ENGAGED BUDDHISM: AN OLD PITCHER, NEW WATER

By Ven. Dr. Thich Nhat Tu

A NEW WAY OF INTERPRETING BUDDHIST TEACHING

In this paper, I deal with how engaged Buddhism is looked at and interpreted and its practicality in daily life contexts in countries where Buddhist teachings are directly affecting many levels of development of social welfare.

The re-discovery of engaged Buddhism was rather recent, roughly forty years ago. It emerged from the book Lotus in the Sea of Fire by Thích Nhất Hạnh, a world-renowned Zen Master who wanted to mobilize the anti-war movements during the Vietnam War and to promote peace, unity, and solidarity among the polarized Vietnamese, the Americans, and the allies of both sides.

Engaged Buddhism soon became widely known in many parts of the world and was one of the significant developments helping to bring about a new understanding of Buddhist teachings. Overseas, Buddhist organizations encouraged Buddhists to take part in local social services and to be more engaged in the overall well-being of the communities in which they live.

Buddhism for a long time had been misperceived to be a religion of pessimism, in which Buddhist monks and followers emphasized self-refuge and practiced this as their only method. In fact, this interpretation undermined people’s ability to fully comprehend what Buddhism really is all about. Buddhism is essentially about the cultivation of compassion. When people make an effort to open up, let other people in, and establish meaningful relationships, they are growing their own compassion.

The idea of bringing Buddhism into real life responds to many new, complex needs and thoughts resulting from social changes over time. It urged Buddhism to come into a new role in order to continue to be relevant spiritual guidance for people. If Buddhism weren’t able to become more involved in this secular world, it could become something very rigid, like a treasure locked up in a museum which is quite enjoyable for spectators to look at, but offering no real value in terms of insights that can help them resolve real-life problems once they have left the museum.

Engaged Buddhism is thus a new way of interpreting Buddhist teaching. Buddhism has always been a teaching intended to be applied to real-life situations. The purpose of bringing Buddhism into real life contexts is ultimately to transform society.

A complete transformation can take place even if outer forms remain largely the same. It is like refilling an old pitcher with new water: Why would we change the pitcher when all that is needed is to change its contents? If we can practice with this insight, we will be able to experience inner peace and long-term happiness right here in this life.

Within the mind of every person, there exists a flow of emotions and consciousness, known as a “waterfall” in Buddhist terminology. The waterfall flows continuously within us every second, every hour, every day. It flows so rapidly that we can hardly acknowledge differences within it. Our mood can be very different from one minute to the next, and nothing like the next minute after that. Therefore, the opportunity is always there for us to renew our consciousness, emotions, perceptions, and actions, to make us be a more positive, and a better, person.

WHY ENGAGED BUDDHISM?

Such Buddhist modifications are part of a transformation process that begins with changed thoughts, followed by a series of transformed actions in response to the newly replaced thoughts. Engaged Buddhism calls for a different set of attitudes when looking at one’s responsibilities, first at home and then expanding into the local community, society, and ultimately across nations. In what ways can we spread the values associated with Buddhism such as peace, happiness, compassion, and wisdom to the rest of the world? Buddha once taught that to live is to lead our lives with continued inner transformation. Suffering will be overtaken as a great energy of positivity is released. A person who can carry out such a process is considered a Buddhist in Real Life. With their transformative energy, these people benefit not only their family members, but also to the people in their community and the rest of humanity.

However in many Buddhist schools, the concept of engaged Buddhism is rather new and untraditional in comparison to traditional practices which emphasize renouncing worldly roles and the responsibilities of being a member of society. The new concept is said to potentially pose major challenges to the traditional ways of practicing Buddhism. In particular, monastics have commonly said that they chose the ascetic life because they wished to withdraw completely from their previous worldly life. Engaged Buddhism can be seen as threatening to this way of life; and indeed it is rare to see or hear of monks reaching out to the worldly society to convey the Buddha’s message of compassion and wisdom.

