Graduation Date
Summer 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Social Science, Environment and Community
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Anthony Silvaggio
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Erin Kelly
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Janelle Adsit
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Fourth Committee Member Name
Venerable Ajahn Pasanno
Fourth Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Engaged Buddhism; Buddhism; Theravada Buddhism; Thai forest tradition; Ajahn Buddhadasa: Social action; Activism; Four noble truths; Mindfulness; Consumerism; Consumer narrative; Consumer self; Consumer culture; Ajahn Pasanno; Abhayagiri; Thailand; Wat Suan Mokkh; Humboldt County; Northern California
Subject Categories
Environment and Community
Abstract
As a Buddhist, teacher, and a graduate student, coming to know the conflicts and misconceptions that stem from partial views and experiences, I have found it difficult to locate where to stand and how to engage. Buddhist teaching and practice (Buddhadhamma) offers a pragmatic approach to an overarching series of questions and a method of practice designed to address them: What is suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation? These are the Ariya-sacca, the four noble truths (or four ennobling realities), which can be applied to the arising of suffering anywhere in nature—whether internal (mind/culture) or external (environment). This study is situated within the conversation on socially engaged Buddhism. It is a Theravada Buddhist response to ecological degradation and social suffering and the forces that proliferate these conditions, which I call the consumer narrative. I look at examples of Buddhist social action, and how the eightfold path applies as a framework for it. Utilizing an immersive, practice-led research, interviews and textual interpretations, arising from a grounded theory methodology, I explore how the application of central Buddhist teachings and practices lead to social action.
I conclude that Buddhadhamma, the teachings and practices, cultivate a mind and heart that is clear, open, and responsive to suffering as it arises, enabling individuals or communities to engage in ways appropriate to the problem as well as the means, ability, and inclination of the individual or community—the Dhamma of each person or group. This conclusion is made evident in the diversity of activisms demonstrated by the individuals interviewed in this study, as well as in my own experiences and insights when immersing my daily life in the teachings and trainings of Buddhadhamma. In addition, I conclude the Buddhist way of life, properly developed, is itself a form of activism, resisting the trends of selfishness and consumerism that form the roots of social and ecological suffering. The personal way of life and its consequent expression in social action form a mutually benefiting, interdependent social transformation.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Masinter, Michael L., "Habitats of mind: Dhamma, the world, and mindful activism" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 204.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/204