Now is the time to stand—not sit—on principle.

Buddhists Against Genocide

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01.

The Buddhist community is practising silence when it shouldn’t be.

It’s possible that of all the faith communities, Buddhists have been the most silent about the genocide of Palestinians.It’s time for Buddhists to speak out about all genocide.In fact, it’s long overdue.

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02.

There is a difference between equanimity and acquiescence.

Many Western Buddhist teachers have chosen not to speak about this genocide, or are taking a "both sides" approach.Worse than the silence, some have jumped on the Zionist bandwagon and pushed Israel genocidal propaganda and anti-Palestinian narratives.This is why it’s so paramount that all religious groups speak out.We need to confront and oppose the use of religion as a defence for genocide.We need to confront the role of Jewish supremacist ideology in the Buddhist community.

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03.

The weaponization of religion.

Some of us have actively spoken out about genocide in the past. This includes genocides in East Timor by Indonesia; in Tigray, Ethiopia; in Burma against the Rohingya; and against the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.When we opposed the genocide in East Timor, no one accused us of being anti-Muslim.When we stood up against the genocide against the Rohingya in Burma, no one accused us of being anti-Buddhist.And yet, on this genocide, Buddhists are scandalously silent. Why are American, Canadian and European Buddhists so damn afraid of criticizing the genocide of Palestinians?Because Israel has weaponized its religion. Judaism did not play a prominent part in the birth of Zionism, but Zionists now use this religion as a weapon to silence human rights defenders opposed to this genocide.This is why it’s so paramount that all religious groups speak out.We need to confront and oppose the use of religion as a defence for genocide.We need to confront the role of Jewish supremacist ideology in the Buddhist community.

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4.

The Bigger Picture

Buddhists against genocide could just as easily have been titled “Buddhists against Billionaires”.We are actively against elites hoarding resources for themselves, displacing everyone else, and destroying the planet.When Buddhist teachers primarily identify themselves as having class solidarity with the elites and not the oppressed, we end up with a strand of Buddhism that’s dominant in the West today: silent in the face of predatory capitalism; a Buddhism that seeks celebrity and Sounds True book deals, and is silent in the face of genocide.Western Buddhism, for the most part, has its head up its burgundy-cushioned ass.That will not liberate the world. That is a path of using meditation for enslavement.

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So What Can We Do?

This is what the Buddha taught. But the order matters!Meditators keep getting told to sit and meditate. You’re not going be a very good meditator if you’re constantly turning away from harm that you can prevent.Mainstream media is being used not just to oppose reality but to confuse us. It is spreading debilitating despair, and the view that we don't have any power.

Historically, movement-building has preached that you have to find your lane and keep going (with people around you who are doing the same thing).The overlap between this and dharma is that, as our root teacher, Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche*, said, "You don't have to defeat all the defilements".Choose one big thing and focus on it. Pick one major boulder in the stream. The rest are medium and small rocks.

^{*Founder and principal teacher of the Dharma Centre of Canada}

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