The Dharma And Socially Engaged Buddhist Economics

This book defends and articulates an "Engaged Buddhist" approach to economics as a response to the destructive effects of global capitalism. The author posits that Buddhist understandings of the distortions of greed, aversion, and ignorance can be read to apply not only to mental states but also to socio-political ones, and that such a reading suggests rational responses to current social and environmental challenges. The book proposes that we engage both "inner and outer" modes of transformation through which to free ourselves from our current human-made, dysfunctional systems: the former, by examining the workings of our own minds, the latter by criticizing and reforming our economic systems. Since traditional Buddhism provides few sources to build a Buddhist economic vision, this work brings together Buddhist notions of skillful practice, John Dewey's pragmatic principles for social provisioning, and institutional economics. The author provides two case studies for experiments in Buddhist-based socioeconomic policies, Thailand and Bhutan. Of special interest is the implied parallel between worldviews emerging from modern socially-engaged Buddhism and Dewey's notion of a human existential drive to shape the world in collectively beneficial ways. Joel Magnuson is an Affiliated Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He is the author of many books, as well as numerous articles in journals and anthologies in the United States, Europe, and Japan. His research interests include mindful economics, Buddhist economics, and institutional reform.

"In recent years there has been a significant shift in recognition of Buddhism's social dimension. To encourage this direction, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship has assembled this impressive collection of writings by distinguished teachers and commentators on 'socially engaged Buddhism, ' a Buddhism which is not just in meditation halls but which pervades all our everyday lives and concerns."--Cover.

This book defends and articulates an “Engaged Buddhist” approach to economics as a response to the destructive effects of global capitalism. The author posits that Buddhist understandings of the distortions of greed, aversion, and ignorance can be read to apply not only to mental states but also to socio-political ones, and that such a reading suggests rational responses to current social and environmental challenges. The book proposes that we engage both “inner and outer” modes of transformation through which to free ourselves from our current human-made, dysfunctional systems: the former, by examining the workings of our own minds, the latter by criticizing and reforming our economic systems. Since traditional Buddhism provides few sources to build a Buddhist economic vision, this work brings together Buddhist notions of skillful practice, John Dewey’s pragmatic principles for social provisioning, and institutional economics. The author provides two case studies for experiments in Buddhist-based socioeconomic policies, Thailand and Bhutan. Of special interest is the implied parallel between worldviews emerging from modern socially-engaged Buddhism and Dewey’s notion of a human existential drive to shape the world in collectively beneficial ways.

These essays chart the emergence of a new chapter in an ancient faith - the rise of social service and political activism in Buddhist Asia and the West. Engaged Buddhists have sought new ways to comfort society's oppressed communities.

Emphasising human-scale, local, sustainable alternatives to globalised industry, Sulak Sivaraksa offers a way to restructure our economy on Buddhist principles and on a basis that will promote personal development.Based on decades of thought and writing Sivaraksa outlines how measuring economic success by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) could be replaced by GNH (Gross National Happiness). It examines globalisation from a Buddhist perspective, arguing that healing the planet starts by creating sustainability at the individual and global levels.

Buddhism and Peace: Theory and Practice is among the most comprehensive books on this topic to date. Of the seven international seminars on Buddhism and Leadership for Peace, which have gained worldwide reputation in leading discussions on Buddhism and peace, the seventh seminar was the most successful. Thirty-one eminent scholars and activists among the more than forty participants presented papers on Buddhism and peace from the varying perspectives of their expertise. The two major Buddhist traditions, the Theravada and the Mahayana, are equally represented in this book. Likewise, a balance is struck in this book in terms of the number of articles dealing with theory and those concentrating on practice. The result is a collection of essential readings on the application of Buddhist wisdom for peace activists, scholars of religion, social scientists, and others in these troubled times, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

Many forms of Buddhism, divergent in philosophy and style, emerged as Buddhism filtered out of India into other parts of Asia. Nonetheless, all of them embodied an ethical core that is remarkably consistent. Articulated by the historical Buddha in his first sermon, this moral core is founded on the concept of karma—that intentions and actions have future consequences for an individual—and is summarized as Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, three of the elements of the Eightfold Path. Although they were later elaborated and interpreted in a multitude of ways, none of these core principles were ever abandoned. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Ethics provides a comprehensive overview of the field of Buddhist ethics in the twenty-first century. The Handbook discusses the foundations of Buddhist ethics focusing on karma and the precepts looking at abstinence from harming others, stealing, and intoxication. It considers ethics in the different Buddhist traditions and the similarities they share, and compares Buddhist ethics to Western ethics and the psychology of moral judgments. The volume also investigates Buddhism and society analysing economics, environmental ethics, and Just War ethics. The final section focuses on contemporary issues surrounding Buddhist ethics, including gender, sexuality, animal rights, and euthanasia. This groundbreaking collection offers an indispensable reference work for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics and comparative moral philosophy.