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Tonight, I would like to share with you some of the serious the peaceful message of the Buddha, the principle of non-violence,
challenges facing Buddhism today. the respect for all lives, the mental culture approach of Buddhism,
offer an effective alternative to the world? This is the first challenge.
The Challenge of Present Day Global Politics.
The Challenge of Economic Globalisation.
The political thought behind today’s global politics is one of
divisive dualism. Politicians and laymen both view politics from The globalised economy today is the economy of Greed, which
the perspective of God against Satan, good against bad, Islam is more appropriately called Greedbalisation. The axis on which it
against non-Muslims, Jews against non-Jews, the powerful against spins is Greed. Greed has always been with us, but it has never been
the powerless, and so on. This line of thought is prevalent not exploited to present day magnitude. In this Greedbalisation, the
only in international politics, but also in national and local politics. world is up for grabs. Everything is permissible so long as it fulfils
Human beings are more divided than ever before. Although many our greed. There is no regard for morals and ethics. Materialism,
people disagree with Samuel Huntington’s prophesy of “Clash of sensational culture, pornography, drugs, domination of the superrich
Civilisations”, yet unconsciously they are more and more drawn over the poor, exploitation of resources, etc. are the characteristic
to making decisions and taking actions based on this simple line of features of our present day global economy.
thought, thus making Huntington’s prophesy self-fulfilling.
In Greedbalisation, money takes center stage, and human beings
We are all aware that this kind of politics has disastrous are pushed to the peripheral. But in the Buddhist world view, man
consequences for the world. When everybody claims to be the good has the central position. Thus, it makes Buddhism diametrically
guy and is bent on punishing the bad guys, the world will never opposed to Greedbalisation. Can the two opposing forces co-exist?
be a peaceful place to live in. When we are formed into “cultural Can Buddhism survive the challenges of Greedbalisation? Can it
blocks”, willingly or unwillingly, and seeing the other cultural offer an alternative to the world? How can Buddhists live their lives
blocks as threats, we are in effect turning the world into a battle in a world where Greed is institutionalised?
field. The situation is aggravated when cultural kinship takes on a
religious tone. Already there are indications that some Buddhist organisations
and temples are succumbing to the temptations of Greedbalisation.
The Buddhist line of thought, based on the principle of More and more people readily apply the yardstick used in
Dependant Origination, is pluralistic and liberal in nature. It is Greedbalisation to measure the success of temples and organisations
one that promotes mutual appreciation, peaceful co-existence, and – the funds they possess, the size of the temples, the political
harmonious living. Can the Buddhist line of thought survive the connection, the height of the images, etc. Becoming a Buddhist has
challenge of divisive dualism? Will Buddhism also be swallowed now become a costly affair since one has to contribute endlessly to
by this politics of divisive dualism? Or, on a more positive note, can fund mega-infrastructures. There seems to be a keen competition to
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