A New Buddhist Narrative?

The danger….

Tibetan monk after Chinese police beat and imprisoned him:

“We think the Dalai Lama has been too peaceful,” he said. “There is a big discussion now about whether we should turn to violence.”

Another monk at Labrang Monastery here in Xiahe on the Tibetan plateau put it this way: “For 50 years, the Dalai Lama said to use peaceful means to solve the problems, and that achieved nothing. China just criticizes him.”

“After he’s gone,” the monk added, “there definitely will be violent resistance.”

Nationalist monks in Sri Lanka:

Many observers say that a resurgence of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism has played its part in several recent human rights violations.

The monks are arguing vociferously against any self-determination for the Tamils in the north, including even the measure of autonomy that most observers believe is necessary for peace.

Under attack in southern Thailand:

Meanwhile, in the country’s south—where a Muslim insurgency has been raging for four years—many Thai Buddhists have taken matters into their own hands, forming paramilitary “self-defense groups” with the government’s help. These groups are nominally nonsectarian, but they contain few if any Muslim members, and they often use Buddhist temples as training grounds. Many of the 7,000 volunteers drill using sticks instead of guns, but one expert (who didn’t want to be identified to avoid compromising sources) says that the Thai government purchased a large number of shotguns from Russia last summer to arm them.

and the potential...

China

One of the most fascinating developments at the moment is the rising appeal of Tibetan Buddhist ideas among the ethnic majority Han Chinese of the People’s Republic. Most Han Chinese belong to the traditional Pure Land or Zen schools of their religion; for a variety of reasons, say experts, the politics associated with these flavors of Chinese Buddhism tends to be politically conservative, beholden to the state. Yet the esoteric Tibetan version of the religion is making notable inroads among non-Tibetan Chinese. Non-Tibetans tend to be fascinated by Tibetan Buddhists’ claims that their faith has a powerful and perceptible effect on their lives. When the Beijing authorities razed an unsanctioned Tibetan Buddhist academy in Sichuan province in 2001, they were shocked to discover 1500 Han Chinese monks and nuns in attendance.

Peace, Humanitarianism & Compromise

A striking example is the Engaged Buddhism movement, which was founded in the 1960s by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk who became an activist during the Vietnam War and was ultimately exiled to France by his country’s communist rulers. He’s since returned to his homeland twice, in 2005 and 2007; on both occasions his countrymen received him like a conquering hero. The movement, which emphasizes nonviolence and social action, has persistently lobbied for religious tolerance throughout the region—most strikingly in Sri Lanka, where members of the local Sarvodaya Shramadana organization hold regular, nonsectarian antiwar demonstrations. The group has also helped 15,000 communities build roads, find clean water and run preschools, says Sallie King, a religion and philosophy professor at James Madison University.

A new narrative may be forming about Buddhism among both Buddhists and non-believers. Long considered a religion of peace and reflection, Buddhists are flexing political and social muscles from India to Burma to Thailand. Its likely most of Asia will have substantial and influential Buddhist populations within the next decade, creating a new constituency for change, patronage and leadership. This is, especially in the case of the middle class adapting Buddhism from China to India, promising news for stability and a development of a social responsibility ethos that can help bridge the divide between the haves and have nots until development more balance.

Yet, as the Tibetans, Sri Lankans, Burmese and Thais know first-hand, Buddhism is also apparently under stress, perhaps even attack.

• Oppressive regimes stifle, censor and hijack Buddhist leaders, traditions and customs, using coercive policies which include violence. (Tibet, Burma)
• Fundamentalists from other faiths assault and kill Buddhists indiscriminately. (Sri Lanka, India, Thailand)
• Globalization and the spread of Western culture threatens cultural mores. (Thailand, Sri Lanka)

The widespread coverage of Muslims suffering in Bosnia, Iraq, Somalia, Chechnya and elsewhere in the 1990’s, as well as the violation of Muslim mores by the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia and Western culture’s spread, helped radicalize a small but potent group of malcontents and true believers. Will something similar happen for Buddhist causes in Asia? What form(s) could it take?

Buddhism joins the 21st Century religious enlightenment that pervades every continent but Europe. It will be marked by divisions and disagreements ranging from the social to the political, not to mention the religious. A narrative of Buddhism under threat will only hasten that divide. As Ralph Peters argues,

We are witnessing an inspiring reinvigoration of faith on one hand and, on the other, a redaction of faith’s complexities to exploit the fear and jealousy abounding — promising vengeance on this side of the grave. Twenty-first century religion will be caught between the saint and the suicide bomber. The nemeses of every faith will be those who can’t tell the difference.

Its obvious Buddhism will be no exception.