For the past 12 years, ZCOC has offered regular programs on Engaged Buddhism as part of our Bodhisattva vow to serve all beings.
Recent programs have included: “Ocean Samadhi and Saving Our Oceans;” “Buddhist Ethics and Immigration;” and “Reducing Plastics Use.”
An upcoming program will be: “The Decline of Democracy: Its Institutions, Values, and Norms.”
Buddhist Foundation of Engaged Buddhism
Engaged Buddhism is a movement of Buddhist practitioners who apply Buddhist ethics and wisdom gained through meditation practice to contemporary problems of suffering and injustice. Thich Nhat Hahn, considered the founder of Engaged Buddhism, said “When Bombs are exploding, you can’t spend all your time in the meditation hall.”
It is similar to the notion of Public Service, so important to our community, country, democracy and world. This kind of service is best defined as any compassionate action that moves the world to a better place.
The Bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana Buddhism is portrayed as a figure with one thousand arms and hands who listens to the cries of the world and responds appropriately with skillful means (upaya). The bodhisattva vow is the commitment to reduce the suffering of all beings.
The Net of Indra is a Buddhist image of interdependence emphasizing the intimate relation of each individual to the whole such that we are aware of all suffering. Our jewel nature is to help.
The Buddha dharma (Buddhist teachings) convey that compassion and wisdom are interdependent; that is, one is increasingly able to be compassionate as wisdom grows and that wisdom is deepened with compassionate action.
“To meditate is to be aware of what is going on . . . Once you know what is going on, you’re motivated by a desire to do something to relieve the suffering—both in and around you.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
