Now Playing: Peace Warrior

I’ve written a lot about socially engaged Buddhism - what it is, what it isn’t. But my entries on this topic so far have been theoretical and academic, historical without many concrete examples.

Thich Nhat Hanh is the one who gets credit for the term, but he is not the only major Buddhist social activist. There is Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest in Myanmar. And of course there is the Dalai Lama, whose courageous struggle against the Chinese government resonates around the world. But there is another figure who doesn't get the attention he deserves - Sulak Sivaraksa.

He has written dozens of books and articles on Engaged Buddhism. He has received, among others, the Gandhi Millennium Award and the Right Livelihood Award. Although the latter has been called the "Alternative Nobel Prize," it is not a trivial award, as it has also been received by the likes of Vandana Shiva and Mordechai Vanunu. 

Sivaraksa founded a social science review that analyzed social and political issues while living under dictatorship years before social work became the major force it is in the West. He guided several important NGO’s in Thailand and continued his work under exile.

Sivaraksa is a model, not only for Buddhists, but for any religious or spiritual social activist.