{"history":[],"article":{"id":"ddb5cddd-062e-49f0-87e6-beb66977fb6c","title":"Engaged Buddhism","slug":"engaged-buddhism","content":":::summary\n:::\n\n# \n**Engaged Buddhism**, also known as **socially engaged Buddhism**, refers to a [Buddhist](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhism) [social movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/social-movement) that emerged in [Asia](https://bliptext.com/articles/asia) in the 20th century.\nIt is composed of Buddhists who seek to apply [Buddhist ethics](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-ethics), insights acquired from [meditation practice](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-meditation), and the [teachings of the Buddhist dharma](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhadharma) to contemporary situations of [social](https://bliptext.com/articles/society), [political](https://bliptext.com/articles/politics), [environmental](https://bliptext.com/articles/natural-environment), and [economic](https://bliptext.com/articles/economics) [suffering](https://bliptext.com/articles/suffering), and [injustice](https://bliptext.com/articles/injustice).\nModern engaged Buddhism emerged in [Vietnam](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnam) in the 1950s, from the teachings of [Thiền Buddhist](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnamese-thi-n) teacher [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://bliptext.com/articles/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh).\nIt was popularised by the Indian jurist, politician, and social reformer [B. R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar), who inspired the [Dalit Buddhist movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit-buddhist-movement) in the 1950s.\nIt has since spread to the [Indian subcontinent](https://bliptext.com/articles/indian-subcontinent) and [the West](https://bliptext.com/articles/western-world).\nDuring the 1960s, the terms \"engaged Buddhism\" and \"socially engaged Buddhism\" were taken up by loosely-connected networks of Buddhists in Asia and the West to describe their adaptation of Buddhist values and ethical conduct to social and [political activism](https://bliptext.com/articles/political-activism).\nThis included a range of [non-violent](https://bliptext.com/articles/nonviolence) social and political activities such as [peacemaking](https://bliptext.com/articles/peacemaking), promotion of [human rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-rights), [environmental protection](https://bliptext.com/articles/environmental-protection), [rural development](https://bliptext.com/articles/rural-development), combatting [ethnic violence](https://bliptext.com/articles/ethnic-violence), [opposition to warfare](https://bliptext.com/articles/peace-movement), and support of [women's rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/women-s-rights).\nWith [globalisation](https://bliptext.com/articles/globalisation) and [technological advancement](https://bliptext.com/articles/technological-advancement), engaged Buddhist organisations and efforts have spread across the globe; an example is the [Buddhist Peace Fellowship](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-peace-fellowship).\n\n# Origins\n[Vietnamese Thiền](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnamese-thi-n) Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh coined the term \"Engaged Buddhism\" in his collection of articles, \"A Fresh Look at Buddhism\".\nEngaged Buddhism emerged from a need to respond to world crises, particularly the Vietnam War.\nThe term was new, but Buddhism that engages with social and political issues had already occurred throughout the world.\nNhất Hạnh was inspired by the [humanistic Buddhism](https://bliptext.com/articles/humanistic-buddhism) reform movement in China by [Taixu](https://bliptext.com/articles/taixu) and [Yinshun](https://bliptext.com/articles/yinshun) and later propagated in Taiwan by [Cheng Yen](https://bliptext.com/articles/cheng-yen) and [Hsing Yun](https://bliptext.com/articles/hsing-yun).\nAt first, Nhất Hạnh described the concept by using [Literary Chinese](https://bliptext.com/articles/literary-chinese-in-vietnam), the liturgical language of Vietnamese Buddhism, calling it.\nDuring the [Vietnam War](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnam-war), he and his [sangha](https://bliptext.com/articles/sangha-buddhism) (spiritual community) responded to the suffering around them, in part by adopting the [nonviolence](https://bliptext.com/articles/nonviolence) activism techniques of [Mahatma Gandhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/mahatma-gandhi) in India and of Reverend [Martin Luther King Jr.](https://bliptext.com/articles/martin-luther-king-jr) in the United States.\nThey saw this work as part of their [meditation](https://bliptext.com/articles/meditation) and [mindfulness](https://bliptext.com/articles/sati-buddhism) practice, not as something apart from it.\nAs early as 1946, [Walpola Rahula](https://bliptext.com/articles/walpola-rahula) identified an explicit social ethos present in the earliest recorded Buddhist teachings.\nHe noted that [the Buddha](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-buddha) encouraged early monks to travel in order to benefit the largest number of people, and that his discourses to lay people often included practical instructions on social and economic matters, rather than being purely concerned with philosophical or soteriological concerns.\n\n# Teachings\nEngaged Buddhism applies the teachings of the Buddha to social life in order to bring about social change.\nEngaged Buddhists hope to connect traditional Buddhist beliefs to protest and social action.\nOne way to view Engaged Buddhism is through Thích Nhất Hạnh's \"The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism\", which serve as guidelines for living with a stronger social awareness: \"

Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.
Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education.\nHowever, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.
Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering.\nDo not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world.\nFind ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds.\nBy such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry.\nDo not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure.\nLive simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
Do not maintain anger or hatred.\nLearn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness.\nAs soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.
Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings.\nPractice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment.\nBe in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you.\nPlant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.
Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break.\nMake every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people.\nDo not utter words that cause division and hatred.\nDo not spread news that you do not know to be certain.\nDo not criticise or condemn things of which you are not sure.\nAlways speak truthfully and constructively.\nHave the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party.\nA religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature.\nDo not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live.\nSelect a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.
Do not kill.\nDo not let others kill.\nFind whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.
Possess nothing that should belong to others.\nRespect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
Do not mistreat your body.\nLearn to handle it with respect.\nDo not look on your body as only an instrument.\nPreserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way.\n(For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns:) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment.\nIn sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused.\nTo preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others.\nBe fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world.\nMeditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

\" [B. R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar) also advocated for a type of Engaged Buddhism to inspire social change and provide dignity and humanity to himself and his community. Ambedkar's principles the commitment to [Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity](https://bliptext.com/articles/libert-galit-fraternit), which stemmed from the Buddha's philosophy.\n\n# In India\nIn [India](https://bliptext.com/articles/india), a form of engaged Buddhism founded by [B.R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar) started as a Buddhist revival movement called the [Dalit Buddhist movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit-buddhist-movement).\nAmbedkar's socially engaged Buddhism focuses on economic justice, political freedom, and moral striving.\nAmbedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956 and initiated what is called [Ambedkar Buddhism](https://bliptext.com/articles/navayana), when in October 1956 in [Nagpur](https://bliptext.com/articles/nagpur), nearly 400,000 [Dalits](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit) converted from Hinduism.\nHis book [The Buddha and His Dhamma](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-buddha-and-his-dhamma) was published in 1957, after his death.\nBuddhist teachings invite us to take responsibility for ourselves, and engaged Buddhists interpret this as taking responsibility for the entire sangha, the larger community, and our ecosystem.\nAmbedkar warns that if we spend too much time in personal meditation practice, in retreat from social relationships, we will be irresponsible to our community.\nSo we need to get off the cushion, get out of the house, get out there and start to educate, agitate, and organise.\nThis is a collectivist notion of sangha as people working together for a society of justice, wherein Buddhist practice becomes the engaged activity of social change.\n\n# Socially engaged Buddhism in the West\nIn the West, like the East, engaged Buddhism attempts to link authentic Buddhist practice—particularly mindfulness—with social action.\nIt has two main centers: the [Plum Village](https://bliptext.com/articles/plum-village-monastery) monastic community in Loubes-Bernac, France and the [Community of Mindful Living](https://bliptext.com/articles/community-of-mindful-living) in Berkeley, California.\nBoth centers are tied to Nhất Hạnh's [Unified Buddhist Church](https://bliptext.com/articles/unified-buddhist-church).\nThe current [Dalai Lama](https://bliptext.com/articles/14th-dalai-lama) also encouraged Buddhists to be more involved in the socio-political realm:\n\"In 1998, while on retreat in Bodh Gaya, India... the Dalai Lama told those of us who were participating in a Buddhist-Christian dialogue that sometimes, Buddhists have not acted vigorously to address social and political problems. He told our group, 'In this, we have much to learn from the Christians.'\"\n\n## Organisations\nMany organisations were established to help build the movement of engaged Buddhists.