Buddhism in politics

Buddhists are not expected to care about worldly questions and politics. Enlightenment is reached by meditating, and focusing on one's own desires and wants. Not those of others. But sometimes spiritual and political concerns collide. Then what happens?

Do all Buddhists think alike? Buddhists are not allowed to kill, nor hurt other creatures. That is why monks filter their water to avoid killing any insects that might have slipped in. Does this mean that they are all vegetarians? No, if a monk or nun receives food containing meat on their begging round, they eat the meat.

It is more important to accept what is given, than to not eat meat. Contradictions like these turn up in several situations. The rules may be simple and clear, but the interpretations of how best to follow the rules are not. The countries Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand have Buddhism as the state religion. And even so, the Burmese regime persecutes muslims - whom they accuse of terrorism.

Many cases of brutality have been reported. Some monks take part in the persecutions. Thailand and Sri Lanka as well have received international critique over how they treat their muslim minorities. Also Thailand and Sri Lanka practice capital punishment. And how about Tibet?

Tibet's spiritual leader - The Dalai Lama is fighting for a Tibet free of China. He does this without the use of violence. For this he has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But this is also happening in Tibet: Monks set themselves on fire to protest against China. Sometimes these protests are also looked upon as peaceful.

But are they? One is not allowed to kill. Is suicide allowed then? Let's check what Buddha says in the religious texts written about him. In some places he says something like: Suicide breaks the rule of not killing.

The will to end one's life is caused by desires and feelings - so this only leads to bad Karma and worse conditions in the next life. But in some other places Buddha praises monks that have committed suicide. They have been so unattached to life that they have been able to leave life behind to reach Nirvana. Since Buddha is able to interpret suicide in different ways, so can the buddhists who come after him. In Theravada suicide is condemned.

And in Mahayana? Here suicide is something good - "for those who have reached enlightenment, not for others." And to burn one's own body? "This is the greatest offering you can make." So the view of suicide depends on two things: one, what division of Buddhism you follow; and two, the reason for this action. This is true for the views on abortion as well. Many Buddhists think that abortions are wrong. In several Buddhist countries abortions are illegal.

But if the reason for the abortion is to protect the parents or the child from suffering it might be okay. In Japan lots of abortions are being performed. Here they're holding funeral ceremonies for the aborted foetuses. They make offerings to the Boddhisattva Jizo - so that he may look after the unborn until they are born again. Buddhism is to most practitioners a peaceful religion.

But as in other religions there are several ways to interpret the rules. And these interpretations differ from person to person, from country to country, and between different divisions within the religion.