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E. Garibay: On Buddhism - Interfaith Youth Forum in London
Written by Esther Garibay
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Address to the Global Peace Festival-UK: Forum on Interfaith and Intercultural Cooperation for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity in Europe, November 22, 2008
It is my belief that the lack of understanding of the true cause of happiness is the main reason why people inflict suffering on others. Some people think that causing pain to others may lead to their own happiness or that their own happiness is of such importance that the pain of others is of no significance. But this is clearly short-sighted. No one truly benefits from causing harm to another being. Whatever immediate advantage is gained at the expense of someone else is short-lived.
These words were spoken by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, a Buddhist monk.
Buddhism is nonviolence. nonviolence of body, nonviolence of speech, nonviolence of mind. More than just nonviolence, however, Buddhism seeks to actively create the conditions for compassion to flourish and suffering to end. The techniques that Buddhist practitioners have developed to train their minds in equanimity, compassion, and wisdom can be practiced by people of any faith or none.
The first Buddhist precept is unambiguous: "Do not kill," and the Buddhist doctrine, from its foundation, has granted equality to all human beings, in fact, all sentient beings. We do not believe in a creator, only in the potential of all sentient beings to become enlightened and awaken to the true nature of reality.
As the Buddhist scholar Rajavaramuni Chamarik says: "Man has been the central problem of Buddhist philosophy. He has the potentiality of self-perfection by which a life of freedom and happiness can be realized. In order to attain this perfection, man has to develop himself physically, morally, psycho-spiritually and intellectually. Freedom of self-development and the encouragement of opportunities have become a foundation of the Buddhist ethics. This is evident in the Buddha's repeated teachings on the refutation of the caste system of the Hindus."
Following this line of thought, for a human being to achieve their full potential of awakening, it is essential to guarantee basic freedom and well-being. The Buddha was aware that only through developing a calm, compassionate and wise mind can we cease to cause suffering to others and ourselves. Cease to do evil; learn to do good, cleanse your own heart; this is the teaching of the Buddha.
The Buddhist delegation believes that the reasoning behind these precepts can only strengthen and enhance the secular understanding of human rights by pointing to what we think is the main cause of human suffering: the mind that acts out of anger, attachment and ignorance. All of which can be transformed into love, compassion, and wisdom.
Central to Buddhism is the interconnectedness of the human family, and the planet we inhabit, as well as the impermanence of all phenomena subject to the law of cause and effect. Such thinking means Buddhism recognizes and enshrines the inherent dignity of all sentient beings — regardless of gender, nationality, or creed — above any political or economic gain.
Buddhism holds at its heart the acceptance of a diversity of beliefs and welcomes this diversity as something that enriches humanity. And, although we don’t deny there are differences, we believe that all religions that have peace as their central value seek to improve humanity by teaching people ways to behave more humanely and balance material and spiritual progress.
Nevertheless the Buddhist delegation is aware that, as with any other institutionalized religion, so-called Buddhists do not always, in their actions, follow the Buddha’s teachings of peace. The bitter ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and the experience of military dictatorship in Burma provide a contemporary experience of recurrent violation of human rights by self-titled Buddhists.
Before an interfaith council can ever be conceived within the UN system, then, it is vital that dialogue occurs at the grassroots level, where religious intolerance and misinterpretation can have the most direct consequences.
We all, as religious people, must question not only the inequality and injustice evident in the world, but those evident in our own religious institutions. Blind faith and dogma stunt our capacity to adapt and evolve spiritually. It also makes us vulnerable to manipulation by those who use religion to mask their own agendas. The Buddha advised: do not believe what I teach simply because of faith or respect, but investigate yourself, as if buying gold.
As Buddhists, we believe that the term "religious conflict" is an idiosyncrasy: there is no place whatsoever for conflict over religious values. But, if we do not properly understand our own and each other’s faith, it is all the more likely we will fall for half-truths and hate speech.
Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
To conclude and in addition to the recommendations that other faiths have already suggested, we would like to add:
- We recommend that any interfaith dialogue concerning human rights involve, as much as possible, not just religious leaders but democratically elected representatives of each faith. This allows for religious values to happily coincide with democracy.
- We recommend that special rapporteurs be given mandates to investigate alleged human rights abuses within religious contexts and report to the Human Rights Council.
- We recommend that in the same way NGOs present shadow reports in the Human Rights Council, faith groups be also included and called upon when the case in turn concerns a particular or various religions.
- Lastly, we recommend that the UN work with the concepts of universal responsibility and interconnectedness that various faiths including Buddhism uphold, to promote the Millennium Development Goals. And equally, to advance and inspire respect for the environment, the planet and resources we all share.
Thank you for listening.
Bibliography
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KEWON, D. 1995. Are There Human Rights in Buddhism (online) [Accessed 18/11/2008]. Available at: www.urbandharma.org/udharma/humanrights.html
GYATSO, T. 1993. Human Rights and Universal Responsibility (online). [Accessed 18/11/2008]. Available at: http://www.tibet.com/dl/vienna.html
GYATSO, T. 2002. Suffering Caused by Greed and Consumerism (online). [Accessed 18/11/2008]. Available at: http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=415
NHAT HANH, T. The First Precept: Reverence for Life (online). [Accessed 18/11/2008]. Available at: www.ncf.ca/freenet/rootdir/menus/sigs/religion/buddhism/introduction/precepts/precept-1.html
RAJAVARAMUNI, P. CHAMARIK, S. 1982. Buddhism and Human Rights (online). [Accessed 18/11/2008]. Available at: www.buddhanetz.org/texte/rights.htm.
Saunvedan Aparanti and Patricia Curmi worked with Esther Garibay to prepare this perspective of Buddhism as it relates to human rights and dignity.