Expert: John Willemsens aka Advayavadananda - 8/22/2005

Question
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have recently become very interested in Buddhism and have come upon a wall. Buddhism teaches that one must accept things as they are - that suffering or "unsatisfactoriness" comes from trying to change the world and that happiness or enlightenment can only be achieved by accepting things.

But isn't it important to try and change things if we can - alleviate the suffering of children, overthrow oppressive governments, generally strive to make the world better?
Answer -
Dear Brian,
There is nothing wrong with the world. What dearly needs improving is man's way of living life.
Kind regards,
Advayavadananda.

Thanks for your answer. However, I think you misunderstood my question. So I'll try to be more clear. By "the world" I meant human society. If we work to accept things as they are, then things would not change. Sometimes it is important to work to change things. For example, if people are enslaved, should they simply accept that they are enslaved?

Answer
Dear Brian,
The following is from our website:
<<
question Surely as a Buddhist one cannot say that life or the world automatically improves irrespective of the actions and mental states of the people who inhabit it.

question Unless some people make a determined effort to encourage non-violence, generosity, appreciation, truthful communication and awareness in society at large, then I fear Reality will be "sequential and dynamic in the sense of ever-becoming worse than before!".

answer One must realize that not mankind, human beings, the human manifestation of life, or, for that matter, the 'world', is the measure of things in space and time, but existence itself, the overall all-including flow of existence. Our position is that the objective of the Middle Way is to reconnect and reconcile us with this existence that encompasses everything, and that the Middle Way in its Eightfold Path form must be seen as an ongoing reflexion at the level of our personal lives of existence as a whole moving forwards over time in the right direction. It is only when you interpret and heed the Buddha's teachings thus, that the efforts you speak of will bear any fruit.
>>
Of course human society must change, and the way to go about changing it is, in our view, to follow the Middle Way to the the best of your ability. By following the Middle Way one attunes to overall existence progressing in its right direction. Read also the last QandA on our QandA webpage.
Best regards,
Advayavadananda.
http://www.euronet.nl/~advaya/qanda.htm