Committed Buddhism

Marx and the Dali Lama.  Tricycle magazine.

I’ve been practicing Zen meditation for over 13 years, and have sat with various groups in all the towns I’ve lived in, groups from Zen to Mahayana to eclectic Buddhist-inspired meditation.  For the most part, practicing Zen fits almost perfectly with my spirituality and world view, and daily sitting has become an important part of my life.  I said 'almost perfectly' because I've had some problems with Zen and Buddhism in general that I've been thinking about for a long time.

My main resistance to Zen (and Buddhism at large) as a practice is its relation to politics and power.  The principle of karma, in which all is connected, and the principle of samsara, that the universe is a continual cycle of birth and death, seem to both prevent what I, as a Westerner, think of as political commitment.

Let me explain why.

Zen and other kinds of Buddhism give us what I call “the longest view” possible of time and eternity.  This view derives from the concept of “samsara.”  Samsara is ancient Sanskrit that translates literally as “continual wandering.” In the Assu Sutta, the Buddha says, “"From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on.”  This last phrase is the translation of the word samsara. 

Samsara is the source of all desire and thus all suffering we humans face in the world.  What is more, because of samsara, we are continually reincarnated into new lives in which we continue the cycle of suffering (until we reach Nirvana, or enlightenment). 

But samsara isn’t just a view of human nature; it’s a cosmology.  Through the notion of samsara, there is no beginning or end to the universe.  In fact, there may not just be one universe, and new ones could be born out of the death of the old.  Not incidentally, theoretical physicists such as Paul Steinhardt & Neil Turok are revising the Big Bang theory in ways that sound, to me, much like the ancient Hindu worldview of samsara.  There is according to them no one single moment that begins the universe because our universe is just one manifestation of universes that keep being born through a bang and then collapsing into a bang and starting again on to infinity.  This cosmology could be referred to as "the Big Rubber Band" theory of the universe, and it is a karmic view.

If this worldview is true—that our universe will die and be born again infinitely—then why should we be concerned with petty, everyday problems like gun control, abortion, global warming, poverty, war, or any political issue?  If the universe is cyclical and infinite, as samsara implies, we will all be back here sitting together in this room again someday and again and again infinitely. 

From that “longest perspective”, even the largest human catastrophes seem insignificant.  And that’s an understatement.  Buddhism from this vantage, teaches us to not worry and suffer in our political desire to solve humanities problems.  Thic Nat Hahn writes that he reminds people who are worried about current events or personal problems to ask themselves, “Where will you be in 300 years?”  The answer always makes me loosen my grip on my political kvetching and self-pity, but the answer does not help me to address this gnawing doubt I have about Buddhism’s ability to help us with our social and global problems. 

The way I have addressed this issue in my thinking is to focus on the compassion component of Buddhism.  The point of the Buddha’s teachings is to relieve the suffering of others.  In fact, in some strands of Buddhism, there are special “saints”, called Bodhisattvas, who must continue wandering in samsara until all souls have achieved Nirvana.

Herein lies my hope for a politically committed Buddhism.  It’s not that I hope a Zen-minded politics will be liberal or conservative or be for some policies and against others.  I don’t think something as grand as Buddhism can be reduced to these narrow notions of politics as decisions of power and resources.

Instead, I think Zen practice, as a practice of patience and compassion (and its 5 precepts), can keep us mindful of what politics is really about, and that is to relieve the suffering of others.  Committed Buddhism is kind of faith, when it comes down to it, but one that we can practice everyday:

by following the precepts: (all are about others; the Buddha calls them “five great gifts”)

1. right living (no murder)
2. right action (no stealing)
3. right speaking (honesty) and listening (active, empathic)
4. right sexuality (safe sex, keeping promises)
5.  right consumption (intoxication, eating) 

by putting a person over a principle  

by sitting with a group, or sangha  

by sometimes fighting (??)--I'm not certain about this one, but the Dali Llama’s guards fought the Chinese invaders  

by being for things (peace) rather than against something (war)  

by opening the door for someone, and other little, daily signs of generosity and compassion.

I believe, I have to believe, that these actions and others like them can increase compassion in the world.  If we practice, the politics of power will take care of themselves.