Yesterday, the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha, May 20th, 2010, the Dalai Lama began a 4 day teaching engagement at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. During a press conference just minutes before the first session, His Holiness said that he is still a Marxist in spirit and that Marxism was "the only economy system expressing concern of equal distribution (of wealth); that is moral ethics," He condemned capitalism as an economic system whose main goal is "how to make profit" but also pointed out that Capitalism "brought a lot of positive to China. Millions of people's living standards improved." With those brief comments from the financial capital of the world, I felt that the Dalai Lama had quietly challenged all of us in the Buddhist community to invent a new form of economics, one that is based on the wisdom of the Lotus Sutra and its teaching of equality and compassion for all living beings!
Buddhism's goal is to relieve human suffering and to enable everyone to attain the same enlightenment as Shakyamuni Buddha. It teaches us that we have the power within ourselves to transform any and all of our sufferings into joy. Happiness takes root and grows from where we are, not in an imaginary far-away land. The Buddha land is right here. The Great Sage Nichiren said that "There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds." (On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime)
Buddhism teaches that even if the most advanced economic system was adopted by a government, if the people of that country are filled with greed, anger and ignorance, lack compassion for each other and turn their backs on the Buddha's teachings, then economic injustice will prevail. On the other hand, poor economic policies and leadership can be overcome when the population overflows with compassion and embraces the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. Imagine a world where people revered the Lotus Sutra, replaced greed, anger and ignorance with compassion and wisdom and employed an economic system based on that compassion and wisdom. Imagine that! 2,700 years ago Shakyamuni showed us that this could be accomplished. He didn't only preach that all living beings are Buddhas, he also lived it. When he founded the community of Buddhist monks and nuns (the Sangha), he welcomed everyone who sought enlightenment, from kings, queens, princes and princesses to outcast street sweepers, mass murderers such as Angulimala and cannibals like Alavaka. He also ordained women and respected them as equals.
His actions showed us that Buddhism is a teaching of action and equality. It has now been over 200 years since Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was published. We have seen the good and bad that comes from Capitalism. It has been over 150 years since Marx and Engels published the Communist Manifesto and we have seen its track record as well. Now is the time for the Lotus Sutra to inspire a new generation of economists, to encourage them to invent an economic system greater than any ever known before. Then we can look back at the day that the Dalai Lama threw down the gauntlet and challenged us to open the door of the Lotus Sutra's wisdom and create the Buddha land right where we stand. If you enjoyed this article, please use the Tweet and Digg buttons and share it with your friends. I am also very interested your opinions so please leave a comment below.
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