This book explores the integration of mindfulness with social activism; using Buddhist ethics to confront structural violence; globalization's threat to traditional identity; and the recent transformation of Thailand.
Sulak Sivaraksa has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received the Right Livelihood Award and the Gandhi Millennium Award. He is the founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists and more than a dozen other international organizations. Born in 1933, the year Thailand emerged from absolute monarchy into democracy, his life has been intimately bound up with Southeast Asia''s modern history. He was a Buddhist monk for two years, and then completed his higher education in Great Britain, where he also worked as a writer and commentator for the BBC. He is the intellectual voice of his generation in Asia, best known for his indefatigable efforts to bring people together into community, common work, and a shared vision of a more enlightened world. Sulak is author of Seeds of Peace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society and more than 100 other books and monographs. He lives in Thailand.
Conflict, Culture, Change, Sulak Sivaraksa, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 2005, 145 Pages, $20.95
Sulak Sivaraksa is one of Asia's foremost Buddhist social thinkers and activists, a lawyer, teacher, scholar, publisher, founder of many organizations.
Foreword |
ix |
Peace, Nonviolence, and Social Justice |
1 |
Buddhist Solutions to Global Conflict |
3 |
A Buddhist Perspective on Nonviolence |
13 |
The Real Crisis in the World |
21 |
Culture and Reconciliation |
25 |
The Value of Simplicity and Humility |
35 |
A Simple Monk |
43 |
Simplicity, Compassion, and Education |
49 |
The Virtuous Friends of Christianity and Buddhism |
51 |
A Very Simple Magic |
57 |
Compassion or Competition |
63 |
Blessings and Courage |
67 |
Buddhism and Environmentalism |
71 |
Buddhist Initiatives and Peaceful Coexistence |
79 |
Culture and Change |
85 |
From the Lotus Flower to the Devil's Discus: How Siam Became Thailand |
87 |
The Last Word: Remembering Pridi Banomyong |
103 |
Art and Beauty: An Ethical Perspective |
105 |
Who Are the Contemporary Thai Buddhists? |
115 |
Appreciations |
125 |
Acknowledgments |
139 |
Notes |
141 |
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