In the Mahayana school of Buddhism developed in China, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea, there is a thorough understanding of the nature of monkhood and their spiritual roles/purposes in this life. As a monk, one is often unable to participate in any worldly matters including parental or familial involvement. Traditionally, monks withdraw from the lives they previously had, detaching from duties as a member of society and as a mother, father, sister, brother, or child of a family. Gui Shan, a Chinese Zen Master, made a famous statement that can generally sum up attitudes about monasticism throughout time: if monks do not fulfill worldly responsibilities as civil citizens, they should first practice to obtain inner peace and secondly carry out responsibilities as a monk to benefit the community and society on the interpersonal level.

Without engaged Buddhism, we will not be able to completely understand the ultimate wisdom and compassion that the Supreme Buddha reached. Monks who give up everything they have, including family, loved ones, children, career, and wealth, in order to lead an ascetic life away from society are in search for meaning beyond material pleasures and selfishness. Their actions can only be worthwhile as long as they dedicate their monastic lives to the greater good of the general public.

Master Gui Shan’s message emphasized that while the spiritual transformation process is essential to each individual, it is equally important to take the practice into real-life situations. This message underlines the priority of the self-loving principle, which can be illustrated with reference to passengers on an airplane. When traveling with children, if any life-threatening situations occur and the emergency oxygen masks deploy, we must put our own mask on first and then proceed to assist the children. This advice may seem cruel, but there is a very practical reason for it. If the brain is starved of oxygen, we can get confused or pass out and be unable to help either ourselves or our children. This convention implies a very useful understanding of how things can be executed successfully when the right methods are employed wisely. Without using the right methods, our good intentions may lead us to fail, like trying to administer oxygen to the children before ourselves in the above example and thereby endangering our own lives as well as the lives of our children. Helping ourselves is as important as lending a helping hand to others.

The implication of this principle can be similarly found in the statement made by the Buddha in the Dhammapada: “While bringing benefits to others, do not forget to bring yourself some as well.” Such wisdom goes beyond the conception of selfishness, the cause of suffering. If someone who can’t swim sees someone drowning in the river and immediately jumps into the river to try and save that person, without considering that he himself cannot swim, this can result in the deaths of both the rescuer and the rescued. In a panicked state, the drowning one often will unconsciously drag down the rescuer in an effort to stay above the surface. The person who couldn’t swim would then be unable to save the stricken swimmer, who then pushes them both together under the water at a faster speed than the speed at which the non-swimmer would have sank if the person was alone in the water.

Therefore, when studying Buddhism it is important to identify the common psychology and social conventions in order to push for the right methods which produce positive outcomes for us and for others in the present and future. Using all of the understanding discussed above, one can use self-reflection to evaluate his or her efforts in becoming an engaged Buddhist. If a person’s efforts have been directed to benefit no one other than herself, then that person can not be considered an engaged Buddhist.

PRACTICAL VALUES OF ENGAGED BUDDHISM

In principle, the development of engaged Buddhism has to be allied with an effort that promotes benefits for ourselves and others regardless of social label, geographic location, and the like. Despite the misinterpretations of Buddhism as a religion of pessimism and of detachment from all duties and personal responsibilities, the Buddha’s teachings contain solid practical applications and realistic values. The Buddha’s message in the Dhammapada tells us to love both ourselves and others. Concepts of ethics and morality should not be limited to objects of our judgment which labels and divides friends from enemies and self as opposed to others. The breakdown of such differentiation is indeed an act of cultivating compassionate feelings toward ourselves and others, a basic condition of real happiness.

