Some people are beneficiaries of a system that enables certain individuals to amass inconceivable riches while countless others are condemned to lives of squalor and disenfranchisement. And while Buddhism extends its systemic lenses on a much wider framework of human suffering, the in-between area of the immediately near us is sometimes neglected.
Engaged Buddhism is not a separate school from others; it is more of an interpretation of social commitment that appears in all trends of contemporary Buddhism. It emphases the unity needed between the inner work and the work in the world, the social action as deep compassion, the result of a deep understanding of reality, their dynamics and mutual causalities.
Meditation develops one’s open-mindness, sensitivity and appreciation, while enhancing one’s ability to stay focused and engaged with more challenging experiences. Wouldn’t meditators of all traditions therefore have a key role in contributing to solutions for the difficulties the world is now facing?
The debate is open.