\nThese include the [Soka Gakkai International](https://bliptext.com/articles/soka-gakkai-international), [Buddhist Peace Fellowship](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-peace-fellowship), [Buddhist Global Relief](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-global-relief), the [International Network of Engaged Buddhists](https://bliptext.com/articles/international-network-of-engaged-buddhists), the [Zen Peacemakers](https://bliptext.com/articles/zen-peacemakers), and the [Order of Interbeing](https://bliptext.com/articles/order-of-interbeing).\nOther engaged Buddhist groups include the [Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health and Insight](https://bliptext.com/articles/benevolent-organisation-for-development-health-and-insight), Gaden Relief Projects, Earthworks Centre foundation, the UK's [Network of Buddhist Organisations](https://bliptext.com/articles/network-of-buddhist-organisations), [Fo Guang Shan](https://bliptext.com/articles/fo-guang-shan), and [Tzu Chi](https://bliptext.com/articles/tzu-chi).\nThe School of Youth for Social Service was established by Nhất Hạnh in 1964.\nIt trained social workers through the teachings of Engaged Buddhism.\nMembers of the school helped relieve suffering and rebuild villages for those affected by the Vietnam War.\n\n## Notable figures\nProminent figures in the movement include [Robert Aitken](https://bliptext.com/articles/robert-baker-aitken) Roshi, [Joanna Macy](https://bliptext.com/articles/joanna-macy), [Gary Snyder](https://bliptext.com/articles/gary-snyder), [Alan Senauke](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-senauke), [Sulak Sivaraksa](https://bliptext.com/articles/sulak-sivaraksa), [Daisaku Ikeda](https://bliptext.com/articles/daisaku-ikeda), [Maha Ghosananda](https://bliptext.com/articles/preah-maha-ghosananda), [Sylvia Wetzel](https://bliptext.com/articles/sylvia-wetzel), [Joan Halifax](https://bliptext.com/articles/joan-halifax), [Tara Brach](https://bliptext.com/articles/tara-brach), [Taigen Dan Leighton](https://bliptext.com/articles/taigen-dan-leighton), [Ken Jones](https://bliptext.com/articles/ken-jones-buddhist), [Jan Willis](https://bliptext.com/articles/jan-willis), [Bhante Sujato](https://bliptext.com/articles/bhante-sujato), [Bhikkhu Bodhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/bhikkhu-bodhi), and [Ajahn Buddhadasa.](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhadasa)","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-25T20:09:12.989Z","updated_at":"2025-01-25T20:09:12.989Z","search_vector":"'buddhism':2 'engag':1","search_content":" \n \n\n# \n**Engaged Buddhism**, also known as **socially engaged Buddhism**, refers to a [Buddhist](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhism) [social movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/social-movement) that emerged in [Asia](https://bliptext.com/articles/asia) in the 20th century.\nIt is composed of Buddhists who seek to apply [Buddhist ethics](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-ethics), insights acquired from [meditation practice](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-meditation), and the [teachings of the Buddhist dharma](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhadharma) to contemporary situations of [social](https://bliptext.com/articles/society), [political](https://bliptext.com/articles/politics), [environmental](https://bliptext.com/articles/natural-environment), and [economic](https://bliptext.com/articles/economics) [suffering](https://bliptext.com/articles/suffering), and [injustice](https://bliptext.com/articles/injustice).\nModern engaged Buddhism emerged in [Vietnam](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnam) in the 1950s, from the teachings of [Thiền Buddhist](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnamese-thi-n) teacher [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://bliptext.com/articles/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh).\nIt was popularised by the Indian jurist, politician, and social reformer [B. R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar), who inspired the [Dalit Buddhist movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit-buddhist-movement) in the 1950s.\nIt has since spread to the [Indian subcontinent](https://bliptext.com/articles/indian-subcontinent) and [the West](https://bliptext.com/articles/western-world).\nDuring the 1960s, the terms \"engaged Buddhism\" and \"socially engaged Buddhism\" were taken up by loosely-connected networks of Buddhists in Asia and the West to describe their adaptation of Buddhist values and ethical conduct to social and [political activism](https://bliptext.com/articles/political-activism).\nThis included a range of [non-violent](https://bliptext.com/articles/nonviolence) social and political activities such as [peacemaking](https://bliptext.com/articles/peacemaking), promotion of [human rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-rights), [environmental protection](https://bliptext.com/articles/environmental-protection), [rural development](https://bliptext.com/articles/rural-development), combatting [ethnic violence](https://bliptext.com/articles/ethnic-violence), [opposition to warfare](https://bliptext.com/articles/peace-movement), and support of [women's rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/women-s-rights).\nWith [globalisation](https://bliptext.com/articles/globalisation) and [technological advancement](https://bliptext.com/articles/technological-advancement), engaged Buddhist organisations and efforts have spread across the globe; an example is the [Buddhist Peace Fellowship](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-peace-fellowship).