The Intersection of Bodhicitta and Engaged Buddhism
During our monthly One Community gatherings, we deepen our understanding of the Dharma and connect with our fellow Sangha members. A Namchak teacher, staff member, or thought leader facilitates each gathering. The monthly themes revolve around Buddhist concepts and Namchak practices. These gatherings are free and open to anyone interested in learning about Buddhism.
What is Engaged Bodhicitta?
Bodhicitta means “the mind of enlightenment,” which represents the desire and commitment to free all beings from suffering and bring them to their own state of enlightenment.
There are two types of Bodhicitta: Aspirational and Engaged. Beyond the aspiration of Bodhicitta to “free all beings and bring them into enlightenment,” being “engaged” refers to the kinds of practices that one might exercise to fulfill the pledge of Bodhicitta.
One can practice Engaged Bodhicitta through the Six Perfections.
The Six Perfections or Six Paramitas:
- Generosity
- Ethical Discipline
- Patience
- Diligence or Joyful Effort
- Meditative Concentration
- Wisdom
These practices are what we mean when referring to Engaged Bodhicitta, and the perfection of these elements is how beings are freed and enlightened.
What is Engaged Buddhism?
The modern concept of Engaged Buddhism derives from the traditional concept of Engaged Bodhicitta. It refers to our actions to end suffering and help others reach enlightenment.
Engaged Buddhism is a sub-movement within the larger Buddhist framework. Many different leaders, teachers, and organizations identify as Engaged Buddhists and are working to bring about social, political, and environmental change.
In its contemporary expression, Engaged Buddhism has more of a “worldly focus” than other practices. This is not to suggest that there’s any problem with spending your life in deep practice seeking your own personal enlightenment, but Engaged Buddhism places a strong emphasis on how we live our own personal, fullest expression of ourselves, how we share our individual gifts with the world, and how we help to bring about collective enlightenment.
Despite the brokenness and challenges of the world, there is a deeply rooted sense that global awakening and collective enlightenment are possible now and in future generations.
How do Engaged Buddhism and Bodhicitta intersect?
Bodhicitta—the awakened heart-mind that aspires to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings—is Engaged Buddhism’s foundation. While Bodhicitta begins as an inner aspiration, its natural expression extends outward into compassionate action. Engaged Buddhism, a modern movement inspired by traditional teachings, brings this aspiration into the world by addressing the suffering caused by social, political, and environmental injustice.
At their intersection, Bodhicitta fuels a deep motivation not only to free oneself from suffering, but also to alleviate the suffering of others in tangible, systemic ways. Through this union, spiritual practice becomes transformational within and beyond the cushion.
The Development of Engaged Buddhism
Some examples of Engaged Buddhism are seen in the work of Thich Nhat Hanh and Joanna Macy.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a beloved teacher largely responsible for popularizing Engaged Buddhism, especially during the Vietnam War. After years of teaching and caring for fellow monks and Vietnamese citizens during and after the war, he also worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many other spiritual activists to help transform people’s compassion into real action.
Joanna Macy is a leader in Engaged Buddhism in North America and a Buddhist ecologist, with whom Joshua Gorman studied closely for many years.
The Intersection of Bodhicitta and Compassion
Compassion is a common topic in Buddhism. In this context, we speak of compassion in relation to Bodhicitta or as a method for developing Bodhicitta.
The difference between Compassion and Bodhicitta is that compassion is the mind that sees the suffering of beings, the causes of their suffering, and wishes for them to be free of it. Bodhicitta takes this a step further and wishes for them to be free of suffering and its causes and bring them to the ultimate state of enlightenment.
How to Develop Compassion
We can develop greater compassion by practicing Tonglen, one of the Four Immeasurables or Four Boundless Thoughts. Tonglen practice is a meditation in which one imagines giving all one’s goodness to others and taking on all their suffering. We can begin by imagining giving ourselves goodness, taking away our suffering, and then expanding this to others.
With dedicated practice, we expand it to those who have wronged us. When we practice Tonglen, we feel our connection with others more deeply. When we feel this connection, it becomes harder to act in a way that may harm others. Usually, it is easy for us to feel love, compassion, and connection to those close to us, but it is challenging to feel it with people we do not like or with whom we have no direct relationship.