Engaged Buddhism embraces the compassionate aspect of Buddhism. The level of compassion which the Buddha cultivated expands to all living things existing on this earth, including not only human beings but also all animal species. In the process of cultivating compassion, it is required of all Buddhists to respect the lives of others like our own lives, since the nature of life is equality. There is a system of harmonious unity on this earth comprised of the human species, other animal species, and the ecological system of plants, flowers, rivers, mountains, etc. and these all in turn affect one another. Practicing engaged Buddhism raises compassionate love and positive values that will develop a close interconnectedness that ensures respect for all forms of life. Therefore, practicing engaged Buddhism is a good way to bring the message of compassion into this worldly life. If efforts are carried out persistently, Buddhist teachings and values will be widely accepted and embraced everywhere and will endure over time.

If we take a look at the statistics in terms of the growth and decline of the Buddhist population in the past 50 years, we will see that Buddhism descended from the second largest religion down to the fourth, behind Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. After China became a communist state, there were many difficulties and challenges obstructing the development of Buddhism, resulting in a significant decrease in numbers of new monastics and Buddhist followers. Another factor was that the method employed by the statistical evaluation did not adequately report the accurate numbers due because Buddhists did not declare their religion on official papers for fear of being profiled. They either left the religion declaration section blank, wrote no religion, or declared ancestor worship. This factor accounted for a major loss in numbers of Buddhist followers. Statistics showed that the number of Buddhist followers decreased in Asia whereas in the Western world the number of people converted to Buddhism increased significantly.

In explaining this current trend, we have to take into account the cultural, historical and geopolitical backgrounds of the two worlds. In the history of Asian cultures, people have a long-standing tradition of rich spiritual and cultural experiences but they have under-developed economies. As a result, poverty is more of a concerning issue for almost all Asian countries than countries in the Western hemisphere. The poor are usually preoccupied with surviving day to day and thus have little energy for taking care of their spiritual lives. Spending all of their time to make ends meet, poor people never have time left to visit temples or take part in Buddhist dharma sessions. In many cases, people from Asia are determined to pursue a new life in the Western countries, where material conditions are affluent and easy to acquire.

In the meantime, over centuries the Western world has modernized in the areas of economics, technology, medicine, science and education. Once certain levels of material needs are reached, people then tend to seek understanding of spiritualism and the non-materialist world. According to a statistical report, every day there are hundreds of people committing suicide, and many of them are successful people working in science, social services, and political fields. This proves that material success does not guarantee a satisfactory life. Material affluence is a means from which happiness can be obtained, but it is not enough by itself to generate happiness.

The difference in current development prompted Asia and the West to search for two separate sets of values. The Eastern world gives up their spirituality to shift focus to material growth, while in the Western world wealth accumulation was reprioritized to go looking for spiritual experiences that the East has long possessed. Giving up material pursuits is like getting rid of stones to pick up diamonds, whereas the countries in the East may end up losing their own diamonds looking for satisfaction in material wants, never realizing that the diamonds are what we all already possess. In Buddhism, time is believed to be non-linear, and we have many lives besides this life that we have lived in the past and will also live in the future by rebirths. Therefore, happiness is to be cultivated so that it benefits us not only in this life but also in our many future lives to come. Long term happiness exceeds short term satisfaction, whereas sufferings accompanying this life are prolonged and extend into another unless they are to be stopped right now in this life.

ENGAGED BUDDHISM IS FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS

Buddhism is symbolized by the image of a lotus flower. With great effort, the lotus extends itself out of the mud and then above the water surface in order to make lotus flowers and an exceptional scent. The lotus is also used as a flower on which the enlightened ones sit and stand. Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and other enlightened ones sit and stand with full awareness, rising beyond sufferings of worldly life like the lotus growing above the mud’s surface. The muddy water stands for the greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, hatred, and many other afflictions that are the roots of all suffering people experience in this world. Only by rising above these mental tendencies can we reach the lotus of inner peace and happiness.

