Page 6 - Applied Buddhism

Preface faith (śraddhā), or meditation for material gain. Another example
“Applied Buddhism”, as the term implies, is the application
of Buddhism to every aspect of our daily lives. But isn’t that what
Buddhism should be in the first place? Why then the need for the
word “applied”?
Well, new terminologies always surface to denote new
understanding, new approaches, and new emphasis. Traditional
application of Buddhism to daily life is very much different from
today. The Buddha introduced his teachings in an agricultural
society in India more than 2,500 years ago, whilst we now live in a
modern or postmodern society. The time and the cultural setting in
which the Buddha preached were very different from today. While
the Dharma preached by the Buddha are truths that are timeless
(akåālika), and hence applicable any time, how they might be
applied today in a society that is dissimilar or non-existence during
the Buddha’s time requires a new approach and a new emphasis.
Hence the need for “Applied Buddhism”.
Conventionally, when we say applying Buddhism in daily lives,
it usually means observing the five precepts, devotions such as puja
or chanting, offering of material requisites (dāna) to monastics,
charitable work and meditation. Applied Buddhism, while covering
the above, places greater emphasis on a much wider spectrum of
areas arising from our living in a modern and complex society. Take
a simple case of drinking water. It was simply “drinking water”
during the Buddha’s time, but today we have to deal with issues
of water shortages, water pollution, conservation of water, cost of
water supply, etc. Likewise, a simple case of individual practice of
meditation has many new issues today. We have to deal with secular
meditation as taught in the corporate sector, meditation without
i Applied Buddhism
is the emergence of new knowledge or technologies, as in the case
of biotechnology, which were unheard of during the Buddha’s time.
To all these issues we have to apply the Dharma to deal with them.
During the time of the Buddha there were many religious teachers
and doctrines. Religious discussions and debates were common
those days. Such discussions are still been carried out globally but
interfaith encounters today have taken on new trajectories due to
increasing intolerance, advocacy for violence, supremacy over non-
believers, and fierce competition to gain converts using unethical
means of conversion. Here again we have to learn how to apply
Buddhism in ways when there was no precedence to follow.
One of the biggest development in modern society is the
emergence of the nation-state run on the principles of democracy and
civil society. During the time of the Buddha, there were numerous
kingdoms and some republics. Regardless of the political systems,
the affairs of the countries then were run by the ruling elites and
there was no participation from the subjects. Today, most countries
are run on the principle of democracy with participation from the
citizens. New issues have thus arisen. Monastics are also citizens
of the nation – so can they participate in the affairs of the state? If
so, to what extent? Buddhist organisations are corporate citizens -
can they or how should they participate in the affairs of the state?
How do we view secularism and theological states? These were
issues non-existence during the Buddha’s time, but are issues that
we have to deal with head on now.
“Applied Buddhism” also means we have to learn how to apply
the Dharma to Buddhism as an institution today, or the Buddhist
Applied Buddhism ii