I was asked recently about my opinions on activism. I left a comment on Rev. Gyatso’s fascinating blog, A Monk Amok, briefly outlining my point of view toward “Engaged Buddhism,” or Buddhist-minded political activism. Although I consider myself a bit of a word nerd, I was unable to adequately express my opinion, and I’m afraid I left Rev. Gyatso wondering what I meant by a few of the things I wrote. So this post is my attempt at a more accurate and comprehendible conveyance. I should point out here that this is just my opinion, and I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything. Also I need to point out that while I do have a strong opinion on this matter, this is not the same as having a strong opinion about the people who might disagree with me.
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I have nothing against activism, when it’s done right, and for the right reasons. Examples are Greenpeace’s campaign to free thousands of stranded turtles from sandy beaches, or petitioning the government for more federally funded AIDS research. I have personally participated in the former, and also in a number of right-action activities around the world.
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BUT there’s a line. I always get myself into trouble with my friends when I talk about this, but here goes: I do take issue with certain aspects of activism, and I sometimes resent Buddhist involvement in political causes. Sometimes it’s because my own political leanings don’t necessarily match those of most “Engaged Buddhists”, and sometimes it’s because I’m simply tired of hearing it. I became a Buddhist for reasons other than telling others not to drive SUVs or eat meat, if you know what I mean, and I’ve grown tired of being told these things.
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I hold nothing personal against Richard Gere, for example, but I can’t stand receiving politically-minded mass mailings about the Tibet Fund or whatever it’s called. This is not to say that I have anything against Tibet, or that I would side with China, or that I don’t care. It’s just that I am not active in that area at this time, and have committed by resources in other areas – and I can’t imagine any other reason for being targeted in that mass mailing than because I’m a Buddhist, and Buddhists are supposed to hold certain political beliefs. Right? You can see how there’s a stereotype at play here, because in some countries, the word “Buddhist” doesn’t carry with it any particular political agenda whatever. Somehow, during the last thirty years or so, being “Buddhist” in the US has become almost synonymous with being “hippie”. It’s used as an excuse to lecture, preach and pontificate about various (generally liberal) political causes from global warming to health care. More on this below.
It’s just not true. Buddhism is not a political movement. It is a religion, or more accurately, a collection of interwoven teachings, given to us by an enlightened man who lived a long time ago, and expounded upon by other enlightened teachers who lived along the path between then and now. The Buddha lived in a time when life was harsh. Men lived much harder lives then, and died much younger than we do, generally. He lived in a time of rigidly enforced castes and terrible social inequity. And the Buddha addressed this, pointing out that people should be treated with true equality. But he did not picket the principalities of his day, and he did not protest against their power, however wrong-minded that power may have been used. I like to think that he recognized the damage such actions would have caused to his credibility, and thus refrained. He found instead a much more fertile ground for effecting change: he found the minds of individual students, who, like him, preferred to fix things by fixing their own thinking, and then teaching others to fix theirs. This is how he taught Ashoka, among many others.
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When I talk about what I called “generally liberal” causes above, I mean those causes which generally attract the support and attention of those Americans who are more liberal-minded, politically. I don’t mean to pigeon-hole anyone or anything into a particular mold. For example, environmental issues, for the most part, are important to all of us, and I understand that. I recognize that it’s simply more sensible to reduce the amount of garbage I introduce into the world on a weekly basis (for example). But then, there are people who will protest against a landfill by chaining themselves to trees, or who will stand outside of a store and yell at others who’ve just bought stuff and carried it out of the store in a plastic bag. To me, this is not Buddhist. I have a hard time reconciling this with the image I have in my head of the Buddha in serene meditation under the Bodhi tree. Sorry, but I don’t think the Buddha was looking for an excuse to confront people for not using public transportation.
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A few years ago, I was vacationing on a beautiful, pristine island in the North Andaman region of Thailand. Folks who read my blog back then will remember how I raved and ranted about this unbelievable place (Koh Phrah Thong, or Golden Buddha Island). While I was there, I was approached by a hippie woman (read: American Buddhist) from California, who proceeded to berate me, right there in front of everyone, because I’d made the mistake of telling her that I worked for Halliburton (at the time). She didn’t care if I was a Buddhist, or a hospital volunteer, or an aid worker in Nepal; as far as she was concerned, I was the devil, and I needed to be yelled at until she lost her voice. She called me a mercenary, a warmonger, a hate-monger, and a war profiteer, and many other horrible things, in front of my girlfriend and all of our new friends on the island.
All of this was because of a campaign of misinformation that she’d bought, hook line and sinker. The image of anyone working for that company, especially in the Middle East, as a greedy profit hoarder connected with Dick Cheney and others, actively participating in the rape of Iraq for oil money, was so vivid in her mind that it had completely replaced the reality of where she was and who she was with. She was an activist blinded by anger and ignorance, and her anger was so powerful that it still bothers me today. It’s still an uncomfortable memory.
We can find dozens of books right now, in most bookstores, I guess, about how badly we’re treating the environment, foreign nations, ethnic minorities, wildlife, and a host of other victim categories. We can protest private corporations, government agencies, elected officials and media outlets until we’re out of oxygen and our arms fall off from holding our signs. All of this may have the effect of making us feel better, momentarily, but this isn’t what the Buddha taught us. The Buddha taught us to find the peace that is already within us, and then to teach others to find the peace that is already within them, if they want.
I don't mean to preach the Tathagata's teaching to you. It's just that I believe this is the kind of activism of which the Buddha would approve. Let's you and I sit together. We will never force the U.S. Government, Wal-Mart, Halliburton or Red China to act in a way that goes against their beliefs (trust me), but we can address the greed, anger and ignorance inside our own minds. And once we've done that, we can begin to make a real difference.
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