The Buddhist Vision of Humanism Politics and Social Changes
By: Daniel Johan
I want to start our dialogue today with some data from UNDP, because
from it we come to understand the politic-economic conditions like what is happening in the world today:
* Global exports from 1960 to 1997 increased from $ 60 M to $ 6.5 T, but at the same time, 20% global income of the poor people in the world fell from 2.3% to 1.1%. And the world poverty rate in 1996 instead of declining, but increased to 13.7%. More than 1 billion people of the world income is only $ 2 / day, they do not have access to clean water and malnutrition. From 1 billion poor people in the world, 900 million farmers in the world just earning less than $ 111 per year (only $ 0.3 per day).
* Income from three richest people in the world today is greater than the total income of 48 developing countries in the world that have 600 million populatian. GM's total sales in 1997 only for $ 164 M, while the GDP of Indonesia in the same year only $ 52.2 M.
* according to the ratio, earnings 1 / 5 richest people in the world are equal to total income from 1/5 world poor population in fifty years.
* At present, 77% grain trade is dominated by 5 largest companies in the world, 80% bananas trade are controlled by 3 companies, 85% tea trade are controlled by 3 companies, and 87% tobacco is controlled by 4 companies.
* Military expenditure in 1999 is $ 809 M (Rp. 850 M /Hours = Rp 20 T / DAY), while 12% of that is able to provide health services, education, clean water, and nutrients to all the poor people of the world.
That is the objective condition of our world today that challenge us that the world order was not balanced. There is the political and economic hegemony that is not fair from the strong against the weak. If Buddhists want to speak and take a role in the world context and the modern politics, then the Buddhists should be able to answer the main question in the modern world, namely poverty, environmental destruction and social injustice.
At present Democracy regarded as a modern political system. The true essence of democracy is the sovereignty of the people, that every human being is the same. He is the antithesis of ancient feudalism where the kings or rulers regarded as a god or a representative of God who must be obeyed. To this case, Buddhist reject it, because according to the Dharma, every person born in the same manner that the root of democracy.
Sangha itself is a form of democracy. This term has existed long before the time of the Buddha. Sangha is a form of republic, a democratic organization that applies in a small numbers country in northern India.
Sakya Buddhist country and Koliya itself led by a form of sangha, they choose their own representatives to govern.
Sangha of Buddhist monks who established by Buddha therefore a clone of the existing system in the most advanced form. Sangha is open to everyone, men and women, upper class or lower. Once you join the Sangha, from prominent people, poor people, prostitutes, beggars, or even the king, they become equal. So the equation is the key to enter the Sangha. Sangha is the value of its own liberation. Exemption from all kinds of caste, wealth, and ownership, even the true freedom from greed, hate, birth, and death. Sangha is the key to democratic principles in the Buddhist. But unfortunately right now many Buddhists do not realize this, even in many cases, the Sangha also has been compromise with state power and become so capitalist.
One of the liberation of Buddhist figures that hard criticize the existence of the Sangha at present is Dr. Ambedkar, Mr. Constitution of India. When he ask to speak at the Fourth Conference World Buddhist Brotherhood (WFB) in Kathmandu, Ambedkar emphatically said:
"If I may conclude, if there is a danger that comes of Dharma in the Buddhist countries, then the errors should be directed to the monks, because I personally see that they do not do their tasks. Where the Dharma is located? My friends, I want to emphasize that I do not mean to criticize anyone, but to make religion become a moral force for liberation and renewal community, you should continue to unfurl the 'truth' to the ears of the people. "
from the first time, Ambedkar was known as a liberation leader who laid the foundations of the democratic nation iof India. He advocates the Dalit (the untouchable lower than the lowest caste, even the shadow touched considered contemptible) solidly. For Ambedkar, the term of brotherhood, equality, and liberation that appear on the French Revolution, actually has long been used by the Buddha, who then applied with the establishment of the Sangha. However, Ambedkar did not see the Sangha at present are capable of carrying the spirit of democracy into the sangha community and the political system. In the contrary, Sangha take distance with the issue of people suffering, are passive, apathetic, and even a supporter of power and fall into the feudal culture. Now even become supporters of capitalist injustice and misery caused. According to him, the Sangha is the essence of liberation in which, no willingness "controlled" by the reality of human suffering, the nibbana or liberation from suffering can not be achieved.
Another critic to Sangha also comes from Dr. Sulak Sivaraksa, Thai democracy figures. For Sulak, in the Buddhist consciousness is very fundamental. Human must have an awareness of himself and society, aware of what actually happened. But the weakness in the Buddhist community is the "awareness of what actually happened" always understood only in the world of ideas and thoughts. What is needed today is awareness of what actually happen in the "practice and reality", especially about the actual reality of the suffering that takes place in practice and society: the reality of the workers, peasants, the other poor, and how the process of impoverishment and This suffering is caused.