By expanding the practice of Compassion to all beings, we expand our field of concern beyond ourselves and our close ones and simultaneously release some of our attachment to our selfish concerns.
Examples of Engaged Buddhism
1. Practicing Generosity in the context of the Six Perfections.
The Perfection of Generosity also serves as a guide for our behavior. Depending on a person’s life experiences, generosity may not come easily.
There is a story about a miserable king during the time of the Buddha. The king could not bring himself to share anything. The Buddha began by teaching the king to pass an object from one of his own hands to the other. By doing this, he gradually imagined letting go and giving to someone else. We will unlikely follow that practice, but it illustrates how we can begin wherever we are when we practice generosity or any perfection.
Practicing Generosity can be simple. Here are some examples:
- Sharing food with someone in need.
- Protecting someone from negative emotions like fear.
- Protesting a social injustice.
- Sharing the gift of Dharma.
- Saving a worm or snail by moving them back to the moist soil from a busy street.
There are more traditional methods and frameworks of practice, but it’s up to you to choose what feels most appropriate in your life and worldview.
2. Getting involved in your community in a way that brings positive change.
One of the most effective ways to put our practice to use is to engage with others in Sangha or community. Can we stay present with them? Can we access our most compassionate selves? An old Buddhist proverb asks, “Which brings a greater blessing, the Buddha, or sentient beings?” The answer is sentient beings because while the Buddha gave us the teachings, it is in the ways we relate to other beings and the world around us that we reflect transformation in ourselves. We cannot perfect our sense of patience if we don’t have someone who inspires us to practice patience.
3. There are also some great organizations and programs supporting positive change in various aspects of Buddhism, such as:
- The Buddhist Action Coalition – teaches meditation and serves as a vocal presence for peace, justice, and civility.
- One Earth Sangha – offers an eight-week journey and deep dive into environmental change and opportunities to serve through their Eco-Sattva Training.
What challenges arise when living an Engaged Buddhist life, and how can we overcome them?
The biggest obstacles could be summed up as expectation, fear, and doubt. An example when practicing the Six Perfections would be if you are giving your time, money, or effort to a person or organization but holding expectations about the outcomes. This can have problematic results, like “burnout” or exhaustion. Part of practicing Generosity is giving without expectation of any reward or reciprocal response. In the Bodhicitta perspective, we give and do good solely to free people from suffering and reach enlightenment. It is through this attitude that we perfect the aspirations of Bodhicitta.
Ultimately, for the bodhisattva (one with a Bodhicitta mind), the goal of any action is to give freely, hoping for the best and maximum benefit for others. Our attitude should be something like: “May this gift of my service be a cause, for the benefit of all beings, for them to be free from suffering and attain enlightenment.” If you can approach your efforts with this attitude and be free from expectations, you can give and act without regretting your choice to serve.
Here’s the recording of the live discussion with Justin Kirkwood and Joshua Gorman, here’s a link to Aspirational and Engaged Bodhicitta on YouTube.
About Justin Kirkwood
Justin Kirkwood is a dedicated dharma student and teacher with over 20 years of experience in studying and practicing Buddhism. Formally trained in monastic universities in India, Justin had the privilege of studying and practicing with many renowned Tibetan masters. He has also worked as a Tibetan translator and interpreter for over 15 years, deepening his understanding of the sacred texts. Justin is a vital member of the Namchak Foundation, serving as a translator of texts, an interpreter for Namchak Khen Rinpoche, and a teacher.
About Joshua Gorman
Joshua Gorman is a changemaker, youth organizer, and community builder living in northern California. He founded Generation Waking Up, a nonprofit enterprise empowering diverse young changemakers, and is a co-founder of the Thrive Network, an organization building beloved community for these times. Joshua worked closely with Namchak on the creation of the Compassion in Action Network, and as a student at Namchak, he recently graduated from the AWE program and is working to complete the Ngondro. As a practitioner of Engaged Buddhism, Joshua seeks to uplift the many efforts of Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners who are connecting their spiritual practice with social action in the world.