A Buddhist Perspective on the Necessity of Government

While Western views on the relationship between church and state have been
studied and debated profusely, relatively little is known about the
relationship between Buddhist tradition and the state. With the renewal of
Buddhism in parts of East Asia and its rise in the West, an understanding
of Buddhist views of the role of the state is of relevance in today's
global society. The popular conception of Buddhism in the twentieth century
is of a religion that emphasizes withdrawal from the world and pursuit of
solely spiritual goals. It may therefore come as a surprise that Buddhism
places great emphasis on positive engagement with the world at both the
grassroots and governmental levels. While Buddhists as a rule have tended
to maintain a low profile, except in instances where other Buddhists or
their countrymen have been under attack, Buddhism's emphasis on positive
engagement is based on a well-developed theory of social organization and
government which can be traced back to the original teachings of the Buddha
himself.

Like many Western ideologies, Buddhism advocates equal rights for all
people, including the right to life, education, and political
enfranchisement. Human rights begin with education, and Buddhism thus
recommends that people be taught the definition of these rights. In
principle and in the strictest sense, Buddhism sees government as a
violation of human rights because it serves to contain the people and set
up laws that prohibit them from performing certain actions. In the ideal
society, people would learn not to commit crimes against others. The
people's motivation for respect of others' rights would lie exclusively
within themselves and would not depend upon fear of punishment. This
concept of the ideal society and state is not the only one of its kind.

Because societies, as they have existed to date, have not been ideal,
Buddhism recognizes the need for government and its role in promoting and
maintaining peace and stability. From the Buddhist perspective, the
objective of government is the protection of human rights. The state should
ensure that the needs of all the people are well met, regardless of age,
socioeconomic level, or educational background. The people should be happy
and contented. Buddhist theory also advocates an ideal of democracy in
which subjects of appropriate age and educational background have the right
to vote to determine their future.

Regarding the role of the government in providing for a society's social
needs, Buddhist theory advocates that the government provide for the
education of the populace, as well as maintenance of order with minimal
infringement upon individual rights. Government should establish the
necessary institutions, including those of education and criminal justice.
However, unlike the systems of some Western democracies today, Buddhist
theory advocates that more emphasis be placed on educating the populace
about the importance of the law and why it should not be broken in the
first place, rather than relying on harsh punishment.

A Pragmatic Approach

Buddhists also acknowledge that the instruments used to govern must match
the requirements of society as it exists on a practical level. It is well
known that compassion and non-violence are two of the basic Buddhist
principles: adhering to them means that one should love one's enemy as
oneself. However, Buddhism does not advocate an inflexible application of
these principles. If these principles are applied literally, internal and
external enemies can easily take advantage of a society's weaknesses and
undermine the peacefulness and stability of that society. As long as the
ideal society does not exist, the instruments of government must include
the coercive power necessary to punish wrongdoers and to prevent military
invasions.

Disarmament is a desirable ideal, but Buddhists realize that any state of
universal disarmament is precarious, for one nation's deviation would break
the peace and lead to arms races once again. In the optimal scenario,
nations would be confident of not being invaded by fellow nations and would
voluntarily dispose of their arms and demobilize their troops. In order for
this to occur, the largest and most powerful nations would have to be the
first to set the example. In the absence of an ideal world order, however,
Buddhist theory does not necessarily condemn the existence of an armed
force. In order to protect the state from attack, a state's army must be
strong and well-trained but should be used only for defensive and not
offensive purposes.

Instead of utilizing armed confrontation as a means of conflict resolution,
Buddhist theory advocates what has been termed the "cognitive" approach to
international relations. Under this theory of international relations,
differences and conflicts between nations exist, but are solved eventually
by continued interaction and sharing of ideas. Disagreements between
cultures and nations are bound to occur. Even within the same family,
people have different tastes, different levels of education, different
dispositions. "Cognitive" interactions between these different groups will
eventually lead to the discovery of similarities between the most opposite
of cultures, and conflict will become less frequent as these similarities
emerge. There are numerous examples that this process is effective, if
slower than some may like. The success of the "cognitive" approach is
already evident in recent developments of the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN). Within the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), many ASEAN
members harbored a fear of Mainland China's increasing economic and
military capability, and began to perceive a "China threat," while mainland
China began to feel increasingly suspicious of the hostilities it perceived
on the part of other ASEAN nations. However, through the mainland China-ARF
dialogue, initially skeptical mainland Chinese diplomats and leaders were
able to meet and build relationships with leaders of other ASEAN nations,
leading to increasing cooperation between the mainland Chinese and ASEAN
members, and mainland China's willingness to share information and allow
new ARF initiatives.

