A brief exploration on patipatti dhamma and Engaged Buddhism
Present global issues that need response from Buddhism have been answered by Engaged Buddhism. Engaged Buddhism itself is not a particular Buddhist sect, but merely a logical explanation of Buddhadharma and also realization of liberation in Buddhadharma.
This means that Engaged Buddhism is close to fundamental Buddhism. By using fundamental Buddhism, as mentioned in Theravada Buddhism, by reflecting on Engaged Buddhism, and by focusing on patipatti dhamma (dhamma practice), hopefully we could respond to present issues.
To further understand this, we need to explore the concepts of fundamental Buddhism, such as the concept of pariyatti and patipatti dhamma as one unseparated dhamma method. Moreover, we need to comprehend the meaning of dhamma itself, the concept of two truths and two realities (paramattha and samutti), the realization of meditation, and the power of loving kindness in order to find the true nature of dhamma as something unseparated to reality.
These concepts are actualized in Engaged Buddhism, which emphasize on the unity of theory and practice, self transformation and social transformation, and meditation that is not separated to our real life in society. In this way, fundamental Buddhism could answer to present issues and realizes the liberating essence of Buddhadhamma as The Buddha did 2500 years ago.
Does fundamental Buddhism able to answer to present issues? This question is common, remembering that fundamental Buddhism has orthodox-scholastic nature, it only studies holy book in Pali, it is theoretical, and focused on individual self-transformation, so that it differs widely with Engaged Buddhism which is trying to find a solution in nowadays issues.
“Nevertheless, Christopher Queen claims in Enganged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia that “today, after eighty years of new research, many specialist are inclined to agree with Weber that, in its essence, primitive Buddhism was not based on service to others, but on the quest for individual enlighment.”
But when we analyze deeper, fundamental Buddhism, also called Primitive Buddhism in Sthaviravada or Theravada tradition, does indeed embody Buddhadharma concepts which later on becomes the basic for all sects or “The School of Buddhism”. Therefore, it is not impossible for fundamental Buddhism to develop and respond to recent issues.
Engaged Buddhism itself doesn’t emerge as a new sect of Buddhism, but it is the essence of Buddhadharma and acts as a logical explanation of traditional teachings on morality and loving kindness relevant to present social condition as taught by The Buddha himself.
Thich Nhat Hanh stated, “that there was really no such thing as ‘Engaged Buddhism’. Buddhism is by its nature ‘engaged’. When we use the term we are just reminding ourselves of an important aspect of Buddhist teachings.”
As mentioned by Ken Jones, “A socially engaged Buddhism needs no other rationale than that of being an implication of traditional Buddhist morality, a social ethic brought forth by the needs and potentialities of presentday society”.
Engaged Buddhism emphasized on the important aspect of Buddhdharma, which is practice, the involvement on social transformation, and the realization of liberation based on Buddhadharma. Engaged Buddhism is very close related to fundamental Buddhism, looking at the concept pariyatti and pattipatti (theory and practice) as one unseparable unity.
“These primary and secondary methods of validation exemplify the distinction emphasized by Ajahn Buddhadhasa between patipatti-dhamma (the teaching of The Way, the practice) and pariyatta-dhamma (scriptural teaching). The two methods are not exclusive, of course, but complementary.” Therefore, by reflecting to Engaged Buddhism and further explore basic concepts in fundamental Buddhism, we could be assured that fundamental Buddhism could answer to present problems, as the essence of Buddhadharma itself is liberation in the present moment.
“Yet the implication of the original teaching is clear. “Liberation is possible and here and now, and your liberation and my ownliberation are intimately interconnected.”
“The issues that The Buddha addressed are still current today. Elitism, racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression are as relevant now as they were then. As a movement, Engaged Buddhism is perhaps simply way of acknowledging this pressing truth and continuing the work that The Buddha started twenty-five centuries ago.”
Engaged Buddhism focused on involvement to respond to actual issues, as The Buddha had taught on Four Noble Truths about suffering and the liberation from suffering.
“In spite of its immense variety of doctrinal ramifications, Buddhism is but one common vision of reality. The whole of Buddhism is mounted on the wheel of “suffering”. No “suffering”, no “Buddhism”.
“The insight into empirical truth of suffering in all conditions of life forms the beginning of the Buddhist spiritual struggle. Since all conditions of life are suffering, the pursuit of happiness becomes the goal of moral striving.”
Pariyatti and Patipatti
Engaged Buddhism originates from the word of Dhamma itself. Dhamma in Pali, or Dharma in Sanskrit, covers a broad sense of “all things”.
Dhamma or Dharma covers all things which is no-self. “Sabbe dhamma anatta’ti, yada pannaya passati. Attha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiya.” “All things are no-self or anatta.”
