Universal Brotherhood=人類命運共同體; Vasudhaiva kutumbakam; Buddhism and Universal Brotherhood=佛教與人類命運共同體; Oneness of Humanity and Buddhism=人類的合一和宗教
摘要
The Buddhist doctrine of Karma believes that deeds are retributory and as a consequence of their deeds, beings are born repeatedly in the saṃsāra. Thus, it is a mistake when one limits oneself to the welfare of one’s immediate relatives and friends only. This kind of thinking in Buddhism proposes that thinking someone as the “other” arises out of sheer ignorance (avidyā) because this very person has to be a close relative from one of the past births and likewise is bound to be a kin-member in the future. Similarly, the Buddhist concept of Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpāda) sees everything in the cosmos being dependent on everything else. Consequently, all the living beings are inter-related and inter-connected across castes, races, nations, or species. Based on this kind of thinking, the Buddhist motto of bahujanahitāya bahujanasukhāya sets for itself the goal of the happiness and welfare of maximum number of people in the world. Buddhist concept of vegetarianism also bases itself on this kind of thinking. However, the question that arises is how can we establish a society based on universal brotherhood. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the lack of equal access to the resources that exist in the world. As pointed out by the Buddha in the Aggañña Suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya as long as we have poverty and inequality in the world, it will be difficult to establish a society that believes in universal brotherhood. A society founded upon the Buddhist Dharma recognizes that one should aim at promoting the good of the greater unit to which one belongs, and as a minimum one must not look for one’s own satisfaction in ways that may cause harm to others. Thus, in Buddhist approach to social and economic development, the primary criterion governing policy formulation must be the wellbeing of members of the society as a whole. At the same time, though meeting the basic needs of all is basic to the establishment of universal brotherhood, but from Buddhist perspective, sensitization of the populations to the ideals of simplicity, sacrifice, sharing, cooperation, non-wastefulness, compassion, empathy, and equanimity would be equally important.
