Tricycle on Buddhism and politics

Jeff Wilson has a thoughtful article about Buddhism and politics:

As the American and Canadian elections approach, there’s been much discussion among North American Buddhists over how Buddhism relates to politics. Among many converts to Buddhism, at least those willing to speak publicly on the matter, there’s a near unanimity that Buddhists must vote for Barack Obama because he is the only candidate whose views and policies align with good Dharma. The current issue of Shambhala Sun has an article extolling the revolutionary presence of Obama on the Democratic ticket, and while it doesn’t explicitly endorse him, the overwhelmingly positive way in which he is discussed leaves little doubt as to where the author’s and editors’ sympathies lie. Likewise, here on the Tricycle Editors Blog, a recent post urging people to vote was signed only by convert white Buddhists, and while it too doesn’t explicitly endorse Obama, the lefty Sutra quote and general tenor of the post make it easy to read between the lines. Meanwhile, in countless discussions online and off, North American convert Buddhists have been considerably less demure than the big English-language Buddhist magazines.

But there’s a danger in assuming that Buddhism and left-wing politics inherently go together, and that Buddhists ought to vote for liberals because they’re Buddhist. Historically speaking, Buddhism has tended to support conservative status quo regimes in Asia, going all the way back to India. In the contemporary world, all of the democratic countries with a significant Buddhist population are currently ruled by right-wing political groups.

Read more at the Tricycle Blog

I still plan to write more about Buddhism and liberalism, because I do think he’s correct in thinking that there are contradictions between the two, not just in terms of specific policies but in terms of fundamental world views. However there are also major differences between the Buddhist and conservative outlooks, especially in the US where that aspect of politics is greatly influenced by fundamentalist Christians. I believe in fact that Buddhism deserves a new kind of political approach, rooted in the best of conservatism and liberalism. More later — I have a book to write and this has been a tough week from the point of view of finding the time to do that.

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