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Uniting Wisdom and Compassion
Socially Engaged Buddhism
at the Alice Project School
By
Andrew Pond Davis
Senior Thesis
Religious Studies – Standford University
May 2001
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Table of Contents
------- ---------------------- ------- -------Preface and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 : Socially Engaged Buddhism, an Introduction
Chapter 2 : The Universal Education Alice Project School, Tracing an Idea
Chapter 3 : Madhyamika Philosophy
Chapter 4 : Nagarjuna’s Presence : Madhyamika’s Influence on the Alice Project School.
Chapter 5 : Nagarjuna’s Jewel Garland
Chapter 6 : The “Buddhism” of Socially Engaged Buddhism
Source Cited.
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Chapter 2
The Universal Education Alice Project School: Tracing an Idea
The Alice Project School seeks to unite Buddhist wisdom and
education in an ecumenical style. In this introduction to the school I
will trace this idea from its origin to its development and current
manifestation in Sarnath, India. This description of one socially
engaged Buddhist movement will afford a detailed analysis of what it
can mean for a socially engaged movement to be Buddhist.
The Origin of the Idea
The history of the Alice Project School is inextricably linked to the
life of Valentino Giacomin, co-founder and director of the Alice
methodology. Valentino was born in 1944 and raised in Italy. After
graduating from university with a degree in psychology, Valentino
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worked as a journalist and a teacher in government primary schools
for ten years.
At the age of thirty he experience what he describes as a "mid-life
crisis" in which he began "to think about life and its meaning"
(8/30/00). At this point he became interested in yoga and other
eastern traditions. Coincidentally through his interest in yoga he
began to study Buddhism. Expecting a lecture on yoga, Valentino
attended the teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist Lama Songa
Rinpoche.
During Songa's teaching on the hell realms and a subsequent
conversation with a monk, Valentino was told to ignore the doctrine
itself and to "look at the nature of your mind." At this moment he
recalls seeing "a light" and realizing that the concepts of "heaven and
hell are creations of the mind" (8/30/00). Realizing the importance of
understanding the mind turned Valentino's interest toward the
teachings of the Buddha and soon dedicated himself to a Buddhist
practice. His commitment to Buddhism and desire to spread the
dharma were further solidified when he founded a Buddhist center in
Italy with two friends.
As in the case of many other Western Buddhists, Valentino's
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commitment to Buddhism did not entail a rejection of his Christian
heritage.
For several years he searched for ways to unify Christianity with
the Buddhist teachings that intrigued him so much.
His unwillingness to renounce Christianity nearly drove him to
give up Buddhism. During a conversation with Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
Valentino asked whether he could think that Jesus Christ is a
Buddha. Lama Zopa told him he could but that Christianity had lost a
lot of the teachings on subjects such as emptiness.
This reply satisfied Valentino who told me that if Lama Zopa had
said no, he would never be a Buddhist (8/30/00). Living as a selfproclaimed "Christian-Buddhist," Valentino searched for universal
wisdom between Buddhism and Christianity.
When Valentino returned to teaching in the late 1970's he began
to consider how to "use the wisdom of Buddhism that I had discovered
in practical ways in an Italian school" (8130100). By uniting his love of
Buddhist wisdom, his Christian heritage, and his profession of
education, Valentino gave birth to the idea that would become the
Alice Project School. One of Valentino's teachers, Lama Yeshe, was
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also very interested in the project of joining Buddhist insight and
education in a universal or ecumenical manner-a project Lama Yeshe
called Universal Education.
With his partner Luigina DeBiasi, Valentino developed a
curriculum that would embody both his and Lama Yeshe's vision.
While Lama Yeshe shared the initial vision of Universal Education,
Valentino makes it clear that he and Luigina were the first "to
practically
join
Buddhist
wisdom
with
traditional
curriculum"
(8/30/00).
The Development
With the ambitious goal of uniting Buddhism wisdom with
education in a traditionally Christian Italian school environment firmly
in his mind, Valentino set out to make this idea a reality. The
curriculum was first tested informally in two government schools in
Treviso, Italy, for five years in the early 1980's. When parents
complained about the curriculum, Valentino followed the advice of a
famous Tibetan teacher, Gomo Tulku, and gave up teaching Buddhist
wisdom in the classroom.
This initial defeat did not stifle his project but rather forced him
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to appeal to the Italian Government's law 219, which supports
experimental education projects, for permission to teach in this
innovative way. In 1986 he received permission to experiment with his
curriculum in a classroom.
He and Luigina practiced the Alice methodology in Italian 5chools
for six years. In 1989 Valentino turned much of the teaching over to
Luigina and gave conferences on the Alice Methodology throughout
Italy.
Following the Advice H.H. Dalai Lama, Valentino did not give up
his efforts as an educator. After the program in Italy closed in 1991,
Valentino spent three years further developing the curriculum and
making it applicable to cultures other than his own. In 1993 Valentino
and Luigina sought a' place where they could not only teach according
to the Alice method but also test it in a more scientific manner. Faced
with high costs in Italy, Valentino considered both Brazil and India.
The final site, Sarnath, India, was chosen with the advice of yet
another spiritual teacher. At the end of 1993 Valentino used his
pension to purchase land in Sarnath and began building the Alice
Project School.
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The Current School
The Place The Alice Project School is located in Sarnath, India, a
small town comprising five villages and around 8,000 people located
10 kilometers north of Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The
center of the town is Deer Park, an archeological preserve where the
Buddha gave his first teachings.
Because the Buddha met his first disciples in Deer Park and
taught the four noble truths, it has been one of the four major
Buddhist pilgrimage sites for over 2,000 years.3
The first physical monument in Sarnath was a stupa that the
great Buddhist ruler, Emperor Asoka, erected in 260 BCE (Singh,
236). Sarnath continued to thrive as a Buddhist pilgrimage site and
cultural center known for its artwork in the Gupta period (4 th-6th
centuries BCE) until Buddhism was driven out of Northern India
during the 11th and 12th centuries and most of the physical structures
were destroyed (Singh, 236-237).
Dr. A.K. Jain, a prominent Sarnath resident and owner of two
bookstores and a guesthouse in Sarnath, told me that, while 150
years ago Sarnath was an area dominated by agriculture, the town is
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now economically dependent on the tourist industry.
This transformation began when interest in Sarnath's history was
revived in the early 19th century with the discovery of the archeological
remains of a stupa. Over 100 years of excavation by numerous parties
culminated in the opening of an archeological museum in 1912. With
the establishment of the museum and a growing tourist industry in
India, in the 1950's the government of Uttar Pradesh began to dedicate
a large amount of money to the development of Sarnath as a tourist
attraction (Jain, 8/30/00).
This financial support included millions rupees to beautify Deer
Park, the site or the Buddha's first teaching. This revived interest in
Sarnath, triggered by the government of UP, was shared by many
Buddhist countries that began to set up monasteries and temples in
Sarnath (Singh, 252-253).
Currently there are temples and monasteries erected by people
from Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea.
Since the opening of the Tibetan Institute in 1967, a university
dedicated to the preservation or Tibetan culture, there has been an
even larger Buddhist presence in Sarnath. As Singh's 1990 maps
reveal, the modern landscape of Sarnath is covered with tourist
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attractions and the supporting infrastructure.
Sarnath residents have adapted to this shifting economy by
trading the field for the tourist shop. 100 years ago a single man, the
Zamindar, owned all the land in the area.
The land was tilled by villagers who worked under him. However,
with India's independence, the system was abandoned and the land
was divided among the residents of the villages. For about fifty years
agriculture, now decentralized, remained the primary industry.
The UP's investment in Sarnath's tourism, however, drove land
prices up resulting in many people selling their land and setting up
shops near the tourist sites. Currently agriculture is a very small
element of the economy with small farms that feed the local villages
(Jain, 8/30/00). The main industry is tourism with many shops,
restaurants and guesthouses.
The people of the villages work in these shops, as guides, as sari
makers (Sarnath and Varanasi are famous for their fine silk saris) or
as
masons
and
other
professions
that
sustain
the
tourist
infrastructure. Observing this large cultural and economic shift,
Valentino writes in his book The Philosophy of Alice Project about "a
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loss of identity and values related to religion and tradition, due to
what here is called 'westernization': materialistic model of life" (13).
The Alice Project School has responded to the changes brought
about by the tourist industry in three ways.
First, Valentino's curriculum directly addresses the perceived loss of
religious ideas and values through stories and religious texts rooted in
the students' Hindu traditions, as well as philosophical principles
based on Buddhist Madhyamika4. Second, he addresses the issues of
materialism through moral stories along with the school's ethos,
which promotes a notion of success that is not material but rather
spiritual. Last, the influx of tourists has brought increased religious
diversity in Sarnath.
While there are Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain temple in Sarnath, tourists
bring the beliefs of all the world's religions. Valentino has seized this
diversity as an opportunity to teach comparative religion.
All of the students I interviewed were very much aware of religious
traditions other than their own and were skilled in pointing out the
similarities between differing belief systems. While the tourist industry
is rapidly changing the small town of Sarnath, the Project Alice School
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is making the students marc aware of their own culture's stories and
traditional values as well as those of other cultures.
The school is situated 300 meters off the main road to Sarnath
on the border between the villages of Guroopur and Singhpour. A dirt
path lined with simple one-story brick and earth houses leads to the
school's blue gates. Within the gates, salmon red buildings with bright
blue interiors encircle a center courtyard.
The school's bright colors, in contrast to the earth tones of the
surrounding village, create a special atmosphere. While it initially
appears out of place, experience at the school reveals how appropriate
these vibrant colors are; for the students, Valentino's school is a
bright haven from the poverty and other difficulties of their villages.
There are now three buildings, and with the recent purchase of
an adjacent plot of land there are plans for a fourth. Each or these two
and three story buildings houses nine to thirteen classrooms that are
set up in a traditional manner with students facing the teacher. There
are also spaces for meditation and karate, guest rooms for visiting
teachers, a library, and dormitories.
The roof of the largest building is utilized as the morning yoga
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studio. In a school with growing numbers and such a diverse
curriculum, no space is wasted.
The academic buildings surround a brick courtyard that is the
social center of the school. There, assemblies and singing take place
and students relax and play during their free time. In the middle of
this courtyard and at the center of the school is a twenty-foot high
Buddhist stupa which covers almost one tenth of the ground. In front
of the stupa are seven bowls that are filled every day with water as an
offering to the Buddha.
Despite the stupa's large size and white color it does not
dominate the community space. It is surrounded by low trees that
provide shade and relief from the often blistering heat. Mark Singleton,
a visiting teacher, says of the stupa, "you would have to look to know
that it was there" (8/25/00).
The stupa's large and yet non-dominating presence is an
appropriate symbol of Buddhism's role at the Alice School.
Buddhism is fundamental to the Alice School, but it has a subtle
presence. Buddhist inspired wisdom is offered to rather than forced
upon the children.
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The Students
Every morning at around 5:30, 300 students ages six to fifteen
walk or peddle through the gates of the Alice Project School wearing
dark blue shorts or skirts and sky blue shirts.
Most have traveled several kilometers from their homes in the
villages by foot or bicycle. Though the school started with only 80
students in five classes, it has expanded in its seven-year history to
over 300 students in classes one through eight. Each year a new class
will be added until the school serves students in classes one through
twelve. Approximately 30 new students are admitted each year with
preference given to girls.
All the students live in what many would consider poverty-level
conditions. Sarnath is a very disadvantaged part of the state of Uttar
Pradesh, the second poorest state in India. While in Sarnath I visited
two students' homes.
Both were single-story earthen buildings with dirt floors; they
had one main room and in one case a smaller adjoining room. In one
home the young boys of the family slept on cots outside the house.
Animals wander throughout the streets and human waste is a
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common sight under trees and on the side of the roads. It did not
surprise me that the students spend over 12 hours a day at school.
Despite the shared level of poverty there is uncommon diversity
among the students. With both boys and girls of all castes enrolled,
the Alice Project stands out from other Indian schools. Beyond
diversity there is equality.
Unlike many schools in India, there is no discrimination
according to caste or sex. In my first student interview, a 14-year-old
student who is a Brahmin pointed out that his friends are of all
castes. His assertion "I do not care about caste," is significant in a part
of India where discrimination according to caste is still present
(Shukla, 8/27/00).
In addition to caste equality, there is also gender equality at the
Alice Project School. The 1996 Public Report on Basic Education
(PROBE) in India revealed a vast discrepancy between the education of
males and females. While on average boys receive 2.9 years of
schooling, girls receive only 1.8 (PROBE, 9).
Even more telling is the fact that over 40% more women are
illiterate than men (PROBE, 9). Valentino is very much aware of
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gender discrimination in traditional Indian schools and for this reason
gives priority to girls who apply. In observations, both the boys and
girls were treated equally, both participating in class and working on
the board. These differences do not go unnoticed by the students.
When I asked two girls, ages 14 and 15, about the differences
between the Alice Project School and other schools they had attended,
they both commented that at most schools the boys segregated
themselves from the girls.
One said, "Here we are like brother and sister" (Patel, 9/71.00).
