Buddhism is often criticized as a religion mainly concerned with personal
salvation and lacking a social ethic that leads to social liberation.
Although it seems so, Buddhist teachings on personal conduct
contain principles that could be reinterpreted and extended to a social
ethical theory as well as praxis leading to social liberation, hence the
so-called Buddhist liberation theology.1
The experience of Thailand
is a good framework in which to approach Buddhist liberation theology,
offering an opportunity to examine sociopolitical issues under the
global market economy at a structural level and from a Third World
point of view. Buddhist monks in Thailand are part of a unified hierarchical
sangha (community of monastics) which in turn is controlled
by the government. Everyday Buddhist monks all over Thailand eat
food given to them by Thai people, the majority of whom are poor and
oppressed. This makes it possible to look at Buddhism from a sociopolitical
perspective that aims at social justice, thereby adding a new
dimension to the Buddhist hermeneutics for the poor. Greed is thereby
seen not just in individual terms but also as a built-in mechanism of
oppressive social structures. If greed is to be reduced or eliminated,
therefore, personal self-restraint will not be enough; these social
structures need to be changed as well. Many Buddhists seek liberation
(Pali: nibbaµna, Sanskrit: nirvaµna) by practicing meditation, but
do not pay sufficient attention to the way the society in which they