The path that the monastic takes on, ultimately, is the path back into real life. When the great Buddha was still a young prince in royal life, a prophet predicted that if the prince were to take the throne, he would become the greatest King, uniting sixteen republics into one state independent of politics, economics, culture, and religion, and ruling not with harsh punishments or imprisonment, but ethical principles and kindness. The state was predicted to be a peaceful place of heaven on earth. The prophet said if the prince were to give up the royal life and choose monkhood, he would become the first and greatest monk who could reveal the ultimate truths of the universe and use his wisdom to benefit all human beings in this world.

The Buddha had no particular intention of fulfilling the prophecy, but he saw through the limits of life and the four truths of life which are birth, aging, sickness, and death. Up until the time he witnessed old, sick, and dead people, the young prince was oblivious to sufferings, for, since birth, he was living a wealthy, healthy, young life. The prince then discovered that the very nature of life is short and impermanent. He too would someday become an old man, sicken, and die, and this universal law applied to himself, his parents, his family, and his people as well as everyone else. Regardless of royalty, social classes, or age differences, people all face the same ultimate fate which is ending with death.

With a strong conviction to find answers to all human beings’ sufferings, the Buddha gave up everything he had as a prince to become an ascetic. He started the journey into the spiritual world determined to seek answers to the questions that everyone from all sectors of society wanted to know. His decision in becoming a monk was not to alienate himself from society, but really was an effort to go deeply into real life. Some may say that his decision was not the best one. Instead of taking on the king’s crown and being responsible for bringing stability and peaceful life to his people, he failed his duty as a royal prince. Thus, he was said to have failed to fulfill his roles as a king, a son, a husband, and a father to his newborn infant who was only one day old when he left. Let’s look at his departure in a different perspective.

The Buddha saw human relationship beyond biological connections or geographical boundaries. He wanted to serve all living things on this earth. His compassion for the greater good goes beyond matters involved within one individual’s life. Thus, his decision reflects engaged Buddhism. Upon his Enlightenment, according to the Buddhist scriptures in Pali, the Buddha decided not to enter Nirvana even though there were many challenges obstructing his path of preaching the truths to the rest of the world. He refused to give in. He persisted to staying, in order to impart his knowledge to as many as people as he could. The Buddha spent forty-nine years of his life carrying out his mission, of which forty-five years were spent preaching the truth that he had found, right up until the very last minutes of his life.

The Buddha successfully taught the first sixty disciples, who became enlightened Arhats. In congratulating their enlightenment, the Buddha advised them, “Each of you must find your own path. You should remember never to take the same path or same location as your fellows. Please preach your knowledge to as many as possible including all people living in this world and beyond.” This statement also dovetails perfectly with engaged Buddhism. With each Arhat choosing a different path from all the others, there would be sixty different directions being served. But if they went in twos, then only thirty directions would be taken, resulting in fewer numbers of people whom these sixty Arhats could reach. The advice is in fact a powerful confirmation that real Buddhism has to be engaged Buddhism.

In following the Buddha’s teachings, monks from all over the world and different denominations practice by involving themselves with issues and problems taking place in the community. The directions taken by the monastics can respond to socioeconomic and political developments so that Buddhism can meet the contemporary spiritual needs of the people and continue to promote the greater good of society. That is the reason Buddhism is being followed by people in many places around the world.

Buddhism derived partly from the cultural and spiritual values of Hinduism, which preceded Buddhism in India. The distinctive characteristic of Buddhism was that the teachings of Buddha involve examining a teaching’s nature, its short-comings, and its ability to bring happiness to people living under the influence of cultures. For instance, Hinduism believed that God created humans and the world, and people are meant to serve in specific sectors assigned to them in order to avoid problems caused when people are inappropriately placed.

The theory of social classification seemed to work well in terms of having a stable distribution of labor. However, in reality, this divisive system of stratifying people according to ranks was established to serve only a minority group of powerful individuals. The Brahmin, which was the class on top of the system in charge of the religious and educational sectors, included government officials as well as religious priests. The rest of the people were assigned to do much less important work serving the Brahmin’s interests and needs. The system lasted for a long time without much opposition, and became an established tradition of India. Once things become entrenched as tradition, people are less inclined to express concerns about them or to question their shortcomings.