With caste and gender discrimination virtually non-existent, a space of
open interaction is created, a space unique to this part of India.
One of the major problems with the current Indian school
system, according to the PROBE report, is the cost of schooling a
child. Though free education is a constitutional right in India, the
average North Indian parent spends 366 rupees on fees, textbooks,
uniforms and other expenses. For an agricultural family with two
children this amounts to 30 to 40 days' wages (Primary Education,
70).
These costs greatly affect the education of girls who, because
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they arc married away from the family, are not seen as worthy of the
investment in education. Valentino directly counters these two
problems by charging a minimal fee according to what each student
can pay. He also provides a uniform, daily food, and basic healthcare
to keep these hidden costs to a minimum. He is particularly sensitive
to the status of women's education and for this reason does not charge
any fee to poor girls (8/29/00).
Because Valentino collects minimal fees, the school is largely
dependent on outside funding. While Valentino and Luigina's personal
money primarily support the school, there are also several private
donors including one large group from Belgium. Interestingly, this
funding does not come from Buddhist groups but rather from
Christian donors who believe in the universal nature of the Alice
Project teaching.
The Faculty
Watching over and educating these 300 students are around 20
teachers and several foreign volunteers. The teachers, about fifteen
men and five women, range in age from their mid twenties through
their fifties.
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All of the teachers have completed high school and some higher
education. While several of the younger teachers have university
degrees from self-study programs, one female teacher has completed
her Ph.D. in sociology. The entire faculty either lives in the nearby
villages or at the school. Beyond these full time faculty there are many
foreign volunteers teaching at any given time.
When I was researching there were up to five other volunteers
teaching English, comparative religion, a special class on the atomic
bomb, kindergarten, yoga, and games. Most of these foreign teachers
stay for at least one month and some for much longer. The volunteers
quickly become attached to the school and the students, often making
repeated visits. During my month at the school Mark Singleton, a
teacher from England, was visiting the school for a second multimonth stay in which he both teaches and helps with administration.
Beyond their academic training all teachers receive extensive
training in the mission and methodology of the school. In 1994
Valentino selected 50 teachers from the Sarnath and Varanasi area for
six months of training. Every Sunday for eight hours, Valentino and
Luigina taught the prospective teachers about the spiritual and
philosophical goals of the school.
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In these six months the faculty reviewed the basic philosophical
and psychological underpinnings of the school including Madhyamika
philosophy and meditation. While many teachers had heard of
meditation, a practice at the heart of the Alice pedagogy, one young
teacher guessed that 90% of those teachers had never practiced
(Misra, 9/7/00).
A second important aspect of the training is an emphasis on
innovative teaching methods.
The teachers were all educated in settings where copying and
memorization were the method, and fear of physical punishment the
motivation. The teachers I interviewed emphasized the violence in their
childhood classrooms. The PROBE study suggests that this is still the
norm, citing several students who "have been frightened away from
the school by violent teachers" (Primary Education, 72). In their six
months of training the teachers learned to replace memorization with
creativity and the stick with love. One teacher said, "They [Valentino
and Luigina] have ideas about Western schools and they know about
Indian teaching. They explained that we have to teach not with force
but with songs and games-to play with children and love children"
(Misra, 9/7/00).
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This development of classroom creativity was the hardest part of
the training for Valentino and Luigina as the teachers had all been
raised in classrooms where an essay was graded according to the
number of lines it had rather than its creativity and content
(Giacomin, 9/1/00).
After the six months of training, all the teachers wrote several
essays about what they had learned. From these essays and the
training time experiences Valentino and Luigina selected 25 teachers.
Valentino is proud that after six years more than 80% of the original
teachers are still working at the school (9/1/00).
These teachers continue
to receive training in the Alice
Methodology both formally and informally as they sit in on classes
that Valentino or Luigina teach. Other teachers receive special training
for particular subjects. Arun Shukla, a young faculty member who
teaches. yoga, Sanskrit, Hindi, and English, has been sent to several
vipassana meditation retreats and has done a four month yoga class
(9/5/00). Clearly Valentino recognizes the importance of not only
teaching students but teaching teachers.
Valentino spends the majority of the year watching over the
faculty, students, and every other aspect of the school.
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He is a teacher, administrator, healthcare provider, and father to
all his students. Between classes and meetings Valentino spends
countless hours developing the Alice Project curriculum and writing
new books of moral stories. His year round dedication to the school
and love of his students is the glue that binds the Alice Project School
together.
While Valentino is clearly essential to the running of the school,
he is training young faculty members to take over his role and carryon
the Alice Project mission
The Curriculum
The academic program at the Alice Project has both traditional and
non-traditional components. As a state-recognized school it is required
to teach math, science, Hindi, English, social studies, and history. The
primary medium of these classes is Hindi, though some upper level
classes and all English classes are taught in English.
Even these "traditional" subjects are taught in a somewhat nontraditional way. In math classes, I observed a remarkable amount of
student-teacher interaction. In a class for 13 to 15 year olds the
teacher, Vinit Misra, explained the concept of a triangle's three
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internal angles equaling 180 degrees and then had students at the
board working out problems.
He welcomed questions and worked out answers on the board with
student participation. In a math class for the youngest students
another teacher used diagrams of mangoes being put into baskets to
explain the concepts of subtraction and division.
Throughout both classes students expressed great interest in what
they were learning. While the oldest students eagerly asked questions,
the youngest would hold up their workbooks to show off their
successful work. Thus the traditional curriculum is taught, devoid of
the traditional pedagogical practices of memorization and punishment.
What makes the Alice Project curriculum so innovative and sets
it apart from every other school is its incorporation of non-traditional
studies. Each day students are taught yoga, meditation, karate, and
flute.
The day begins at 6:00 with a half hour of "karma yoga." During
this practice that is framed in traditional Hindu religious notions of
selfless action, students clean and prepare the school for the day.
After this the student body is divided into three groups for an hour of
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yoga, meditation and prayer.
After the day's classes all the students practice Vipassana
meditation, a form of Buddhist insight meditation, for a half hour and
then
spend
one
hour
in
karate
and
flute
lessons.
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Finally, there is another half hour of karma yoga in which all the
classrooms are cleaned. In total the students spend three and a
half
hours
engaged
in
these
non-traditional
subjects
of
meditation, yoga and prayer.
Non-traditional subjects are also taught in the classroom.
Valentino, Luigina, and two of the younger teachers regularly give
lessons in psychology, philosophy and religion. During these
classes students are challenged to think about concepts such as
perception,
relativity,
and
self
from
a
Buddhist
inspired
perspective.
Valentino has produced several books of "moral stories" that
encourage discussion of subjects such as anger, friendship, and
relationships and give the students examples of Buddhist
responses to difficult situations (more on this in Chapter 4).
The traditional and non-traditional curricula are not
completely separate. The most obvious manifestation of their
union is the five-minute period of meditation that ends every
class. During this time the teacher guides the students in some
sort of focus or insight practice such as listening to the ring of a
hell or simply observing the breath.
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In the classes that I observed the teachers were very skilled
at using meditation to steer the direction of a given class. During
a math class for seven and eight-year-olds, the teacher calmed
boisterous students by drawing a large dot on the board and
having the students concentrate on that dot for two or three
minutes. I was amazed at how this simple meditation drastically
altered the atmosphere of the classroom.
The non-traditional curriculum is very well received by the
students. Every student I interviewed spoke enthusiastically
about the yoga and meditation practices. Beyond enthusiasm the
students have a good grasp of the significance of these practices.
When asked to define meditation one student wrote, "Meditation
is to look with insight, to know our self, to know who I am. To be
aware, to concentrate, to know mind, body, thoughts, emotions
etc" (Kumar. 8/31/00). The students also realize the benefits of
meditation and yoga. A 14-year-old boy who has been at the
school since it was founded believes that yoga and meditation
allow him to be "peaceful and healthy" and to "concentrate well"
(Naress, 9/4/00).
Like many other students, this same boy felt that he is
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negatively affected when he does not practice: "On days I do not
do yoga I feel very boring and painful in my body. Yoga gives me
more energy" (Naress, 9/4/00). I attended a vipassana meditation
class in which a student lead us through a half hour meditation
with ease.
This experience solidified my belief that the students of the
Alice Project School are not just hearing these non-traditional
teachings, but absorbing them and living by them.
Other Programs
After tire school day another group of around 80 students who
work during the day and are therefore unable to attend the day
school come for three hours of class at night.
The students in this program have extremely busy lives, working
around ten hours a day and then spending three hours at school.
For these students, however, the time commitment is a small
price to pay for the education that they would otherwise be
without.
Valentino has also recently opened a new school outside of Bodh
Gaya, India, the place of the Buddha's enlightenment.
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While intra-Buddhist politics have left the building mostly
unused for the past year, when I was leaving in September,
Valentino was preparing to send his first group of students to
this new campus. He hopes to use the Bodh Gaya campus as a
school for either street children of Varanasi or children who are
currently in the harsh Indian prison system.
Valentino is also developing a program to work with young
Tibetan
Buddhist
monks,
supplementing
their
traditional
monastic education finally, Valentino has submitted a grant
proposal to the Indian government to establish an educational
research institute at the school in order to bring in research
scholars to test and document the Alice Project theories and
methods.
The constant now of traffic in and out of Valentino's office
cum bedroom is the best evidence of the energy and time that he
and others put into keeping the Alice Project School not only
running but also expanding. From a local Tibetan doctor to a
university psychology professor, scores of Indians and foreigners
are dedicated to the success of Alice Project School.
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Daily, both in the classroom and in development meetings,
Valentino and others are uniting Buddhist ideals and education
in ways that they envision as universal-continually transforming
ideas and ideals into practical and effective realities.
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Chapter 3
Madhyamika Philosophy
Though influenced by diverse sources, pedagogy of the Project
Alice School claims to he grounded in Madhyamika Buddhist
philosophy. While it is impossible in the span of this paper to
fully elucidate Madhyamika philosophy, it is imperative to both
locate Madhyamika in its historical context and to give a concise
introduction to it. After briefly considering the development or the
Mahayana and its philosophical sub-school Madhyamika, I will
describe the philosophy in a negative mode, as a reaction against
Abhidharmic thought.
Next I will paint a broad four-stroke picture of the positive
philosophical stances that Madhyamika philosophers such as
Nagarjuna held : 1. All phenomena and matter are dependently
arising and lack any independently existent matter. 2. The source
or our misperception about existents is found in our misuse of
language. 3. There are both the conventional reality of language
and the ultimate reality of voidness.
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4. All teaching happens according to skillful means. While such
an introduction can hardly do justice to the brilliant and
intriguing complexities of Madhyamika philosophy, these four
broad principles give a general introduction to the philosophy
and represent the working understanding of Madhyamika that I
observed while teaching and researching at the Project Alice
School.
The Historical and Cultural Background
The history of Madhyamika begins with the development of the
Mahayana or "great vehicle" tradition between 150 BCE and 100
CEO. In his chapter on the rise of Mahayana, Peter Harvey claims
that there were three main catalysts that contributed to its
development and separation from the "Hinayana": 1) The
emergence of the ideal of the Bodhisattva path; 2) A new
cosmology
that
incorporated
a
transcendent
and
glorified
Buddha; and 3) new understanding of Abhidharma and the
emptiness of phenomena (Harvey 89-90). Hinayana Buddhist
soteriology included three goals of the Buddhist path: the
sravaka arhant, the pratyeka Buddha, and the fully awakened
Buddha.
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While early Buddhists aimed at the level of the sravaka arhant,
the Mahayana accepted only the fully awakened Buddha as the
goal of their practice.
According to Mahayana belief, one should sacrifice enlightenment
in the present as a sravoka and dedicate all one's future lives to
helping others and developing virtue in order that they become
fully awakened Buddhas in the far future (Robinson and
Johnson, 83-84). It is this eternal dedication to the salvation of
all
sentient
beings
and
attainment
of
fully
awakened
Buddhahood, the Bodhisattva Path, that became a highlighted
ideal in the Mahayana period and is the first major division
between the Hinayana and Mahayana.
The second major historical influence on the development of
the Mahayana was the encounter with other cultures' theistic
beliefs. From the cult of Vishnu to Hellenistic and Zoroastrian
savior cults, Buddhists were exposed to many religions that held
up a lively and glorified deity.
While it is unclear how exactly Buddhists picked up these
cultic elements, the emergence of a transcendent Buddha and
many other colorful and cuhic Buddhist deities reflects this cross
32
cultural influence (Robinson and Johnson, 82-83)
The final catalyst of the Mahayana's rise and the focus of
this introduction is the reaction against the Abhidharmic thought
that had become a part of the established corpus of Buddhist
teaching and became further entrenched with the establishment
of written canons.
Many religious virtuosos and philosophers wrote new
pseudepigraphic Sutras to counter the tenets of the Abhidharmic
philosophy and the belief that the Abhidharma was the final
teaching of the Buddha (Robinson and Johnson, 82). It is in this
philosophical critique and debate that the new schools of
Mahayana philosophy, including Madhyamika, developed.
