BODHI AUSTRALIA
  • About
    • Our People >
      • The Dalai Lama: our patron
      • Our Advisors >
        • Roshi Robert Aitken
        • Shelley Anderson
        • Solomon Benatar
        • Senator Bob Brown
        • Sister Mila de Gimeno
        • Prof John Guillebaud
        • Dr Maurice King
        • Dh Lokamitra
        • Prof Chris Queen
        • Prof David Rapport
        • Sulak Sivaraksa
    • Latest news! >
      • Covid Crisis in India
      • The Rohingya
    • Our Finances
    • President's report
    • From the Medical Director's Desk
    • Media
  • Projects
    • Nishtha
    • Aryaloka Computer Education >
      • Update November 2021
      • Covid in Nagpur update: November 2021
    • Project guidelines
    • Past projects - complete >
      • Bahujan Hitay, Pune, India >
        • Karunadeepa
      • Moanoghar, Bangladesh >
        • Moanoghar student support
      • Denis Wright Scholarships, Bangladesh
      • Barefoot teachers
      • SNEHA schools Arunachal Pradesh, India
  • Gender
  • How to help
    • Supporters, partners, helpers
    • Bequests
    • Shopping
    • Posters
    • Other ways to help
  • Meetings and Reports
    • From the past >
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2016
    • Constitution
    • For committee >
      • Register of Members
      • References
    • partner details >
      • Aryaloka_reports
  • Newsletter, blog, issues
    • Editorials >
      • Rwanda
    • Newsletters (recent)
    • BODHI Times (newsletter archive)
    • Blog
  • Remembering
    • Dr Ambedkar: an inspiration
    • Eric Avebury
    • Vanya Kewley
    • Halfdan Mahler
    • Abdus Salam
    • Frank Schofield
    • Susan Woldenberg Butler
    • Denis Wright
    • BODHI's history
    • Old websites
    • Archives
  • Contact us
  • About
    • Our People >
      • The Dalai Lama: our patron
      • Our Advisors >
        • Roshi Robert Aitken
        • Shelley Anderson
        • Solomon Benatar
        • Senator Bob Brown
        • Sister Mila de Gimeno
        • Prof John Guillebaud
        • Dr Maurice King
        • Dh Lokamitra
        • Prof Chris Queen
        • Prof David Rapport
        • Sulak Sivaraksa
    • Latest news! >
      • Covid Crisis in India
      • The Rohingya
    • Our Finances
    • President's report
    • From the Medical Director's Desk
    • Media
  • Projects
    • Nishtha
    • Aryaloka Computer Education >
      • Update November 2021
      • Covid in Nagpur update: November 2021
    • Project guidelines
    • Past projects - complete >
      • Bahujan Hitay, Pune, India >
        • Karunadeepa
      • Moanoghar, Bangladesh >
        • Moanoghar student support
      • Denis Wright Scholarships, Bangladesh
      • Barefoot teachers
      • SNEHA schools Arunachal Pradesh, India
  • Gender
  • How to help
    • Supporters, partners, helpers
    • Bequests
    • Shopping
    • Posters
    • Other ways to help
  • Meetings and Reports
    • From the past >
      • 2022
      • 2021
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2016
    • Constitution
    • For committee >
      • Register of Members
      • References
    • partner details >
      • Aryaloka_reports
  • Newsletter, blog, issues
    • Editorials >
      • Rwanda
    • Newsletters (recent)
    • BODHI Times (newsletter archive)
    • Blog
  • Remembering
    • Dr Ambedkar: an inspiration
    • Eric Avebury
    • Vanya Kewley
    • Halfdan Mahler
    • Abdus Salam
    • Frank Schofield
    • Susan Woldenberg Butler
    • Denis Wright
    • BODHI's history
    • Old websites
    • Archives
  • Contact us

Blog

Buddhism and Social Justice

19/8/2015

1 Comment

 
PictureRahana cries as she talks with traffickers from an Internet hut in Thae Chaung village on January 29, 2015. Rahana, a 32-year-old Rohingya, has already sent $1,100 to the trafficker who is holding her 12-year-old son ransom at a camp along the Thailand-Malaysia border. The trafficker wants another $300 before he will release the boy. "Let me speak to my son," Rahana tells the trafficker. A few seconds pass, then a small voice says, "Mum?" Rahana's eyes fill with tears. "I will send the money," she assures her son. "Then they will let you go. From http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/03/reunions-and-ransoms-in-burma-digital-connections-among-the-rohingya/386492/
A student wrote to me today about my essay called  Buddhism and Social Justice.

Here is my slightly edited reply:

Thank you for your query and for reminding me of this essay; I had some help with writing it (from a monk) and for a reason I don’t understand he is not acknowledged (I think he did some of the footnotes).

I am not a monk, nor a religious teacher. But I would say there are many examples of how a “contemporary, partial understanding of karma can lead to social inequality and injustice”.

