A theology of international relations : a Buddhist approach to religion and politics in an interdependent world

Buddhism and international relations;Religion and politics;Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935-;Tutu, Desmond

Chavez-Segura, Alejandro ; Aguilar, Mario I. ; Aguilar, Mario I.

University:University of St Andrews

Department:Divinity (School of)

关键词: Buddhism and international relations;    Religion and politics;    Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935-;    Tutu, Desmond;   

Others  :  https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/2091/AlejandroChavezSeguraPhDThesis.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y

来源: DR-NTU

【 摘 要 】

For many decades, Buddhism in the West has been conceived as an ‘other-worldly’religion with very little or –at least—limited authority in the public arena. This partialview of the Buddhist path overlooks the potential of Buddhism to interpret reality andhelp establish new causes and conditions to improve it. This thesis is rooted inBuddhism and seeks to develop a Buddhist theology in order to understand howinternational relations, as part of the contingent reality, are subject to change. Thus thereis the possibility of reconstructing reality through the sum of individual will expressedin social groups, institutions and states.This Theology of International Relations follows a methodology of causalityrooted in the dependent origination found in Buddhist theology. Thus, relative reality isconceived as the result of the interaction of different causes and conditions; individuals,through their thoughts and actions, provide new conditions which will be crystallized inparticular social arrangements through an inter-subjective consensus. This arrangementis highly influenced by the individual’s allegiance with the sacred, however this isconceived, and thus establishes an ethical guideline in the individual’s relationship withother sentient beings and the ultimate level of existence.This dependent construction of reality goes from the individual level of analysisto the social, state, interstate and global levels in a chain of contingent reality. ThereforeI suggest that states, institutions and society are the reflection of shared ideas, beliefs,goals and perceptions of reality between individuals. The human capacity to shapereality is rooted in the premise that they face a relative reality, one that is contingent onseveral causes and conditions. In Buddhism, all sentient beings play a key role inshaping reality but human beings play a unique role because they can overcomesuffering when they recognize the interdependent relation of causes and conditions in arelative reality. If this is achieved, then absolute reality can be experienced, wherein theindividual goes beyond all conceptions and senses in a state of emptiness of the self.These core ideas of a contingent reality, its construction through an inter-subjectiveconsensus and the need to experience an absolute reality are premises which Buddhisttheology developed and which this thesis explores.In chapter one this thesis considers the basis of Buddhist theology and how itexplains the experience of the sacred, the role of religion and the potential for theconstruction of a relative reality. This thesis argues that religion is at the core of humanexistence as a vessel of faith which follows a particular theological path toward acommunion with the divine. The Buddhist path, aware of the interaction of differentlevels of reality—relative and absolute—also conceives inner development and socialchange as key elements of an interdependent transformation. The idea of ‘world peacethrough inner peace’ is one advocated by ‘engaged Buddhists’ and found in the ethicalcode of Buddha’s message.Chapter two examines how international relations became the arena whereindividuals, institutions and states converge and reflect the basic premises of theirworld-views, whether rooted in anger, hatred and ignorance of the interdependent natureof all phenomena, or based in compassion and awareness of a shared common good. Inaddition, it addresses the issue of the resurgence of religion in international relations andhow it is present or absent from political science theories and policy making. Throughthis analysis, several established elements such as the concept of the state, secularismand religion as a source of war, are challenged in a new era of multi-agency and mutualinfluence through religious ideas, groups and communities.Following this inter-subjective construction of the world, the thesis presents twocase studies which argue that religious leaders exercise political influence through theiractions, ideas and beliefs. The first is the life and works of Tenzin Gyatso, theFourteenth Dalai Lama in chapter three and the second is the life of ArchbishopDesmond Tutu in chapter four. The former having suffered the violent occupation ofTibet and the continuous attacks on Tibetan culture that led him into exile, and the latterhaving faced the policies of hatred under apartheid, the Dalai Lama and Tutu managedto suggest a world where forgiveness is rooted in compassion and were human beingsshare the responsibility of creating a compassionate reality.The final chapter develops a new approach to the study of religion and politicsproviding new variables of study and new categories to understand how internationalrelations are influenced by religious ideas and movements. This thesis argues that thereis a need to study and understand this interdependent relation between religious andsecular actors through theoretical approaches in international relations and opens thediscipline to new paradigms such as the Buddhist theological approach. The outcome ofthis partnership depends on the individual’s decision to engage, whether in negativecausation that leads to violence, fear, terror and the perpetuation of suffering or in apositive one which opens the possibility of peace and liberation from suffering throughcompassion, forgiveness and reconciliation, recognizing our common humanity andshared universal responsibility.