Before
I
turn
to
the
details
of
this
philosophical
development, it is important to note that the split between the
Mahayana and Hinayana occurred over several hundred years
and was not a sudden or violent schism.
Abhidharma and the Philosophical Context
As the Mahayana drew away from the Hinayana, specific
schools such as Madhyamika developed their anti-Abhidharma
33
views.
Abhidharma is defined by Robinson and Johnson as the
“systematic analysis of component factors of experience, based on
teachings in the Sutras, explaining physical and mental events
without reference to an abiding self" (320). Wanting to destroy
self-centered attachment, Abhidharmists faced the difficult task
of describing how matter and phenomena exist in the world
without being independently existent. They did so by positing the
existence of basic building blocks, dharmas, that constitute each
phenomenon.
There is no independently existent matter, a critical
Buddhist belief, because all matter depends on the dynamic and
constantly changing interactions of these dharmas. For a later
comparison with Madhyamika philosophy, it is helpful to
understand Abdhidharma in the language of physics: no matter
exists in itself, but rather matter is an aggregate or product of
particles and forces that are interacting and depending on one
another.
The Mahayana critique of Abhidharmic thought centered on
these elemental dharmas. Mahayana philosophers wanted to
34
deny the existence of even these 'Dharmac' particles that
compose matter.
Because Abhidharmists posited the existence of essential
dharmic building blocks, Mahayana philosophers argued that
there was still a subtle sense of self and independent existence.
According to the Mahayana, whether building blocks or not,
Abhidharmic
dharmas
qualified
as
independently
existing
phenomena and therefore did not conform to the fundamental
Buddhist teaching against independently existing matter.
This analytical breakdown, they also argued, promoted a
subtle form of intellectual grasping because the philosopher
believed that he "had 'grasped' the true nature of reality in a neat
set of concepts" (Harvey, 96).
Therefore Abhidharmic "dharma-analysis, developed as a
means to undercut self-centered attachment, was seen as having
fallen short of its mark" (Harvey, 97).
Before moving to the positive philosophical system that antiAbhidharmist Mahayana philosophers offered we must note that
the Hinayana Abhidharmist positions described above are
35
depicted as Mahayana philosophers envisioned them.
There was much debate between the two schools and by no
means did the Mahayana completely undermine the positions
held by the Hinayana. Rather, it is the case that the Mahayana,
influenced by new cultural forces, offered a new set of
philosophical tenets. To this day both Hinayana Abhidharma and
Mahayana philosophy still thrive in different parts of the
Buddhist world.
The Positive Philosophy: Nagarjuna's Madhyamika
Accompanying and incorporated into the anti-Abhidharmic
writings, new schools of Mahayana philosophy developed a
positive philosophy to replace the Abhidharma. One of the most
prominent of these schools was the Madhyamika school founded
by the Indian monk and mystic, Nagarjuna, circa 150-250 CE
(Harvey, 95). While Nagarjuna did not refer to himself as part of
the Mahayana tradition, his students and followers including
Aryadeva did so (Harvey, 96).
At the heart of Nagarjuna's philosophy is a belief in the
voidness or emptiness of all matter and all phenomena. This
belief that is also at the heart of the Project Alice School's
36
pedagogy, and thus I will attempt to sketch the principal tenets of
the Madhyamika in four broad strokes.
Each of these strokes will later be analyzed as a source of
educational philosophy and innovative pedagogy at the Project
Alice School.
The First Stroke: Dependent Arising and Matter as Voidness
Like the Abhidharmist philosophers before him, Nagarjuna
desired to prove that all matter and phenomena (the two will be
used interchangeably) are void of a substantially existent nature.
Nagarjuna does so through an argument of dependent arising. In
Chapter 15 of the Madhyamika school's foundational text, the
Mula-madhyamika-karika (Verses on the Fundamentals of the
Middle Way) Nagarjuna offers a proof that all matter is void of
independent existence.
Harvey summarizes Nagarjuna's complicated philosophy
into a three-step argument (97). The first step is a proof that
phenomena lack their own nature.
Nagarjuna starts with the claim that all phenomena arise
according to conditions that Abhidharmists, who understood all
37
matter as conditioned by the dharmas, would agree with. It
follows from this premise that what a phenomenon is depends on
what conditions it—what an object appears to be is a product of
the components that constitute it, an aggregate of interacting
elements. From this Nagarjuna concludes that we have no ownnature. This first step of Nagarjuna's reasoning closely follows
that of the Abhidharmists.
Where
Nagarjuna
departs
from
his
Abhidharmic
predecessors is in the assertion that because nothing has its
own-nature, there can be no other-nature. This second step of
his logic is best understood as follows: there cannot be some
phenomenon X that depends on some other phenomenon Y
where Y has its own-nature. This is a logical argument because,
according to the conclusion of the first step, Y cannot have its
own nature.
This
second
step
is
Nagarjuna's
main
attack
on
Abhidharmic philosophy. By denying other-nature he is denying
the substantial existence of the dharmic building blocks at the
heart of the Abhidharmic philosophy.
The third and final step in Nagarjuna's proof is the claim
38
that if matter cannot have its own-nature and there is no othernature,
then
no
matter
can
have
an
independent
and
substantially existent nature (Harvey, 97).
At the root of steps one and two, and thus also at the root of
Nagarjuna's conclusion, is the view that all phenomena depend
011 other phenomena for both their arising and existence. For
this reason Nagarjuna's argument is termed an argument of
dependent arising.
Robert Thurman of Tel's a second way to understand this
first principle of Madhyamika thought.
Explaining Madhyamika philosophy in the introduction to
the Vimalakirti Sutra, Thurman emphasizes the term "relativity"
in his translation of the same word that means dependent
arising, pratityasamutpada.
He claims that the centrality of this term in Madhyamika
philosophy "means that all finite things are interdependent,
relative, and mutually conditioned and implies that there is no
possibility of any independent, self-sufficient, permanent thing or
entity" (Thurman 1976, 1).
39
The existence of the words on these pages depends on the
ink, my thoughts, the reader's eye and mind and hundreds of
other causes that have brought the page to look as it does.
Thunnan
goes
on
to
argue
that
this
relativity
and
interdependence are fundamental to our perception of the world
(1976,1-2). When one views an orange she enters into a relation
with that orange. There is a dependence between the orange and
the eyes that brings the orange into the existence that is
perceived. Such an example makes it clear that dependent
arising is at the root of our human understanding.
This relativity and the claim that there is no enduring entity
quickly elicits objections of nihilism.
The Madhyamika response to this charge is that relativity
and dependence do not rid us of existence but rather explain how
matter and phenomena exist in the relative world of our
perception (a distinction between the relative and ultimate world
will be drawn in the third stroke).
In his famous work "Wisdom," Nagarjuna quotes such an
objector: "If all this were void, then there would be no creation
and no destruction..." and to this he replies, "If all this were not
40
void, then there would be no creation and no destruction..." (in
Thurman 1976,2). In this passage the term "void" means "void of
a substantial independent existence."
Nagarjuna's response is that if things did have an
independent nature then they would be eternal, immutable and
therefore not subject to creation or destruction. However,
because phenomena are subject to dependent arising, they arc
created and are destroyed and hence function as we know them
in the world of our perception.
This response and defense against nihilism is made even
clearer in a second classic objection and response.
Nagarjuna's critics argued that if all phenomena were void
of inherent existence, then the Four Noble Truths, the essence of
the Buddha's teaching, was also void—a clear undermining of the
Buddha's teaching. Nagarjuna's reply in Chapter 24 of the Mulamadhyamaka-karika is that if phenomena were not void then
suffering would be eternal and impossible to alleviate (Harvey,
100). Thus the goal of the Buddhist path, the cessation of
suffering, depends upon the fact that phenomena such as
suffering are void of inherent independent existence.
41
Ultimately, while the teaching of dependent arising and the
voidness of matter appear to be nihilistic, they accurately
describe the world as we perceive it and as it is.
The Second Stroke:
Language as the Source of Our Mistaken Understanding
At the heart of the Buddha's teaching is the assumption
that we are all suffering and the source of our suffering is the
grasping
belief
that
phenomena,
including
the
self,
are
independent and permanent entities. What is the source of this
wrongful grasping?
Even though Nagarjuna proved that our understanding of
the world is deluded, the vast majority of unenlightened beings
continue to believe in such self-sufficient and independent
entities.
Madhyamika philosophers were aware of this confusion and
explained that it is linked to and perpetuated by our misuse of
language.
Language properly functions to describe the world as we
perceive it. When we see an orange sitting on a table we call it "an
42
orange" and tell our friend that it is a good source of vitamin C.
Language lets us describe something that we recognize as an
orange.
Above, however, we proved that according to Madhyamika
philosophy there is not an independently existing orange. There
is, rather, dependently arising and existing matter that we eat.
Nagarjuna docs not deny that we should call that matter an
orange and eat it, but he warns us that our use of language has
the potential to delude us. This delusion occurs when we forget
that a name is only a name and attribute independent reality to
that which we name.
When we use the word "orange" or "self' out of deluded habit
we think not of the interdependent matter but rather posit an'
independently existent phenomena. It is this mistake, the
confusion of name with reality, that is the source of human
delusion.
One important element of this explanation is that our
perception of the world is incomplete. As I stressed above,
language is properly used to name things in the world as we
perceive them. Our perception, however, is limited. When we say
43
"orange" we think not of all the infinite causes that provide its
dependent arising, but only of a few characteristics that are
apparent to us.
When we think of an orange we consider its color, shape,
texture, smell, and maybe a few other components, but never its
composite makeup, the water that fed the tree, the hand that
picked the fruit and endless other factors which contributed to
the dependent existence that we see before us.
Thus language confused as reality not only causes our
delusion and subsequent suffering, but also blinds us to the total
interdependent reality of all existence.
The Third Stroke: Ultimate and Conventional Reality
While Madhyamika philosophy does criticize such misuse of
language, Nagarjuna believes that language has its place. The
proper role for language is in describing the world as we know it,
the world of conventional reality that we, as unenlightened
beings, perceive. This reality or truth can be understood as the
non-nihilistic reality.
Though all matter is void, there are still people, there is still
44
food to eat, and being hit by a train will actually kill us. For this
reason conventional reality allows us to explain the way we act.
Because I have a conventional sense of self and other, I can
interact in the world and do not see everything as void of
existence. In order to navigate the world, I name things and live
according to conventional truth.
The world of conventional truth does not exist in an
absolute sense but exists rather "only in a relative way, as a
passing phenomenon" (Harvey, 98). The ultimate reality is
completely devoid of name and grasping. This is the world in
which all matter is recognized as being void of inherent existence,
where matter truly is voidness.
Very little can be said about the ultimate reality as no
word's can describe it and it resists all attempts at reification, for
once named it is no longer ultimate. Perhaps it is best to say that
ultimate reality is the reality known in the experience of
enlightenment.
The Madhyamika Buddhist teaching of two worlds or two
truths appears dualistic, which is a problem for a philosophy that
tries to destroy all dualism. This is resolved by the doctrine that
45
both the ultimate and conventional reality exist in the same place
at the same time in every moment. When one comes to realize
this, she can experience both the ultimate and conventional
reality simultaneously.
The Bodhisattva who has realized ultimate truth yet
remains in the world of conventional truth in order to liberate
sentient beings reveals that one can act in both the conventional
and ultimate realities simultaneously.
The division of ultimate and conventional realities yields an
important distinction in the Madhyamika and other Mahayana
teachings of wisdom and compassion.
Describing the unenlightened human situation of living
within conventional reality while seeking the ultimate reality,
Robert Thurman writes, "We are left with the seemingly
contradictory tasks of becoming conscious of its ultimacy on the
one hand and, on the other hand, of devoting our energies to the
improvement of the unavoidable relative situation as best we can"
(1976,3). The Buddhist solution to this dual task is wisdom
(prajna) and sell1ess or great compassion (mahakaruna). Through
wisdom we go beyond the experience of naming and beyond
46
conventional experience, thus gaining "direct awareness of the
ultimate reality of all things" (Thurman 1976,3). While we live in
the world of conventional reality we are to live with a selfless
great compassion.
Through this mahakaruna we can allay the physical and
mental suffering that pervade the conventional world. Thurman
writes that prajna and mahakaruna "are the essence of the Great
Vehicle, and of the Middle Way," and we will later see that they
are inseparable, like two sides of the same coin, and also the
essence of the Project Alice School (1976,3).
The Fourth Stroke:Teaching Ultimacy through Skillful Means
The Buddha and subsequent great teachers do not teach a
single doctrine to all students but rather tailor their teaching to
the level of understanding of their students. This ability to reach
and challenge every student, no matter what their mental
disposition is termed upaya or skillful means. While Madhyamika
is a powerful and important philosophy, it is a difficult teaching.
Robert Thurman summarizes the pedagogical paradox that
Madhyamika presents: "It is clear that this subtle, profound, yet
simple teaching can be inaccessible or even frightening to those
47
either intellectually or emotionally unprepared, while the gemlike being properly prepared need only hear it and all mental
blocks are instantly shattered" (1976,4).