Buddhist teaching on anatta could act as the key to find out about universal humanity and as the source of humanitarian acts. Anatta creates a free individual filled with prajna and karuna who involve himself in his environment.
“For a person enlightened, anatta would create a free individual, someone able to look into interdependent nature of all beings in this web of life where universal love and kindness for every beings grow and bloom.”
“How shall we understand anatta or “no-self”, that strange Buddhist teaching which denies the self we take for granted in our everyday lives? Today we must relate the anatta doctrine to what we know (or think we know) about the self relates to its world.”
Looking at Abhidharmakosa, a Mahayana writing by Vasubhandu, Dhamma could be interpreted through four ways: etymology, ontology, ethics, and religion.
Etymologically, in Sanskrit there is a word dhr, meaning “inside himself” or “contain, bear, sustain itself” – so it is inside “what exist”. “Exist” as mentioned in Anguttara Nikaya, is ontologically grouped in sankhatadhamma (existence of what’s conditional) and asankhata-dhamma (existence of what’s unconditional).
How broad and deep really is the meaning of Dhamma, so that only the wise could pass through it while the others are left to believe. Mentioned in Mahavagga: “Dhamma is very deep, difficult to be acquainted with, difficult to understand, it is supreme, surpass all thoughts, refined, and could only be passed through by a wiseman already attained Enlightenment”.
For others who are yet to attain wisdom, this hardship creates an form of understanding in a religious way and left as a belief, as what Buddhist people state in the recitation of refuge (sraddha) in Dhamma. “Dhammam saranang gacchami” or “I take refuge in the Dharma.
Even so, in doing many acts of faith, we have three understanding: pariyatti (teaching), patipatti (pratice), and pativedha (insight). Comprehension of those three will be ethically protected as long as Dhamma is reflected in everyday life in the form of morality, honesty, right act, responsibility, religious life, and the understanding of karma, related to good and evil.
In Dhamma teaching, pariyatti and patipatti dharma need to be viewed as one unseparable unity to achieve the truth of Dhamma. The Dharma is lovely in the beginning (pariyatti/when we start studying), lovely in the middle (patipatti/when we find truth in reality), and lovely at the end (pativedha/insight on the harmony of dharma and reality).
If we view pariyatti and patipatti method as one unity, we could melt away all dogmas on dhamma and we could find three truths of Dharma; coherence, correspondence, and pragmatism.
Coherence is the consistency between dhamma concepts, such as dukkha, anicca, and anatta. Coherence is the consistency between theory and practice, where dharma is tested in our life, where dhamma help brings virtuosness and liberation, just like a boat help us cross the river.
“Nor was the doctrine to be dogmatised and worshipped. The pragmatic value of the teaching is stressed throughout.”
Correspondence and pragmatic value of patipatti dhamma placed Buddhism unseparable from life and real problems, also making it contextual not in a mere textual dogmatic way. The spirit of contextual Buddhadharma is embodied in Engaged Buddhism, which tries to respond to actual issues, tries to comprehend the essence of Dharma (paramattha) in various present context (sankhata).
Phylosophically, this means that we are able to comprehend the unconditional and the conditional (paramattha and samutti) and see the universal essence of Dhamma in reality. We are able to comprehend various phenomena of dukkha from the eyes of Dharma, and able to find a solution of present issues by upaya-kausalya and the spirit of karuna.
This shows that Engaged Buddhim is indeed the logical explanation of fundamental Buddhism, as two concepts of truth and two realities viewed as one; unconditional truth (paramartha-satya) with conditional truth (samvrti-satya), unconditional reality (asankhata-dharma) with conditional reality (sankhata-dharma).
Dharma has the nature of unconditional and sacred, while the world we’re living in has the nature of conditional, temporal, and profane. Paramattha could see through this temporal world through the freedom praxis. The message of freedom is sounded through dukkha in all fields of life; individual-psychological, institutional-social, and culture-politics. This message has been the spirit and character of Engaged Buddhism as well as fundamental Buddhism.
Engaged Buddhism
Engaged Buddhism is a practice of textual dharma where the universal value of dhamma could be seen in particular realities. Viewing pariyatti and patpatti as an unseparable method, Engaged Buddhism emphasizes on patipatti dan realizes the essence of dhamma in everyday life.
“These primary and secondary methods of validation exemply the distinction emphasized by Ajahn Buddhadhasa between patipatti-dhamma (the teaching of the Way, the practice) and pariyatta-dhamma (scriptural teaching). The two methods are not exclusive, of course, but complementary.”
Even though seen as one, the stressing on practice is very accentuated. “However, I believe that the main weight must be put upon the first, with the second only supplementary, suggestive, and confirmatory.”
There are two reasons why Engaged Buddhism focused on the patipattidhamma rather than pariyatti-dhamma.