Buddha declared that people were all the same. It was not right that a group of people who never had to work in their lives were granted access to all of the privileges while many others could not even question why they had to work so hard but still had not enough to feed their families. In other words, Buddhism speaks of equality as the very basic right that applies not only to the Indian, but to all humans. In principle, people should all be given equal access to opportunities for growth regardless of gender, skin color, ethnicity, or nationality. The inner transformation that enables us to transform sufferings into happiness can be achieved by anyone. The universe originates not by the hand of any deity but by the universe operating on its own conditional causations based on the mechanism referred to in Buddhism as “the law of conditionality of all physical and psychic phenomena.”

In reconfirming the interactions of all things as conditional relative to the law of causes and effects which influence all parts of the universe, Buddhism refuses to recognize the validity of creation theories. These include the existence of God and either the theory that the only reality is a mental stage, or the opposite theory claiming that there is nothing else besides this reality and death is the end to everything. Biased views of how the universe is operated were reflected in the Bible where a powerful mighty God after creating the world looks over it and punishes the wrongdoers. This punitive figure who is very powerful and frightening to us humans, reinforces superstition and fear of traditions. Traditions can be poisonous when they command a kind of blind faith in which people are unable to distinguish truth and goodness from deceitful lies and wrongful practices.

For example, when the first astronaut landed on the Moon, the first thing he did was to mark his historical success by making a sign of the cross in gratitude for God’s blessing upon his safe journey to the Moon. This stands in contradiction to the principles he practiced as a scientist. Science has discovered that all phenomena are independent of external intervention and are subjected to their own interactions within the three dimensions. The case of a scientist with strong religious faith indicates the ability of tradition to gradually become accepted as universal truth and manipulate people’s perceptions of reality and their views of the world.

Buddhism works for the cessation of all suffering. We know that the Buddha dedicated forty-five years of his life to pointing out all of the roots that cause humans to suffer and telling us the paths which can help us to rise above this undesirable situation, to acquire long term happiness. If we understand this message, we can see that the purpose of Buddhism’s existence is engaged Buddhism. It can be understood as providing responses and assistance to different needs and concerns related to the economy, education, politics, and also natural disasters that directly affect the well-being of people of all levels in society. As natural disasters and accidents are partly caused by human’s actions, Buddhism taught us how to show sympathetic compassion, to share the losses and assist the victims with material needs through donations. This is a method of developing one’s compassion and assistance toward others as well as to love and care for ourselves the way we would appreciate if we were in their situations.

The concept of the “healthy leaves covering the torn ones” is a very important method for Buddhists to practice because it requires us to understand the feelings of other people besides ourselves. More importantly, sympathy has to be combined with wisdom to avoid emotionally driven reactions, for such emotions untempered with wisdom can cause us to act counterproductively. Love without understanding makes things hard for all parties involved. Likewise, the main cause of the rise in divorce is not people’s lack of love for one another but the inability to overlook each other’s differences in terms of personalities, values, or worldviews. Couples are unable to find ways to understand and love their partners without trying to change them due to personal preferences.

The combination of understanding and mindful intelligence can help bring out unique characteristics and strengths when people are appreciated for who they are in spite of the differences. Let’s not attempt to make someone else another you. An engaged Buddhist, when handling personal relationships knows how to complement the other’s strengths and make up for what the other lacks. It is important to learn to cohabitate on the basis of mutual respect for differences in order to resolve conflicts caused by a lack of tolerance for difference.