Because Madhyamika is not suited to all students, the
Buddha and other great teachers taught according to the level of
their students' understanding. It is here that Madhyamika
recognized the importance of the Hinayana and Yogacara schools.
The more limited goal of arhantship was prescribed for the
student who could not comprehend the Bodhisattva ideal and
sought liberation as escape from the relative world.
The Yogacara teaching, which posits the existence of pure
mind, was taught to students who could not conceive of the
emptiness of absolutely all things. These teachings, however,
were not considered complete and were thought to bring a
student only up to a certain level of understanding.
The belief that Hinayana and Yogacara are true, but noncomprehensive and lesser teachings is common among modern
Madhyamika teachers.The doctrine of skillful means suggests
more than just reaching out to all students. Upaya also suggests
that all teachings are just that, a skillful means to drive the
48
student to a new understanding. The arhant ideal is the means
by which people begin to comprehend the Buddha's teaching.
Ultimately even Madhyamika is considered a means to an end, a
provisional device. Upon realization of inexpressible truths, the
teaching, that which catapults you towards those truths, loses its
meaning and is no longer necessary. Thus, according to the
Buddha' s doctrine of upaya: 1. A true Buddhist teacher tailors
his teaching to the level of understanding of his student, and 2.
A true Buddhist teaching is one that only temporarily aids
you and prepares you to make the leap to the insight of
inexpressible truths (Harvey, 100).
49
Chapter 4
Nagarjuna's Presence:
Madhyamika's Influence on the Alice Project School
Having given a description of the Alice Project School in
Chapter 2 and laid the groundwork of Madhyamika philosophy in
Chapter 3, this chapter will explore the main question of this
paper: how does the Alice Project School
conceptualize the
Buddhist nature of its social engagement?
By studying how Buddhist philosophy and social activism
are united at the Alice Project School, we will see how Valentino
grounds his social activism in the Madhyamika Buddhist thought
that he claims is the primary influence on his educational
project.
This chapter, besides examining how Buddhist philosophy
influences the school, will describe how Buddhist ideals are
translated into social theory and action. We will see that
Madhyamika informs both theory and action through an analysis
of the four most apparent ways that Madhyamika influences the
50
school:
1. The overt Madhyamika curriculum
2. The claim that Madhyamika philosophy is a universal and
ecumenical teaching
3. The interpretation of Madhyamika as supporting a critique of
modern education
4. The Alice Project's unique theory of social change.
In each of these sections I will explore those elements of
Madhyamika that are at work, making reference to the four-part
picture offered in the previous chapter, and explaining how the
philosophy is manifested daily in the classroom.
The Curriculum
In the overt Madhyamika curriculum that Valentino and
Luigina have developed, students are slowly introduced to
Madhyamika teaching in the form of classroom exercises, stories,
and informal interaction with Valentino; they are also given daily
mediation time to internalize this wisdom.
Valentino, Luigina and two other young faculty members,
51
Arun and Awanesh, following the Buddhist practice of upaya or
skillful means, work the students through a slow progression
from one basic concept to the next.
Rather than trace each step in this involved path I will
highlight how dependent arising and the problem of language,
two key Buddhist concepts, are taught to Alice Project students.
Examples
interaction
are
that
taken
I
from
observed
both
classroom
and
and
from
of
one
informal
Valentino's
instruction manuals and they represent the three ways that he
teaches: didactic teaching, stories, and informal interaction.
Throughout the Alice Project methodology there arc lessons
to teach the concept of voidness and dependent arising.
One of the greatest challenges that Valentino faces is
translating the concept of voidness into a lesson that a child can
understand. How does one teach Robert Thurman's definition of
pratityasamutpada, "all finite things are interdependent, relative,
and mutually conditioned and... there is no possibility of any
independent, self sufficient, permanent thing or entity," to a 10
year old child (Thurman 1976, I)?
In his The Philosophy of Alice Project, Valentino uses a
52
drawing of a tree to introduce the concept. Starting with a sketch
of a tree, he asks students if it is a complete drawing of a living
tree and makes them realize that the tree needs the earth.
Then he asks what else the tree needs. Students reply that
the tree needs air, the sun, soil and other elements. Valentino
leads them to the realization that these cannot exist without the
universe and everything it contains.
Thus the student begins to see that something that appears
to be independently existent relies upon the entire universe
(Giacomin 1997,31-34). The tree is clearly relative and all its
components arc mutually conditioned. This simple lesson is
taught to a class by drawing the tree on the board and guiding
students through a series of questions.
I watched Valentino teach several of these lessons and was
impressed with his ability to get all the students involved with the
thought experiment and to reach even those who seemed most
confused.
Valentino also teaches about language and the mistaken
understanding that results from our use of language. According
to Madhyamika philosophy, language describes the world as we
53
perceive it, not as it actually is.
Language is beneficial in that it allows us to communicate
and exist in the conventional world. However, when we believe
that the thing that we call an orange is an independently existent
phenomenon, then we begin to be deluded.
In
order
to
counter
this
delusion
the
Alice
Project
methodology must teach the students that names are just that,
n_D1es and not realities-that when we call that thing on the table
an orange and distinguish it from the apple we arc not drawing
an ontological distinction but rather one of convenience suitable
for the world we inhabit.
Several times I watched Valentino explain this concept to
his students in an informal setting.
One day a boy came into Valentino's kitchen that serves as
a living room and office for the volunteers, looking for a snack. As
the boy ate some curd Valentino asked him what his name was
and then asked the boy to point to where his name was. The boy
looked shy so Valentino pressed on with yes and no questions. "Is
your name in your foot?" "Is your name in your arm'?" "Where is
your name?" The boy pointed to his chest. Valentino put his ear
54
up against the boy's chest and proclaimed "I do not hear your
name!" The boy laughed. "So where is your name?”,6 One of the
older students and a friend of the boy being questioned replied,
"In his mind!" "Oh! So he does not really have a name that we can
point to, it is just something we call him! It just helps us
distinguish one person from another!" (9/l/00).
Throughout the day Valentino capitalizes upon these
"teachable"
moments,
slowly
imbuing
his
students
with
Madhyamika wisdom. Beyond such informal teaching Valentino
also has lessons that help students understand that even the
notion of "self' or "I" is just a name that one gives to phenomena
that truly are interdependent and void of independent existence.
One of the best lessons directed at this point is the story of the
ocean and the wave. This story is presented to the Alice Project
students as follows:
55
56
57
The story focuses on the problems that stem from naming and
language. When the wave questions what she is, she is forced to
"discover a name which would distinguish her from all other
forms around her" (Giacomin 1999, 68).
Naming and the implicit process of distinction force the wave to
conclude, "I exist separately independent from the Ocean"
(Giacomin 1999,69). This conclusion leads not only to conflict
with the ocean and other waves, but also to a fear of death. Thus,
in this story we see that the process of naming implicitly draws
borders, fosters a belief in independent existence, and is the root
of suffering.
The power of this story is that it points to the most problematic
case of naming, the reification of the self. Because, like the wave,
we name ourselves and distinguish ourselves from others, we
suffer and fear death.
Through this simple story the students of the Alice Project are
introduced in a comprehensible fashion to the complex Buddhist
notion of reification and the subsequent problems of such
naming and distinction.
58
Through stories, formal teaching, and informal interactions, the
students of the Alice Project begin to view the world through a
Buddhist-inspired lens.
When asked whether his students understand what they are
taught Valentino told me that it is through informal dialogue that
he ascertains the success of the teaching: "Laughing and
conversation are very important because I can test [their
understanding]. They have no fear because it is friendly"
(Giacomin, 9/3/00).
From my interviews and informal interactions with students I can
attest that the .students have a firm grasp on the language and
concepts of interdependence, language, and thought awareness.
With such a handle on the terms and theories and daily
meditation practice to bolster the philosophy, it is probable that
the Madhyamika philosophy is affecting the students' lives in
some manner.
"Universal Education": Madhyamika’s Ecumenicalism
The second way that Madhyamika influences Valentino's
social activism is reflected in his belief that Buddhist wisdom is
beneficial for all people regardless of religious background—that
59
Buddhist wisdom is "universal."
Even when teaching Madhyamika concepts, Valentino rarely
speaks in Buddhist terms. While stories like the ocean and the
wave appear to make no specific religious reference, other stories
are couched in the mythology and religious discourse of his
students.
In a conversation on August 25, Valentino told me that he
was considering teaching in New Mexico and wanted to know
about Native American mythology. He stresses the importance of
creating a "link to ancestors" and respecting his students'
culture.
This
shift
from
one
religious
discourse
to
another,
substituting one term of art for another, is not haphazard.
Valentino argues that such shifts not only better engage students
but are also warranted by the "universal" quality implicit in
Madhyamika philosophy.
While the term "universal" has recently become suspect in
academia, Valentino uses the term to suggest applicability to all
people. Thus the "universal education school" is a school whose
teaching is applicable to all people.
60
Perhaps the reader will find it helpful to read "universal" as
"ecumenical."
It could be argued that Valentino's claims of universalism
are a means of disguising Buddhist doctrine in the dogma of
another religion.
He counters this argument with the claim that all religious
traditions point to the same conclusions, the same wisdom that
Madhyamika does: "If we go very deep, to the heart of religions,
you can find this [Madhyamika] wisdom there" (9/5/00).
Valentino used the image of a ladder to a summit to explain this:
the realization of all religions, the summit, is the same, but the
path that each religion offers to the believer, the ladder, is
different.
Of course many dispute the validity of this metaphor-they
say the "summit" is not the same in different religions.
While Valentino does make strong ecumenical claims, he
also suggests that not all ladders arc created equal. He describes
the Madhyamika ladder as logical and easy to climb while
claiming that "in other traditions we really have to make an
effort" to arrive a realization of emptiness.
61
When asked about the path offered by Christianity, he
criticized the tradition for having suppressed the mystical
elements that meet the needs of "introverted" believers. He
specifically objected to the decrees of Vatican II, which he said
expunged the esoteric, thereby obfuscating the higher rungs of
the Christian spiritual ladder.
Through his "universal" teaching Valentino hopes to help
Christians discover the wisdom that is latent in their own
tradition: "I am not saying that in the Church there is not
wisdom. My goal is to help Christians to discover the wisdom
they have" (9/5/00).
Valentino claims that universal wisdom manifests itself in
all religions as selflessness and a meditative "silence of the mind"
(Giacomin 1999, 79). He cites passages from the Bible in which
Jesus tells his followers to "renounce the self and follow me," and
Hindu statements about the dissolving of ego grasping along with
the Madhyamika philosophy of destroying the notion of self to
support this claim.
According to Valentino, at the pinnacle of any religious
experience are a destruction of any dualism or division and the
62
resultant "silence" of the non-distinguishing and non-reifying
mind. While Valentino's claim to universality is not grounded in a
rigorous study of comparative religion, it is supported by
Madhyamika, specifically by its philosophy of language.
Inherent in the philosophy of the Madhyamika is the belief
that its wisdom is universal. According to the teachings of
dependent arising and voidness, there are no independently
existing phenomena and hence there is no independently existing
Madhyamika philosophy.
Thus, ultimately any attempt to draw a boundary between
Madhyamika wisdom and other religious wisdom would be selfcontradictory. At this point we can identify one of the most
interesting
aspects
of
Buddhism's
philosophy,
its
self-
deconstruction.
When the Madhyamika philosophy is fully realized, then
even the distinction of 'Buddhism' is lost, the religion destroys
itself. This self-deconstruction of boundaries found in Buddhism,
and particularly in Madhyamika, allows Valentino to ground his
claims of universality in a religious philosophy that at its moment
of realization sees everything in a universal, non-divided manner.
63
The introduction to Abhidharma and the philosophical
context of Madhyamika in the previous chapter make it clear
that,
despite
this
inherent
universalism,
Madhyamika
philosophers were very concerned with differentiating their
philosophy from that of their Abhidharmic counterparts. Their
apparently
self-contradictory
desire
to
hold
Madhyamika
teachings above other philosophies can be explained by the third
point, the distinction between ultimate and conventional reality.
The belief that 'Madhyamika' is a false distinction and that all
wisdom is universal is true in ultimate reality.
However, in the conventional world that we inhabit,
distinctions between Madhyamika and Yogacara or some other
philosophical school help us to discern the most beneficial
spiritual path. Nagarjuna would claim that while eventually
"Madhyamika" disappears, for our life in conventional reality, for
our spiritual path to a realization of ultimate reality, we need the
teachings that it provides.
While the 'names of conventional reality do help one to
navigate the conventional world, they are also the source of our
misunderstanding.
As
suggested
in
the
second
stroke
of
64
Madhyamika philosophy above, too often people forget that a
name is just that, and they attribute independent reality to that
which is named. Valentino perceives this problem of language as
the heart of religious conflict and as the major roadblock to
religious pluralism.
Using the famous Buddhist metaphor of a finger pointing at
the moon, the teaching pointing at the realization, he argues that
religions too often argue over what the finger looks like: "for more
than one thousand years we have been arguing over the shape
and color of the finger." The result of this is not only religious
conflict but more importantly, "We have lost the beauty of the
moon" (9/5/00).
