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meaning non, and himsa meaning violence. It simply means peace! forward to serve humanity, even to the extent of sacrificing their
However, I would venture to suggest that “non-violence” is a term lives.
aptly used because this strategy, while being peaceful, actually
“agitate” and “ provoke” the powers that be, to probe deeply into Two, the role of SEB should be evaluated in the context of a
their conscience, leaving them no peace! Dr. Ambedkar clearly modern, civil society. The key values of a modern, pluralistic and
declared that to bring about social change, one must adopt the civil society are freedom, liberty, democracy, justice, and respect for
strategy of “Educate, Agitate, Organise”. human rights. How would SEB, which uphold traditional Buddhist
values such as generosity, loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom,
In recent times, some of these characteristics have faded, no-violence position itself and respond to such an encounter?
especially in the West. The social engagement issues taken up now
include gender equality, environmental protection, or providing This is still an unsettled issue. The approach of SEB is a
alternative livelihood models. departure from the world view of conservative Buddhists who
believes that the traditional values of Buddhism must be upheld at
Elise DeVido pointed out that Vietnamese Buddhism has been all time (see Sallie King- Buddhist Social Activism). The attitude
influenced to some extent by “Human Life Buddhism” propounded of SEB may be discerned at two levels. Among the conservatives
by Ven. Tai Xu （太虚） of China, and that Thich Nhat Hanh within SEB, their rationale is to reposition Buddhism by placing it
was also influenced by it. “Human Life Buddhism” (人生佛教) within the framework of modern, secular nationalism yet not letting
was later remoulded by Ven. Yin Shun （印顺), a disciple of Ven. go of the traditional values.
Tai Xu, into “Humanistic Buddhism”（人间佛教）. However, as
pointed out by Liu Yu Guang of Hong Kong Chinese University, But the more liberal Buddhists within SEB acknowledge that
it would not be right to equate SEB with “Humanistic Buddhism”. in a secular, modern civil society, not only the government needs
This is because SEB’s insistence on upholding values of modern to be neutral, i.e. not to control, suppress or support any particular
civil society, and its strong engagement on public policies is not religion, but Buddhists must also accept that their identities as
prominently manifested in “Humanistic Buddhism”. However, citizens take precedence over their identity as Buddhists. Hence,
he opined that the faded form of SEB might be equated with even in traditional Buddhist countries, the Sangha is to be treated
“Humanistic Buddhism”. like any other NGO. At the same time, accepting that in the public
sphere, civil society is more fundamental than religious groups,
This discussion on SEB here serves two purposes: One, It SEB believes that voices of dissent or advocacy should not only
demonstrates another façade of Buddhism, which is a departure from consider the interests of a particular religious group, but also the
the conventional imagery that monks are completely disinterested interests of others outside the group. Hence, when SEB reinterprets
in worldly affairs and withdraw themselves from society. On the traditional Buddhist ethics in the light of modern civil society, it
contrary, out of compassion for the world, monks would come commits itself to protect freedom of speech, thoughts, beliefs and
other pluralistic values.
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