Buddhism and political theory: a three part dialogue between two worlds

The Relevance of Buddhist Perspectives to Political Science Education

“…Buddhist teachings built the divine king after mythological-historical figures (Tomalin, 2007). Regardless of the fact that the area of Buddhism and politics has all through the decades delivered a number of noteworthy works, the spotlight has usually been placed on the relationship's general structure instead of its potentially revolutionary aspects .Buddhist philosophy is primarily an ontology founded on assertions about the nature of reality out of which, depending on the circumstances and their interrelationship, insights relevant to sociology, psychology, or political theory can indeed be extracted (Ward, 2017). Buddhism was able to ideologically strengthen ideas of rule, which frequently assisted on maintaining the power of the governing authorities.…”

“…The constitutive tales of Buddhist kingship form the base for this idealistic approach to leadership and statecraft ). Buddhism's theory of human autonomy acts as a link between the ideologies of relativism and resentment (Ward, 2017). Heterodox people and groups have fostered resistance and opposition to rulers and governments through Buddhist history .…”

“…Buddhism regards that 'rational thought' and 'emotional responses' are not mutually exclusive but, rather, interrelated. Since Buddhist thinking exists from outside of the Western epistemologies and ontologies, this can break a few of the stumbling blocks of the Western thoughts (Ward, 2017). Buddhism advises the accomplishment of a greater level of sukha (happiness) which emerges from non-acquisition; it can also be obtained from offering, assisting others to be reassured from suffering.…”