Valentino believes that because people are overly concerned
with the form of teaching, they are unable to attain the
realization of wisdom. The image of the finger and the moon
allows a summary of Valentino's claims to universalism. He
believes that the moon, the wisdom, is the same in all religions
because ultimately all distinctions and divisions disappear. The
finger, the teaching, is beneficial in that it points the student to
the wisdom: "I do not care what kind of finger is pointing, if it is
65
black or white or Hindu or Muslim..." (9/5/00)
Valentino believes that problems arise when people argue
over the finger, lose themselves in technical language trying to
describe the finger, and hence forget to look at the moon.
Ultimately the moon is the same; we follow any finger that points
to it, and even the moon disappears in the moment of realization.
A Critique of Education
Beyond the overt curriculum and claims to universalism,
Valentino interprets Madhyamika as providing the grounds for a
critique of modem education and inspiration for the Alice Project
School.
At the heart of Madhyamika wisdom, stemming from the
doctrine of voidness and dependent arising is a destruction of all
division and separation. Whether they are as apparently trivial as
distinctions between an orange and an apple or as fundamental
as a division between self and other, the act of drawing
boundaries leads to conflict and suffering.
Quoting transpersonal psychologist Ken Wilbur, Valentino
argues that education is a major contributor to this habit of
66
division: "To receive an education is to learn where and how to
draw boundaries and then what to do with the bounded aspects"
(Giacomin 1997, 16).
When
considering
a
typical
school
curriculum
this
statement rings true. One of the first lessons that students learn
in an elementary science class is taxonomy, the process of
categorizing organisms. Even in the humanities a student is
trained to have a strong thesis statement which tells the reader
that Shakespeare's poetry is one thing and not another.
While classes at the Alice Project School are divided into
subjects, a necessary part of an education in the conventional
world, the philosophy and meditation teachings help the students
to problematize such boundaries. Valentino argues that the
greatest separation we create is between the inner and outer
world:
"The first separation starts within ourselves, in our
intelligence" (Giacomin 1997, 16). In conventional education the
student is taught to value the world outside her. If she can
distinguish between poetry and prose, if she can do long division,
if she can write a strong paper, she is seen as a successful
67
student. She is never asked to look inside her mind, to see how
her mind works, to calm her mind or watch her thoughts.
Because of this emphasis on the external and disregard of the
internal, the student is left divided, her external knowledge
valued and internal realization ignored.
Following the educational critiques of the Indian spiritual
leader, J. Krisnamurti, Valentino posits that a student's divided
mind results in, "competition, ambition, conflicts, violence, fear,
and comparison" (Giacomin 1997, 17).
Seeking an education free of these corrupting forces,
Valentino argues for a new definition of intelligence in which the
whole mind, in both external and internal aspects, is valued.
Valentino's assessment of modern education includes a critique
of teaching methods. Though this springs largely from his
experience with modern European styles of education, his
critiques of educational philosophy and pedagogy are not
unrelated.
As described in Chapter Two, many Indian teachers rely
heavily on memorization and copying, which are seen as the best
way for a student to learn the facts necessary for an "education."
68
At Valentino's school, however, the whole student is educated.
Traditional subjects meet the needs for external education while
the daily meditation and classes on Buddhist philosophy meet
the need for inner development. The two aspects of education are
united through the use of meditation in a math or Hindi
classroom.
Valentino's criticism also reaches to the aims of education.
When asked about the education of monks in Tibetan Buddhist
monasteries, the home of Madhyamika philosophy for the last
1000 years, he quickly criticized their methods.
Drawing parallels between the educational methods of a
typical Indian school and a monastery, he targeted the Tibetan
heavy reliance on memorization, saying that young monks should
"use all the faculties of the mind.
Memorization is only one!" (9/12/00). Valentino also
criticized (some people from) Tibetan government for being overly
concerned with exam scores and the jobs that students take after
schooling.
When a Tibetan education inspector assessed the Alice
Project School by a simple twenty-question test and showed
69
overwhelming concern with the jobs that students received after
graduation, Valentino concluded that "they are completely bound
to this material way of thinking and are focused on results"
(9/12/00).
This points to a greater problem that Valentino has with
current education reforms.
He argues that if we judge a school by its test scores and
the jobs its students get, then we are judging only the external
part of a student, not the whole student.
According to Valentino, these tests and standards reflect an
inherent bias that favors external education over a unified
education in which external and internal knowledge are equally
important.
This
critical
assessment
of
educational
testing
and
standards points to a different notion of success held by
Valentino and the Alice Project School.
In many conversations Valentino stressed that his definition
of success does not revolve around the test scores or the jobs
that his students take after graduation: "My target is to create
70
free persons, not professionals."
His desire to create a "high official of the mind" rather than
a political "high official," reflect this dedication to spiritual
achievement rather than traditional manifestations of "success"
(8/29/00).
After espousing the importance of mental training he
assured me that "the students will get the high post [in society],
but they will not strive for it," suggesting that he believes that
such inner "success" will produce worldly success as well
(9/13/00).
Valentino is confident, however, that the successful Alice
School student who achieves wealth and political power will not
forget his upbringing and will repay and change society
(8/25/00). This connection between inner wisdom and social
change is the subject of the next section.
Before moving on it must be noted that Valentino's critique
of modern education, which he grounds in Buddhist philosophy,
is also a source of inspiration for his school. Valentino does not
just criticize education from a Buddhist perspective but also
implements these Buddhist changes in his own school.
71
Where a traditional school separates the inner and outer
worlds and values material success over personal realization,
Valentino, through the use of meditation and the non-traditional
curriculum, strives to foster a unified student and a notion of
success that places little value on material wealth and test
scores. Thus we see that Buddhist philosophy and the critique of
modern education that are thought to spring from Madhyamika
are the main inspirations for Valentino's social engagement.
A Theory of Social Change
Finally, the Alice Project School's social engagement is
grounded in a particular theory of social change that develops
from Madhyamika's view of enlightenment and the unity of
wisdom and compassion.
Central to Valentino's plan for social action is the belief that
giving
students
"wisdom"—a
Madhyamika-inspired
understanding of existence—is of the greatest importance. This
emphasis on wisdom is reflected in various statements of
educational goals: "to drive students beyond the dualistic mind"
(9/12/00) or to create "non-self-centered people with an open
72
mind both to themselves and others" (9/13/00).
Valentino's emphasis m(inner more than outer success is
further evidence that developing students' "wisdom" is the
primary goal of his teaching.
With "wisdom" or a change of mind, Valentino argues that
one can change the world. In a conversation about Dalit
Buddhists
and
Dr.
Ambedkar,
Valentino
disapproved
of
Ambedkar's stress on legal and political activism claiming that
the "only tool that can change their oppressed peoples' situation
is wisdom. If you look inside, you have the power to change
yourself" (9/12/00).
In that same conversation he stressed that when one gains
wisdom the things that previously were oppressive or negative are
no longer a problem.
It took me a long time to come to grips with what Valentino
meant by changing the world by developing wisdom or changing
one's mind.
Studying Thomas Kasulis' article "Nirvana" and several
Mahayana descriptions of the world from an enlightened
73
perspective helped me to understand Valentino's point. Within
the Mahayana, when one achieves enlightenment, they do not
escape from the world as we know it but view it in a new way
(Kasulis, 397).
For the student who has fully realized the Madhyamika
"wisdom," the categories and distinctions that characterize our
understanding of the world disappear and one is able to exist in
the world free from the suffering that is a product of our
grasping. For this reason, that which was oppressive or negative
is no longer given any label and is seen in a new non-judgmental
perspective. This understanding is ret1ected in Buddhist texts in
which the world that we live in is described as a jewel laden
shining palace.
While wisdom allows a person to experience the world in
this non-judgmental way, to experience ultimate reality, it also
gives the enlightened person the tools to affect the conventional
reality through the greatest compassion for all sentient beings. In
our very first conversation about the philosophy of the Alice
Project School, Valentino stressed that wisdom and compassion
are inextricably linked.
74
Madhyamika wisdom destroys all distinctions including that
between self and other (8/25/00). With no delineation between
self and other, an enlightened person treats others as she would
treat herself-she treats others with mahakaruna, selfless or great
compassion.
Thus, wisdom allows us to achieve the realization of the
ultimate reality while reducing the mental and physical suffering
that pervade the conventional world. These two elements, wisdom
and compassion, should not be understood as cause and effect,
but rather as two sides of the same coin, for it is impossible to
develop wisdom without great compassion and vice versa.
This development of compassion that is inextricably linked
to the development of wisdom is what makes Valentino so sure
that, while social change is not the goal of the Alice Project
education, it is the result.
As suggested above students who develop the Madhyamika
wisdom will also necessarily develop a compassion that Valentino
argues will make them socially responsible citizens (8/25/00).
Though Valentino rarely talked about the social effects of his
teaching, preferring to talk about the motivation and "wisdom"
75
behind the teaching, on a few occasions he stated that the "result
would be kindness and less competition" that would manifest in
such ways as "respect for the environment" (9/13/00).
Valentino explained this relationship between compassion
and social change using a metaphor of making roads safer to
drive on. The best way to change the situation is to teach people
how to drive well, rather than drive for them. While the goal is to
teach people how to drive, the result will be safer travel. Likewise,
instead of changing social conditions for people, Valentino strives
to give people the tools of wisdom and compassion that will
necessarily result in better material and social conditions
(9/12/00).
Thus far my description of Valentino's social change theory
sounds linear: develop wisdom and social change will follow.
Political activists would argue vehemently against such a view
claiming that any change in our world requires political and
economic skillful means. Valentino, however, understands this:
"If you know cases of injustice, as a human, you react. If a house
is on fire put it out with water, not philosophy!" (9/13/00).
Because the Alice Project School is located in a part of the world
76
where conventional reality is filled with poverty, Valentino is
developing social service projects alongside the teaching of
wisdom.
Though his philosophy of social action emphasizes wisdom,
hl: recognizes that "if you open your eyes you will see children
starving and dying and you cannot turn your eyes away"
(9/13/00). For the students he provides food, clothing, health
care, and shelter if needed. He is also interested in opening a
health
clinic
and
other
means
of
reaching
the
Sarnath
community.
Even in these cases of material aid, Valentino stresses that
proper social action should include wisdom: "only charity is
nonsense!" (9/13/00). Clearly Valentino's vision of a proper
socially engaged movement is one that is motivated by wisdom,
that teaches wisdom, and whose primary aim is wisdom.
Valentino goes so far as to say that a social movement that does
not have wisdom as its goal is harmful. Dr. Ambdekar's Dalit
Buddhism is a good example of one such movement.
The Dalit movement, motivated by a desire for class power
and recognition, uses Buddhist ideas to attain such political
77
ends. Valentino vehemently argues that Ambedkarites, "do not
understand the fundamental teaching of the Buddha, that we are
the cause of samsara. It is not the BJP the Brahmin or some
other political power" (9/12/00).
He fears that because the Dalits have political power rather
than wisdom as
their goal they will create a Buddhist
fundamentalism where Buddhism provides the grounds for
"fighting, the opposite of compassion" (9/12/00). While it is
impossible to assess the legitimacy of the Dalit movement in this
paper, Valentino's strong reaction against what he sees as Dalit
tactics further reveals his emphasis on Madhyamika wisdom at
the heart of any social engagement.
Thus Madhyamika philosophy appears throughout the Alice
Project
School
pedagogy
and
philosophy.
While
at
times
Madhyamika is clearly the explicit inspiration, most often the
philosophy is intertwined with other ideals of education that are
not exclusively Buddhist.
One of the most prominent non-Buddhist influences is J.
Krishnamurti, an Indian spiritual guru of the 20th century.
Though Krishnamurti was not Buddhist, Valentino claims,
78
"Through him I understand many Buddhist teachings" (9/13/00).
In our discussions Valentino regularly explained Buddhist
concepts through Krishnamurti's work. For example, in my very
first interview with Valentino, he referred to Krishnamurti in his
explanation of how compassion follows from wisdom (8/25/00).
He also quotes Krishnamurti directly when providing his
Buddhist critique of modern education. Tints we see that even
when Valentino attempts to ground his social activism in sources
other than' Buddhism, he cannot help but to return to the
Buddhist qualities of their teachings. Clearly, whether explicitly
stated or not, Buddhism is at the heart of Valentino's social
activism, providing both the motivation for education and the
subject of that education.
79
Chapter 5
Nagarjuna's Jewel Garland
While
Valentino
has
successfully
translated
Buddhist
philosophy into social action, many of his claims about Buddhist
social activism may appear questionable on historical and.
scholarly grounds.
Valentino has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for over 25
years, but he lacks scholarly training and thorough textual
knowledge to support his radical ideas about education and
social change. In this chapter I will provide scholarly support
through an analysis of Nagarjuna's Jewel Garland of Royal
Counsels and Robert Thurman's article "Guidelines for Buddhist
Social Activism Based on Nagarjuna's Jewel Garland of Royal
Counsels."
Thurman offers an excellent distillation of Nagarjuna's lengthy
Jewel Garland and a vision of how Nagarjuna's plans for society
could be realized in our modern world.
