An Eightfold Way for Social Change: Part 0

This is the beginning of an eight-part series on engaged Buddhism.

How would the Buddha approach social justice? How would the Buddha approach politics? The Indian sage notably rejected his noble birth to seek enlightenment and even later doubled-down on his rejection when his father, King Suddhodana, asked him to succeed him on the throne. In that case, the Buddha insisted that as a beggar-monastic, his path was decidedly outside the realm of political leadership. Nevertheless, he did act in an advisory position to many rulers at the time, counseling on ways of governing that would lead to happiness and societal prosperity.

So, as we are often prone to asking in modern society, if he would around today, “WWBD?” What would Buddha do? Or rather, what would he have to say about modern society here in the United States, with its particular flavor of inequities caused by capitalism, settler-colonialism, white supremacy and patriarchy?

He might say something like, the details are different from the story in his day, but the roots are the same: greed, avarice and ignorance have always been apart of human existence, and thus have always had resulting consequences in society. And therefore, the solutions will be similar to the solutions he suggested in his day, although updated for the modern era.

I think I have an idea of how he might have looked at things, which I am gleaning from many kinds of social justice efforts today, including and especially those by BIPOC activists. And to take us through this journey, I’m going to look at a Buddhist-based approach to social justice through the lens of the Eightfold Way that the Buddha laid out as the fourth of his Four Noble Truths, the “prescription” for a way out of human suffering.