Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Buddhism is a religion which expounds a purpose of life. It clarifies obvious prejudice and discrimination all over the world, and it also conveys a code of practice to lead true happiness in life. It is not only a religion, but it is also considered as philosophical, doctrinal and social teaching. Traditional Buddhists may not agree that Buddhism does not have any social-related teachings, and wold not agree with the statement, “Buddhism is a religion which has no social concern.” In fact, there are many sources and references that can be found in Buddhist Canonical texts which explain socially connected discourses, such as Vyaggapajjha Sutta, pattakamma sutta, Sigalovāda Sutta, Maṅgala Sutta, and cakkavattisīhanāda Sutta. Some scholars assume that Buddhism is not concerned about social development because of their limited knowledge and comprehension of Buddhism. Therefore, they thought Buddhism ignored social development and welfare. Hence, this paper is an attempt to justify the Buddhist approach to social concern by showing some evidence and elements related to social welfare, which is available in Buddhist texts to refute the above statement that Buddhism is a religion that has no social concern.