Healing heart and mind: the pursuit of human rights in Engaged Buddhism as exemplified by Aung San Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 905-925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Kittel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
Engaged Buddhism ◽  
Aung San Suu Kyi ◽  
Heart And Mind

Burma/Myanmar

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
House Arrest ◽  
Internal Politics ◽  
Rule Change ◽  
British Colony ◽  
Aung San Suu Kyi ◽  
Internal Policy ◽  
Historic Change ◽  
Oil Gas ◽  
Policy Shifts

It is unlikely that any country in Asia in recent years has undergone such internal policy shifts in so short a time as Myanmar. Until recently, the former British colony had one of the most secretive, corrupt, and repressive regimes on the planet, a country where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was held in continual house arrest and human rights were denied to nearly all. Yet events in Myanmar since the elections of November 2010 have profoundly altered the internal mood of the society, and have surprised even Burmese and seasoned foreign observers of the Myanmar scene. The pessimism that pervaded the society prior to the elections, and the results of that voting that prompted many foreign observers to call them a “sham” or “fraud,” gradually gave way to the realization that for reasons, variously interpreted, positive change was in the air. Taking into account the dramatic changes the country has seen in the past two years-including the establishment of a human rights commission, the release of political prisoners, and reforms in health and education-David I. Steinberg offers an updated second edition of Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know. More than ever, the history, culture, and internal politics of this country are crucial to understanding the breaking headlines emerging from it today and placing them in a broader context. Geographically strategic, Burma/Myanmar lies between the growing powers of China and India, and has a thousand-year history as an important realm in the region-yet it is mostly unknown to Westerners. Burma/Myanmar is a place of contradictions: a picturesque land with mountain jungles and monsoon plains, it is one of the world's largest producers of heroin. Though it has extensive natural resources including oil, gas, teak, metals, and minerals, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. And despite a half-century of military-dominated rule, change is beginning to work its way through the beleaguered nation, as it moves to a more pluralistic administrative system reflecting its pluralistic cultural, multi-ethnic base. Authoritative and balanced, Burma/Myanmar is an essential book on a country in the throes of historic change.

scholarly journals Inspired by Gandhi

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Anna Katalin Aklan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
Independence Movement ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Activist ◽  
Martin Luther King

The leader of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, left an invaluable legacy: he proved to the world that it was possible to achieve political aims without the use of violence. He was the first political activist to develop strategies of nonviolent mass resistance based on a solid philosophical and uniquely religious foundation. Since Gandhi’s death in 1948, in many parts of the world, this legacy has been received and continued by others facing oppression, inequality, or a lack of human rights. This article is a tribute to five of the most faithful followers of Gandhi who have acknowledged his inspiration for their political activities and in choosing nonviolence as a political method and way of life: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Martin Luther King, Louis Massignon, the Dalai Lama, and Malala Yousafzai. This article describes their formative leadership and their significance and impact on regional and global politics and history.

2. Ethics East and West

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Damien Keown
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Ethical System ◽  
Buddhist Doctrine ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Engaged Buddhism ◽  
East And West

To what extent does Buddhism resemble or differ from Western ethics, and does it constitute an ethical system in itself? ‘Ethics East and West’ looks at Buddhism through the lens of three influential Western theories of ethics: deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics. Some thinkers have classified Buddhism as a form of ‘ethical particularism’, or a pluralist system in which the agent is guided by the demands of each unique situation. Others again see it as a form of ‘perfectionism’ because self-development is an overarching theme in Buddhist teachings. There may also be parallels between Buddhism and classical Western philosophical schools such as Stoicism. In modern times we have seen the emergence of ‘socially engaged Buddhism’ as a movement campaigning for social justice and human rights. But does the idea of individual rights contradict the Buddhist doctrine of ‘no-self’?

From Pariah Image to Partner and Back Again: The EU’s Complicated Relationship with Myanmar

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-369
Author(s):  
Felix Heiduk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Other ◽  
Military Junta ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Aung San Suu Kyi ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

To make sense of the EU’s rocky relationship with Myanmar, we need to consider how Myanmar’s political leadership is imagined in Europe. For decades, this image was bifurcated: on the one hand a military junta with its disdain for democracy and human rights. On the other hand, Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), ‘our’ saint-like Burmese ‘Nelson Mandela’, detained but still fighting for democracy and human rights. As a result, Brussels implemented a tough sanction regime and essentially assigned Myanmar pariah status. When Suu Kyi re-joined the formal political process in 2012 and won the 2015 elections, Myanmar rapidly transitioned from pariah to partner. Fast forward to 2017 and relations between the EU and Myanmar had soured again because of the Rohingya crisis and Suu Kyi’s ‘deafening silence’ on the issue. The article argues that to understand this rollercoaster ride of EU–Myanmar relations one must turn to the imagery of Suu Kyi in Europe. The strong cognitive dissonances, created by the widening gap between the imagined ‘saint’ ASSK and the realpolitik ‘sinner’, have impacted on the EU’s relations with Myanmar and can help us make sense of the recent turbulences in the relationship.