\n\n# Origins\n[Vietnamese Thiền](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnamese-thi-n) Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh coined the term \"Engaged Buddhism\" in his collection of articles, \"A Fresh Look at Buddhism\".\nEngaged Buddhism emerged from a need to respond to world crises, particularly the Vietnam War.\nThe term was new, but Buddhism that engages with social and political issues had already occurred throughout the world.\nNhất Hạnh was inspired by the [humanistic Buddhism](https://bliptext.com/articles/humanistic-buddhism) reform movement in China by [Taixu](https://bliptext.com/articles/taixu) and [Yinshun](https://bliptext.com/articles/yinshun) and later propagated in Taiwan by [Cheng Yen](https://bliptext.com/articles/cheng-yen) and [Hsing Yun](https://bliptext.com/articles/hsing-yun).\nAt first, Nhất Hạnh described the concept by using [Literary Chinese](https://bliptext.com/articles/literary-chinese-in-vietnam), the liturgical language of Vietnamese Buddhism, calling it.\nDuring the [Vietnam War](https://bliptext.com/articles/vietnam-war), he and his [sangha](https://bliptext.com/articles/sangha-buddhism) (spiritual community) responded to the suffering around them, in part by adopting the [nonviolence](https://bliptext.com/articles/nonviolence) activism techniques of [Mahatma Gandhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/mahatma-gandhi) in India and of Reverend [Martin Luther King Jr.](https://bliptext.com/articles/martin-luther-king-jr) in the United States.\nThey saw this work as part of their [meditation](https://bliptext.com/articles/meditation) and [mindfulness](https://bliptext.com/articles/sati-buddhism) practice, not as something apart from it.\nAs early as 1946, [Walpola Rahula](https://bliptext.com/articles/walpola-rahula) identified an explicit social ethos present in the earliest recorded Buddhist teachings.\nHe noted that [the Buddha](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-buddha) encouraged early monks to travel in order to benefit the largest number of people, and that his discourses to lay people often included practical instructions on social and economic matters, rather than being purely concerned with philosophical or soteriological concerns.\n\n# Teachings\nEngaged Buddhism applies the teachings of the Buddha to social life in order to bring about social change.\nEngaged Buddhists hope to connect traditional Buddhist beliefs to protest and social action.\nOne way to view Engaged Buddhism is through Thích Nhất Hạnh's \"The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism\", which serve as guidelines for living with a stronger social awareness: \" Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education.\nHowever, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness. \n Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering.\nDo not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world.\nFind ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds.\nBy such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world. \n Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry.\nDo not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure.\nLive simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. \n Do not maintain anger or hatred.\nLearn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness.\nAs soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred. \n Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings.\nPractice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment.\nBe in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you.\nPlant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness. \n Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break.\nMake every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small. \n Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people.\nDo not utter words that cause division and hatred.\nDo not spread news that you do not know to be certain.\nDo not criticise or condemn things of which you are not sure.\nAlways speak truthfully and constructively.\nHave the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety. \n Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party.\nA religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts. \n Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature.\nDo not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live.\nSelect a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion. \n Do not kill.\nDo not let others kill.\nFind whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war. \n Possess nothing that should belong to others.\nRespect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth. \n Do not mistreat your body.\nLearn to handle it with respect.\nDo not look on your body as only an instrument.\nPreserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way.\n(For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns:) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment.\nIn sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused.\nTo preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others.\nBe fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world.\nMeditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings. \n \" [B. R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar) also advocated for a type of Engaged Buddhism to inspire social change and provide dignity and humanity to himself and his community. Ambedkar's principles the commitment to [Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity](https://bliptext.com/articles/libert-galit-fraternit), which stemmed from the Buddha's philosophy.\n\n# In India\nIn [India](https://bliptext.com/articles/india), a form of engaged Buddhism founded by [B.R. Ambedkar](https://bliptext.com/articles/b-r-ambedkar) started as a Buddhist revival movement called the [Dalit Buddhist movement](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit-buddhist-movement).\nAmbedkar's socially engaged Buddhism focuses on economic justice, political freedom, and moral striving.\nAmbedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956 and initiated what is called [Ambedkar Buddhism](https://bliptext.com/articles/navayana), when in October 1956 in [Nagpur](https://bliptext.com/articles/nagpur), nearly 400,000 [Dalits](https://bliptext.com/articles/dalit) converted from Hinduism.\nHis book [The Buddha and His Dhamma](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-buddha-and-his-dhamma) was published in 1957, after his death.\nBuddhist teachings invite us to take responsibility for ourselves, and engaged Buddhists interpret this as taking responsibility for the entire sangha, the larger community, and our ecosystem.\nAmbedkar warns that if we spend too much time in personal meditation practice, in retreat from social relationships, we will be irresponsible to our community.\nSo we need to get off the cushion, get out of the house, get out there and start to educate, agitate, and organise.\nThis is a collectivist notion of sangha as people working together for a society of justice, wherein Buddhist practice becomes the engaged activity of social change.\n\n# Socially engaged Buddhism in the West\nIn the West, like the East, engaged Buddhism attempts to link authentic Buddhist practice—particularly mindfulness—with social action.\nIt has two main centers: the [Plum Village](https://bliptext.com/articles/plum-village-monastery) monastic community in Loubes-Bernac, France and the [Community of Mindful Living](https://bliptext.com/articles/community-of-mindful-living) in Berkeley, California.\nBoth centers are tied to Nhất Hạnh's [Unified Buddhist Church](https://bliptext.com/articles/unified-buddhist-church).\nThe current [Dalai Lama](https://bliptext.com/articles/14th-dalai-lama) also encouraged Buddhists to be more involved in the socio-political realm:\n\"In 1998, while on retreat in Bodh Gaya, India... the Dalai Lama told those of us who were participating in a Buddhist-Christian dialogue that sometimes, Buddhists have not acted vigorously to address social and political problems. He told our group, 'In this, we have much to learn from the Christians.'\"\n\n## Organisations\nMany organisations were established to help build the movement of engaged Buddhists.\nThese include the [Soka Gakkai International](https://bliptext.com/articles/soka-gakkai-international), [Buddhist Peace Fellowship](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-peace-fellowship), [Buddhist Global Relief](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhist-global-relief), the [International Network of Engaged Buddhists](https://bliptext.com/articles/international-network-of-engaged-buddhists), the [Zen Peacemakers](https://bliptext.com/articles/zen-peacemakers), and the [Order of Interbeing](https://bliptext.com/articles/order-of-interbeing).\nOther engaged Buddhist groups include the [Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health and Insight](https://bliptext.com/articles/benevolent-organisation-for-development-health-and-insight), Gaden Relief Projects, Earthworks Centre foundation, the UK's [Network of Buddhist Organisations](https://bliptext.com/articles/network-of-buddhist-organisations), [Fo Guang Shan](https://bliptext.com/articles/fo-guang-shan), and [Tzu Chi](https://bliptext.com/articles/tzu-chi).\nThe School of Youth for Social Service was established by Nhất Hạnh in 1964.\nIt trained social workers through the teachings of Engaged Buddhism.\nMembers of the school helped relieve suffering and rebuild villages for those affected by the Vietnam War.\n\n## Notable figures\nProminent figures in the movement include [Robert Aitken](https://bliptext.com/articles/robert-baker-aitken) Roshi, [Joanna Macy](https://bliptext.com/articles/joanna-macy), [Gary Snyder](https://bliptext.com/articles/gary-snyder), [Alan Senauke](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-senauke), [Sulak Sivaraksa](https://bliptext.com/articles/sulak-sivaraksa), [Daisaku Ikeda](https://bliptext.com/articles/daisaku-ikeda), [Maha Ghosananda](https://bliptext.com/articles/preah-maha-ghosananda), [Sylvia Wetzel](https://bliptext.com/articles/sylvia-wetzel), [Joan Halifax](https://bliptext.com/articles/joan-halifax), [Tara Brach](https://bliptext.com/articles/tara-brach), [Taigen Dan Leighton](https://bliptext.com/articles/taigen-dan-leighton), [Ken Jones](https://bliptext.com/articles/ken-jones-buddhist), [Jan Willis](https://bliptext.com/articles/jan-willis), [Bhante Sujato](https://bliptext.com/articles/bhante-sujato), [Bhikkhu Bodhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/bhikkhu-bodhi), and [Ajahn Buddhadasa.](https://bliptext.com/articles/buddhadasa)","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}

History