Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Buddhism encountered modernity when it first time came to the West in the 18th century, and modernity first encountered Buddhism when Western models of development and technology came to the East. Modernity has brought profound changes in the way the world lives, and though some of these changes are undoubtedly good, they are also the cause of one of the worst crises the world has ever had to face. From a Buddhist perspective, it is clear that one of the problems of modernity is the gap that exists between material progress and ethics. This explains why, even though there have been positive advances in many areas of science and technology, many of these advances are not within the reach of a substantial part of the human race. This paper has been divided into four parts: 1) Definitions, where I examine the meanings of Buddhism and Modernity; 2) Problems, where I briefly point out some of the most serious problems humankind is facing in the 21st century; 3) Strategies, where I explore several strategies based on the Buddha’s teachings for coping with the problems of modernity and for keeping a healthy mind; and 4) Final considerations, where I sum up the paper’s main points and include some reflections which are based on the principle of comparing oneself with others.