The “Tibet question”: Tibetan, Chinese and Western perspectives

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1100-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Crowe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Economic Power ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The West ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Core Issues ◽  
Over Time

The historical conflict between Tibet and China goes back almost a thousand years. Both sides use history to argue their point about the core issues in this dispute – Tibet's claim of independence and autonomy, and China's of suzerainty. This article looks at the historical roots of this conflict, particularly since 1949, when China began its gradual takeover of Tibet. Chinese policies toward Tibet, which have been driven by a desire to communize and sinicize Tibet, has been met by stiff resistance from the Tibetans, who see Han Chinese dominance as a force that will, over time, destroy Tibet's unique religion, language, culture, and history. This resistance has drawn the attention of the West, who see Chinese policies in Tibet as a symbol of the failings of Beijing's rulers to embrace a strong commitment to human rights at the same time that China is becoming a global economic power. The 14th Dalai Lama, a key figure in this conflict, and his government-in-exile have served as bridges to Western efforts to try to force Beijing to embrace more open, humane policies toward Tibetans throughout China. His retirement as political head of the exile government in 2011, coupled with China's growing economic and strategic power globally, raises serious questions about the willingness of the USA, and other democratic powers to risk their relationships with Beijing to continue to promote true human rights and autonomy throughout the Tibetan Plateau.

scholarly journals China and the Baltic States: strategic challenges and security dilemmas for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Scott
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
East Europe ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Face ◽  
Silk Road Economic Belt ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Political Leverage

AbstractThe article considers traditional and non-traditional security concerns faced by the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the face of China’s increasing presence. Consequently the article first considers the geo-economic challenges posed to these Baltic States through the China and Central and East Europe Countries (CCEEC) grouping, and China’s Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) initiative. This economic leverage translates to political leverage able to be exerted on the Baltic states by China, with regard to human rights and the issue of the Dalai Lama. Moreover, such mechanisms and Chinese financing serves to politically divide the Baltic states, and also divides EU solidarity vis-à-vis China. Finally there are the conventional security issues posed to the Baltic states in the Russia-China naval exercises carried out in Baltic waters in 2017; with China’s role in effect providing implicit support and legitimisation of explicit Russian threats in the Baltic. It concludes by suggesting alternative infrastructure routings to at least reduce the threat of Russian interference.

The Inherent Dignity of Empty Persons

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Kelley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Tibetan Buddhism ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
Inherent Dignity ◽  
Inalienable Rights ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
The One

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has expressed strong support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While this may seem to be consistent with his outspoken promotion of basic human values and universal responsibility, there is an unresolved metaphysical conflict between his endorsement of the UDHR and concomitant ideas like inherent dignity and inalienable rights, on the one hand, and, on the other, his espousal of the Buddhist Middle Way or “centrist” (Madhyamaka) thesis that all phenomena (i.e., persons, things, and ideas like human rights) lack “intrinsic existence” (svabhāva). This chapter explores the possibility of an unforced consensus on rights between Tibetan Buddhism and the Western human rights tradition through a novel application of Madhyamaka Buddhism that can help us make sense of the metaphysics of rights in the 21st century, as well as combat the fundamentalist mind-set that contributes to human rights violations.

The Ethics of Engaged Buddhism in Asia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sallie B. King
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Dalai Lama ◽  
Introductory Section ◽  
Engaged Buddhism ◽  
Thich Nhat Hanh

This chapter examines the ethics of contemporary Engaged Buddhism, also known as Socially Engaged Buddhism. The introductory section defines Engaged Buddhism and gives an overview of its history, the various forms of social engagement undertaken by Engaged Buddhists in different Asian countries, and its most important leaders. The chapter then analyses the ethical principles of Engaged Buddhism—first, those found throughout the Engaged Buddhist movement as a whole, then those that characterize what may heuristically be seen as three major kinds of Engaged Buddhism: nondualistic (exemplified by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama), prophetic (exemplified by B. R. Ambedkar), and humanistic (exemplified by Venerable Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi).

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