SOCIALLY ENGAGED BUDDHISM

•Vietnamese Zen monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (b.1926) founded peace-oriented educational and religious institutions during the Vietnam War. •They led anti-war protests, rebuilt villages, resettled refugees, lobbied internationally for peace talks •He published articles and books on the crisis facing his country and the Buddhist tradition. •Since the 1960s Buddhist movements for nonviolent social change and human rights have grown in Asia and the West - the struggle of the Tibetan people has been a key area of socially engaged Buddhism •The International Campaign for Tibet, based in New York and Washington, D.C., coordinates public support for the refugee and exile communities of the Tibetan diaspora and organizes international pressure on the Chinese government to respect the human rights and cultural traditions of the Tibetan people

•The Order of Interbeing (TiepHien) was formed by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh in the mid-1960’s •The Vietnam War was escalating and the teachings of the Buddha were desperately needed to combat the hatred, violence, and divisiveness enveloping his country. •1966 first ordained 6 people into the order – all vowed to keep the 14 precepts •Ordained no new members until 1981 ( a period of “experimentation”) , when Nguyen AnhHuong, a microbiologist and lay meditation teacher, became the seventh member of the Order. •Today there are thousands worldwide who regularly recite the Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism 

• precepts are not developed to attempy traditional buddhist precepts, rather forged in crucible of war/ devastation 

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso from the Gelug school •Born 1935, Identified as the tulku of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1937 •The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet •He asked to be relieved of these duties in 2011 and they were transferred to a democratically elected leader. •Fled to India in 1959 where he currently lives as a refugee in Dharamsala •1989 received the Nobel Peace Prize 

•Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace. •Abandonment of China's population transfer policy that threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people. •Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms. •Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste. •Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. •March 2017 he attended the inauguration of the International Conference on Relevance of Buddhism in 21st Century •Buddhist leaders, monks and scholars from more than 30 countries gathered for a three-day conference to discuss a more socially engaged Buddhism for our time. “It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act.- DALAI LAMA  

•It is the international Association of Buddhist Women/ First International Conference on Buddhist Nuns in Bodhgaya, India, in 1987 – led to formation of SakyaditaInternational Association of Buddhist Women •Founded in 1987 with the aim of working together to benefit Buddhist women, to reduce gender injustice, and awaken women to their potential for awakening the world. •Works for gender equity in Buddhist communities, focusing especially on improving opportunities for women in education, health, spiritual practice, and ordination. •Encouraged by Sakyadhita, members have established retreat centres, education projects, women’s shelters, and initiated translation, research, and publication projects.

•Grassroots work in tackling the problems of poverty, malnutrition, sex trafficking etc.

•“members who attend Sakyadhita International Conferences on Buddhist Women have a keen awareness and commitment to social activism that only grows through the development of relationships with others who are also socially engaged.”

•Has a “tradition of uniting dedicated practitioners and allies – nuns, laywomen, and those who are neither lay nor ordained – to encourage their work for the spiritual and secular well-being of the world.”  

• California based group founded in 1978 by Zen teacher Robert Aitken 
• coordinates programs for community development, prison reform, international relief
• serves as a catalyst for socially engaged buddhism
• purpose is to help beings liberate themselves from the suffering that mainfests in individuals
• some fiery and determined want to BLOCK the bad stuff and out our bodies on the line against injustice and oppression and support others
• some visionary and committed people love to BUILD the good stuff - innovate and weave communities 
• some seek deeper wisdom and aspire to BE in aligenment with the unshakable inner freedom that buddhas of all time have embodied
• used for peacefulness of sitting meditation posture to interupt the foot of traffoc at Oakand Marriot Hotel 

•The UK Network of Socially Engaged Buddhists actually dissolved in 2014 … on the grounds that it had succeeded as everyone was now practising in this way

“… Membership numbers in decline as many sanghas in the UK have their own engaged Buddhist groups and sub-groups … such as TRIRATNA COMMNITY/ ROKPA TRUST 

JOANNA MACEY 

•Ecophilosopher Joanna Macy, Ph.D., is a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. •A respected voice in the movements for peace, justice, and ecology she interweaves her scholarship •Five decades of activism. •As the root teacher of the Work That Reconnects, she has created a groundbreaking theoretical framework for personal and social change, as well as a powerful workshop methodology for its application.

• JOANNA MACEY - SCHOLAR OF BUDDHISM - 5 decades of activism - a voice of movements for peace, justice and ecology 
• bases the principle of interdependence known as PRATICCASAMUPPADA -also refers to conditioned arising, interbeing and interconnectedness 
• ecology means how everything is interconnected
• anatta means no fixed self
• deep ecology means intrinsic value in nature 
• anthropocentricism means humans are the most important 

central tenents of deep ecology 

• all living things have intrinsic value
• diversity of life forms contribute to the realisation of these values  
• humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital human needs
• the flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of human population and the flourshing of non human life requires such a decrease
• therefore we have an obligation to adopt policies to protect the vital need of all living things while sacrificing non- vital needs