Tree Planting Day, and the Buddha's Day Multicultural Festival.

Over 100 BLIA chapters have been established around the world to date in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, India, Brazil, Argentina, Africa and other regions. The organization has currently more than one million members worldwide.

The association has cherished a vision and has been propelled by a grand mission which is to "Let the Buddha's Light shine over three thousand realms spread across the five continents, and let the water of Dharma flow through them thoroughly”.

The fundamental objectives of the organization can be summed up as follows.

1. Follow and propagate the Buddha's teaching, venerate the Triple Gems, work for the welfare and awakening of the world.
2. Promote living, dynamic Buddhism, build the Buddha's Light Pure Land, andactualize the humanistic Buddhist approach, with benevolence and compassion towards all.
3. Abide by the Buddhist precepts and harmonize the Five Vehicles, practice the Three Teachings and perfect the human character.
4. Involvement in international cultural and educational events, have an open mind
5. Treating others with mutual respect.

BLIA in state of Victoria has a sizeable membership, which is made up of lay Buddhist followers. Currently, BLIA in state of Victoria has five branches; these are Melbourne branch, South-East branch, North-West branch, Yarraville branch and Youth Adult Division. Apart from promoting Humanistic Buddhism, it is committed to provide community, multicultural and personal development services for the well-being of its members and the broader community.

The Sydney Branch of BLIA was formed in June 1991 by a group of devotees dedicated to the propagation of the Dharma, cultural exchange, education and charity work.

The guiding Principle of The Buddha Light is to incorporate traditional Buddhist teachings into our modern lifestyles, so as to ameliorate the human race and rid society of ill conducts, to organize Dharma talks and related events for the cultivation of the mind, so members may attain greater knowledge of Buddhism, to provide opportunities for cultural and charitable events to assist those in need, and to function co-operatively with other Buddhist organizations internationally so that the ideal of the Buddha's light shines throughout the world and the Dharma water flows endlessly can be realized.

The Association of Engaged Buddhists:

This organization was established in 1993 at Lewisham in Sydney by Venerable Tejadhammo, who was an Australian monk born in Sydney, and ordained in 1981 at the Thai Theravada tradition. The Venerable Tejadhammo has spent many years teaching Buddhism both overseas and in Australia. The Venerable has a long term commitment to visiting the prisons. He has worked in prisons both overseas, particularly in Thailand and Australia and his innovative work in prisons represent a strong commitment of Buddhists to compassionate work with prisoners to help alleviate their suffering.^[5]

The compassionate world-view of Buddhism together with its philosophical understanding of karma cultivates an attitude of prisoners of acceptance and loving kindness, not judgment and rejection. There is the deep understanding that those in prison are deeply suffering, particularly in their mental and emotional states. There is a commitment to provide them with skills to understand and manage their pain so they may find freedom from their suffering.

The Association of Engaged Buddhist also provides assistance and support to those who are suffering from serious or life-threatening illness throughout the Greater Sydney area. All major hospitals and hospices are visited by Sangha or volunteer members. The Association also provides a home visitation service to anyone requesting this service. Sangha and members provide guidance and instruction in meditation practice (including various healing practices) to people in their homes, hospices, or hospitals. They also assist in other ways such as pain relief, preparation for death and grief counseling.

Currently, the Association is attempting to establish a live-in hospice/retreat centre in the Sydney area in order to provide more intensive assistance to those who might benefit from such an opportunity. Various fund-raising activities are taking place in order to realize this goal. Anyone who is interested or who would like to assist in establishing this centre can obtain more information from Sangha Lodge.^[6]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Sherwood Patricia, (Ed), The Buddha is in the Street, Cowan University Bunbury, Malaysia, 2003, p.97-109.

[2]:

Sherwood Patricia. (Ed), The Buddha is in the Street, Cowan University Bunbury, Malaysia, 2003, p.37.

[3]:

Sherwood Patricia, (Ed), The Buddha is in the Street, Cowan University Bunbury, Malaysia, 2003, p.111-125.

[4]:

Queen, Christopher, (Ed), Engaged Buddhism in the West, Boston, Wisdom Publication, 2000.

[5]:

Sherwood Patricia, (Ed), The Buddha is in the Street, Cowan University Bunbury, Malaysia, 2003, p. 163.

[6]:

www.buddhanet.net/hospice