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Could Buddhism be the basis of some sort of future utopian society?
How do you think a sort of world wide Buddhist society would work? Could it ever work?
If everyone was able to show true compassion towards one another and abstain from 'worldy pleasures', then that would mean - no wars, no drug abuse or sexual abuse, complete equality in resources and living conditions and i'm sure loads more benifits that don't come to mind right now. But how could this massive transition be made? This is where I get stuck.
Also one other problem, concerning technological development and so forth, if we were all completely happy with simple lives - having just the essentials such as shelter,food and good health would the world revert to a sort of pre-technological stage? Would this be detrimental to us as a species?
Anyone else ever pondered such ideas? It's quite fun to contemplate how these things might play out, and I have personally always had a strong notion that something along these lines is really what needs to happen for us as a species to stop going down this road of destruction we are currently on.
If everyone was able to show true compassion towards one another and abstain from 'worldy pleasures', then that would mean - no wars, no drug abuse or sexual abuse, complete equality in resources and living conditions and i'm sure loads more benifits that don't come to mind right now. But how could this massive transition be made? This is where I get stuck.
Also one other problem, concerning technological development and so forth, if we were all completely happy with simple lives - having just the essentials such as shelter,food and good health would the world revert to a sort of pre-technological stage? Would this be detrimental to us as a species?
Anyone else ever pondered such ideas? It's quite fun to contemplate how these things might play out, and I have personally always had a strong notion that something along these lines is really what needs to happen for us as a species to stop going down this road of destruction we are currently on.
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One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter. ”
— Dhammapada
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.
— Baha'u'llah[23][24
"Do to no one what you yourself dislike." (Tobit 4:15)
One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires.
— Brihaspati, Mahabharata
Killing a living being is killing one's own self; showing compassion to a living being is showing compassion to oneself. He who desires his own good, should avoid causing any harm to a living being.
—Suman Suttam , verse 151
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
— Leviticus 19:18[37], the "Great Commandment"
Whom should I despise, since the one Lord made us all.
— p.1237, Var Sarang, Guru Granth Sahib (tr. Patwant Singh)
Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss.
— T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien
As a species we would die out quickly if nobody pursued the worldly pleasure of the flesh.
definitely not, because creativity would still remain, and creativity, matched with love and appreciation for the earth and all its inhabitants and life, is the life force of technology, true technology which does not generate destruction but renews the creation of life. technology would become very different, though it would not be primitive, in the coarse sense of the word. i do believe
yes!!!!!! i'm excited for the future. it's happening, right now.
The Greek term for "no-place" at least according to the 'net was meant as an allegory, not literally a place that doesn't or can't exist. It was meant to imply that it was not realistically possible.
Then again, to say it's not possible might not be realistic at all. It may be improbable but at the same time possible.
I've heard it said that with time the impossible becomes possible, the possible probable, and the probable almost a certainty. (Not with all things, but we've come a long way and have done a lot of things that were once thought impossible.)
I think the world would be a better place is we could extinguish these social egos from the systems that dominate us. They seem to have the same kind of negativity feedback as Dukka in mind etc:)
Mat
It is less well known than his 'Brave New World' but addresses some of these ideas of a society based on Buddhism.
I am also sadly reminded that exisiting societes with large Buddhist populations still have their fair share of discord.
Aint that the case:(
But I think this is because they are "born" into buddhism and many asians does not actively practice buddhism apart from the different countries buddhist traditions the same way that most people in my country (Denmark) are born into christianity and we attend baptisms, funeral-services and son on, but the remainder of the time christianity isn't very important in most danes day to day-life.
The most important for me is that we respect each other as humans and each others religion and beliefs. I will continue with buddhism as it "works for me"
good point, a 'true' Buddhist society would obviously avoid these pit-falls, but then it is amazingly hard to get large swathes of people to agree to something, especially something that would change everything about their lives. Maybe social evolution will lead us to a more coherent social model, although sadly, I could see us destroying ourselves before we ever reach that point (pessimism alert)
So either another great teacher will do it, or enough people will become awakened to cause a domino effect (or hundredth-monkey effect) and the mentality of our species will change dramatically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness
http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/
The main points about creating / growing happiness on the national level includes: creating basic living conditions for everybody (include job),<qtlend></qtlend> connection to the culture and community, high level of education, and environment care / ecology.
That would be really hard for me to wrap my mind around. People have this tendency to argue and disagree too much. It's a nice idea but I don't think it's possible.
People have to tackle the 3 Poisons on their own, within their own practice, regardless of upbringing, IMO. Anything else is coercion, and not viable on a long enough timetable.
I grew up with Star Trek, and liked the notion of Gene Roddenberry's somewhat utopian 23rd century..as the years wear on I enjoy it as a fantasy, and less as a blueprint for where we should be headed.
All just my feeble-minded opinion, of course.
anyways as buddhists i think we should be completely optimistic about not only our own destiny but everyone else's as a whole, for besides we are one and the same, and we should have faith in the salvation and inherent wisdom and love of our brothers and sisters no matter how polluted their minds are right now. word!
For that to happen, not only do sentient adults have to decide that they want to follow a path of some kind, but then somehow all of their offspring will either be born already accepting those precepts as their path as well.
Purely curious, and meaning no disrespect..do you have children?
I applaud your optimism, and I'd love to share in it if you can make your case. What I've seen though is that many Buddhist communities cannot even live together without discord, problems, and scandal. It would seem that we have some large steps to tread before hoping that the rest of the world would adopt Buddhism, and then live it better than those communities.
when someone comes across the unconditional and absolute love of a buddha it smacks them in the head. i would say it's not in all cases so much about deciding to become a buddhist or upholding any precepts or even stepping on the path, but simply experiencing buddha-nature in all its radiance and becoming enraptured by that spirit, which engenders the dharma as a conceptual thing in the form of precepts, four noble truths and such automatically by the very power of love. because hypothetically if everyone were enlightened there would be no need of precepts and there certainly wouldn't be any path because there would no longer be anything to tread.
there are plenty of non-buddhists who cherish the same values contained in the precepts, because they are guided by love and compassion. though i'm not saying that the precepts aren't useful.
but the impact on the earth the attainment of nirvana creates is inestimable. we definitely have some large steps to take, you're right, but anything can happen! the dharma has impacted my life greatly and i am only one individual but when you save yourself, you save the whole world. and since it's impacted me greatly, it has also had an impact on my friends, and my family, and even strangers. with every action i take, i create ripples in the pond of humanity and even the universe. they may dissipate eventually, and lose strength along their trajectory, but they still create a difference. and so long as they're imbued with the power of love and wisdom, and whatever else, creativity and beauty, nothing but good can come from it. nothing!
ha ha
and sorry rayfieldneel i forgot to answer your question no i do not have children, i'm still pretty young, maybe in ten years