Page 102 - Applied Buddhism

For instance, when the Koliyas and the Sakyas were about to teaching is the supramundane spiritual liberation, and not any form
go to war over the use of water in the river, the Buddha persuaded
them not to do so. When King Ajattasastru attempted to conquer the
Vajjians, the Buddha conveyed the message that the Vaiiians cannot
be conquered, by conducting a conversation with Ananda in front
of King Ajasattastru’s minister, thereby persuading the King to
give up his idea. On two other occasions, the Buddha stopped the
advance of troops of King Vadhidabu, who were about to destroy
the Sakyas, by meditating under a barren tree.
The Buddha preached the Seven Methods of Non-aggression in
the governance of a republican state and the Ten Virtues of Kings in
the governance of an imperial state.
The brief description above revealed two important points:
Monastics can educate kings and ministers (politicians) by
preaching to them the Dharma, to mediate in conflicts, and protect
the rights of citizens whenever necessary.
Monastics do not involve themselves in the control and
execution of political power, nor in the struggle for political power.
In other words, monastics can be involved in politics, but it
should be limited. They cannot become politicians.
Some people attempt to portray the Buddha as a man who has
left behind monarchical politics in order to become a democratic
politician of the masses. This is unfounded. Those who are familiar
with Buddhism will know that the Buddha spent His whole life in
spiritual cultivation and preaching. What He preached was about
purification of the mind, speech and action. The nucleus of His
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of political ideology.
The Buddha called Himself a “Tatagatha”, and not a Raja or
politician. When we chant the virtues of the Buddha, we mentioned
“Bhagava, Arahant, Sammasambuddha, viija-carana- sampano,
sugato, lokavidu, anutara purisa dhamma sarathi, satta deva
manusanam, buddho.”
There is no mention of Him as a Raja, a politician or a social
reformer although it is well-known that He is one of the greatest
social reformers in human history.
Some people argue that since there is no Vinaya rule forbidding
monastics to become politicians, they can become politicians. This
argument must be refuted. We must understand that the Vinaya
rules were made based on circumstances. Since there were no
saffron-robed monastics wanting to become kings and ministers at
that time, naturally such a rule would not be made. At that time, all
kings and ministers who wanted to become monastics automatically
gave up their worldly occupations. After all, the ideal of a monastic
is renunciation; hence to think of renunciation while clinging on to
political power is something not in accordance with the teachings
of the Buddha.
Dhammapada verse 75 says, “One is the path that leads to
worldly gain; the other is the path that leads to Nibbana – eternal
bliss.” To renounce the world, and at the same time wanting to seize
political power and contest in elections, is wanting to walk the two
opposite paths at the same time. Venerable Sangharakshita rightly
said, “For those monastics who want to control and execute political
power, the only honourable way for them to do so is to disrobe.”
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