There has been considerable interest in Tibetan Buddhism here in Taiwan over the past few years. A large number of books have been published, Tibetan Buddhist groups have been organized, Tibetan masters have been come to visit and teach and, of course, there was the visit of the Dalai Lama himself.
This interest in Tibetan Buddhism could reflect one of two trends. On the less positive side, the interest could merely reflect an unhealthy interest in acquiring occult or supernatural powers. The blunt reality is that much of Tibetan Buddhism's "fame" is owing to its reputed ability to harness supernatural powers. This, combined with the superstitious tendency in Taiwanese culture, makes for an unhealthy combination.
But on a far more positive note, the interest in Tibetan Buddhism may reflect a desire to create a more compassionate society and more compassionate individuals. In my opinion, many of Taiwan's fundamental problems stem from a lack of genuine compassion in society. As a human rights advocate and an attorney, I am often struck by the lack of compassion here.
I don't say this to be insulting, nor to be racist, nor ethnocen-tric. I quickly admit that the US is not a bastion of compassion either. And I realize that it is a generalization and all generalizations have exceptions, but I think it is fair to say, that as a society, Taiwan lacks true compassion.
Compassion is central to Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama stresses the fundamental place of compassion and its relationship to human rights.
"Although it is important to respect others' natural rights, we tend to lead our lives in the opposite way," he has written. "This is because we lack love and compassion. Therefore, even in relation to the question of human rights violations and concern for human rights, the key point is the practice of compassion, love and forgiveness. Very often, when people hear about love and compassion, they have a sense that these are related to religious practices. It is not necessarily so. It is very important to recognize instead that compassion and love are fundamental to relations between sentient beings in general and human beings in particular."
I agree with the Dalai Lama's assertion that the key factor in any society, which will tend to foster support for human rights and individual dignity, is compassion. Absent a strong basis of compassion, individuals and societies tend to have a very apathetic approach to basic human rights and civil liberties. Much of the Taiwanese public's disinterest in human rights and civil liberties is a result of a lack of genuine compassion towards others. Of course there are other factors at work: historical, sociological and others, but a lack of social and individual compassion is perhaps the core problem.
The question is what exactly is this quality that is so important to both human rights and Tibetan Buddhism?
The Dalai Lama says: "I would like to explain the meaning of compassion, which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: Irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for his or her problem. This is genuine compassion."
I would hope that the widespread interest in Tibetan Buddhism leads Taiwanese to appreciate and value compassion.
If this happens, both on an individual and societal level, then the values of human rights and civil liberties will naturally have a stronger, more stable basis. And that will be very good for Taiwan in the year 2000.
Brian Kennedy is a member of the boards of Amnesty International Taiwan and the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
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