The Awakening: How the Practice of Buddhism as a Possible

Solution in Reducing Crimes in the Philippines

A Library Research Paper

In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

In ENG2 (College Writing in English)

Presented to:

Mr. Cesario Minor Jr.

(Professor)

Presented by:

Joni Mae D. Gonzaga

BS Chemical Engineering

University of the Philippines

Los baos

Second Semester 2009-2010

1
The Awakening: How the Practice of Buddhism as a Possible

Solution in Reducing Crimes in the Philippines

In 2001, a surge of kidnappings and bank robberies was accounted in

different parts of Manila as Philippines faced the new administration of Gloria

Arroyo. These crimes were suspected to root from the possible raising of

funds of some powerful politician or another attempt for the destabilization

of the government, truly more than just a test to President Arroyos

capabilities in leading a third world nation.1 Going to the southern part of the

Philippines, Galib Andang along with other members of the militant group

Abu Sayaf has claimed to contribute $12 million dollars for the development

of Sulu after they have gotten a $20-million-dollar ransom from the four-

month hostage taking of foreign tourists. The money they have earned from

robbery and hostage takings were said to be of great use for helping out

fellowmen in Sulu.2 This tells us that violence truly has found various ways to

exist legally, as it seemingly shows benefits for a group individual. It must

always be remembered that the reform of society will manage to retain its

impossible state as nearly every man ignores the idea of liberating himself

from these desires, bonno, and walking towards genuine self improvement. 3

Despite of this, benevolence and justice will and always stand in direct

contradiction to human desires and cravings as it is practiced in Buddhism.

Enlightenment was first attained in 563-483 BC by a man named

Siddhartha Gautama more popularly known as Buddha. Not to be mistaken,

as a miraculous event, enlightenment is actually the state in which a

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complete and deep understanding of the solutions to the problems of life,

disease suffering, and death is attained. This is what the Buddhists aspire to

reach in varying degrees throughout their lifetime.

Buddhism seeks solutions to the problems of the world by means of

understanding that inner peace and tranquility would result to self

preservation which in turn would benefit a much larger social groups. It

suggests a deep concern for ones own inner peace and tranquility which is

then transformed to care to mankind. 4

The salvation of civilization from

imminent disaster must depend on what the individual beings and social

organizations within a society obtain from the fundamental laws of life.

Similarly, the basic values of civilization must develop from the values of

individual human being composing the civilization. 5

As an attempt to grasp the discussion of Buddhas teaching and

relating it to values existing in presence amongst Filipino community, this

paper would entail the thorough discussion of concepts of Buddhism such as

the noble truths and the precepts to enlightenment. The mention of practice

of Buddhism in western countries and other nearby countries in Asia would

also be employed for the comparison on how Buddhism will be suitable for

the prevailing economic and cultural condition of the Philippines. As

Christianity has provided embodiment of moral values in most countries for

the past centuries including the Philippines addressing the conflict in

intertwining Buddhism with Christianity will not be much of an issue since

the former is considered not as religion but as a philosophy. It is a way to

3
salvation which is open to everyone and does not depend on the attainment

of faith and divine grace but only on understanding the way things really

are.6

This paper will aspire to impose that through introducing the practice

of Buddhism to the Philippines, crimes which are often a scene in third world

countries; such would be regulated as the Filipino people starts to find and

understand the meaning of a tranquil life.

As Baruch Spinoza, a Dutch philosopher once said, Peace is not an

absence of war; it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence,

confidence, and justice. 7

Through his dedicated effort and commitment to

help humankind, Siddhartha Gautama has found that life can be good and so

can we. It is a path where we might have a shadowy beginning but will

eventually lead to the inner discovery. 8

The four noble truths, Aryasatya, of Buddhism will be the first discourse that

can be possibly related to the runs of this discussion. Western countries

already have adapted the practice of Buddhism with it having the ability of

providing answers to the problems faced by the modern materialistic

societies through helping the believers to have deeper understanding the

human mind.9 People being conscious of the complexity of life tend to seek

happiness although in reality, people do not really know the nature of what

they want, with the belief that happiness equates to life at its perfection.

Buddhism talks on understanding how things really are; it opens the people

4
to the natural existence of suffering which will be summarized in the four

noble truths.

The first noble truth states that the basic characteristic of human

existence is suffering. More than just a simple pessimism which Buddhism

does not really impose; the first noble truth only affirms the reality of life

that it is indeed inevitable and happiness may exist in the presence of such

suffering. The second noble truth defines the origin of our suffering. The

identified root cause of all suffering is ignorance. As people cherish their own

self, there exists the neglecting of the well being of others. In a Buddhist

perception of world where karma exists, we are actually the contributors of

our bank of future sufferings. Sufferings which we experience at present are

possibly the consequences of the acts in our past life, being unaware of this;

we blame it on others leading us to commit unpleasant acts.

