Buddhist Beliefs about Rights, Equality and Social Justice » Buddhism and Racial Harmony

Buddhist teachings against prejudice

An earlier lesson, The Multi-Ethnic Society, Racism and Racial Harmony, explained prejudice, discrimination, racism and racial harmony. Here we look at the reasons Buddhists give for opposing them.

Buddhists do not say that one group of people is better than another. Their teachings are about how people think and act, so many Buddhists see racism as a mistake in the mind that causes suffering (dukkha) for everyone.

Key terms:

• Metta (recap from Buddhism: Impermanence, Compassion and Caring for the World): loving-kindness, a wish for all beings to be happy.
• The three poisons: greed, hatred and ignorance, the three roots of unskilful actions.

Metta for all beings

Buddhists practise metta by wishing, again and again, for others to be well and happy. The Metta Sutta teaches that this kindness should be boundless and should reach all beings, without exception. It compares it to a mother who guards her only child. Nobody is left out because of their skin colour, language or country.

Buddhists also teach that every being wants to be happy and wants to avoid suffering. If this is true for everyone, then it is true for people of every race, so there is no good reason to treat one group worse than another. Many Buddhists also remember interbeing (see Buddhism and Human Rights): we depend on one another, so harming one group harms everybody.

Judged by actions, not birth

In India at the time of the Buddha, a person's birth decided their place in society. The Buddha disagreed. In the Vasettha Sutta he teaches that a person becomes a true brahmin (a respected, high-ranking person), or an outcast, by their deeds and not by birth. Buddhists point out that people of all backgrounds joined the Sangha, the Buddhist community, and that a person's worth was judged by how they lived.

Today many Buddhists use this teaching against racism. If a person is judged by their actions, it makes no sense to judge them by their colour or ancestors.

Prejudice and the three poisons

The three poisons are the roots of unskilful actions, and many Buddhists say prejudice grows from all three.

Buddhists try to weaken the poisons by practising metta and mindfulness (paying full attention to what you think, say and do). Right Speech (see Buddhist Peacemaking and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship) also rules out insults and racist abuse.

Examples of racial harmony in Buddhist practice

• Multi-ethnic centres: the Triratna Buddhist Community was founded in London in 1967. It has centres in Britain, India and many other countries, and welcomes people from many backgrounds to meditate and study together.
• Plum Village: the community in France founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. Monks, nuns and lay people from many countries live and practise together there, and hold retreats open to visitors.
• Rejecting caste: in 1956 Dr B. R. Ambedkar and a very large crowd of followers became Buddhists in Nagpur, India. They were leaving a Hindu caste system in which they were treated as lower, and many chose Buddhism because it teaches that people are equal. This is about caste, not race, but it shows the same teaching that birth should not decide how people are treated.
• Engaged Buddhism: as in Buddhism and Human Rights, many Buddhists put their teaching into action. Some Buddhist groups run projects that bring people from different backgrounds together.

Teaching and practice

As in every religion, followers do not always live up to what is taught. Some Buddhist communities have been slow to welcome people from other groups, and some Buddhists have held prejudiced views. Many Buddhists say that this is why the teaching matters: prejudice shows that the three poisons are still at work, and metta and mindfulness are the way to weaken them.

Exam-style question

Paper 1, Section 4 style.

(a) Identify three ways in which people can promote racial harmony. [3 marks]

(b) Choose one religion. Outline two teachings from this religion that oppose racism. [4 marks]

(c) Choose one religion. Explain why followers of this religion support racial harmony. [6 marks]

(d) "Religion is the best way to bring about racial harmony."
Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]