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various programs for the benefit of the entire Buddhist community. and politics are dominated by non-Buddhists, some of whom could
Together with the monastics, the lay Buddhists provided the vitality even be hostile to Buddhism. When this happens, the views of the
and strength for growth of Buddhism in Malaysia. Buddhist community will not be heard. Thus, lay Buddhists need to
address this issue critically.
However, in Myanmar and Thailand, which has 200,000 and
360,000 monks, respectively, most Buddhist temples are not centers Monastics are specialists in Buddhist study and practice. Thus,
of learning or Dharma propagation. This is because of the limited they are not expected to be well versed in secular disciplines such
role played by the Buddhist laity in both countries. as dealing with Government officials, putting up a crematorium, or
running welfare homes. Such mundane tasks should be handled by
From the perspective of development of human resources, it lay Buddhists who are professionally trained on such matters.
would be much more effective to draw human talent from a larger
pool than a smaller one. We can learn from Singapore which is Therefore it is obvious that having strong lay Buddhist leaders
a tiny island, but it draws human resources from China, India, would help engage the Buddhist community on religious matters
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, and develops them into affecting the Buddhist community, and revitalise missionary
outstanding leaders in various fields. Buddhism should learn from activities.
the Singapore experience.
iv. Reaching out to the masses
iii.Engaging Buddhism
Lay Buddhist leaders would be more effective in reaching out
Our society today is pluralistic in nature. Every sphere to the masses because they have more contacts and interactions
of human activity is handled by specialists and professionals. with the community on a day to day basis. Members of the Sañgha
Human knowledge has also been separated into many disciplines, can support the lay Buddhist leaders in their interaction with the
with specialists in each field of study. Sañgha members can also community. In Malaysia, lay Buddhist organisations have been
specialise in a specific area of interest, such as Dharma education very successful in reaching out to the public. Once new Buddhists
or Dharma propagation. In other disciplines, the lay Buddhists can have been brought into contact with the Dharma, they are then
then take over. If lay Buddhists do not take up roles in society, their introduced to the monastics who provide them advice and support
views will not be heard, and they will eventually be ignored. Then to study and practice Buddhism. In this way, there is a functional
Buddhism will be marginalised, and be disengaged from society. inter-dependence between the laity and the Sañgha.
The situation would become worst if the vacuum is filled by Contribution of Lay Buddhists
forces hostile to Buddhism. In some countries where Buddhists
are the majority, certain disciplines such as education, mass media, i, Harmonising schools of Buddhism
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