Buddhism, Politics, and

Buddhism viewed generically as a broad church is a religio-philosophical system which presents a world view. This understanding of Buddhism, it is argued, among other considerations, has a bearing on church and state relations. In exploring aspects of religion and statecraft, the Paper adopts a historical-doctrinal viewpoints rather than one based on popular Buddhism, i.e., the day to day practice viewed historically. The social and political philosophy manifested in matters of governance was framed within a spirit of humanism markedly evident in the Edicts of the famed Indian Emperor Asoka. In many respects Buddhist ideals of statecraft embodying principles and practices such as the rule of law, deliberative democracy, procedures of governance and the social policies of the Asokan welfare state bear a striking similarity to Enlightenment values in Europe. This remarkable consequence of East-West dichotomies, the paper concludes, may create the space for a civilizational dialogue, not a ‘clash of civilizations.