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Article: Structural violence and spirituality: socially engaged Buddhist perspectives. (Thailand)(interview with Sulak Sivaraksa, social critic, proponent of socially engaged Buddhism, and Santikaro Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk)(Responding to Violence)(Interview)
- Article from:
- ReVision
- Article date:
- September 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Donald Rothberg: In a talk at the conference "Towards a Dhammic Society," held in Thailand in February 1995, you maintained that an understanding of structural violence is at the core of engaged Buddhism.
Sulak Sivaraksa: Before talking about structural violence, let me give some background about Buddhism and traditional Buddhist societies in Southeast Asia. Buddhism teaches the elimination of violence entirely, both intrapsychically and interpersonally. Violence is connected with what Buddhists call the "Three Poisons": greed, hatred, and delusion. Buddhist practice to transform those poisons occurs in the context of the sangha (the spiritual community), set ...