Practice means that dharma need to be experienced and proved in the reality as shown by Ken Jones in refer to Kalama Sutta. “As emphasized in the celebrated Kalama scripture, Buddhism enjoin seekers to rely first and foremost upon their own experience, while to deepen this and do make it a more reliable guide.”
The Buddha emphasized to his disciples to experience and prove the truth of sunyata by practising rather that bonding to the dogmatic texts. “Rather than bringing to bear the weight of scriptural authority I would prefer to call upon readers’own personal and experience as validation.”
By emphasizing on patipatti and seeing the actual reality, we need to realize that the cause of tanha has manifested institutionally in various social and political systems, so that what happen in one’s consciousness is indeed the reflection of reality in his society.
Ken Jones quoted Diana Winston’s writings on Justify Your Love: Finding Authority for Socially Enganged Buddhism: “Put simply, what goes on in one mind is mirrored in the world; looking inward is a hallmark of a socially enganged Buddhist critique. We can discover “where am I implicated?” For example, where are the same structures of greed, hatred and delusion present in my own mind? How do my inner kilesas (defilements) create or mirror external reality/institutions? This “turning inward” invokes compassion for others who perpetuate structures of violence as well as providing insight into understanding just how and why these structures work, and what could be done about them.”
The importance of patipatti and pragmatism rather than pariyatti, the emphasis of now rather than past times, and the emphasis on practice rather than dogma are also focused in learning Buddhadharma.
“Instead he suggests a new kind of course that is based in the present not in history, that is oriented to practice not doctrine, that takes seriously the notion that there is a Buddhist experience to which students can be introduced. He wants to expand the usual upper-level course that focuses on the reading of a primary text to include an investigation on the use of the text as ritual sourcebook or political ideology.”
In learning Buddhadharma, Reynold emphasized in contextual aspect, practice, experience, involvement, and developing the ability to analyze reality, since the goal of learning dhamma is an unseparated condition with our lives.
“Emphasizes the teacher’s display of well-honed interpretive skills and the acquisition of the same by the student. These interpretive skills include the skill of sympathetic understanding, critical analysis and personal evaluation or judgement. The goal of teaching these course in Buddhism is not merery to master a certain body of texts and its doctrines but to be throuhgly exposed to the lived worlds of other people and in response to learn how to sympathize well, critized well and personally evaluate well.”
The developing Engaged Buddhism is a learning method or logical explanation of dharma texts. Apart from that, Engaged Buddhism also involves in non-violence act to find solution for interrelated problems.
By liberation, Engaged Buddhism find solutions to lessen suffering in the world, such as ignorance, egoism, greed, and materialism which is institutionalized and structurized in the context of culture, social, and politic.
Looking for the solution to overcome those problems, Engaged Buddhism walks hand in hand with other humanitarian acts, such as the new age movement, green movement, post-modern philosophy, and theology of liberation.
“Spiritual practice for both monastic and laity did enjoin many kinds of selfless behaviour. Generosity (dana) is the first of the Buddhist virtues and especially generosity in supporting monastic sangha. And the Buddha urged his monks to “go forth on your journey, for the benefit of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, for the benefit and joy of mankind”
“In Mahayana Buddhism, compassion was even more strongly emphasized. Its great heroes, the Bodhisattvas, were enlightened who postponed entry into nirvana in order to serve sentient beings, and in sutras like the Avatamsaka they are shown doing so in many different ways.”
Engaged Buddhism dwell in present global condition filled with cold wars, post modernism, free market, globalization, and international terrorism to fight for social justice, democracy, environmental balance, and women’s right.
This is how the new face of Buddhism develop through Engaged Buddhism where critical thinking and comprehensive involvement is the tool to face global problems. The face of Engaged Buddhism is tangible through the faces of its figures.
“Engaged Buddhism has been associated with the work of specific organizations such as the Sarvodia Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists; as well as with the work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama within the Tibetan community in exile, Thich Nhat Hanh in the Vietnamese community, and Venerable Mahaghosananda in Cambodia.”
In dealing with social suffering, we need Bodhisattvas. They are the present Bodhisattva. Several Buddhist activists and scholars are: Sulak Sivaraksa, AT Ariyatne, Daisaku Ikeda, Chen Yen, Shantikaro, Buddhadasa, Ven. Sangharakhita, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and Buddhist feminists such as Amchi Kandro Yangkar, Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Ven. Thubten Chodron, Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, Ven. Ayya Khema, and Madhumaya.
They have concern over human sufferings which are chained by systems, ideology, economy, and politics, especially the gap and discrimination between developed and developing countries. They work hard and get involve in solidarity and non-violent acts in accord with the spirit of Budhadharma.