Awareness is also about what is going on inside of us, to see in practice whether the people being controlled by love, solidarity, greed, hatred, or fear. For Sulak This is important to overcome. Because when fear control the free will of man, will make the values that should be strive dead, as well as to the monks. If the monks wanted to be useful for society, they must be critical to the power. And this is the lesson from Buddha about politics. Politics and power in the Buddhist be understood as a train. It depends to the two wheels, the wheels of power (anacakka) and the wheel of truth (dhammacakka). If the wheels of power are not controlled properly by the authorities, he would become corrupt power. And to this situation, the Sangha or spiritual communities must be balanced with the wheel of truth. unfortunately, as Sulak expressed that the role of the Sangha to balance power with wheel truth often does not work. Instead many of the monks who go drifting and become a supporter of power and corrupt establishment.
Democracy as a modern political system regarded as the best way to realize justice and common welfare. But democracy is just not enough to be understood only as institutional form, but more fundamentally as a guiding value life democratic process. This is about the Buddhist understanding to the dignity of humanity itself who must always be defended and fought for.
This is very important because democracy itself is not a perfect system, and even has many shortcomings. In many ways, democracy is often make the people trapped in the thinking of representatives, that all people have equal rights, which seemed that the people has a power in their own hands. It makes them laid and hand over their fate to the people represented. This make democracy in practice just as a devolution of power and people power to a few human groups called parliament or government.
This handful of people then become crystallized into the people who have special live to rule, "special" to receive the overflow of people power, which makes the power is no longer in the hands of the people but in those who live and work to rule. The issue arises when te power then crystallized by the name of democracy-with-development interests, constitutional law is the ruler and its power uses by them to oppress the people that they represent, authentic owner of the real power. And the marginal people always being suffered because the state and power in practice are always in the side of strong power which has big capital.
Therefore the essence of democracy in order not to be illusion is no longer formality mechanism, but much touch the issue that ensuring tha value and humanity dignity. We must keep continue to fight something that related to justice, because justice is more important than the issue of democracy formality, for example. We must continue to fight for justice even though "the majority ruling class" does not agree. Likewise we must oppose to corruption because he was destructive and untruth, even a majority of authorities take it. Often as the name of democracy, a system that establishes sacrifice the values so democracy are not always reliable to determine the good and bad, especially when the majority ruling is no longer clinging to the value of morality and justice. In the things that conflict with the basic values which trample human dignity of this, however, democracy is not a satisfactory answer.
Commitment to these values that we called political humanism that Buddhist can donate to the world and its people. Buddhist as other religions, basically running 2 different roles. First as a priest / kebhikkhuan, the second as a bodhisattva / prophetic. In peace conditions, the roles of priests tend to maintain the status quo. Therefore conservative kepanditaan / kebhikkhuan in religion and hard to receive change. But in the chaotic conditions, a priest will become a prophet / bodhisattva who will take advantage of instability to support a change. Therefore, religion is justified to supports the status quo if the conditions, social values, and culture can contribute to peace and justice. Conversely if the state of society is not as expected, religion must play a prophetic role to call for justice and peace, and immediately stop the steps that hinder the process of social change tsb. And in the Buddhist context, social change is not something alien, but instead became an integral part of the Dharma. Because according to the Dharma, which should become standard is a change, NOT the establishment.
However, social misery condition at present has different way over the last century, from which is rough as the war becomes more and more refined through the grip of political structure-the global economy that is not fair, so to diagnose and understand the social suffering we need to have more critical awareness. And one weakness in the Buddhist community is we are often let ourselves stand too far from actual issue in social and politics, while the understanding to economics politics social structure that makes us more understandable to suffering and its cause.
So the challenge for the Buddhist community today is how to bring the values of Dharma to keep relevant and provide a positive influence for the life of the people. It is our duty to understand any social change, and not vice versa complicate the process of social transformation. Because if we continue to avoid to take responsibility in change and socio-economic issues squeeze political communities, this will make the Dharma becomes increasingly irrelevant and losing its depth.
Social change also requires an awareness movement. Structural changes are important, but in the Buddhist, an individual consciousness just as important as these individuals directly drive a change. Because in the midst of morality collapse of a nation, in the midst of our trapped realizing the reform process, what can we do? We must start from where? As a Buddhist, what can be recommended by Dharma in the midst of such situations is, at least we can start from ourselves. A strong awareness that remains of these individuals are able to cut the tangled history and become a driving social change that could alter the course of history. So the quality of consciousness plays a very important role in an agenda of change.
For Buddhists, if you live with consciousness, you will have a strong self-control. Your mind are open to the world, but can not be forced by the world. Consciousness in the Buddhist context has a strong connection with the development of spirituality. Those who live with the conscious mind will have the freedom that be able to fortify itself from manipulation of propaganda, advertising, seduction material financial institutions, and the illusion of the world of money. They have a hard inner freedom to suppressed, even by the agency's most high-handed though. Therefore, more increasing the consciousness of the people, will further increase the power to change what is not true in the world. Awareness plays a major function in the full understanding and depth of meaning of our lives in the world. In this case, Aung San Suu Kyi has become a concrete teacher for us. She deserves to have our defense and the favor from us. Thank you. |