80
While Thurman's interpretation does go beyond what is literally
written in the text, the fact that he is both a well recognized
Tibetan
Buddhist
scholar
and
student
of
Madhyamika
philosophy, studying with such figures as H.H. Dalai Lama, lends
substantial credibility to his extrapolation from Nagarjuna's
words to modern plans for social change.
The striking similarities between Thurman's and Valentino's
independent constructions of a social activism theory from
Madhyamika philosophy lend academic support not only to
Valentino's focus on education as the medium for social change,
but also to two of his most contentious positions:
1.
Social
change
is
achieved
through
personal,
transcendent change and
2.
Buddhist wisdom is universal in nature.
Finally, underlying Nagarjuna's text is the assumption that
wisdom and compassion arc incxtricably linked and that all
positive social action is inspired and guided by wisdom.
Thurman's article, the subject of this chapter, is based on
Nagarjuna's Ratnavali or Jewel Garland. Scholars suggest that
81
the text, a book of advice on living and ruling, was written for a
King with whom Nagarjuna had a close relationship, in the late
first to mid-second centuries C.E. (Hopkins, 22).
According to Jeffrey Hopkins the text is an integral part of
Nagarjuna's work, included in either his "Collections of Advice" or
"Six Collections of Reasoning" (22). Though it is not nearly as well
recognized as his Wisdom Verses, the Ratnavali and Santideva's
Guide to the Bodhisattva's way of Life are considered the
foundational texts describing the Bodhisattva way of life.
While some scholars have questioned the authenticity of the
text, I will assume that the Ratnavali is an authentic work of
Nagarjuna, as Gregory Schopen does in hi_ "The Mahayana
Through a Chinese Looking Glass," published in 2000. Thurman
summarizes
Nagarjuna's
Jewel Garland
in
terms
of
four
principles which Thuman relates to Buddhist social activism.
The first, "individualist transcendentalism," emphasizes the
importance of each person's cultivating wisdom, dissolving the
processes
of
grasping
and
reification,
and
ultimately
transcending notions of "I" and "mine" (1983, 31-35).
The
second
principle
is
"self-restraint,
unpacked
as
82
detachment and pacifism," in which the enlightened person no
longer seeks to fulfill his passions (1983,35-37).
Though Nagarjuna does address this principle, it is the least
applicable to the Alice Project School and therefore I will not give
it a thorough treatment in this chapter.
"Transformative
universalism,"
a
dedication
to
"enlightenment-oriented" education for all people, is thc third
principle of a Buddhist social activism (1983, 38). The final
principle
is
a
"compassionate
socialism"-which
Thurman
suggests is perhaps the earliest description of the welfare state
(1983, 37-38).
"Individualist
transcendentalism,"
the
individual's
realization of non-grasping and selflessness, is obviously central
to the Jewel Garland. Thurman notes that two thirds of the text,
"contain
personal
instructions
on
the
core
insight
of
individualism, namely subjective and objective sell1essness"
(1983, 32).
Furthermore, the format of the text as a whole and the
prominent position given to individual transcendence highlights
the importance of personal realization. The work opens not with
83
instructions as to how the king should act, as we might expect in
a text formatted as counsels for a king, but rather with a
description of the path to transcendence (verses 25-147).- A
major part of this path to transcendence is the destruction of
egoistic grasping and the concept of 'I' introduced to the king in
verses 28-30:
"I am," and "It is mine,"
These are false as absolutes.
For neither stands existent
Under exact knowledge of reality.
The "I"-habit creates the heaps,
Which "I"-habit is false in fact.
I low can what grows from a false seed
Itself be truly existent?
Having seen the heaps as unreal,
The "I"-habit is abandoned.
"I"-habit
abandoned,
the
heaps
do
not
arise
again
(Thurman, 983,33). Thurman argues that Nagarjuna places such
great emphasis on personal realization because he wants to
cultivate a king who acts not according to rules, but rather is
capable
of
enlightened
decision-making:
"A
liberated
and
84
compassionate king will himself choose the right path of action
and be more effective. than' a merely obedient, unliberated king
who must depend slavishly on Nagarjuna's or someone else's
ideas" (1983,35).
As we will see -in Nagarjuna's focus on education, this
emphasis on personal liberation is indeed egalitarian and not
restricted to the leaders of a society as it is with Plato's
philosopher-king.
Thurman concludes on this point: "In sum, the fact that the
majority
of
the
Garland
is
devoted
to
the
transcendent
selflessness, the door of the liberation and enlightenment of the
individual, is clear evidence that the heart of Buddhist social
activism is individualistic transcendentalism" (1983, 35).
Implicit
within
the
importance
given
to
individual
transcendence is a theory of both suffering and social change. At
the heart of Madhyamika philosophy is the belief that suffering is
a mental creation.
Santideva, an important Madhyamika philosopher, wrote in
his Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, "The suffering that I
experience does not cause any harm to others. But that suffering
85
(is mine) because of my conceiving of (myself as) “I” (in Thurman
1983, 24). Santideva tells us that suffering is not correlated with
any objective fact, but is rather a product of our deluded
reification and ego grasping. Thus, if a person is able to
transcend this notion of the ego and the process of reification,
she will no longer suffer-no matter what the circumstances. With
such a conception of suffering, the cessation of suffering can only
be achieved through a transformation of people's minds.
For this reason, Thurman argues, "The root of good, of
positive social action, is the individual's realization of this
subjective selflessness" (1983, 34). Because the individual is the
focus of social change, "the necessities and will of the collective,
the 'business of society' is just not that important" (Thurman
1983, 32).
Valentino's understanding of suffering and social change is
similar to that of Nagarjuna as painted by Thurman. The goal of
Valentino's social engagement, to "drive students beyond the
dualistic mind" (9/2/00), or to create "non-self-centered people
with an open mind both to themselves and others" (9/13/00), is
obviously
congruent
with
Thurman's
understanding
of
86
Nagarjuna's aim to achieve an "individual's realization of this
subjective selflessness" (1983,22).
Using
the
word
"wisdom"
where
Thurman
uses
"transcendence," Valentino aligns himself with Thurman and
Nagarjuna: "the only tool that can change their [an oppressed
person's] situation is wisdom. If you look inside you have the
power to change yourself." Thus, Nagarjuna's Precious Garland
supports Valentino's unconventional notion that social change is
only achieved through individual change.
While Valentino's
social change theory might appear
ignorant of political and economic forces, Thurman explicitly
acknowledges this unconventional approach: "Such advice flies in
the face of all worldly political wisdom, ancient or modern, but it
is at the heart of Buddhist politics and ethics" (1983, 31).8
While personal transcendence is of the utmost importance
in Nagarjuna's social activism, he, like Valentino, does not forget
about the needs of people in conventional reality. In verses 201265 of the Precious Garland, Nagarjuna outlines an aggressive
plan to meet the needs of everyone in society.
"Always
care
compassionately/
For
the
sick,
the
87
unprotected, those stricken! With suffering, the lowly, and the
poor/ And take special care to nourish them" (Nagarjuna, 126)—
such verses make it clear that Nagarjuna is concerned with even
the most powerless members of society. In order to facilitate such
care Thurman notes that Nagmjuna prescribes "a sociallysupported universal health care delivery system" in verse 240:
"To dispel the sufferings of children, the elderly, and the sick,
please fix farm revenues for doctors and barbers throughout the
land" (Thurman 1983, 37-38).
Nagarjuna also advises economic policies that protect the
small farmer and specific plans for the care of guests traveling
through
the
kingdom
(Thurman
1983,
38).
Even
more
remarkable is the ecological implication in verse 250, which
includes "dogs, ants, birds, and so forth" within the community
that receives care (Nagarjuna, 250).
Summarizing Nagarjuna's plans for social uplift, Thurman
describes compassionate socialism as "generous compassion
dedicated to providing everyone with everything they need to
satisfy their basic needs so that they may have leisure to consider
their own higher needs and aims" (italics mine, 1983,38-39).
88
This statement underlines the purpose of Nagarjuna's call
for social equality—to allow individual self-cultivation and
transcendence.
Thus,
social
change,
as
we
traditionally
understand it (health care, economic equality, etc.), appears to be
merely a tool that allows the fundamental personal change to
occur.
Though such comprehensive social plans are only a means
to foster enlightenment, the attention Nagarjuna gives to them
suggests that they should not be undervalued.
The Alice Project School is a great example of such a
philosophy in practice. Beyond giving the students teachings that
foster self-cultivation, Valentino meets his students' basic needs
in order that they can be dedicated to their studies.
Every day I and other teachers provided food and health
care while students with need received clothing and shelter.
Meeting material needs in order to support each student's study
and self-realization clearly applies the principle of compassionate
socialism that Thurman attributes to Nagarjuna.
One might wonder how Valentino can be so supportive of
the material uplift of poor people and still object to the work of
89
Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Buddhists who have reinterpreted
basic Buddhist principles to support their campaign for sociopolitical structural changes.
The source of Valentino's opposition to Ambedkarites rests
not in their provision of basic material needs; he recognizes that
untouchables are treated very poorly in Indian society and
material change needs to occur.
Valentino opposes what he understands the primary goal of
Dalit Buddhism to be, namely political change. For Valentino,
and arguably Nagmjuna, the aim of any social or political change
should be the advancement of every individual's path towards
enlightenment, not the new political system.
If a Dalit Buddhist proposed political changes in order that
each person would have a better opportunity to achieve
enlightenment, Valentino would fully support such a campaign.9
Clearly, within both Nagarjuna's and Valentino's theories of
social change, the only material aid that makes a difference is
that which facilitates personal, transcendent change: "The
foremost type of giving is, interestingly, not just giving of material
needs, although that is a natural part of generosity. That of
90
greatest value to beings is freedom and transcendence and
enlightenment" (Thurman 1983,41) and Valentino's "Students
need wisdom. Only charity is nonsense!" (9/13/00).
In the final section of his essay Thurman translates
Nagarjuna's Counsels into a plan for social activism in the
modern day. Throughout this section there are striking parallels
between
Thurman-cum-Nagarjuna's
social
plans
and
the
philosophy behind Valentino's Alice Project School. This last
section of Thurman's article not only provides support for the
notion of a Buddhist education as a whole but also for the notion
that there can be a "universal" Buddhist teaching couched in
ecumenical terms.
Within a social activism theory that stresses transcendent
change over material giving there is no better institution for
activism than education. The students receive the skills they
need to provide for their material needs while, more importantly,
developing the spiritual skills to attain freedom, transcendence,
and enlightenment.
Nagarjuna recognized the importance of education and
wrote
explicitly
about
it
in
the
Jewel
Garland:
"Create
91
foundations of doctrine, abodes/Of the Three Jewels-fraught with
glory and fame/That lowly kings have not even/ Conceived in
their minds" (Nagarjuna, 135) and "Hence while in good health
create foundations of doctrine/Immediately with all your wealth,
for you are living amidst the causes of death! Like a lamp
standing in a breeze" (Nagarjuna, 136).
Nagarjuna's sense of urgency in the latter quotation reveals
the importance of establishing a Buddhist inspired educational
program. Like Valentino, who says, "My target is to create free
persons, not professionals" (8/29/00), Thurman is interested in a
system of education that leads students to enlightenment:
"Therefore, the educational system of a society is not there to
'service' the society, to produce its drone-'professionals,' its
worker, its servants.
The educational system is the individual's doorway to
liberation, to enlightenment" (Thurman 1983,41). Once again we
note the remarkable parallels between Valentino's educational
aims and those of Nagarjuna as interpreted by Robert Thurman
(1983, 41).
Finally, Thurman describes the education that Nagarjuna
92
would offer as, "universal, total, unlimited education of all
individuals" (1983,42).
I hope that the previous three chapters have made clear
that the Alice Project School is exactly that-a pedagogy that aims
to teach in a "universal, total, unlimited" way to all students.
The
close
connection
between
Thurman's
vision
of
Nagmjuna's education and the Alice Project School lends
credibility to Valentino's philosophy or education.
Beyond the support or his educational project as a whole,
Thurman's final section also gives further weight to one of
Valentino's most controversial claims, the universal nature of the
Buddhist philosophy he teaches.
Thurman arrives at his claim of universal education in a
brilliant analysis of the word "Dharma" in verse 310. Leaving
Dharma untranslated the verse reads, "Create centers of
Dharma." Thurman argues that if Dharma is translated as
Religion or Doctrine (following Hopkins) then the advice "would
have a religious missionary flavor" or "dogmatic scholastic flavor"
(1983,42). He then discusses eleven possible meanings of
Dharma including "thing," "Truth," "practice," or even "nirvana"
93
concluding that the best possible translation is "Teachings"
because the Dharma "teach[es] the Truth, path, and practice
leading to Nirvana" (1983, 42-43).
Because Nagarjuna is calling for any education that leads
its students to Nirvana, Thurman argues, "lie is not even talking
about creating 'Buddhist centers,' 'Buddhism' understood in its
usual sense as one of a number of world religions" (1983, 43).
