On Buddhist Democracy, Freedom, And Equality

by Hsing Yun, John Balcom, Brenda Bolinger (Editor)

By providing a closer look at the Buddha's teachings, Master Hsing Yun demonstrates the compatibility between Buddhist teachings and the values held dear by Americans. For example, on the Five Precepts, the summary of Buddhist morality, the Master "Although there are five precepts, they are based upon a single not infringing on someone else's rights. Only by respecting the rights of others can there be true freedom." Similarly, to recognize that all beings have "the right to an equal and respected life" and that "none should be harmed lightly" is to practice true equality. With clarity, the Master articulated parallels in Buddhist and modern American ideals.

64 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2002

About the author

Hsing Yun was a Chinese Buddhist monk, teacher, and philanthropist based in Taiwan. He was the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastic order as well as the layperson-based Buddha's Light International Association. Hsing Yun was considered a major proponent of Humanistic Buddhism and one of the most influential teachers of modern Taiwanese Buddhism. In Taiwan, he was popularly referred to as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with his contemporaries: Master Sheng Yen of Dharma Drum Mountain, Master Shih Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi and Master Wei Chueh of Chung Tai Shan.

Reviews

[Bryce Buttrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if I should be reviewing religious texts.
3/10 though.

Focuses on how Buddhism relates to traditional American ideals, and makes some good claims that there are principles from buddhism that need to be upheld by a population in order to achieve these ideals. The arguments that back up the claims are super weak though, there’s a section where it he says that following the 5 precepts grants you true freedom because following the precepts ensures you won’t break the law and then get jailed. Weird mix of applying ancient buddhist scripture to incredibly surface level interpretations of freedom, democracy, etc.

I learned learned a lot though, lots of new terms and information on Buddhist history and tradition that I found really interesting. I think if I had only read the long index in the back I would have enjoyed it more.