Buddhism sees suffering as psychological phenomenon with a

psychological cause- wanting, craving, and desire. As we want something we

begin to feel the sensation of frustration. It grows stronger as we fail to get

what we want. The third noble truth talks the idea of the possibility of every

man to be free from suffering. As the craving and wanting stops,

contentment and happiness will finally be achieved and the cycle of rebirth

will come to an end. Complete freedom from suffering is referred to as the

nirvana or the highest form of happiness.

To help people liberate from their suffering, Buddha shows the way

towards enlightenment through the eight fold path. The first two factors of

5
which talks on wisdom, the next three for morality, and the last three are of

meditation.

As most Southeast Asian countries through the history have struggled

through the waves of economic rises which began around in the year 1970,

the Philippines was no exception. 10

The police attribute our countrys crime

problems to various social and cultural factors such as poverty and rapid

population growth. The shortage of lands and jobs in the rural areas forces

people to locally migrate to the cities. A rapid growth of urban slum and

squatter areas turned the population of manila to be composed of more than

25% of them during the end of 1980s. The urbanization accounts for the

increased crime rates.

It is the unwritten duty of the world Buddhist community to draw

inspiration from Buddhas teachings on loving kindness and holiness of

human life to assume the leadership on actions against the struggle for

peace and security. The fight against destruction and violence will be

supported by an appeal to a way of life in which loving, kindness,

compassion, and equanimity are the underlying values.11 Recent statistics

show that some poor countries that practice Buddhism actually have lower

crime rates than those practicing western religions. An expert has presented

an analogy of the difference of the eastern and western religions, as

western religion says you broke it, say sorry and somebody else will pay for

it later while east religion says you broke it, pay for it, no way out. 12

Understanding the results of our own actions will eventually make us

6
transform into someone who would be more beneficial towards ourselves.

Relating this with the concept of reincarnation, someone would have no

escape with appalling actions since he would inevitably suffer from the

consequences of it and this will then become the motivation for self change.

Asia is said to be separated into two zones of cultures of opposing

faiths; the East Asia practicing Buddhism and west Asia practicing Moslem.

With this it must be noted that two thirds of the whole Asia is comprised of

East Asia where the Philippines and other neighboring countries are a part

of.13 As East Asia has been known as the union of Buddhist countries, it is

believed that among any other places on earth it has been the chosen home

of Buddhism as it was destined by a prophecy of the Buddha to be the region

where his religion would most grow and prosper.14 Neighboring countries

such as Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia have practiced Buddhism for such a

long time. Their commitment to this philosophy is unwavering as they have

let the practice pervade their morality, thought, and life. Frugal communities

actually had the initiative to support their priests; such cultural touchstones

are evidently passed on from one generation to the next. 15

Throughout history it was observed that emotional attitudes and

responses are communicated through Buddhism. By conversion to

Buddhism, aggressive and warring instincts of the Mongols, Tibetans, and

Thas were settled into a generally peaceful way of life. They claim to have

attained a more spiritual vision of life and higher intellectual development

than anything they had before.16 Many who meditate confirm the

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transformative effects of this wisdom practice: more peace and clarity of

mind, greater self-awareness, and stronger resiliency in response to lifes

ups and downs.17

Buddhism has always been associated with peace and non-violence.

Though there were instances where Buddhists sought to fight for their

principles by less peaceful means, there is not a single war recorded that

was fought in the name of Buddhism. In 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize was

presented to Tibets exiled Buddhist leader, Dalai Lama. This recognition

marked the absolute connection of Buddhism and non violence. Through non

violent solutions, he was able to present Tibets cry as it was occupied by the

Chinese at that time. 18

Through the strict practice of its principles, Buddhism is very effective

as an anti-war and anti crime philosophy. Major crimes noted in the country

such as murder, corruption, prostitution, illegal drug consumption are

accounted in the five precepts to enlightenment of Buddhism. As the

precepts tell practitioners what to do and what not to do we may consider it

as an ethical guide that contains prescriptions for the moral foundations of a

Buddhist life. 19
Containing a philosophy such as not to take the life of a living

being, not to take what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, and

abstaining from intoxicants, these five precepts may pave the way for

criminals to take second thinking whether to commit crimes or find other

ways to achieve what they need.20

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 Between the year 2000 and 2005, next to Iraq, the Philippines was