Consistent with the Buddhist view that government should provide defense
against foreign aggression, Buddhist theory also advocates the government's
maintenance of a healthy economy, as successful defense relies on the unity
and strength of a nation, including economic strength. As in many Western
theories, the Buddhist view is that the ideal form of economic development
benefits all people. Economic development involving honest business
practices, therefore, is seen as a positive step. In many developing
countries today, however, fraud and corruption are prevalent, and as a
result, economic development suffers as businesses fail. From the Buddhist
perspective, the behavior of industry and the firm should go beyond simple
profit-taking--the consideration of benefit should extend to the customer
and the employee in addition to the owner. Making money is not wrong per
se. After investing time, money, and energy, profits should certainly be
enjoyed, but these profits should also be returned to society.

Buddhism's Societal Role

Within this framework, what is the role of Buddhism and other religions
with relation to the state? The role of Buddhism is to develop the moral
fiber of the people so that they can be responsible members of society and
responsible citizens of their countries. Separation of "church" and state
should be maintained, but at the same time there should be active
cooperation between these two institutions.

As part of the religious community, the Dharma Drum Mountain organization
in Taiwan aims to achieve the ideal society through its educational
outreach, social movements, social service provision, and inter-religious
dialogue. Education is one of the main foci of the organization,
emphasizing basic moral principles, family values, compassion, and
ecological awareness. Individual responsibility, accountability, and
self-discipline are some of the key Buddhist principles communicated in all
educational undertakings. These teachings are communicated to society
through various media--courses are conducted for students at the primary
and secondary school levels as well as for university students, corporate
executives, businessmen, and civil servants. In the mass media, national
newspaper columns and weekly television programs discuss these same topics
in lectures and in more popular formats. In the academic realm, the
organization offers graduate level instruction in Buddhist studies and has
organized several conferences on Buddhist studies in which scholars from
around the world have participated, continuing the advance of Buddhist
studies from a scholarly perspective.

In addition to educational outreach, the Dharma Drum Mountain organization
provides social welfare programs including counseling for married couples
and for those in bereavement after deaths in their families. And in
accordance with Buddhist principles of frugality and ecological awareness,
it has initiated extremely successful national environmental drives in
Taiwan, where annual events are organized to clean up and remove
environmental pollutants and hazards from various parks and localities, in
conjunction with ecological awareness courses. Environmentally sound land
management has been a major emphasis of the organization in the development
of its rural properties, and has achieved national recognition for its
success in the prevention of soil erosion, especially during the typhoon
season.

Buddhist theory not only advocates efforts under Buddhist organizations to
achieve the ideal society, but also dialogue with and mutual support of
other religious organizations engaged in the pursuance of the same goal.
Peaceful coexistence with and respect for other religions has always been
the Buddhist approach toward the promotion of a peaceful, stable, and
harmonious society. Regular participation in interfaith activities,
including UN-sponsored dialogues in the Philippines and the United States,
and participation in interfaith conferences, including one held in Padua,
Italy, last year-sponsored by groups closely associated with the Vatican
and joined by representatives or all major religions--also support this
goal of harmony.

The efforts of the Dharma Drum Mountain organization have garnered national
awards and recognition from the government of Taiwan. Clearly, the
government recognizes the positive role of Buddhist organizations in
society. Similarly, until an ideal society is realized, Buddhist theory
supports peaceful, benevolent, and stable governments which provide
education, social services, security, and enforcement of law. Thus, under
the Buddhist perspective, government and religious organization work
together with a common goal--achieving the ideal form of societal
organization.

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): The Venerable Sheng-Yen: Bhuddism and the modern
state are more compatible than is often assumed.