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Socially Engaged Buddhism

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Jeff Wilson considers that the lack of accountability one has for their actions, the idea of oneself as an individual disconnected from the world and its beings, and “the sense of alienation from oneself and one’s surroundings” are feelings that overwhelmingly afflict modern Americans (Wilson 163). As such, modern Americans are not mindful of their actions, and rather are continuously lost in thought, not really living their life, but passively experiencing it; because of this they are disconnected from the world, each other, and themselves, and it is from this that unhappiness has stemmed and plagued so many (Wilson 164). It is difficult to recognize the suffering of others – the suffering of those who are marginalized, or the suffering of …show more content…
In their quest to eliminate Hindu control of the Mahabodhi Temple –Hindus belonging to the upper caste, who engaged in classist discrimination, keeping lower caste Hindus and Buddhists out – Buddhist reformers and protestors engaged in a type of social justice for their own people, but did so in a way that was less peaceful and more direct, immediate, and forceful. These reformers used Buddhism to advance a political cause and enact justice for those being discriminated against by the Mahabodhi Temple council. While their methods ran contrary to the image of peaceful, loving Buddhists, they nonetheless employed Buddhist ideology and beliefs to bring social …show more content…
It was Tsung Tsai’s goal to build a stupa for his master, Shiuh Deng, celebrating his memory and his mastery as a monk; as the only monk remaining from his temple of Puu Jih, there was no one else to do this duty: “This is why I must live, Georgie. All my brother monks have gone down dead” (Crane 53). The Chinese government’s religious abolition resulted in the destruction of Puu Jih temple, as well as many other Buddhist temples and other religious sanctuaries. Crane writes that “… millions of the young were encouraged to destroy China’s cultural heritage, including what was left of its temples after the Great Leap Forward” (Crane 69). As such, Tsung Tsai sought justice for his teacher, his homeland, and his temple: “I left my teacher… close to forty years past. Now I need honor him. Find his bones. Burn… and make ceremony. Go to my home, my broken temple, my mountain, my cave” (Crane 73). Tsung Tsai’s journey to Inner Mongolia to build a stupa for his master was his way of enacting justice for the transgressions of the Chinese government’s religious oppression – a way to remember the violence of an authoritarian government that refused to let its people freely practice their

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