Applied Buddhism: Past and Present

Various aspects of thought and practice from Buddhist traditions are being adapted and applied to meet individual and social needs in our time. The application of Buddhist forms of knowledge and power to meet social needs has historically been part of Buddhist activity throughout Asia and is one rea...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies
Main Author: Makransky, John (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Simon Fraser University, David See Chai Lam Centre for International Communication 2022
In: Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Various aspects of thought and practice from Buddhist traditions are being adapted and applied to meet individual and social needs in our time. The application of Buddhist forms of knowledge and power to meet social needs has historically been part of Buddhist activity throughout Asia and is one reason that Buddhist institutions garnered the social support they needed to become established in those cultures. So, applying Buddhist ideas and practices to meet contemporary needs is not new, but how they are being used now is problematic in two ways. First is the tendency to subsume modern secular applications of Buddhist practice under excessively individualistic, consumer-based agendas that lose the inclusive social-ethical frameworks that had informed such practices in traditional cultures. Second is the tendency to separate modern adaptations of Buddhist practices from the Buddhist institutions those practices are drawn from, thereby directing the social and economic support generated by those practices away from their sources. Three kinds of modern applied Buddhism are noted that help ameliorate those two problematic tendencies: socially engaged Buddhism, Buddhist critical-constructive reflection, and current meditation programs that include robust relational and ethical frameworks.,
ISSN:1710-825X
Contains:Enthalten in: Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies