Project two: An experiment with the proposal, "Live in compassion for all beings"

Hinduism | Buddhism | Judaism | Christianity | Islam

For this project you are to experiment with practicing--and/or living in dialogue with--a Buddhist ideal of living in compassion for all beings.

Each individual has his or her own struggles and suffering, and you will be attuned to that to a greater degree than usual during this unit. In addition, there are struggles that are shared in very much of the society during a particular generation. Observe the society, inquiring: What are the spiritual struggles of the present generation? "Spiritual" here may be interpreted in a broad and not necessarily religious sense of the term. Come up with your own diagnosis. You will write down your answer to this question as the first part, the first page, of your paper.

To facilitate your work with the main Buddhist sutra that we are studying, the Dhammapada, I offer the following characterization of modern spiritual struggles as an example, simply because there is an obvious link between what the Dhammapada has to say and these aspects of our present culture.

You may look around and see many people who suffer from becoming to some extent caught up in modern craziness, distracted with the superficial, aggressive, individualistic egoism and competitive, commercial excesses of today's high-speed, fast-changing, opportunistic world.

Your task in response to this suffering generation is two-fold. First of all, you must become an example to the people with whom you live of the Mahayana Buddhist ideal of the bodhisattva who is devoted to compassion for all sentient beings. Of course, as always, this "assignment" comes with the understanding that you will modify it in accord with your own personal convictions. To the extent that you disagree, you are required instead to live in dialogue with the ideal during this unit. (Note that if you decide to move in the direction of a vegetarian diet, it is normally unwise to make a sudden change in this sort of habit.) For the second part of your paper, the second page, write a description of an experience in which you acted in accord with, or in dialogue with, compassion. In this part of the paper, try to select a single experience to write on. Do not merely present an abbreviated diary of the experiment. If, however, there is some feature of the experience that emerges only when the full course of experience is sketched, please go ahead and survey the full experiment.

For the third part of your paper, you are to write a discourse in which you address (in imagination) an audience of your contemporaries. Indicate what audience--local, national, or planetary--you would like to reach. Create a discourse, based on the best you find in Buddhist writings, in which you speak a liberating message to address the struggles you observe.

To prepare your discourse, you are to express enlightenment through the way you study. Look for gems in what you read from Buddhist writings--the most useful means to help you impart helpful teachings to those you will be addressing. Select the truth in what you find, and embellish and illuminate this truth as you create a helpful and uplifting discourse. As you read Buddhist writings, if you find some teachings that you judge not to be helpful, consider historically how those teachings arose, what needs they express, and how those needs might better be met. If you find something that you consider to be erroneous (or limited in ways that are outdated), you are not to expose or attack flaws. Rather, your technique is to expand on the truth that you do find, trusting that it will grow in the mind of your hearers to gradually eclipse the erroneous or more limited thinking that may presently be there. Your primary quest, again, is to discover the best that is operative within the tradition being studied and to build on it in a progressive way.

Again, you are not required to attempt to practice any ideal with which you disagree. If you need to modify what you find in Buddhist writings, go ahead and do so, and explain your modification in your paper. If an adjusted version is still unacceptable to you, live your life for the period of this project in dialogue with the best Buddhist thinking you can imagine on the basis of your study and interaction.

In the light of the results of your study of Buddhist writings, present a discourse in which you build on the best you find--from your own perspective--to address the spiritual needs of the present generation. First, say whether you are addressing Buddhists or a more general audience--in Asia or North America, an immigrant Buddhist community or North American converts, for example). Second, state what you find to be the spiritual challenges with which people are struggling today. Third, present your brief discourse, building on the best of what you have found in Buddhism. The total is to be two to three typed (12 point) double-spaced, well-written pages.

If you can meet with a Buddhist for dialogue, I will give up to one letter grade of extra credit (1 % of the course grade--half of 1% for an internet conversation--be careful about plunging into the middle of a chat room discussion). Write up your experience in an additional page appended to the end of your paper. You can ask what it's like to be a Buddhist living in North America today. What aspects of Buddhism are most meaningful to you? You can discuss your project.

In sum, the paper will have the following parts:

Diagnosis of the struggles of the present generation (one page)
An experience of compassionate living (one page)
A discourse (one or two pages)
A dialogue with a Buddhist (optional; one page)