Buddhism and the challenge of secularisation

Secularisation

Refers to a transition from religious to non-religious values. It can be seen in the separation of church and state, as well as freedom of religion and religious equality.

The replacement of religion as the source of truth and moral values

• Religion getting replaced by other sources of truth and moral values

  • Government and laws

  • Scientism - the view that science has produced, or will produce, a sufficiently complete picture of the world that religious and spiritual views will be made redundant

  • Humanism - accept the conclusions of atheism but attempt to live a life which is enjoyable, meaningful, evidence based and morally commendable for

The replacement of religion as the source of truth and moral values as a problem for Buddhists

• Problem: Alternative belief systems may dissuade people from engaging with older Buddhist scriptures, particularly given the particularly demanding nature of the texts

• Not a problem: Buddhism itself is a minority religion in the UK and is in fact growing in size – therefore while secularisation is a problem for the Christian majority, Buddhists may benefit from the renewed interest in other sources of truth and value.

Relegation

Assigning something to an inferior position

Personal sphere

Also known as the private sphere; the realm of a persons life compromising home, family and other personal choices which are free from state control

Relegation of religion to the personal sphere

• Involves removing religion from the public sphere

• This may involve separation of church and state, removing compulsory acts of worship, and in more extreme secular countries banning religious forms of dress.

• Whether religion should be public or private is a complicated issue: where does freedom of religious expression end and freedom from religious propaganda begin?

Relegation of religion to the personal sphere as a problem for Buddhists

• Problem: The Bodhisattva Vow requires Mahayana Buddhists to be actively socially engaged; removing religion from the public sphere creates a barrier to this.

• Not a problem: Many Buddhists prefer to live in isolated communities (e.g. the Amaravati) so this is not an issue for them.

Militant atheism

A form of atheism that goes beyond mere disbelief in god to actively oppose and challenge religion and its influence on society; heavily associated with the new atheist movement

The rise of militant atheism

• Early 21st century school of thought that claims religion is irrational and dangerous, in almost all its forms

• Blames religion for wars and violence, suggests that religion has caused a ‘dumbing down’ of human thought and rejection of science, argues that religious upbringings stifle the rights of children to education and autonomy

• Richard Dawkins, ‘the god delusion’

The rise of militant atheism as a problem for Buddhists

• Problem: Militant atheism has undermined faith in traditional religions and would make the metaphysical views of Buddhism (rebirth etc.) seem very unappealing

• Not a problem: Many of Dawkins’ criticisms are aimed at monotheistic religions and do not apply to Buddhism – Dawkins himself even describes Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion

Materialistic

A tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. It tends to involve seeing possessions as a measure of success.

Moral issues associated with wealth - justifiability of extreme wealth

• Is it morally acceptable to be a billionaire - particularly in a world where many people are below the poverty line and could be helped with this money

• Buddhist response: Right Livelihood on the Eightfold Path prohibits working in any line of work that violates Buddhist principles (e.g. weapons dealing, animal slaughter). This would be an example of acquiring wealth irresponsibly.

• It could be said that the Buddhist ideal is anti-wealth since monks live on a bare minimum of possessions. However, the Buddha also rejected the ascetic ideal of eating as little as possible, so the view on wealth could be taken as a Middle Way between excess and poverty. For Buddhist monks, spiritual wealth is more important than material wealth.

Moral issues associated with wealth - psychological impact of materialistic values

• Is the purposeful pursuit of wealth spiritually corrupting? In Christianity the problem is often put this way - is it possible to love money and god?

• Buddhist response: three poisons, attachment

Moral issues associated with wealth - charity

• Is charity a moral obligation or a ‘nice extra’? Is charity a good in itself or a sign that structural systems have failed? Should our economic system encourage charity or make it unnecessary?

• Buddhist response: Mahayana - 6 perfections - generosity

Moral issues associated with wealth - wealth and religion

• Should religious leaders and institutions possess/ hoard wealth? Should monastics be allowed to possess materialistic goods and handle money?

• Buddhist response: Bhikkhus are not allowed to handle money. But the survival of the Sangha also relies on the donations of wealthy governments and laypeople.