Thurman further resonates with Valentino saying, "It does not
matter what symbols or ideologies provide the umbrella, as long
as the function is liberation and enlightenment" (1983, 43).
Thurman
provides
further
evidence
from
Nagarjuna's
philosophy for his belief in the universal nature of a Buddhist
education. Citing the Madhyamika opposition to division and
reification Thurman argues, "Clearly Nagarjuna, who proclaims
repeatedly
that
'belief-systems"
'dogmatic
views,'
'closed
conviction,' 'fanatic ideologies,' etc. are sicknesses to be cured by
the medicine of emptiness, is not a missionary for any particular
'belief-system,' even if it is labeled Buddhism" (1983,43).
The fact that Nagarjuna did not call himself a Mahayana
Buddhist, avoiding any sort of categorization, is further evidence
94
of how seriously he took his stance against "belief systems"
(Harvey, 96). With such a strong position against dogma,
Nagarjuna's philosophy embodies the essence of universalism—
any path that is able to lead its followers to transcendence and
nirvana is a valid path. Not only does Thurman's work on
Nagarjuna's educational plans lend support to Valentino' s claims
of
universalism,
but
his
comparison
of
Christianity
and
Buddhism also supports Valentino's "nonacademic" comparisons
of religious teachings: "Jesus Christ's' Love God with all thy
heart, and thy neighbor as thyself,' and Augustine's “Love God
and do what you will”— these two great ‘pivotal phrases’ are very
much in the same vein, using of course the theistic term for
emptiness" (Thurman 1983,50).
Having surveyed Thurman's account of the four elements of
Nagarjuna's
philosophy
of
social
activism-individualist
transcendentalism, compassionate socialism,
universalism
it
is
important
to
note
education, and
one
of
the
key
philosophical concepts behind his program f()r social change, the
perfect union of wisdom and compassion.
Thurman opens his article on Nagarjuna's social activism
95
with a thorough presentation of Buddhist relative and absolute
realities. In this section he explains how a person who has fully
realized selflessness and has ceased all grasping, a person with
“wisdom”, will necessarily be compassionate: “the ground, or even
womb, of compassion is emptiness, defined as the absolute
selflessness of personal subjects and impersonal object” (1983,
21). Having transcended any sense of self as distinct from other,
the enlightened person is able to emphasize with the suffering of
other sentient being, feeling then suffering as if ……were his own.
Thurman and others stress the connection between wisdom and
compassion is not arbitrary but rather ontological—wisdom and
compassion necessarily become—or are—each other. Knowing
the suffering of others, the liberated person is able to use upaya
(skillful means) to alleviate their suffering by helping them to
transcend.
It is also important to note that the compassion of a Buddha
is unlike that of any unrealized person because it springs from
the infinitely deep wealth of compassion, fully realized wisdom.
Understood as such, wisdom or emptiness becomes both the
motivation and the aim, the impetus and the goal of Buddhist
social activism, a theme that will be explored in the next chapter.
96
Chapter 6
Buddhism Of Socially Engaged Buddhism
The previous tow chapters have shown how hath Valentino
and Robert Thurman emphasize personal transcendence over
“outer” or material change in their visions of socially engaged
Buddhism. This concluding chapter will offer a critique of the
apparent dualism ill this approach to social engagement; this
critique is based on the Mahayana Heart Sutra's famous maxim
"form is emptiness, emptiness is form." I will show, however, that
Thurman's writings and Valentino's practice of social action
are not in fact vulnerable to this critique, as they are proposing a
non-dualistic union of form and emptiness, social change and
personal realization. Finally, I will return to the original question
of
this
paper-
what
is
Buddhist
about
socially
engaged
Buddhism? I will suggest that it is this union of social change
and personal realization aimed at the cessation of suffering that
ground both Valentino's and Thurman's social engagement in
Buddhism. While this essay has discussed how two socially
engaged Buddhists—Valentino Giacomin and Robert Thurman—
have defined the Buddhist nature of their social engagement ill
97
these terms, I will propose that the union of wisdom and
compassion is a starting point for further study and progress
towards a broader definition of socially engaged Buddhism. Even
if this formula does not prove to be a useful general definition of
socially engaged Buddhism, Valentino's Alice Project School is a
potent example of what makes a social engagement Buddhist,
and how Buddhism is translated into social activism. Ultimately,
it is this latter issue, the how, that every engaged Buddhist must
encounter on a daily basis as they strive to make their social
activism Buddhist and their Buddhism socially active.
Questioning the Social Activism of Valentino and Thurman
In
his
interpretation
of
Nagarjuna's
Jewel
Garland,
Thurman writes, "The root of good, of positive social action, is the
individual's realization of this subjective selflessness," a clear
statement about the importance of personal transcendence in the
cessation of suffering (1983, 34). Thurman not only emphasizes
personal transcendence, but puts it above the needs of society:
because the individual is the focus of social change, "the
necessities and will of the collective, the 'business of society' is
not that important" (1983, 22).
98
As shown in the previous chapter, Valentino similarly argues for
personal change over social change: "the only tool that can
change their I an oppressed person's] situation is wisdom. If you
look inside you have the power to change yourself” (9/12/00).
Many people, however, object to such an emphasis on personal
over social change. In his recent essay "Can Buddhism Save the
World?
A
response
"Traditionally
to
Buddhism
Nelson
has
foster,"
David
emphasized
Loy
our
writes:
personal
responsibility for our own dukkha [suffering] and awakening,
Today it has been important for Buddhists to realize how
conditioning by social structures also fosters widespread dakkha”
(Loy, 3). Lay's emphasis on dukkha due to social structures gets
to the heart of the objection to Valentino and Thurman's
traditional Buddhist stance on suffering.
Most social activists today would probably concur with Lay's
assertion that social constructions such as class, race, gender,
and caste cause suffering and, to mitigate this suffering, we must
change the structures.
One possible response from Valentino's and Thurman's camp is
that Lay and other social activists are reading their own cultural
99
understandings of liberation into Buddhism.
Though
neither
Valentino
nor
Thurman
make
this
argument, Ken Jones in his "Emptiness and Form: Engaged
Buddhism Struggles to Respond to Modernity," argues that
Buddhism is distorted to meet the needs of American activists'
modern assumptions.
Jones paints the culture of the Buddha as one "in which
there could be virtually no expectation of change in the harsh
conditions of life (even for the rich)" and therefore one demanding
a form of "release" that does not depend on the alteration of these
physical conditions (4). He goes on to claim, "Modernity totally
reverses these assumptions.
For the young American radicals of the 1960s, 1970s, and
1980s who became interested in Buddhism, emancipatory
modernity was simply the absolute taken-for-granted truth, to
which Dharma had to be accommodated" (4), Jones suggests that
the modern American activists, who would dispute the claims of
Valentino and Thurman, have read their own cultural notion's of
freedom and emancipation into Buddhism.
100
?Jones
goes so far as to say: "to imply that the above
injunction 'to save all sentient beings'] of the Buddha to his
Sangha is a manifesto for social revolution, or even some kind of
welfare agenda, is to wrench it from its soteriological context and
secularize it" (4), Jones is not alone in this position.
Nelson roster, all original BPF member, reflecting on the
founding of the BPF, writes:
Naivete played a part in BPF's creation, I now see, at least on my part,
naivete about Buddhism itself and the bodhisattva way of saving
beings.." As I reflect on the developments of the past twenty years, it
seems to me that BPF and other Buddhist projects of a similar nature
have suffered from a failure to resolve crucial differences between the
world view implicit in Buddhism and the world view that we absorb
unintentionally as children of this culture (Foster, 1).
Both Jones' and Foster's arguments could be enlisted in
support of Valentino's and Thurman's vision of social activism.
Thurman and Valentino could also argue that their
emphasis
on
personal
transcendence
rather
than
social
transformation checks the excessively social-change focused
modern American social activism. Dr. Masao Abe, a Zen layman
101
and scholar, hopes that an emphasis on personal change will
balance out the American focus on social change.
Abe's image of underground water destroying the roots of
social evil rather than a constant pruning of the branches of such
evil suggests that we need to transform the heart of suffering
rather than resolve social issue after social issue. Referring to
this image, he told Nelson Foster that he appreciates "the
American form of social change," but "I just hope that American
Buddhists realize the importance of the work of underground
water" (in Foster, 6-7).
While Valentino did stress the importance of personal
transcendence during my visit, Mark Singleton, a long time
volunteer at the school, told me that at other times Valentino has
placed an emphasis on the social transformation necessary in
India. This leads me to believe that Valentino emphasized
personal transcendence in his conversations with me because he
saw me as a young American social activist, likely to be skeptical
about a theory that valorizes inner over outer transformation.
By stressing the inner aspect of social activism he, perhaps,
hoped that we would med at a middle ground that united both
102
personal and social transformation.
Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form
There remains more serious objection to the social activism
theories of Valentino and Thurman, which is that they appear
dualistic—a clear contradiction of the Mahayana teaching of nondualism.
Referring
to
Nagarjuna,
Thurman
places
individual
realization above the transformation of social structures: "The
root of good, of positive social action, is the individual's
realization of this subjective selflessness" (1983, 34); "the
necessities and will of the collective, the' business of society,' is
just not that important" (Thurman 1983, 32). This seems to reflect
a dualistic viewpoint in which the realization of ultimate reality is
valued over the improvement of conventional reality. Likewise,
Valentino seems to give personal liberation priority over social
change.
Further, Thurman describes Nagarjuna's "compassionate
socialism" as "generous compassion dedicated to providing
everyone with everything they need to satisfy their basic needs so
that they may have leisure to consider their own higher needs
103
and aims" (1983, 38-39).
Though Thurman acknowledges the importance of social
uplift, this social change is merely a means to the individual's
realization. This linear cause and effect relationship, compassion
causes wisdom, is another example or the dualism inherent in
Thurman's social activism theory.
The material aid given at the Alice Project School could be
seen as an example of this dualism in practice. The students
receive food, shelter and health care so that they can fully
dedicate themselves to personal liberation. Stated as such, it
seems that the heart of Buddhist social activism is dualistic, with
the personal valued above the social.
In Chapter Three, I introduced the Buddhist notion of two
worlds or two truths, the ultimate and the conventional. Despite
an apparent dualism, the ultimate and conventional realities
exist in the same place at the same time; they are two sides of the
same coin, two views of the same world. The bodhisattva, who
has realized the ultimate reality yet remains in the world of
conventional
reality
in
order
to
free
all sentient beings,
exemplifies how the two worlds can be navigated and are truly
104
one. This doctrine is captured in the Heart Sutra's words "Form
is emptiness, emptiness is form," in which form stands for the
conventional reality and emptiness for the ultimate.
In Chapter 4. I explained how for Madhyamika and other
Mahayana philosophers this same union of form and emptiness
is applied to wisdom and compassion. In our first conversation
about the philosophy of the Alice Project School, Valentino
stressed the point that wisdom and compassion are inextricably
linked (8/25/00). The realization of interdependence achieved
with wisdom breeds a great compassion (mahakaruna) and
likewise great compassion fosters wisdom. Aligning compassion,
the ethic of conventional reality, with form, and wisdom, the
realization of the ultimate reality, with emptiness, we could
rewrite the Heart Sutra to say, "Compassion is wisdom, wisdom
is compassion." Neither Valentino nor Thurman, who writes that
wisdom and compassion "are the essence of the Great Vehicle,
and of the Middle Way," would disagree with this alignment
(Thurman 1976,3).
In the formulas "form and emptiness" and "wisdom and
compassion," neither element is deemed more important than the
105
other. Such a distinction would create a dualism between two
apparent entities that are inherently one. The connection
between these elements is not causal but rather ontological.
Emptiness does not cause form, nor does form cause emptiness.
Likewise,
wisdom
does
not
cause
compassion,
nor
does
compassion cause wisdom. Such a linear causal relationship
would also betray the inherent unity of form and emptiness,
wisdom and compassion.
Having math: the transition from "form is emptiness,
emptiness is form" to "compassion is wisdom, wisdom is
compassion," I would go one step further to suggest: "social
change is personal transcendence, personal transcendence is
social change." Thurman and Valentino independently argue for
the ontological and non-causal union of form and emptiness,
wisdom and compassion. They also both call for social change
and personal transcendence. They do not, however, treat the
pairing of "social change and personal transcendence" in the
same way that they do that of "form and emptiness," or "wisdom
and compassion." While wisdom and compassion are deemed to
be equal, with one not greater than the other, throughout this
and the previous two chapters I have shown that Valentino and
106
Thurman place a greater emphasis on personal transcendence
than on social change. Similarly, the ontological relationship
between the two is ignored as social change is-seen as causally
connected to personal realization-social change seen either as a
means of fostering inner transcendence or as a product thereof.
Thus the alignment of three equal and onto logically connected
pairs-form and emptiness, compassion and wisdom, social
change and personal transcendence—yields a critique of the
social activism theories presented in the previous chapters.
Social change and personal realization are inextricably linked,
equally valid places for work towards liberation, and should both
be addressed simultaneously.