THERAVADA IS NOT A SMALL VEHICLE

There are three elements necessary to bring good results for those practicing engaged Buddhism. The three pillars are wisdom, tranquility, and compassion. One major misconception about so-called “Small Vehicle” Buddhism is that it over-emphasizes the process of self enlightenment associated with the tranquilization of all senses while neglecting the practice of reaching out to help the needy. The term “Small Vehicle” mistakenly refers to Theravada Buddhism as a vehicle which can only carry a limited number of passengers to the path of Enlightenment. “Small Vehicle” Buddhism is said to base its practice on the individual self taking precedence over the well-being of others. Unlike “Great Vehicle” Buddhism which can “carry many passengers,” “Small Vehicle Buddhism” is devalued as small-minded and egocentric. This has provoked an undesirable internal competition between Buddhists of the two traditions labeling one another large or small, generous or selfish, and right or wrong. As a result, the two traditions have been unable to dispense with stereotypes and presumptions about one another. Alliances between the two traditions will not be formed unless efforts of reconciliation are made by both sides.

One tradition feels intimidated by carrying the smallness label whereas the other tradition feels overly self-important as a noble tradition that is people-oriented. “Small Vehicle Buddhism” is associated with the practice of wisdom and tranquility while “Great Vehicle Buddhism” has both, plus an additional quality of compassion. For many years, Buddhist leaders made an effort to replace the names that caused division among Buddhists of the two traditions. “Great Vehicle Buddhism” and “Small Vehicle Buddhism” were changed to Northern Buddhism and Southern Buddhism in reference to differences in theories and geographic origins. In terms of geography, Theravada expanded from the South of India to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia while Mahayana went to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and China from the North of India. These new proper names implied the expected outcomes which are the difference in doctrines and practiced methods. More importantly, the new names showed respect for both traditions in terms of their unique geography and culture, thus avoiding tensions. Buddhists should not answer questions about their preferences between the two schools.

To be an engaged Buddhist means we must make the effort to establish understanding and mutual respect among Buddhists of all schools. Regardless of “great” or “small”, or different clothing, what matters most is how one goes about achieving transformation of the mind, a core practice of Buddhism. One who is committed to becoming an engaged Buddhist will be able to pass positive energies onto a large number of people while trying to avoid the same habits and unthoughtful actions they would have done before converting to Buddhism.

In both main schools of Buddhist thought, Theravada and Mahayana, there are the three pillars of Buddhism which are wisdom, tranquility, and compassion. Theravada Buddhists as well as Mahayana Buddhists are all taught about charity, tolerance, and dedicating their lives to working toward the greater good of society. Speaking of religions in the world, we need to discuss the role of each religion in terms of its value in relation to society.

FORMS OF ENGAGED BUDDHISM

In Buddhist practice, two tendencies may be seen. The first is a traditional approach which has been used for a long time in the past, in which Buddhist-related activities are all done within the temples. Buddhist temples used to be the cultural center, community center, educational and spiritual home of local communities. However, by organizing all activities within such confined locations, Buddhists were unable to spread the benefits beyond the temple to places where not everyone is familiar with Buddhist teachings or frequents temples.

In this modern time, engaged Buddhism has to take the initiative to make Buddhist values available to non-Buddhists as well as non-believers. Such active movements have been widely undertaken by Buddhists in Japan, which has many monks who are not only monks but also famous economists, politicians, educators, and sociologists. Their presence is evident in all sectors of the modern society.

Some Japanese monks have modified their dress according to circumstances. At temples they wear Buddhist robes, but when they go outside they change into normal civilian clothes so as not to cause discomfort among non-Buddhists who may be less inclined to accept things said by people who look too different from them. It is a fact that culture tends to push away things that don’t belong, rather like the way our immune system works when bacteria from the outside come into our body. If the rejection fails, the invaded areas will be quarantined in order to protect the rest of body from the infection. Monks who come to lecture at a university wearing Buddhist robes, however objective they may be, can still be judged as biased by their religious beliefs. Thus, if monks dress in normal clothing and deliver their messages with non-technical language that is easy to understand, people can accept Buddhist teachings and easily relate them to their own experiences in real life.

