Is civil disobedience against the Buddhist moral values or standards of behaviour? Shall Buddhism accept disobedience of law as one form of resistance? Find your answer from the following article. Civil Disobedience – A Call for Conscience Author: GOH TAY HOCK Civil disobedience is a form of civil resistance against injustice. It has been applied against unjust state of affairs in the past. However, the concept and theories of the same have only been developed, derived and defined through the implementation of civil disobedience in civil societies during the last century. Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. It is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one of the many ways people have rebelled against what they deem to be unfair laws. A distinction shall be drawn between nonviolent civil disobedience, lawful protest demonstration and violent disobedience. Active and professed refusal to obey unfair laws is meant to awaken the conscience of the public or the ruling authorities so that unjust state of affairs be corrected or unfair laws be repealed. In modern democratic society, the government is formed through public election and by the people. If the conscience of the people has been awakened against the unjust state of affairs or unfair laws, corrective action by the government will follow through. This is the working mechanism of civil disobedience. Hence, it could be said that it is compassion in the form of respectful disagreement. Is civil disobedience against the Buddhist moral values or standards of behaviour? Shall Buddhism accept disobedience of law as one form of resistance? Let us start with the moral value for obedience of law. Human beings stay together as a family, tribe, race and nation due to challenges and compelling living conditions. However, human relations are full of conflicts. Moral ethics have been developed to deal with and settle conflicts between those living together so as to establish harmonious society. Immoral acts will be rejected by the public but there is no force of law against them. Important moral values are therefore made into laws so that those who violate the laws be punished accordingly. In short, obedience of law is to give legal effect to moral values and is necessary for establishing harmonious society. Different religions have different theology and origin of moral codes. Buddhism derives its origin of moral codes from observation of the nature of the dependent origination. The Law of Dependent Origination reveals that all phenomena in this universe are relative, conditioned states and do not arise independently of supportive conditions. A phenomenon arises because of a combination of conditions which are present to support its arising. And the phenomenon will cease when the conditions and components supporting its arising change and no longer sustain it. The presence of these supportive conditions, in turn, depends on other factors for their arising, sustenance and disappearance. Through profound observation of the nature of the dependent origination, one shall realize that all existences are conditioned and all sentient beings are equal. Since all sentient beings are equal, placing ourselves in their position, due respect to each and every sentient being and safeguard against each and every one of them shall arise. Liberation of sentient beings from suffering shall therefore become our commitment. We shall therefore control ourselves to obey all laws in order to uphold public morality and to establish harmonious society. If obedience of law is Buddhist morality, then would disobedience of law as a form of civil resistance be against the Buddhist moral values? A careful observation of the nature of dependent origination will give us the right answer. A nation or society is formed through a combination of conditions which are present to support its formation. These conditions may not be fair and just. For example, the Blacks were deprived of their civil rights in those early years of United States of America. They had thus no participating right in laws making process. The laws passed by the Parliament of the Whites safeguarded no right of the Blacks. Most of the laws were unfair to the Blacks. Similarly, the laws legislated by the British in India protected only the rights and interest of the Englishmen and were unjust towards the Indians. The Blacks and the Indians were then suffering. The Blacks thus came up with the American Civil Rights Movement to call for the conscience of the public through active and professed refusal to obey unfair laws. Mahatma Gandhi on the other hands launched his civil resistance campaign to lead India in the struggle for independence from the British Empire. The Blacks finally gains their civil rights and the India was granted independence they asked for. The conscience of the people and the ruling authorities had been awakened. Through profound observation of the nature of the dependent origination, one shall realize that all existences are conditioned and all sentient beings are equal. Since all sentient beings are equal, placing ourselves in their position, liberation of sentient beings from suffering shall therefore become our commitment. Liberation of the suffering of the Blacks and the Indians shall be our commitment. In these situations, obedience of unfair laws is not in conformity with the Buddhist morality. In contrast, civil disobedience of unfair laws to awake the conscience of the public and the ruling authorities shall instead be the right action and is in conformity with Buddhist Morality and the Law of Dependent Origination. The Gautama Buddha had in fact refused to obey the existing law of His time to uphold justice and equality. The then caste system had divided the Indians into four castes. The untouchables from the lowest caste had no civil and religious rights. They had no right to rebirth according to the teachings of Vedas. These were the unjust laws. The Gautama Buddha challenged the caste system by admitting the untouchables from the lowest caste into the Buddha Sangha as monks and nuns. They had attained Arahantahood notwithstanding their past life history. Their achievement roared against the unjust caste system and called for the awakening of the conscience of the public. As a conclusion, active and professed refusal to obey unfair laws so as to awaken the conscience of the public or the ruling authorities to have unjust state of affairs be corrected or unfair laws be repealed is in conformity with the Buddhist morality and the Law of Dependent Origination. Photographed by: GOH TAY HOCK
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 02:44:55 +0000
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