🔓 Liberty
Locking people up unfairly, or holding them as slaves, causes great suffering and cannot be right action. Buddhists say a person should be free from cruelty and unfair control.
Buddhist Beliefs about Rights, Equality and Social Justice » Buddhism and Human Rights
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 4.1 (Buddhism)
- Why compassion and avoiding harm to others lead Buddhists to support human rights
- Why Buddhism often speaks of duties and interdependence more than "rights"
- How Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama showed support for human rights
- When Buddhists think a right might be limited
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Unlock This CourseBuddhism and the idea of rights
In Human Rights and When They Can Be Limited you met human rights: the freedoms and protections every person has simply by being human, including liberty, equality before the law, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and freedom of speech. This lesson asks what Buddhists make of them.
Buddhist scripture was written long before modern human rights documents, so the word "rights" does not appear in the Buddha's teaching. Many Buddhists point out that Buddhism speaks more about duties: what each person should do for others. Yet most Buddhists find that the aims of human rights fit their teachings very well, because both aim to stop people being harmed.
Key terms:
- Interdependence: the Buddhist idea that nothing exists on its own and every being depends on many others. It builds on dependent arising, which you met in Buddhism: Impermanence, Compassion and Caring for the World.
- Engaged Buddhism: putting Buddhist teachings into action to help solve the problems of society. You met socially engaged Buddhism in Buddhist Peacemaking and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
- Interbeing: Thich Nhat Hanh's word for interdependence. We "inter-are", so harming others harms us too.
Compassion and avoiding harm: the basis for rights
Buddhists begin with karuna (compassion) and metta (loving-kindness). All beings want to be happy and to avoid suffering, so a Buddhist tries not to cause dukkha (suffering) to anyone. The first of the Five Precepts is to avoid harming living beings. Human rights protect people from exactly the kinds of harm that cause the most suffering.
⚖️ Equality before the law
Buddhists believe a person is judged by their actions, not their birth. If every being wants happiness, then rich and poor should be treated the same way.
🙏 Religion and opinion
The Buddha asked people to test his teaching for themselves instead of believing blindly (see Why People Follow the Buddha's Path, or Do Not). Many Buddhists see freedom of religion and opinion as fitting this spirit.
🗣️ Speech
Right speech is part of the Noble Eightfold Path. Buddhists value honest, kind speech, and many support the freedom to speak up for those who are suffering.
Duties and interdependence
Because all beings depend on each other, Buddhists often say that my rights are your duties. If I have a right to be safe, you have a duty not to harm me, and I have the same duty to you. Some Buddhists therefore feel that talking about duties is more helpful than talking about rights, because it asks "what can I give?" before "what am I owed?" Other Buddhists are happy to use the language of rights as a way of protecting the weak. Both groups agree on the main aim: less suffering.
Common mistakes
- Saying Buddhism has no interest in human rights. It supports their aims, but expresses them through compassion, the precepts and duties.
- Saying every Buddhist thinks the same. Some prefer to talk about duties, others about rights.
- Mixing up the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. They are two different teachers from different countries (Tibet and Vietnam).
Examples of Buddhists supporting human rights
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022)
Thich Nhat Hanh was a Buddhist monk from Vietnam and the best-known teacher of engaged Buddhism. During the Vietnam War he did not stay in the temple. In 1964 he helped set up the School of Youth for Social Service, whose young volunteers rebuilt bombed villages and ran schools and clinics. He called for peace and was unable to return to Vietnam for many years. In 1967 Martin Luther King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. He later set up the Plum Village community in France, where people from many backgrounds learned mindfulness. His idea of interbeing explains his work: protecting another person's life and freedom also protects our own.
The 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama, who is studied in The 14th Dalai Lama: Teaching and Contribution, has spoken up for the freedom of Tibetans to follow their religion and keep their culture. You met his exile in Buddhism, Conflict and the Dalai Lama's Exile from Tibet. He has asked for these freedoms peacefully and with compassion.
Can a right ever be limited?
Buddhists judge actions by whether they are skilful (cause less suffering) or unskilful (cause more). That helps them with the question of limits. Many would say that a right can be limited if using it would cause serious harm to others.
- Speech: right speech means not lying, not turning people against each other, not using harsh words and not gossiping. A Buddhist could agree that hate speech and spreading lies should be limited, because they hurt people.
- Liberty: locking up a dangerous person may be accepted to protect others, but only with compassion and never out of hatred or revenge.
Other Buddhists would warn that limits can be misused by people with power, and that the Buddha wanted people to think and question for themselves. So Buddhist views differ: a right should not be limited without a very strong reason, and when it is limited the aim should be to prevent harm, not to punish.
Recap
- Compassion and avoiding harm lead Buddhists to support human rights.
- Buddhism talks more about duties and interdependence than about rights.
- Thich Nhat Hanh taught engaged Buddhism and interbeing, and worked for peace and human rights.
- The Dalai Lama has spoken up for Tibetans' freedoms.
- Buddhists may accept limits on a right if it prevents harm, as in right speech.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 style (Buddhism).
(a) Identify three human rights. [3 marks, AO1]
(b) Choose one religion. Outline two reasons why this religion supports human rights. [4 marks, AO1]
(c) Choose one religion. Explain why there are different attitudes to human rights in this religion. [6 marks, AO1 and AO2]
(d) "Freedom of speech should sometimes be limited." Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks, AO1 and AO2]
Model answer
(a) 1. The right to liberty (1) 2. Equality before the law (1) 3. Freedom of religion (1)
(b) Buddhists support human rights because of karuna, or compassion (1), which means they want to protect people from the suffering that unfair treatment causes (1). They also follow the first precept to avoid harming living beings (1), so they oppose things such as cruelty and slavery (1).
(c) Buddhists agree that harm should be avoided, but they express this in different ways. Some Buddhists prefer to talk about duties instead of rights, because the Buddha taught what people should do for others and all beings are interdependent (1). They worry that "rights" can sound selfish (1). Other Buddhists use the language of rights because it protects the weak in law (1). Many of them, such as Thich Nhat Hanh, used engaged Buddhism to act for peace and human rights, because compassion should be turned into action to help those who suffer (1). So the difference is mainly about whether to speak of duties or rights, not about whether to reduce suffering (1), and each view uses Buddhist ideas such as karuna and interbeing (1).
(d) Plan. For: right speech says not to lie or speak harshly, so hate speech could be limited; Buddhists want to prevent harm; laws against libel and incitement protect people. Against: limits can be misused by those in power; the Buddha asked people to test his teaching for themselves; the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh spoke out for freedom. Other views: humanists say speech should be limited only to prevent harm. Possible conclusion: Buddhists would accept limits only when speech causes real harm, and always with compassion.
Exam tip
In a "Choose one religion" question, name Buddhism and use its own words, such as karuna, the first precept or interdependence, in every part of your answer.