The Youth Publishing House has published a series of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books entitled “Seeds for the Soul.” The books collect stories of which 95% are derived from Buddhist literature across the world, and the language used is modified to fit all common readers. In order to effectively develop engaged Buddhism in modern times, we have to know how to incorporate modern language, applications, and forms in conveying the teachings to the contemporary world.

For instance, chanting rituals at Buddhist temples need to be simplified in order for Buddhists to remember and practice them. For daily chanting sessions at temples, it is important that texts be arranged to include a variety of sources from Zen meditation and Pure Land meditation, to help practitioners broaden their understanding of Buddhism. These changes can help ward off the boredom tends to arise when using the same things over and over.

In addition, Dharma texts based on the Chinese often date back to the French colonial period, and Confucian-oriented expressions now have to be re-translated into modern Vietnamese language. Even Vietnamese from Vietnam or overseas have difficulty in understanding the meaning when approaching these Buddhist texts. Efforts at Giac Ngo (Enlightenment) Temple resulted in the publication of the Daily Buddhist Chanting Book, an anthology of forty-nine texts, thirty-five of which feature humanitarian themes concerning real life experiences, marriage and family life, and providing insights on household management and social skills. The other fourteen texts are on Buddhist Philosophy.

Engaged Buddhism has to be first and foremost responsive to changes in life, like Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion who can assume any one of thirty-three different appearances. Each form symbolizes a path that the Bodhisattva takes on to serve this life.

Why do we need a variety of methods and practices? We are all different due to our personal karma, so different methods should be used. There is only one road from Giac Ngo (Enlightenment) Temple to the Saigon center, but people can choose from a variety of means of transportation, such as motorbike, bicycle, plane, or subway, depending on their personal preferences and economic means. The important thing is to recognize this basic diversity of people and apply the understanding to benefit the maximum number. No single medicine that can cure all sickness and most medicines have one side effect or another. Similarly, one practice can be beneficial for one individual, but remain ineffective for another.

Buddhism encourages the use of diverse methods and experiences in approaching enlightenment, and not judging particular practices as right or wrong. The true value of a method depends on each learner’s personality and current situation. The methods after all are only means for ensuring that monks can deliver the Buddhist principles to each person effectively.

Buddhism can also learn the methods used successfully by other major religions in adapting to different cultures. The Buddha’s teachings have endured through many centuries, and language, presentation, and analysis have to be modified to become widely accepted and understood in the contemporary world.

As Buddhists, we can advise our fellow practitioners not to learn Buddhist principles from literal concepts described in the mantra texts, but to try instead to relate those principles into real-life experiences, to make them easy to understand and remember. Personal experiences should be shared between members of the Buddhist family in order to apply what is learned in Buddhism towards solving problems and settling conflicts in real-life contexts. This is the best way to bring Buddhism into life, by making our own home a place of sacredness, of Pure Land peace where everyone feels happy in the presence of the others.

In conclusion, more new paths of engaged Buddhism need to be explored and broadened, not only by the monastics but by everyone who faithfully walks on the Buddhist path in search of enlightenment. Let’s embrace the message which engaged Buddhism brings to all of us, and let each of us become the messenger who delivers the truths of life to people surrounding us who are Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and many others. Let us all take shelter under the Dharma as our permanent refuge, where the truths and only the truths stand with time.

Ven. Dr. THICH NHAT TU: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Ven. Dr. Thich Nhat Tu was born in Saigon in 1969. After completing secondary high school, he became a novice at his early teens, under the spiritual guidance of the late Most Ven. Thich Thien Hue at Giac Ngo Temple and received full ordination in 1988. He received his D.Phil., degree from Allahabad University in 2002. He is the founder of Buddhism Today Association and abbot of Giac Ngo Temple. He has extensively given public Dharma talks to Vietnamese communities in Vietnam, America and Australia . He is committed to propagate Buddhist teachings through education, cultural activities and charitable programs in order to benefit the individuals and the society at large.