A collective Buddhist voice of conscience?

[Samana]

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Hi everyone, what are your views about this recent article on the Tricycle Buddhist website by the well-known Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi?

A Call to Conscience


Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi calls for the emergence of a collective Buddhist voice of conscience.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/buddhi...al-engagement/

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[sky]

Originally Posted by Samana

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Hi everyone, what are your views about this recent article on the Tricycle Buddhist website by the well-known Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi?




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' Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi calls for the emergence of a collective Buddhist voice of conscience '


So sad that he has to 'Call for ', shouldn't this come naturally?

[Gem]

Originally Posted by Samana

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Hi everyone, what are your views about this recent article on the Tricycle Buddhist website by the well-known Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi?




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You should discuss your views if you want others to also.

[Rain95]

If you are into Politics, you are not practicing Buddhism imho. Too much into human conditioning and conditioned cultural bias. The attention should not be on the conceptual, but on the actual. Now if one is a Buddhist and has some job where they are making decisions for whatever society in which they live, I would wonder how committed they are to Buddhism. As far as "making a difference," it has to start and end within. With what one is moment to moment. Activism? Fighting some injustice one imagines? All forms of violence. One can influence others by what one is, to fight violence is to become violence. Be in the world, but not of the world. Peace within and without. A blade of grass that bends with the wind which flows around it. A Buddhist does not walk around with imagined enemies or injustices in their mind. There is no "us" and "them" to a Buddhist. The world is outward as it is inward, without comment, without conflict, without an opinion.

[sky]

A good ruler should act impartially and should not be biased and discriminate between one particular group of subjects against another.
- A good ruler should not harbor any form of hatred against any of his subjects.
- A good ruler should show no fear whatsoever in the enforcement of the law, if it is justifiable.
- A good ruler must possess a clear understanding of the law to be enforced. It should not be enforced just because the ruler has the authority to enforce the law. It must be done in a reasonable manner and with common sense. -- (Cakkavatti Sihananda Sutta)



In the Jataka, the Buddha had given to rules for Good Government, known as 'Dasa Raja Dharma'. These ten rules can be applied even today by any government which wishes to rule the country peacefully. The rules are as follows:

1) be liberal and avoid selfishness,
2) maintain a high moral character,
3) be prepared to sacrifice one's own pleasure for the well-being of the subjects,
4) be honest and maintain absolute integrity,
5) be kind and gentle,
6) lead a simple life for the subjects to emulate,
7) be free from hatred of any kind,
8) exercise non-violence,
9) practise patience, and
10) respect public opinion to promote peace and harmony.



Buddha discussed the importance and the prerequisites of a good government. He showed how the country could become corrupt, degenerate and unhappy when the head of the government becomes corrupt and unjust. He spoke against corruption and how a government should act based on humanitarian principles.

The Buddha once said, 'When the ruler of a country is just and good, the ministers become just and good; when the ministers are just and good, the higher officials become just and good; when the higher officials are just and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file become just and good, the people become just and good.'(Anguttara Nikaya)



If Buddha became involved in ' Politics ' then so should Buddhists, anything that makes the world a better place for all sentient beings has to be good.

[jonesboy]

I think it would be a very bad idea.

The Buddha was talking about the individual, not policies.

Policies and the view is influenced by the media by what it tells the people and what it doesn't. How it slants what it tells.

Is Trump a good President or a bad one?

Was Obama a good President or a bad one?

Is climate change real or is it about taxing the environment?

Once a religion get's involved it is no longer about themselves, working on their own issues and fears it is about what they think is best for others. Government imposes beliefs and behavior onto others which is not what Buddhism is about.

[Rain95]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

Policies and the view is influenced by the media by what it tells the people and what it doesn't. How it slants what it tells.

Yea I agree with your post. I went back and re-read what he said and it is sure a lot of meaningless cliches directly from tv. He must watch network "news" a lot.

[Rain95]

Originally Posted by jonesboy

Is climate change real or is it about taxing the environment?

You know what's funny about that topic is the human population on earth doubles every 63 years. So no matter what you do, if you don't reduce the human population, it's pointless. 7 billion, 14, 28, 56, 112, 224, 448, 896, .....
the earths human population will be 1792 billion in 504 years. The funny thing about it is no politician will talk about reducing human population because it means economic growth goes down.

Buddhist leaders should be talking about reducing the human population to around 2 billion to save the earth.

[Shaunc]

Originally Posted by Rain95

You know what's funny about that topic is the human population on earth doubles every 63 years. So no matter what you do, if you don't reduce the human population, it's pointless. 7 billion, 14, 28, 56, 112, 224, 448, 896, .....
the earths human population will be 1792 billion in 504 years. The funny thing about it is no politician will talk about reducing human population because it means economic growth goes down.

Buddhist leaders should be talking about reducing the human population to around 2 billion to save the earth.

China had this idea for years, quite possibly they still have it, it was known as the one child policy. Theoretically if every nation on earth adapted this policy we could halve the world's population in a generation or two. However the problem China has had with this policy is that they've bred a generation of only children. People that don't know how to share, compromise or get over arguments.
Every solution is a double edged sword.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Shaunc

China had this idea for years, quite possibly they still have it, it was known as the one child policy. Theoretically if every nation on earth adapted this policy we could halve the world's population in a generation or two. However the problem China has had with this policy is that they've bred a generation of only children. People that don't know how to share, compromise or get over arguments.
Every solution is a double edged sword.

' Every solution is a double edged sword.'

Now China has a big problem, not enough Females so rather than curbing it's population it's creating a unnatural society. The law has now been changed as they recognize the need of a balanced society.