“A tremendous effort will be required to bring compassion into realm international business. Economic inequality, especially that between developed and developing nations, remains the greatest source of suffering on this planet.”
“All the cardinal teachings of Buddhism contribute to the realization of peace within oneself and, in humanity as a whole, solidarity and world fellowship depend on the teachings. The principle of non-violence is the basic concept upon which the ideal of peace in founded.
Meditation and Transformation
Engaged Buddhism shows that theory and practice are one, the same is true with self-transformation with social transformation, and meditation with society. This means that the liberating act is in accord with the experience of loving kindness, an unity of prajna and karuna.
“There is only a single, seamless practice experience, and activism. Wisdom and compassion are one.”
“Meditation is not going to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going in. Once there is seeing, there is must be acting. With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do.” Thich Nhat Hanh interprets meditation as ‘looking deeply’. Look deeply at a phenomena is also a form of pativedha.
Also stated by Thich Nhat Hanh: “to practice meditation is to look deeply in order to see into the essence of things. With insight and understanding we can realize liberation, peace, and joy. Our anger, anxiety, and fear are the ropes that bind us to suffering. If we want to be liberated from them, we need to observe their nature, which is ignorance, the lack of clear understanding.”
Therefore, a starting step to get involved in global issues is to develop our awareness and deep observation on objects, as what we do in meditation.
“The first step is awareness of the object, and second step is looking deeply at the object to shed light on it. Therefore, mindfulness means awereness and it also means looking deeply.”
Thich Nhat Hanh also stated: “Earlier, I emphasized the centrality of inner awareness to the personal practice of engaged Buddhism. Enganged Buddhism have developed an impressive range of awareness (mindfulness) practices and perspectives.”
This ‘deep awareness’ could be translated as Sati in Pali. “The Pali word Sati (Sankrit: smrti) means “to stop,” and “to maintain awareness of the object.” The Pali word vipassana (Sanskrit: vipashyana) means “to go deeply into that object to observe it.” While we are observing an object deeply, the boundary between the subject and object become one. This is the essence of meditation. Only when we penetrate an object and become one with it can we understand. It is not enough to stand outside and observe an object.”
The relation between self-transformation and social transformation plays a big role in Engaged Buddhism. By looking at own self clearly through meditation, we could see clearly the interrelated nature of social problems.
“A unique gift of Buddhist practice is that it restores the imagination and the heart. The cultivation of awareness and insight, the ability to look deeply, allows us to look at the conditions of the world around us, as well as at the conditions of our own life. Practice brings our faculties into balance. Intellect, intuition and emotions work together. We drop our selfish point of view. We stand with others, we appreciate their point of view. But we are not lost in mere relativism. We desire to help where we can.”
The clarity in seeing something deeply is needed in analyzing social conditions. Ken Jones said, to create a cultural revival, the new face of Buddhadharma needs a sourceful social analysis and accordance to Buddhadharma’s diagnostic on suffering. The cultural revival creates agents of change through non-violent act, it could be done by three steps.
Closing
Through Engaged Buddhism, fundamental Buddhism shows itself as a clever teaching able to respond to present situation. Engaged Buddhism as the realization of patipatti shows the nature of Buddhadharma as a religion of revival.
Engaged Buddhism unites with modernity where all beings live interdependently. All things are interconnected, therefore every act, and though matters immeasurably.
By further exploring the spirit of Engaged Buddhism in accord with fundamental Buddhism, we could see the meaning and benefit of Buddhist concepts in present condition, such as the concept of Dhamma, pariyatti and patipatti, paramatha sacca, sammuti sacca, asankhata dhamma, sankhata dhamma, interdependency, meditation, karuna, Bodhisattva, and Buddha itself.
In the concept of patipatti dhamma, Engaged Buddhism use it as a stepping stone so that the identity of fundamental Buddhism stays pure.
The spirit of liberation could be truly felt when we are able to include all aspects of life, one of them is politics. Those who say that politics and spirituality are not connected to each other understand neither spitirituality nor politics.” (Mohandas K. Gandhi)
Even more basic, Engaged Buddhism is the realization of the meaning of Buddha (revival) itself. Being a Buddhist means that we need to revive and get involved in life matters.
Thich Nhat Hanh emphasized, “Buddhism means awake – mindful of what is happening in one’s body, feelings, mind in the world. If you are awake you cannot do otherwise than act compassionately to help relieve suffering you see around you. So Buddhism must engage in the world. If it is not engaged it is not Buddhism.”
This awareness is the realization of one’s full comprehension of Triratna: Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, that: “The Buddha became, plausibly-enough, a radical humanist, the monastic sangha a proto-democracy, and the dharma a scientific and revolutionary theory.”
Hope that this writing could help us achieve enlightenment. May all beings attain enlightenment, free from suffering and arrive at Nirvana.
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