Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

192 Kathleen H. Dockett
dissemination, networking with organizations, community development, and public
policy (Duffy & Wong, 1996; Rothberg, 1992, p. 269). However, central differences
do exist in the knowledge base and principles that guide social activism
in psychology compared to Buddhism. According to Buddhist scholar/activist
Robert Thurman (1996), the basic principle motivating Buddhist activism is a
“universal altruism of great love, great compassion, great empathy” which is
manifested in the bodhisattva’s “unswerving commitment to complete self-transformation
and complete world-transformation” (p. 77). Alternatively, Buddhist
scholar Kenneth Kraft (1996) views the ecological principle of inter-dependence
as the cornerstone of engaged Buddhism. This principle, known as engi (Jpn),
describes the dependent origination of all things – the coexistence/symbiosis of
humanity, the natural world, and the cosmos. It holds that everything arises and
continues to exist by virtue of its relationship with other phenomena. Awareness
that everything is connected to everything else (mind to body, body to mind; self
to environment, environment to self; Serbian violence against ethnic Albanians,
NATO violence against Serbs), is expected to foster a sense of universal responsibility
and appreciation for others. Both views acknowledge an awareness of the
oneness of all phenomena as the fundamental organizing principle for Buddhist
social activism.
Examples of Buddhist social action in Asia (Rothberg, 1992 p. 269) include:
the Buddhist response to Sri Lanka and Cambodian violence with peace walks,
dialogue, and nonviolence training; resistance and reconciliation movements
in response to war and/or opposition in Vietnam, Tibet, Burma, and parts of
Bangladesh; Sri Lanka’s network of village-based community development
activists who linked personal and social transformation; Thailand’s community
development monks who led a movement against ecological devastation.
Examples of socially engaged activities in North America (Rothberg, 1992)
are seen in the projects and/or community centers of the Buddhist Peace
Fellowship (a major socially engaged Buddhist organization in North America,
founded in 1978 by Robert Aitken and Anne Aitken, Nelson Foster, and others),
the Bangkok-based International Network of Engaged Buddhists, the Interracial
Buddhist Council, and the SGI-USA. Illustrative activities include:
working on human rights issues through organizing grassroots participation
in the development of the Earth Charter.
grassroots movements seeking the control and eventual abolition of
nuclear weapons and frequently protesting the Nevada Test Site and the
Nuclear Guardianship Project for responsible care of radioactive waste.
public policy efforts such as running for political office, or obtaining
membership status as a Nongovernmental Organization with the United
Nations.
submitting peace proposals to the United Nations.