Buddhism and Social Ecological Justice

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the Buddhist conception of the ‘self’ must be understood. Western thought and ethical theories have tended to begin with some notion of the person as an autonomous, rational individual. The initial concept to note about the Buddhist perception of ethical agency is that it presents a notion of the ‘self’ that is both dynamic and developmental. Taken in conjunction, these significant features of Buddhist thought offers a significantly different notion of the ethical self -- one that challenges Western perceptions of both rationality and autonomy. And although Buddhist ethics, do indeed, require coherence of personal identity, that ‘sense of self’ or individuality of the self is seen as a karmic, and dynamic continuity. In other words, it is seen as an ongoing process rather than an underlying thing. Consequently, as King states, this awareness of the ‘self’ presents an opportunity for an individual to identify the key cause of suffering, and the sufferings of other people. This ...

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a Buddhist’s ability to recognize, and empathize to another being’s suffering, and it is this concept that outlines the efforts and influences of Buddhist activism.

For example, the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949 was devastating not just to the people but to the land and culture itself; “It is estimated that over one million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese invasion”. The Cultural Revolution prompted massive population transfers of Han Chinese into Tibet, and has been widely considered a policy of ‘cultural genocide’. However, even in the face of extinction the Dalai Lama maintains a stance of non-violence and cooperation with the Chinese government, ...

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