Other socially engaged Buddhist scholars share this belief
in the union of social change and personal liberation. In his
article "Emptiness and Form," Ken Jones suggests that we need
to find a "Middle Way between contemplation and activism" (5).
Jones divides the positions we see above into two models. The
first model emphasizes personal realization over social service
and warns, in the great Tibetan yogin Milarepa's words, against
"setting out to serve others before one has oneself realized Truth
in its fullness; to be so would be like the blind leading the blind."
107
Jones calls this the soteriological model (5).
The other camp, in which "Buddhism reduces to mindful
social service and mindful radicalism—a spiritual lubricant for
justice, freedom and welfare" he gives the moniker "social
emancipation model" (5).
Faced with these two extremes, the emphasis sharply on
personal transcendence in the one case and on social change on
the other, Jones writes, "There is a middle way to be found in
personal practice, whether contemplative or active. And there is
also a middle way to be discerned in the appropriateness of our
response
to
a
range
of
different
personal
and
social
predicaments" (5).
The union of form and emptiness suggests that this "middle
way" can be discovered, and that neither has to be compromised
for the full realization of the other. We can find a middle way that
allows both personal realization and social change.
A Response
Both
Valentino
and
Thurman
would
strongly
object
to
accusations of dualistic social engagement.
108
The problem with discussing any two concepts that are joined in
the way that form and emptiness or wisdom and compassion are,
is that in promoting one you appear to be demoting the other.
For example, if I were to tell you that the there is no
independently existent self in the world (a statement about the
ultimate
reality),
that
would
appear
to
contradict
the
conventional reality truth that we are all individuals living in this
world. Within the confines of language, an inherently objectifying
and dualistic medium, it is impossible to simultaneously do
justice to both ultimate and conventional realities.
Thus,
when
Valentino
and
Thurman
emphasize
the
importance of personal transcendence over social change this
does not necessarily mean that they are opposing the importance
of a simultaneous social change and uplift.
Valentino's actions and Thurman's other writings on Buddhist
social activism reveal that they both believe in the equal
importance
of
simultaneous
social
change
and
personal
realization.
While Valentino continually told mc of the importance of spiritual
transcendence, on occasion he stressed the importance of
109
compassionate social change: "If you know cases of injustice, as a
human, you react. If a house is on fire put it out with water, not
philosophy!" (9/13/00).
Mark Singleton, a long time volunteer at the school and friend or
Valentino suggested that Valentino's emphasis on material
change is not uncommon. Furthermore, the school's very
presence in Sarnath along with his daily actions reflects his
commitment to social change. The Alice Project provides an
outstanding education to the disadvantaged children from the
villages around Sarnath.
This alone gives them the tools to create social change. His desire
to work with children in Indian prisons also demonstrates his
commitment to altering the social structures by representing and
educating the unrepresented and uneducated. Furthermore, his
dream of having an Alice Project School in every village across
India, a place force of caste and sex discrimination, reveals a
commitment to large-scale social change.
On the personal level, Valentino is constantly on the lookout for
students who are unhappy or ill. He is always willing to help his
students confront abuse and resolve financial and social
110
problems.
Any person who spends time at the Alice Project School would
agree that Valentino is committed to social change while also
providing the tools for personal realization to his students. The
opening paragraph of Thurman's article shows that he, like
Valentino, recognizes the importance of both wisdom and
compassion within social activism: "The primary Buddhist
position on social action is one of total activism, an unswerving
commitment to complete self-transformation and complete worldtransformation." He clearly understands the equality and nondualism between social change and personal realization (1983,
19). In his "Introduction" to the Vimalakirti Sutra Thurman writes
eloquently on the same point:
We are left with the seemingly contradictory tasks of
becoming conscious of its [our reality's] ultimacy on the one
hand and, on the other hand, of devoting our energies to the
improvement of the unavoidable relative situation as best
we can. For the successful accomplishment of this dual task
we
need,
respectively,
wisdom
(prajna)
and
great
compassion (mahakaruna), and these two functions are the
111
essence of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), and of the Middle
Way (Thurman 1976, 3)
Here we see no prioritization of personal transformation over
social transformation or causal relationship between wisdom and
compassion.
While
Valentino
and
Thurman
sometimes
stress
the
importance of personal realization, they both acknowledge the
equal importance of social change. They both realize that wisdom
and compassion in the forms of personal transcendence and
social change are needed to deal with the problems of ultimate
and conventional realities. Thus, the point of the critique in this
chapter is not to disprove their theories but to point the reader
toward a more careful consideration of the Buddhist union of
wisdom and compassion.
What Makes Socially Engaged Buddhism "Buddhist"?
In the above response we see a fuller picture how Valentino
and Thurman ground their social engagement in Buddhism.
Throughout chapters four and five we see that for Valentino and
Thurman social engagement is Buddhist if it teaches Buddhist
wisdom aimed at personal transcendence. The critique and
112
subsequent response offered above reveals that this dedication to
personal realization is a necessary condition for socially engaged
Buddhism but not a sufficient condition for it meets only the
criterion of "ultimate" reality. For a socially engaged movement to
be Buddhist it must also strive to allay the suffering of
conventional reality through social change. Thus for Valentino
Giacomin and Robert Thurman we see that what makes a socially
engaged movement Buddhist is its aim of ending suffering
(dukkha) through the simultaneous and equal means of wisdom
in the form of personal transcendence and compassion in the
form of social change.
This answer is very different from what I initially expected in
my research on socially engaged Buddhism. At the outset? I
looked not at the motivation of each movement but at the
projects they conducted in the world. When I read about the BPF
teaching meditation to prisoners, or Thich Nhat Hanh leading
meditation retreats for Vietnamese refugees, I was easily able to
see what was Buddhist about their social engagement. In both
cases the Dharma (Buddha's teaching) was in the foreground,
plainly visible to both the givers and receivers of such aid.
However, in the planting of garden and building of preschools by
113
the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka, I had greater difficulty
seeing the Buddhism in their actions-such work appears no
different than that done by a non-Buddhist social activist group.
Despite the lack of explicit Dharma in Sarvodaya's work,
Ariyaratne and the greater Buddhist community still consider it
"engaged Buddhism".
At that stage in my research I might have also objected to
the claim that it is the motivation rather than the action that
makes social activism Buddhist, citing the apparently limitless
forms that such social activism could take including violent
forms. While it is true that there are infinite ways to manifest
wisdom and compassion in the struggle to end suffering,
Buddhist movements that are inspired by a desire to end
suffering through wisdom and compassion will necessarily avoid
certain activities. Any movement that supports oppressive
structures or violence to other humans or life-systems violates
the notion of compassionate activism. Likewise, any movement
that preaches a doctrine that keeps people from realizing the
emptiness of self and the importance of non-grasping conflicts
with the call for a socially engaged Buddhism that ends suffering
through
the
wisdom
of
emptiness
realized
in
personal
114
transcendence. Thus my fears of a Buddhist fundamentalism
that supports violent means (a fear shared by Valentino) could
not be realized within a socially engaged Buddhist movement
committed to the cessation of suffering through wisdom and
compassion.
Unable
to
locate
the
Buddhism
of
socially
engaged
Buddhism in the actions of such movements alone, I also
considered the importance of Buddhist textual support for social
work. Whether it is Sarvodaya's use of the Four Divine Abiding or
Fred Eppsteiner's compilation of traditional Therevada, Tibetan,
Zen and Pure Land texts to support the work of the BPF, it
seemed that all socially engaged movements ground their social
activism in some part of the Buddhist canon. Working from this
textual standpoint, I began to judge negatively the work of Dr.
Ambedkar and others who drastically alter Buddhist principles
such' as the Four Noble Truths to support their social work.
Influenced by Valentino, I saw these people as straying from the
"fundamentals" of Buddhism and therefore judged their work as
non-Buddhist or a misconceived Buddhism. I would grant that
Ambedkar is socially engaged but not that he is a socially
engaged Buddhist.
115
Many heated conversations with my good friend and fellow
student of socially engaged Buddhism, Ginger Hancock, made me
question
my
adamant
belief
in
such
"fundamentals"
of
Buddhism. She argues that throughout Buddhism's 2,500 years
the teachings of the Buddha, the "fundamentals," have been
reinterpreted by countless people to support their own beliefs.
Santikaro Bhikkhu supports Ginger's position, arguing that the
"orthodox" Buddhism that we rely on for socially engaged
Buddhism's legitimacy is the product of an elite group of
Buddhists with their own agenda and does not consider the
beliefs of the majority of Buddhist practitioners (5). He cites
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, one of the most inl1uential thinkers on
engaged Buddhism saying, "Who cares'?" when asked about the
scriptural basis for his claims (Santikaro, 5). For Buddhadasa,
textual evidence is only necessary to convince "the conservative
monks [who] had vested interests and emotional attachments to
the orthodox line" (6). Finally, Santikaro argues that the
obsession with textual authority, manifested in my own desire to
judge engaged Buddhist movements according to their textual
support, might be related to modern and Western approaches.
(5).
116
Thurman's article on Nagarjuna's Jewel Garland shows how
the social activism of Thurman and Valentino can be grounded in
a Buddhist text. Despite this textual support, Thurman does not
claim that such grounding is what makes the social activism
Buddhist. Thurman concludes that the social activism described
in his essay is Buddhist not because the text was written by
Nagarjuna, but because it proposes activism that strives to end
suffering through both wisdom and compassion.
While occasionally - Valentino made reference to Buddhist
texts, he never depended on them to support his belief that his
social activism is Buddhist.
Like Thurman, for Valentino socially engaged Buddhism is
not Buddhist because it follows the words of an ancient text but
because it embodies the Buddhist philosophy of non-dualism and
the cessation of suffering in both conventional and ultimate
realities. It must be noted that this non-dependence on texts is
not so clean cut, as it is almost impossible to talk about
"Buddhist philosophy of non dualism," without reference to
respected texts.
This paper demonstrates how Valentino Giacomin and, in
117
the last two chapters, Robert Thurman, define socially engaged
Buddhism as Buddhist. I would also suggest, in conclusion, that
their understanding of Buddhist social activism-a "total" activism
that
strives
to
end
suffering
through
both
personal
transcendence and social change—might be used as a model for
further study of socially engaged Buddhism.
Looking at two of the most prominent socially engaged
Buddhists in the world, Thich Nhat Hanh and H.H. Dalai Lama,
we see that their social engagement shares this dual dedication
to wisdom and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh's protests against
the Vietnam War, his aid to Vietnamese refugees, and many other
activities reflect his dedication to social change. Concurrently he
is involved with meditation retreats for people all over the world,
helping Vietnamese refugees and war veterans alike achieve
personal transcendence.
Though at times Nhat Hanh is more focused on one aspect
or another, both social change and personal realization are
always involved in his work and both are given equal importance.
H.H. Dalai Lama is another world-recognized figure whose
life epitomizes the union of wisdom and compassion. Through his
118
teachings and books on Buddhist wisdom, he is continually
introducing people to both the basics of Tibetan Buddhism and
esoteric points of the highest Tantras, helping people of all levels
and all religions to achieve personal realization. Concurrently
with this spiritual leadership, the Dalai Lama is the primary
opponent of the Chinese occupancy of Tibet.
Working from the headquarter of the Tibetan Government in
Exile in Dharamsala, India, he, along with thousands of others,
are working to restore the Tibetan people to their nation through
non-violent means Beyond seeking such political change, the
Dalai Lama is also concerned with changing the economic
structures of the world including the Western obsession with
endless economic growth (H.H. Dalai Lama, 10). Books such as
his Imagine All the People, in which he addresses the issues of
economics, globalization, and sexism alongside meditation, death
and miracles, reflect his ability to simultaneously address issues
of personal transcendence and social change, wisdom and
compassion, form and emptiness.
Though
Valentino's
we
cannot
understanding
extrapolate
of
their
from
Thurman's
own engagement
and
to
a
119
definition of a movement called "socially engaged Buddhism," the
above descriptions of Thich Nhat Hanh and H.H. Dalai Lama
support the claim that socially engaged Buddhists work to end
suffering through wisdom and compassion. With further study
perhaps we will find that all people who call themselves socially
engaged Buddhists are dedicated to the cessation of suffering
through
a
simultaneous
commitment
to
both
personal
transcendence and social change.
Even if this paper does not yield a widely accepted definition
of socially engaged Buddhism, its description of how Valentino
translates Buddhism into social engagement should prove useful
to the field of socially engaged Buddhist discourse. While there
are many books and essays describing various movements, they
deal largely with what occurs in each movement. Few address
how each socially engaged Buddhist translates Buddhism into
social activism-how one takes the idea of non-dualism and puts it
into practice. This process, the how, has been the focus of both
the case study of the Alice Project School offered in Chapters 2
through 4 and the description of Thurman's article in Chapter 5.
While it is important to have a definition of socially engaged
Buddhism, it is arguably more important to have models of this
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praxis, as every day social activists throughout the world are
struggling with the issue of putting Buddhist theory into practice
in their social activism. Thus, this paper contributes both the
beginnings of a definition of socially engaged Buddhism and,
more importantly, a model for making Buddhism socially engaged
and social engagement Buddhist.
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