Buddhism and Political Theory

Buddhism and Political Theory PDF Author: Matthew J. Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019063152X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Despite the recent upsurge of interest in comparative political theory, there has been virtually no serious examination of Buddhism by political philosophers in the past five decades. In part, this is because Buddhism is not typically seen as a school of political thought. However, as Matthew Moore argues, Buddhism simultaneously parallels and challenges many core assumptions and arguments in contemporary Western political theory. In brief, Western thinkers not only have a great deal to learn about Buddhism, they have a great deal to learn from it. To both incite and facilitate the process of Western theorists engaging with this neglected tradition, this book provides a detailed, critical reading of the key primary Buddhist texts, from the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha through the present day. It also discusses the relevant secondary literature on Buddhism and political theory (nearly all of it from disciplines other than political theory), as well as the literatures on particular issues addressed in the argument. Moore argues that Buddhist political thought rests on three core premises--that there is no self, that politics is of very limited importance in human life, and that normative beliefs and judgments represent practical advice about how to live a certain way, rather than being obligatory commands about how all persons must act. He compares Buddhist political theory to what he sees as Western analogues--Nietzsche's similar but crucially different theory of the self, Western theories of limited citizenship from Epicurus to John Howard Yoder, and to the Western tradition of immanence theories in ethics. This will be the first comprehensive treatment of Buddhism as political theory.

Buddhism and Political Theory

Buddhism and Political Theory PDF Author: Matthew J. Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019063152X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite the recent upsurge of interest in comparative political theory, there has been virtually no serious examination of Buddhism by political philosophers in the past five decades. In part, this is because Buddhism is not typically seen as a school of political thought. However, as Matthew Moore argues, Buddhism simultaneously parallels and challenges many core assumptions and arguments in contemporary Western political theory. In brief, Western thinkers not only have a great deal to learn about Buddhism, they have a great deal to learn from it. To both incite and facilitate the process of Western theorists engaging with this neglected tradition, this book provides a detailed, critical reading of the key primary Buddhist texts, from the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha through the present day. It also discusses the relevant secondary literature on Buddhism and political theory (nearly all of it from disciplines other than political theory), as well as the literatures on particular issues addressed in the argument. Moore argues that Buddhist political thought rests on three core premises--that there is no self, that politics is of very limited importance in human life, and that normative beliefs and judgments represent practical advice about how to live a certain way, rather than being obligatory commands about how all persons must act. He compares Buddhist political theory to what he sees as Western analogues--Nietzsche's similar but crucially different theory of the self, Western theories of limited citizenship from Epicurus to John Howard Yoder, and to the Western tradition of immanence theories in ethics. This will be the first comprehensive treatment of Buddhism as political theory.

Buddhism, Politics and Political Thought in Myanmar

Buddhism, Politics and Political Thought in Myanmar PDF Author: Matthew J. Walton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110715569X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Walton explains political dynamics in Myanmar through Buddhist thought, providing a conceptual framework for understanding Myanmar's ongoing political transition.

Buddhism and the Political Process

Buddhism and the Political Process PDF Author: Hiroko Kawanami
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137574003
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This study examines the impact of Buddhism on the political process of Asian countries in recent times. The intersection between Buddhism and politics; religious authority and political power is explored through the engagement of Buddhist monks and lay activists in the process of nation-building, development, and implementation of democracy.

Being Benevolence

Being Benevolence PDF Author: Sallie B. King
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824861620
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Engaged Buddhism is the contemporary movement of nonviolent social and political activism found throughout the Buddhist world. Its ethical theory sees the world in terms of cause and effect, a view that discourages its practitioners from becoming adversaries, blaming or condemning the other. Its leaders make some of the most important contributions in the Buddhist world to thinking about issues in political theory, human rights, nonviolence, and social justice. Being Benevolence provides for the first time a rich overview of the main ideas and arguments of prominent Engaged Buddhist thinkers and activists on a variety of questions: What kind of political system should modern Asian states have? What are the pros and cons of Western "liberalism"? Can Buddhism support the idea of human rights? Can there ever be a nonviolent nation-state? It identifies the roots of Engaged Buddhist social ethics in such traditional Buddhist concepts and practices as interdependence, compassion, and meditation, and shows how these are applied to particular social and political issues. It illuminates the movement’s metaphysical views on the individual and society and goes on to examine how Engaged Buddhists respond to fundamental questions in political theory concerning the proper balance between the individual and society. The second half of the volume focuses on applied social-political issues: human rights, nonviolence, and social justice.

Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law

Buddhism, Politics and the Limits of Law PDF Author: Benjamin Schonthal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107152232
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Examining Sri Lanka's religious and legal pasts, this is the first extended study of Buddhism and constitutional law.

Tantric State

Tantric State PDF Author: William J. Long
Publisher:
ISBN: 019084339X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Bhutan is the only mixed-market, democratic nation in the world founded on Buddhist principles and values, rather than Western-liberal ones. This book explains Bhutan's unique model of democracy and economic development, its philosophical foundations and its practical relevance as an alternative approach to today's political and economic challenges.

Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory

Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory PDF Author: Joanna Macy
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438411634
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
This book brings important new dimensions to the interface between contemporary Western science and ancient Eastern wisdom. Here for the first time the concepts and insights of general systems theory are presented in tandem with those of the Buddha. Remarkable convergences appear between core Buddhist teachings and the systems view of reality, arising in our century from biology and extending into the social and cognitive sciences. Giving a cogent introduction to both bodies of thought, and a fresh interpretation of the Buddha's core teaching of dependent co-arising, this book shows how their common perspective on causality can inform our lives. The interdependence of all beings provides the context for clarifying both the role of meditative practice and guidelines for effective action on behalf of the common good.

Political Theologies

Political Theologies PDF Author: Hent de Vries
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823226441
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 810

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Book Description
What has happened to religion in its present manifestations? Containing contributions from distinguished scholars from disciplines, such as: philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies, this book seeks to address this question.

The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory

The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory PDF Author: John S Dryzek
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199548439
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 898

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Book Description
Oxford Handbooks of Political Science are the essential guide to the state of political science today. With engaging contributions from 51 major international scholars, the Oxford Handbook of Political Theory provides the key point of reference for anyone working in political theory and beyond.

Religious Bodies Politic

Religious Bodies Politic PDF Author: Anya Bernstein
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022607269X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
Religious Bodies Politic examines the complex relationship between transnational religion and politics through the lens of one cosmopolitan community in Siberia: Buryats, who live in a semiautonomous republic within Russia with a large Buddhist population. Looking at religious transformation among Buryats across changing political economies, Anya Bernstein argues that under conditions of rapid social change—such as those that accompanied the Russian Revolution, the Cold War, and the fall of the Soviet Union—Buryats have used Buddhist “body politics” to articulate their relationship not only with the Russian state, but also with the larger Buddhist world. During these periods, Bernstein shows, certain people and their bodies became key sites through which Buryats conformed to and challenged Russian political rule. She presents particular cases of these emblematic bodies—dead bodies of famous monks, temporary bodies of reincarnated lamas, ascetic and celibate bodies of Buddhist monastics, and dismembered bodies of lay disciples given as imaginary gifts to spirits—to investigate the specific ways in which religion and politics have intersected. Contributing to the growing literature on postsocialism and studies of sovereignty that focus on the body, Religious Bodies Politic is a fascinating illustration of how this community employed Buddhism to adapt to key moments of political change.