State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Discuss the application of the Dharma to situations of social, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice.
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FiveSkandhas
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State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Post by FiveSkandhas »

Hello.

"Engaged Buddhism" is a popular concept of late and is generally tied to ideas of social justice and the attempts of (post)modern Buddhism to "engage more fully with society."

What often goes unreflected upon is that in every society in which Buddhism has been successful, starting with Ashoka, it has been deeply "engaged" with society through government-level patronage. In history this has most frequently involved state (i.e. royal) or elite (i.e. aristocratic) support.

Indeed, it could be argued that a dwindling of elite patronage was the central cause of Buddhism's near-total disappearance from India.

This is true in both the Theravada and Mahayana nations. As we are a messageboard focusing on the latter, two exemplary cases would be that of Japan and Tibet. In both cases, Buddhism was spread initially by royal patronage. In Japan, Buddhism's initial spread was through Imperially sponsored "kokubunji" temples in the provances whose role was to pray and chant Sutras for the safety of the state and the Imperial House Yamato. Various aristocratic cliques also sponsored their own temple networks, and the different sects rose and fell with the fortunes of the different noble houses that backed them. Medieval sects all jockeyed for influence at court, among aristocratic families, and later among warrior elites.

In Tibet, alliances with the Mongols brought the Sakyapa great power, while Gelug ascendency later was arguably tied to influence involvong the Manchus.

In both Japan and Tibet, the great temples and sects controlled vast landholdings, labor resources, financial resources, and in some cases (moreso in Japan) possessed armed forces. Ostensibly for "security," Japanese "sohei" or "warrior monks" went so far as to burn and sack each other's temples on occasion.

The idea of institutional Buddhism as somehow floating above politics is not supported by history. Institutional Buddhism has always flourished or declined in relation to state politics.

Today, institutional Mahayana Buddhism has largely become unmoored from state support. In its Western form, it has had to take root in societies where seperation of church and state is taken for granted. In our examples of Tibet and Japan, it is legally and factually no longer state-invovled.

It is my belief that "engaged Buddhism" has emerged in the vacuum created by the removal of state support. It is another way of seeking engagement with society. Given the often-less-than altruistic character of old-timey state supported Buddhism, (post)modern "engaged Buddhism" represents a much more idealistic approach to the necessary ties between institutional Buddhism and society at large.

Questions remain: can "engaged Buddhism" support institutional Buddhism on the scale that the old state-suppoeted Buddhism did? Can engaged Buddhism carve out a brighter future history than the old statist model, or will it too fall prey to the siren songs of money and power? Can a non-state-suported Buddhism even survive the next millennium?

As a Buddhist it is not my intent to malign institutional Buddhism. I do not believe it is "slander" to recognize historical realities. I hope that a consideration of Buddhism's historical state and elite ties, and the relationship with contemporary engaged Buddhism, can lead to a flourishing and robust global Dharmic presence that is beneficial in and of itself as well as beneficial to society at large.

:anjali:
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Questions remain: can "engaged Buddhism" support institutional Buddhism on the scale that the old state-suppoeted Buddhism did? Can engaged Buddhism carve out a brighter future history than the old statist model, or will it too fall prey to the siren songs of money and power? Can a non-state-suported Buddhism even survive the next millennium?
It seems to me that you are muddling together quite a few unrelated ideas.
"Engaged Buddhism" was never intended to "support institutional Buddhism".
State support has certainly been important and helpful to institutional Buddhism but has nothing to do with "Engaged Buddhism" as a movement or practice.
Whether state support is still essential to the survival of Buddhism is a valid question but I can't see that it is connected to "Engaged Buddhism" in any way.

Can you sort out your ideas and get back to us?

:namaste:
Kim
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Post by FiveSkandhas »

Thank you for your reply, Kim O'Hara.

I understand that engaged Buddhism is not intended to support institutional Buddhism by all or perhaps even by most proponents. However, I do believe it is flourishing in the vacuum created by the absence of support for institutional Buddhism, and that without this vacuum, it might not be such an issue. Let me add a little context.

I live and practice in Japan, where state support has been absent for quite some time and the main mode of support for institutional Buddhism is a medley of ritual and social roles. The mainstay of support for a Japanese Buddhist temple has long been funeral rites, followed by support from other sources such as donations from allied families ("danka"), the sale of charms and prayer rituals, tourism-related initiatives, and other methods of support.

All of this evolved to fill the vacuum left when state support vanished. Now, too, this "patchwork of rituals" (often called "funeary Buddhism" after the main ritual suite) is slowly but surely vanishing too in its ability to support most temples.

Thus, temple support has become an existential issue and "engaged Buddhism" has become a "buzzword" and a new approach for seeking temple support.

Examples in Japan include hospice work, the opening of geriatric and other medical centers, LGBTQ support initiatives, suicide-related support, attempts at strengthening local community ties, work with natural disasters areas, and more. The current period has been called "experimental Buddhism" and much represents the adoption of socially engaged Buddhism as both an expression of pure ethics and the quest for new roles that will help institutional Buddhism survive.

In the West, which has never had a tradition of state support, "engaged Buddhism" also can serve as a way of connecting Buddhist centers and other institutions with society at large.

I apologize if this thread seems unclear. I am trying to explore the relationship of dwindling state support in Asia with the rise of engaged Buddhism as a new way to forge vital and supportive social roles for the Sangha. And in the West, I would like to explore how engaged Buddhism can create social roles that never existed through state support in the first place. Historically, the role of state support in general can also shed light on a long-standing connectivity with society that can perhaps be replaced through socially engaged Buddhism.
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Post by Kim O'Hara »

:thanks:

That's much clearer!

:namaste:
Kim
Malcolm
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Re: State supported Buddhism and engaged Buddhism

Post by Malcolm »

FiveSkandhas wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:54 am
In the West, which has never had a tradition of state support, "engaged Buddhism" also can serve as a way of connecting Buddhist centers and other institutions with society at large.
The best thing engaged Buddhists can do is support democracy and secular ethics.
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