Thai forest Buddhism

• Preservation of traditional Buddhism which aims to return Buddhism practice to its earliest traditions

• Ajahn Sumedho established the Thai forest tradition in the UK

• Involves strict adherence to the vinaya and a rejection of elements which were incorporated from local Thai traditions rather than authentic Buddhist scriptures

• The purpose of practice is to attain the deathless, eg nibbana, attained through deep meditative concentration

Amaravati

• Preservation of traditional Buddhism

• Follows a conservative Theravada model: celibate monasticism, reliance on donations, and strict adherence to vinaya

• Introduced the siladhara order of ten precept nuns as a compromise position between the Thai forest (who oppose female ordination altogether) and western Buddhists (who requested bikkhuni ordination)

Triratna

• New form of Buddhism

• Founded by sangharakshita

• Triratna means ‘three jewels’, reflecting the process of taking refuge in the three jewels of the Buddha, dharma and the sangha

• Incorporates elements of many schools, leading some to describe it as ecumenical

• Has no rules apart from its ten precepts, there are some adaptations

  • The precept of not touching money is seen as impossible within society

  • There is not a strict separation between ‘lay’ and ‘ordained’, instead four levels of ordination

  • Some members of the order work full time for the order, others hold down jobs in the outside world

  • The sangha is a non-monastic order, is self sufficient and doesn’t adopt a vow of poverty - this enables work of order to be carried out in a simpler way and not reliant on outside donors, who may donate with an expectation of influence

  • There are ‘right livelihood’ projects that will help with the funding and running of the centre and the support of the wider community

Secular Buddhism

• New form of Buddhism designed to be compatible with a secular worldview

• Stephen Batchelor

• Justified by the upaya hermeneutic and the view that Asian Buddhists contains a number of cultural accretions from prior religious beliefs such as samsara, rebirth, gods etc

• Prioritise the psychological and moral insights of Buddhism, particularly those which make Buddhism distinct from other religions

• Tends to revolve around several key themes

  • Rejection of metaphysical teaching

  • Stressing the psychological benefits of meditation, eg mindfulness as a mental health treatment

  • Stressing the benefits of following the moral teachings, such as the eightfold path

  • Rejecting the religion label in favour of treating Buddhism as a lifestyle or worldview

  • The six realms of samsara interpreted in a metaphorical or psychological way

Appeal of amaravati

• Preservation of traditional Buddhism - essence of original teachings, role for women

• Female nuns - want to be ordained

Appeal of Triratna

• Western Buddhists

• Those who want to work

• Removes impression of moral superiority regarding monks

• ‘Middle way’ between amaravati and secular

• Communities provide support

Appeal of secular

• Those who struggle to accept the metaphysical beliefs of Buddhism but are drawn to the moral practices

• More relaxed - less pressure

• Greater appeal to those hesitant to join religion

• Anyone can join

• Founder is still alive

Engaged Buddhism

A Buddhist movement which believes that Buddhas teachings should be applied to situations of social and environmental justice

Liberationist approach

An advocate or supporter of liberating or being liberated; a person who seeks equal status or just treatment for, or on behalf of, any group believed to be discriminated against

Principles of engaged Buddhism

• Do not be idolatrous

• Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless

• Do not force others to adopt your views

• Do not avoid suffering

• Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry

• Do not maintain anger or hatred

• Do not lose yourself in your surroundings

• Do not utter words that create discord

• Do not say untruthful things for personal interest or to impress

• Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain

• Do not live with a vocation or invest in companies that harm humans

• Do not kill or let others kill

• Possess nothing that should belong to others

• Do not mistreat your body

Example of engaged Buddhism

Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation - The Buddhist monk set himself on fire to protest against the treatment of Buddhists in Vietnam

Stephen Batchelor’s beliefs

• Buddhism is secular

• The four noble truths are ‘four great tasks’ - rephrases into non cognitive statements, “pragmatic rather than dogmatic”

  1. Understand anguish

  2. Let go of its origins

  3. Realise its cessation

  4. Cultivate the path

• The Buddhas true teachings are those which were not shared by other religions of the time

• It does not make sense to divide our lives into “before enlightenment” and “after enlightenment”. He argues that enlightenment is nothing more than “a means to an end”

• Finds it simply impossible as a modern practitioner and believer in materialism to accept the existence of literal rebirth

• The aim of Buddhism is “not the attainment of a final nirvana but rather the moment-to-moment flourishing of human life within the ethical framework of the eightfold path here on earth”

• The main form of Buddhist practice is mindfulness, a psychological technique based around awareness

• Doesn’t view his form of Buddhism as an evolution or “modernist reconfiguration” but instead as returning to the roots of Buddhist religion

Stephen Batchelor’s spiritual biography

Confession of a Buddhist atheist

David braziers beliefs

• Buddhism is a religion

• Western culture has given rise to a distorted form of Buddhism due to its tendency to focus on goals and techniques which focus on the attainment of personal happiness - “thus Buddhism becomes a personal development programme via the practice of meditation”

• Religion is the way in which we come to understand that life is both physical and metaphysical. Buddha was unique in that he “could see both of these worlds clearly and the relation between them”

• Salvation is found in the Buddha, who is a metaphysical being

• The metaphysical views are still valuable to us because they provide our life with meaning and purpose, making it “richer”

• Buddhist religious practice focuses on worship not mindfulness