Document Type
Contribution to Book
Source Publication
Buddhism and the Political Process
Publication Date
Spring 4-20-2016
Editor
Hiroko Kawanami
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
City
New York, NY
ISBN
978-1-137-57399-5
First Page
213
Last Page
234
Department
Comparative Humanities
Description
There is no one, single answer to the question: What is or are ‘Buddhist politics’? Rather than seek general historical trends or broad tendencies, in this chapter I explore the meaning and implications of the modern, Western conception of ‘politics’ as understood in relation to key features of Buddhist doctrine. In particular, I pose the question of whether we might fruitfully conceive at least certain interpretations of Buddhism—or perhaps, of Dharma—as politics, rather than ‘religion’ or ‘philosophy.’ I argue that twentieth century progressive Buddhists Seno’o Girō (1889–1961) and B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) were not so much in conflict with the political as they were engaged with the political, albeit in a way that undercuts the assumption—shared by most Westerners as well as modern Asian Buddhists—of a clear distinction between the political and religious realms.
Recommended Citation
Shields, James, "Opium Eaters: Buddhism as Revolutionary Politics" (2016). Faculty Contributions to Books. 88.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_books/88
Included in
Asian History Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social History Commons