The document discusses how Buddhist philosophy can provide insights for modern society. It argues that while modern civilization has achieved material advancement, it has failed to address inequality, injustice, and other social problems. It attributes this failure to an overemphasis on external factors and neglect of the inner world and mind. Buddhist philosophy focuses extensively on understanding the mind and mental factors that lead to suffering or happiness. Modern society could benefit from considering how to cultivate positive mental states like compassion through practices like meditation, and incorporating Buddhist psychological principles into areas like education and clinical research.

1. Out of the Box Conference
University of Maribor
Maribor, Slovenia
15-17 May 2012
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2. Buddhist Philosophy
and
Modern Society
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3. The modern civilization proclaims that the
modern society is highly advanced with its
achievements in finding new social systems,
economic systems, scientific inventions and
discoveries and technological innovations.
Yes, there have undeniably been remarkable
strides taken in the material world with the
objective of making our life happier and easier.
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4. Still our world is ravaged by inequality, injustice,
oppression, war, violence and consumerism.
The rate of suicide in both the developed and
developing countries itself is a clear indication
of the fact that we have badly failed in making
this world a better place to live in with peace
and happiness.
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5. The technological innovations have been
wonderful but the dark side of the story is a
mater of great concern.
Human beings have made extremely powerful
atomic and nuclear bombs that can destroy the
this planet ten times.
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6. Due to our hatred and animosity we have made
this world insecure where we live with constant
fear.
This fact is reflected by the magnitude of scale
of the military expenditures made at the global
level.
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7. Global military expenditure, in the recent
years, stands at over 1.6 billion dollars in a
year.
There has been a steep escalation in the
military expenditure since 2001.
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10. If the total amount of money spent
on defense is utilized for health,
education or for any other peaceful
purpose in the world, it can cover
every single person on this earth
with 236 dollars each.
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11. The United Nation Organization was
established to be committed to
preserving peace through international
cooperation and collective security.
Yet, the UNO’s entire budget is just a
tiny fraction of the world’s military
expenditure, approximately 1.8%
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12. While we have defence ministry as one
of the most prominent organs of the
government in every country, strangely,
we have no ministry for peace, perhaps,
in any country around the world. This
itself reflects a significant fact that the
world culture is dominated by violence
with a deep sense of fear and insecurity.
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13. The two economic systems viz. the
communism and the capitalism became the
foundations of different political and social
systems of modern world.
Communism, although driven by a good
motivation to bring equality in society, not
only failed to yield expected result, but
brought hatred and injustice instead in the
society.
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14. The main reason behind the failure is that
the propounders of the view and its leaders
failed to trace and address the very source of
equality.
Equality can not be brought in the society by
making rules and laws but it has to be
brought by transforming the people through
developing values and perceptions in them.
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15. Capitalism, on the other hand, is applauded for its
free market and efficient production etc. however,
we have seen the multi-facet down falls of
capitalism which has resulted the global economic
crises.
Consumerism is a direct result of capitalism which
is rooted to desire and craving.
Global ecological problem is a result of
consumerism rooted to insatiable desire and
craving.
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16. We can sum up that the advancement of
modern society is basically materialistic
in nature and the very approach behind
the advancement is extroverted.
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17. Here, I would like to emphatically state that
modern civilization has neglected the
importance of inner world, the mind, which
is the ultimate source responsible for every
positive and negative action that are in turn
responsible for happiness and suffering
respectively.
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18. The great Buddhist master Shantideva has said:
Even those who wish to find happiness and
overcome suffering
Wonder with no aim nor meaning
As they do not comprehend the secret of the
mind –
The paramount significance of Dharma.
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19. He has further said:
Although wishing to be free from suffering,
They run towards suffering itself.
Although wishing to have happiness.
Like an enemy they ignorantly destroy it.
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20. In the perspective of modern civilization,
craving, hatred, desire, ignorance etc. are
inherently associated with our lives and their
existence is never questioned.
Thus every system of modern society is built
on either one of them or on many of them.
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21. However, according to Buddhism, these
mental entities are identified as the afflictive
mental phenomena which are responsible for
every negative action that in turn invariably
bring suffering.
