An Inconvenient Buddhist:

Reviewed by Hozan Alan Senauke

As much as anyone I can think of, Sulak Sivaraksa embodies a the qualities of an engaged Buddhist. He has been practitioner, social philosopher, writer, activist, and trouble-making truth-teller for fifty years. While he is not well enough known in our western Buddhist circles, Sulak’s writing and work—founding the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) and many other grassroots organizations in Thailand and Asia-at-large—have been an essential link among engaged Buddhists for more than thirty years. He is the author of at least a hundred hard-to-find books in Thai and English, so this succinct new volume, The Wisdom of Sustainability, will broaden his audience and deepen our understanding of his critical vision of an interdependent world.

I met Sulak Sivaraksa on my doorstep eighteen years ago, suitcase in hand, exiled from Siam (the traditional name he prefers for Thailand). Thailand was in the midst of a periodic military coup, and as a result of his brash inclination to speak truth to power, Sulak was charged with lese-majeste and defamation of coup leader General Suchinda Kraprayoon. The seriousness of these charges, and threats against his life, led Sulak to flee his native land—not for the first or last time. All his life Sulak has been an inconvenient man. As the title of his autobiography reads: Loyalty Demands Dissent.

When he arrived at our home, I was familiar with Sulak’s writings and inspired by his engaged Buddhist work. Earlier that year Parallax Press (founded by Arnold Kotler, now of Koa Books) published Sulak Sivarksa’s Seeds of Peace—A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society. Many of us in the west inhaled his teachings about the dangers of consumerism, the harsh realities of structural violence, the necessity of grassroots interfaith social action, and a Buddhist-based vision of society. In the years since, a wide community of Buddhist activists have worked closely with Sulak in INEB and other initiatives, building unique working relationships with peers in Burma, India, Sri Lanka, Ladakh, Bangladesh, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the west.

The Wisdom of Sustainability expands on themes Sulak has hammered out for many years. The book begins with the life of the Buddha, his first encounter with sickness, old age, death, and renunciation—heavenly messengers. Just one paragraph later, Sulak is speaking with James Wolfensohn, then president of the World Bank, at the time of an Asian financial collapse in 1998. He tells Wolfensohn that he sees this collapse as “a heavenly messenger to encourage us to seek alternatives to economic globalization.” This seems to be a considerable leap, but Sulak’s vision of dharma is logically compelling and clear.

He reframes the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as analytical tools for examining social/structural realities, and as guideposts towards a culture of peace. In the midst of conflict, the first noble truth, the acknowledgement of suffering, calls all parties to speak from their direct experience.

Second we try to understand the external and psychological roots of the conflict. When we project our emotions onto an object (animate or inanimate), we experience the “other” as having traits which, in fact, dwell first in our own unconscious mind … To discover the roots of any conflict, we must also examine its psychological dimensions.

The third noble truth is the cessation of the causes of suffering. This does not presuppose that we can reach a state that is conflict-free, but encourages us to grapple with the details—internal and external—every time. Conflict can be an opportunity to go directly to the heart of the matter and learn more about ourselves.

The fourth noble truth—peace as a way of life—shows us how to live in ways that reduce suffering and conflict.

The fourth noble truth is the eightfold path, which is precisely about relationship to the world around us and to ourselves. As Sulka says later in the book, “The teachings of the Buddha transcend individual suffering.” This emphasis on relationship, bringing everything down to a human scale is, in fact, the “wisdom of sustainability.” Sulak is extending the radical approach to Buddhist economics laid down in E. F. Schumaker’s Small Is Beautiful.

We need to find ways to make communities stronger—socially, politically, and economically. We need to re-establish the commons—the public sphere … making decisions about the things that affect their lives and livelihood.

Like all good teachers, Sulak raises essential questions and leaves them for us to answer. The Wisdom of Sustainability is concise and clear, deceptive in its simplicity, but deep. The urgent social questions Sulak raises and the inner work that goes hand in hand with social action must be our life and practice. Closing with Sulak’s words, I hope you will study this wise book yourself, so that, in time, each of us can become more inconvenient—for the sake of the world.

The root of the world buddha means “to be awake.” When we are awakened to simplicity and humility and aware of the suffering engendered by greed, hatred, and ignorance, our consciousness is restructured. We become mindful about ourselves and others, and naturally try to restructure society.