DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Should Buddhists Be More Socially Engaged?

**P9CCd35R** · 07-05-2012, 06:31 AM

A Christian pastor once said to me, "Eastern spiritual practitioners focus on their own practice and become complacent." He made me think of Buddhists. It seems that faithful Christians are very attentive to others' sufferings and take swift actions to help them in any way they can, even when these suffering are arising from disasters, conflicts, starvation, and diseases, which can be threatening to their own lives.

We, Buddhists, are interested in cultivating our inner qualities. We may not want to engage in worldly affairs. Before helping others, we need to develop capacity to cope with our own sufferings skillfully, but when will we be ready to help others? Should we wait until we are enlightened? People are suffering at the present moment.

We cultivate compassion toward all living beings. For this purpose, should we be more socially engaged?

I think that it is a mistaken attitude to make sweeping assumptions about Buddhists being less caring and compassionate than Christians and that they should be more socially engaged.

The Buddhists I have had/have contact with are often already working in socially engaged jobs, give what they can to charity and are frequently involved in voluntary work of one kind or another.

They also tend to just get on with it quietly, without trumpeting about their qualities to others.

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07-05-2012, 06:31 AM	#3
P9CCd35R Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 466 Senior Member	A Christian pastor once said to me, "Eastern spiritual practitioners focus on their own practice and become complacent." He made me think of Buddhists. It seems that faithful Christians are very attentive to others' sufferings and take swift actions to help them in any way they can, even when these suffering are arising from disasters, conflicts, starvation, and diseases, which can be threatening to their own lives. We, Buddhists, are interested in cultivating our inner qualities. We may not want to engage in worldly affairs. Before helping others, we need to develop capacity to cope with our own sufferings skillfully, but when will we be ready to help others? Should we wait until we are enlightened? People are suffering at the present moment. We cultivate compassion toward all living beings. For this purpose, should we be more socially engaged? I think that it is a mistaken attitude to make sweeping assumptions about Buddhists being less caring and compassionate than Christians and that they should be more socially engaged. The Buddhists I have had/have contact with are often already working in socially engaged jobs, give what they can to charity and are frequently involved in voluntary work of one kind or another. They also tend to just get on with it quietly, without trumpeting about their qualities to others. .
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