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22. We have to come out of the box of
the thinking culture that:
*Problems can be genuinely solved with materialistic and
external approach
*Genuine peace, happiness and prosperity can be
brought only with materialistic and external approach
*Mind and mental phenomena do not need to be taken
into account in bringing peace and prosperity in the
society
*Ignoring the fact that mind and mental phenomena are
responsible for every negative and positive actions
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23. Here on we need to develop new perspectives
That:
*The failures and problems of modern civilization
is due to ignoring the inner world, the mind and
mental phenomena
*The fact that mind and metal phenomena are
responsible for every negative and positive
action which are in turn responsible for
suffering and happiness respectively
*Balance must be maintained between the
material world and the inner world
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24. Buddha has identified the negative mental
elements as the origin of suffering in his first
discourse at Sarnath while demonstrating the
cause and effect of samsara, the cyclic
existence.
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25. According to Buddhism, afflictive mental elements are
destructive in nature.
When anger, for example, arises the first victim is not the
target of the anger but the person in whom the anger has
arisen.
It destroys the tranquility of mind, disturbs the rationality
of mind, and distorts the perception of object.
Eventually, its impact is seen on other persons.
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26. Since the mental factors are extremely
important, Buddha and the following
Buddhist masters have extensively
elaborated the system of mind which include
categories of negative, positive and neutral
mental entities. Each of these has long list of
mental entities.
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27. Each of these mental elements are explained
in great detail with:
-individual characteristics,
-the mode of origination,
-environmental factors and causal factors
under which circumstance they come
into existence and
-their impacts on the mental and behavioral
attitude.
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28. Various methods of confronting the negative
mental elements are extensively
demonstrated with different levels:
-evading them,
-subduing them,
-reducing them and
-finally eliminating them.
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29. There is extensive account of the positive mental
phenomena like love, compassion, generosity, patience,
altruism and so forth providing detailed instructions to
cultivate them through meditation.
Cultivation of these inner values makes life very different.
Positive thinking and positive attitude makes positive
impact on ones own life and life of others.
Buddhist spiritual practice is primarily to work on the
elimination of the negative mental elements and
development of the positive mental elements.
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30. Since more than two decades His Holiness the Dalai Lama
has been having dialogs with many leading scientists:
physicists, biologists, astronomer, neurologists and
psychologists which have been remarkably productive.
This interaction has brought paradigm shifts and new
avenues in scientific researches.
Since about a decade from now, neurologist and
psychologist have been doing intensive researches on the
mental systems presented in the Buddhist psychology
with the help of many experienced meditators.
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31. The results have bee ground breaking in various areas.
They found that intensive meditation, for example, on
compassion brings many changes in neurological system
of the brain which is not possible under normal situation.
Through the power of meditation dead neurons are
rejuvenated which was not believed so earlier.
With the help of meditation it is found that the expression
of neurons are changes, which again was not believed so
earlier.
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32. It is found that due to the cultivation of positives mental
attitudes, with the help of meditation, the person
concerned is seen with much more peaceful mind.
Consequently, his behavioral attitude is seen constructive.
Of course, this brings positive social engagement.
Maintaining positive mental state is also found to have a
strong positive impact on physical health of the person.
A major shift is seen in the research of mind, as a result of
interaction with Buddhism that the scientists have begun
to do first hand experiment instead of second person
experiment.
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33. Many clinical researches are being undertaken in
conjunction with Buddhist meditation to work on
various problems associated with mind, like
mental stress and deficiency of attention etc.
which are called as Mindfulness Based Clinical
Research (MBCR), Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction (MBSR) etc.
These are experimented on both children and
adults and have proven to be immensely effective
and life changing.
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34. According to Buddhist Philosophy, all the afflictive mental
states arise due to wrongly perceiving the objects in a
distorted manner. Common beings do not perceive things
as they are. Therefore there is a big gap between the
reality and the appearance of objects.
In Buddhist philosophical view, every phenomenon is
dependently arisen and is empty of essence. They do not
have substantial status of being inherently existent.
However, they appear to common beings as
independently arisen and truly existent.
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35. Because things appear as truly existent, which is a
fabrication, inappropriate attitude develops and
thereafter hatred and aversion are developed towards
the objects which appear to be unattractive and desire
and attachment are developed towards attractive objects.
Thus on the basis of these mental states all the rest of the
afflictive mental states like anger, egoism, jealousy etc.
arise.
Following the negative mental states actions are
performed which invariably brings suffering.
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36. Thus according to Buddhism, suffering and happiness in
an individuals life or in a society are driven by the action
of the people and their good and bad actions are driven
by their positive and negative mental states.
Hence, mental state is the ultimate origin of our actions
which decide the constructive and destructive elements in
the life and society.
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37. Therefore, we must pay attention to the significant role of
the mind in our life.
Modern education system must include the materials
related to mind and values and moral education.
There is a need of fundamental change in our education
system.
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38. Thank you
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