Applying Buddha’s Teachings in Modern Society
Thich Nu Tinh Quang
- Today
- society
- is
- facing
- with
- its
- ethical
- problems.
- Religious
- function
- of
- Religion
- play
- more
- have
- more
- roles
- than
- at
- any
- time
- for
- contributing
- to
- build
- a
- society
- of
- order,
- stability
- and
- peace
- on
- the
- earth.
- This
- time,
- the
- actually
- Buddha's
- teachings
- are
- not
- the
- application
- of
- the
- Buddhist
- community
- only,
- but
- to
- existence
- of
- human
- kind
- in
- general.
- Those
- are
- ecological
- risks,
- such
- as
- pollution,
- finiteness
- of
- natural
- resources,
- progressing
- diseases,
- risk
- of
- the
- mass
- murder
- using
- nuclear
- weapon,
- all
- kinds
- of
- dependencies,
- from
- drugs
- to
- Internet,
- consumerism,
- terrorism,
- the
- problem
- of
- the
- Third
- World,
- and
- so
- on.
- Due
- to
- the
- acceleration
- of
- the
- technological
- progress,
- the
- risk
- is
- growing
- every
- year
- in
- a
- geometrical
- progression,
- and
- because
- of
- that,
- now
- it
- is
- extremely
- important
- to
- look
- for
- solutions
- in
- the
- ancient
- wisdom
- that
- proved
- to
- be
- immortal
- and
- true.
- The
- Buddha's
- teaching
- is
- one
- of
- those
- heritages
- of
- humankind
- that
- can
- serve
- as
- a
- cure
- of
- a
- new
- society.
In
- Buddhist
- worldview,
- human
- beings
- live
- in
- the
- illusion
- of
- separateness
- while
- their
- true
- nature
- is
- single
- with
- the
- whole
- universe.
- We
- are
- all
- a
- single
- living
- organism
- with
- interrelated
- and
- integrated
- physically,
- spiritually
- and
- locally.
- But
- majority
- of
- mankind
- is
- still
- ignorant
- of
- that
- fact,
- and
- acts
- egoistically
- so
- as
- we
- all
- were
- separated.
- Most
- people
- act
- egoistically,
- following
- their
- delusional
- vain
- passions
- from
- suffering,
- in
- which
- they
- live,
- and
- deepening
- their
- suffering
- even
- more
- in
- their
- fussy
- races
- for
- the
- desires.
- The
- problem
- is
- their
- actions
- (along
- with
- our
- words
- and
- thoughts)
- not
- only
- do
- harm
- to
- themselves
- but
- to
- every
- part
- of
- the
- being
- at
- the
- same
- time.
- For
- that
- reason,
- many
- people
- in
- the
- world
- are
- suffering,
- animals
- and
- plants
- are
- suffering,
- and
- the
- planet
- Earth
- itself
- is
- suffering.
The
- Buddha
- was
- the
- one
- who
- intended
- to
- stop
- all
- that
- suffering
- and
- suggested
- a
- teaching
- where
- he
- instructed
- how
- to
- do
- it.
- In
- this
- research,
- I
- will
- examine
- the
- Buddha's
- teaching
- and
- teachings
- of
- his
- followers
- concerning
- in
- which
- way
- those
- teachings
- can
- be
- a
- cure
- for
- a
- new
- world's
- society,
- and
- how
- could
- it
- solve
- our
- global
- problems
- and
- ease
- the
- suffering
- of
- people
- who
- live
- in
- the
- digital
- world
- of
- the
- twenty-first
- century.
The
- topics
- I
- will
- consider
- in
- this
- paper
- are
- following.
- I
- will
- briefly
- consider
- the
- major
- problems
- of
- nowadays
- society
- and
- the
- basic
- principles
- of
- Buddhist
- philosophy
- concerning
- the
- existence
- of
- human
- beings.
- Then
- we
- will
- research
- the
- Buddhist
- perspective
- on
- the
- problem
- of
- violence
- and
- the
- methods
- of
- preventing
- it
- suggested
- by
- the
- Buddha
- himself
- and
- his
- followers.
- After
- that,
- I
- will
- discuss
- the
- five
- moral
- precepts
- of
- the
- Buddha
- and
- the
- Buddhist
- moral
- principles
- in
- general.
- The
- next
- stage
- of
- the
- research
- will
- be
- the
- analysis
- of
- the
- Eightfold
- Path
- suggested
- by
- Buddhists
- and
- how
- this
- path
- may
- lead
- to
- a
- salvation
- of
- every
- living
- being.
- The
- final
- part
- of
- the
- paper
- will
- be
- dedicated
- to
- the
- application
- of
- Buddhist
- philosophy
- and
- ethics
- to
- the
- global
- world
- issues
- specifically
- for
- every
- sphere
- of
- life.
- In
- the
- end,
- I
- will
- sum
- up
- gathered
- information
- and
- make
- a
- conclusion
- on
- my
- topic.
The
- methodology
- I
- will
- use
- is
- analyzing
- the
- original
- texts,
- academic
- critique,
- and
- the
- words
- of
- Buddhist
- key
- figures
- on
- the
- topics
- that
- I
- included
- in
- my
- research.
- After
- that
- on
- every
- stage
- of
- the
- working
- process
- I
- will
- apply
- the
- information
- I
- gathered
- to
- the
- problems
- of
- modern
- society
- and
- define
- the
- ways
- in
- which
- this
- application
- is
- possible
- and
- useful.
- For
- that
- part,
- I
- will
- use
- both
- our
- critical
- thinking
- and
- external literature.
