Examining Religion and Belief: Buddhists

I once heard Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hahn, talking
at the Houses of Parliament. The talk was followed by a ‘walking
meditation’ in a small garden behind. We followed Thich Nhat
Hahn (addressed as ‘Thay’ by those in his community), a few
slow steps at a time: breathing in (two steps: I have arrived in the
here and now) and out (three steps: I am at home in this beautiful mother Earth, gaining
nourishment and restoration). Assaulted as we were by
the noise and fumes of traffic from Parliament Square,
and watched with bemusement by tourists and armed
police on duty, it was a memorable experience. It made
me reflect on how Buddhists have applied their ancient
teachings and practices to the busy contemporary
world. For many people, the Dharma seems well suited
to address the many stresses and obstacles to happiness
that occupy our twenty-first-century lives.

This book is called ‘Buddhists’ rather than ‘Buddhism’,
offering snapshots of Buddhist thought and practice
alongside some pages that offer some context, rather
than trying to present a coherent overview of a religion. It
deals in particular with the interface between the Dharma
and today’s world, providing original source material
and contemporary voices, recognising and identifying
a diversity of views, controversies and complexity. We
give some resources on the core teachings and texts (pp.
4–7) and an introduction to the spread and diversity of
Buddhist traditions. We have tried to enrich the encounter
your students have by including interviews with lay
and ordained Buddhists (pp. 8–12, 18–25), looking at the
contemporary art of Gonkar Gyatso (p. 3), exploring
some statistics on Buddhists in the UK and the world (pp.
16–17), inviting some top academics to give their scholarly
views (pp. 13–14, 32–33) and preparing your students for
examination study on the complexities of the arhat and
Bodhisattva paths (pp. 23–31).

Thoughtful activities accompany these resources. They
are intended to encourage you to make flexible use of
them, helping your students deepen their understanding
of the Buddha’s path and Buddhist practices, and to get
them thinking for themselves about the relationship
between suffering, happiness and the modern world