Karma is something which at one level seems easy (cause and effect) but on the other hand is really hard to understand; if the teachings are true this may be in part because some causes and some effects are hidden in past and future lives.

in Myanmar at the moment, the dominant and more powerful, ostensibly “Buddhist” majority is largely treating the Rohingya population (a Muslim minority) with fear and hatred (including by discriminating against them in the recent floods). As an example, my understanding of karma is that this fear and hatred of the Rohingya especially if translating to action (eg discrimination or even murder) could create the cause (for example) to be born as a Rohingya in Myanmar.  (I was taught that actions have 4 steps to be complete – to think, to speak, to do and not to regret; eg if I think of hurting someone (or stealing something) that is bad but not as bad as speaking about it, but speaking of it is not as bad as doing it and doing it is not as bad as rejoicing in it (eg see).

Some conceptualisations of karma are that someone who is despised or in other ways treated badly “deserves” this because of their past behaviour (eg maybe in Hinduism, as a justification for treating an animal or an “untouchable” badly). I believe that is itself wrong, generating the cause to experience unpleasant results, eg to be born as an animal or “outcaste”. Now, in Australia, we lock murderers away, we do punish them. This is because of the actions of the murderer (in this life). But if we treat a child badly, claiming that their actions in their past life merit this, then we are creating the cause to ourselves be treated badly. If a Rohingya did something such as burn a house down they should be prosecuted. But I think in Myanmar it has reached the stage where there are a lot of atrocities, on both sides, and few if any prosecutions. It is more that the Buddhist majority have collectively decided to punish the Rohingya minority.

2. “Karmic determinism” sounds to me like this false view (false as I was taught). For example, take myself (or take you, or your friend).  We might have done something wrong, in this life or the last, and thus have caused a poor outcome. But, if, from this moment on, we strive to practice good thoughts, to generate good karma, then our minds can change, and so can our destiny. Our karma is not “predetermined” but changeable. Without this chance, life would be very unfair indeed. Nor do I think we have to die before we experience karma ripening (for good or bad).

3.   To what extent do you believe the contemporary understanding of karma is used to justify social inequality and injustice?

I think it can be – I think for example in India there is a lot of blaming of the poor – also however in rich countries, and now in Australia to an extent. Many people in the US believe that the poor “deserve” to be poor because they are stupid or lazy. In fact, many of them are born to poor families. If the wealthy work to improve social justice then the conditions of the poor can be improved.

If I call someone a “dole bludger” it implies that I think they are cheating, not trying; they may not deserve opportunities. Most Australians would not use the language of karma about the poor, but they do use language about “earning” or “deserving”. It is not very different.

4.    How is this misunderstanding of this religious teaching impacting on those societies in which the belief is prevalent? One effect, I think is that where this belief is present there would be a lot of materialism, which does not lead to deep fulfilment.


1 Comment
Colin Butler
17/8/2015 14:23:51

http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2009/10/the-old-young-monks-who-killed-saved-ants/


The Old & Young Monks Who Killed & Saved Ants
Posted by Shen Shi'an on October 6, 2009 0 Comment

Mind precedes all mental states.
Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts,
suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.

– Dhammapada Verse 1

Opening and closing this article are the famous first two twin verses of the Dhammapada, which is a collection of sayings by the Buddha inspired by real events. Once, some monks sighted some dead insects, which they suspect to be trampled by the old and blind Cakkhupala during his walking meditation. Hearing this, the Buddha remarked that just as they didn’t see him killing the insects, Cakkhupala did not either. Besides, as he was already an arahat, it was impossible for him to have the intention to kill. Thus, he did not create any negative karma. His blindness however, was the negative karmic result of having blinded someone in a past life. A woman had promised him then, when he was a physician, to become his servant, together with her children, if her eyes get completely cured. However, she lied that her eyes were getting worse when they became cured. Out of vengeance, he gave her another ointment, which really blinded her.

In a related story, the master of a young novice monk, who could see probable events in the future, saw that the latter was likely to pass away eight days later due to negative karma. Out of compassion, he sent him home for a break, to see his parents one last time. Unaware of his situation, the novice went off delightedly. On his journey, he noticed an ant nest with a stream nearby. Its level was rising due to rain upstream. Attempting to prevent the ants from drowning, he used soil to built an embankment around the nest and diverted the stream away. To great astonishment, eight days later, his master saw him returning cheerily to the monastery. Perplexed at how he escaped death, he realised that his act of saving the insects had amassed so much merits, that his life expectancy extended. As such, the novice lived to a ripe old age.

The two stories illustrate the central role of intention in the creation of karma, be it positive or negative. As the Buddha taught, ‘It is intention [or volition; instead of just an action], monks, that I call kamma [karma], for having willed, one performs an action through body, speech and mind.’ Just as the old monk’s ill intention created great negative karma, the young monk’s pure intention create immense merits [pure karma]. Though both did not create new negative karma, they had to suffer for their past negative karma. Despite this, both were able to make the best of their situations. We too should take our negative karma in our stride, to rise above our present situations. We are not limited by our karma; only by our lack of diligence to do better, to render our negative karma relatively powerless with overwhelming positive karma and wisdom. Karma is not cast in stone!

Mind precedes all mental states.
Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts,
happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.

– Dhammapada Verse 2

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Colin Butler

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2017
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All