ranked as the second most number of journalists killed. Not a single person

had been convicted for any of the murders by the end of 2005.21 Murder has

been accounted to be the crime of most occurrences in our country. Just

recently, journalists were again killed in Maguindanao with politics pointed as

the root of the gruesome mass murder. The Buddhists compassion for

creatures is said to be undiscriminating and all embracing. As they see every

creature as a part of the world it entails their appreciation to every function

of even the smallest living thing. For Buddhists, harming any creature means

disturbing the natures balance and causes terrible things to arise.22

The second precept talks on respect to other's properties and the right to

own property. If something is not given, one may not take it away by

stealing, by force or by fraud. Aside from these, one should avoid misusing

money or property belonging to the public or other persons. In a broader

sense, the second precept also means that one should not dodge ones

responsibilities. If an employee is lazy and neglects the duties or tasks

assigned to him, he is, in a way, "stealing" time that should have been spent

on his work. 23
Putting this precept into practice we may find a significant

decrease in the rate of robbery, holdups, and politicians involved in

corruption.

Considered as one of the biggest sex tourism destinations in the world,

prostitution, though illegal, is evidently practices in our country. Some

European and Japanese magazines in fact promotes this country as a prime

9
sex tourism destination.24 Abstinence from sexual misconduct, of the five

precepts perhaps is the most straightforward, although there still remains

considerable room for interpretation. Naturally, acts such as rape and child

abuse are strictly prohibited, as any reasonable person would expect.

However, sexual misconduct is also somewhat contextual in nature. In a

committed relationship, for example, polygamy could be also seen as sexual

misconduct. Similarly, promiscuity and carelessness are interpreted as

misconduct by some Buddhists.

To refrain from telling lies is to show respect for the truth. No good can

come from telling lies, be it out of fun or malice. When a Buddhist observes

the fourth precept, he refrains from telling lies or half-truths that exaggerate

or understate, and instead cultivates the virtue of truthfulness. Once people

uphold the respect for truth, there will be fewer quarrels and

misunderstandings and fewer cases of false accusations in the courts of

justice. Society will then become more peaceful and orderly.

Marijuana, shabu, and ecstasy are some of the most prominent drugs

used in society today. Fifth precept talks on the use of drugs and

uncontrolled consumption of alcohol. Such is not tolerated by Buddhists

since these substances could lead to losing mindfulness which would often

lead to recklessness and violence.

Buddhism has been very good at adapting to different cultures while

guarding its own somewhat fluid borders by a critical tolerance of other

traditions. 25
with this the conflict of having ,multiple religions given that the

10
Filipino people have a strong belief in Catholicism will not be much of a

problem since the practice of Buddhism can be intertwined with it. It must be

noted that Buddhism is considered as a philosophy as it goes beyond

religions a way of life.26

Buddhisms concentration on the essentials of spiritual development

has meant that it has been able to co-exist with both other major religions

and popular folk traditions which catered for peoples desire for a variety of

rituals. There has hardly ever been a society which wholly Buddhist society,

meaning a kind of religious one party state. 27

It must be considered that

Buddhism is a way to salvation which is open to everyone and does not

actually depend on the attainment of faith and divine grace but only an

understanding of the way things really are.28

Parallelisms in the Buddhist and catholic principles were seen in

various forms. Examples of which proves the possible intertwine of both

beliefs. Lifes inherent suffering, the concept introduced by the four noble

truth, is confirmed by verses in the bible: in the world you will have

tribulation: (John 16:33); man is born to trouble as sparks fly upwards job

(5:7); all things are full of weariness (Ecc1:8) The earth mourns and

withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish together

with the earth. (Is 24:4).29 Attainment of Nirvana being the highest form of

happiness has its parallelisms to the Christians concept of heaven. The

commandment thou shall not kill reads in the Buddhist formulation not to

take the life of any living being.30

11
 On the 18th of November 1962, Pope John XXIII received Japanese

monks for a special conference in his library. That is when he told perhaps

one of the most important points of existence of Buddhist Catholics as he

told the monks that Buddhism and Catholicism actually work for the same

goals and those are to work for peace, and seek the betterment of men, in

honor of God.31

Through the review and presentation of the Buddhist concepts, the paper

was able to trace how the belief can actually be used as a tool to minimize

crime in this country. The problem of intertwining Buddhism to Catholicism,

the most prominent religion in the Philippines was also addressed as we

showed proofs on how they both can exist hand in hand. With all of these

considered we can therefore say that the possibility of adopting Buddhism to

the Philippine culture will be much of a help in making the Philippines a more

peaceful place than what it is today.

12
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27
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society and culture. London: thames and Hudson.

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31
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