An Afternoon with
Ajahn Sujato: Personal Courage and Restoring the Sangha’s Moral
Purpose
Raymond Lam
Buddhistdoor Global | 2016-12-09 |
The
tall and robust teacher of Ajahn Chah’s forest tradition speaks
with a typically blokeish Aussie accent, however the words of
wisdom and compassion he voices do not sound like those of a
typical bloke at all. While I have deep traditionalist loyalties
and instincts, I have long admired Ajahn Bhante Sujato, who
ordained in 1994 and left behind his identity of Anthony Best to
live the monastic life. He is one of the most incisive and
courageous progressive thinkers in contemporary Western Buddhism.
He has not updated his famous blog, which remains an engaging and
passionate source of Buddhist social critique, in a while however,
having lived in seclusion in Taiwan over the past year to work on
his main project, SuttaCentral, a website hosting texts from
Buddhism’s most ancient period (the so-called pre-sectarian era) in
more than 30 languages.
Bhante’s decision to engage intellectually and
critically on issues of social justice came during a moment in
Thailand many years ago. He had seen an article in a newspaper
about bhikkhunis, or fully ordained nuns. “The monk being
interviewed was making statements about bhikkhunis that I knew, as
a student of the Vinaya, were incorrect. So what was I supposed to
do about it? Do I just sit here and let this happen? Should I write
a letter to the editor or contact the monk . . . ?
“Then I realized that as long as I was living in
Thailand, I was essentially a guest in somebody else’s country.
Someone was looking after my visa, and so on. And I knew that these
were very sensitive issues, so for me to merely do what I would see
as trying to establish what’s true would be seen by some as very
controversial. Apparently saying things that aren’t true aren’t
controversial, but saying things that are true is much more
controversial,” he added, laughing.
“This was one of the things that prompted me to
want to go back to Australia, my home, and find a way of living in
Buddhism where I could pursue my contemplation and meditation, but
also to live in a way that I could feel true to my authentic voice.
I think that the world we have today is very largely dominated by
voices that don’t have a lot of wisdom to them. I’m not saying that
I have any great wisdom, but hopefully because of the Dhamma, I
might have at least a little bit of the Buddha’s wisdom that I
could share.”
Academics, both lay and monastic (such as Ven.
Analayo and Bhante’s own teacher, Ajahn Brahm), have done extensive
research that should have conclusively demonstrated that the
Theravada Vinaya permits the revival of the bhikkhuni order.
Furthermore, on the ground, the bhikkhuni order is already
resurgent in countries with a Theravada presence, such as
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. These grassroots movements are
supported by many laypeople hungry for the fresh and sincere
perspectives that these nuns offer and cannot simply be wished away
by the Buddhist establishment, which is dominated by
men.
Yet Bhante is hearing more incorrect assertions
about bhikkhunis than ever. “Well, like how you can’t live as a
bhikkhuni in the modern day, the Buddha didn’t care about equality
. . . and these are the mild ones. I’ve heard things like if you
support bhikkhunis you’re going to go to hell. It’s strong language
that’s not based on wisdom or love. It’s based on hate and fear. So
a lot of people get intimidated and would prefer not to get
involved. People are stuck in their ways and there’s greed, hatred,
and delusion everywhere. There is a lot of perceived
self-interest.”
He is keen to distinguish between the Dhamma and
how the Buddhist tradition has manifested in a culture like
Thailand’s. “Much of what functions as Buddhism in many cultures
has very little to do with Dhamma, and more to do with prestige and
billions of dollars worth of real estate.” Bhante was offered
several large monasteries during his last year in Thailand and
still recounts the incident with disbelief. “The number of monks
has collapsed and so there are these monasteries that are
completely empty. The thought is that the bhikkhunis might then
move into these monasteries—from my point of view that’s a good
thing—but that means the monks lose control of them.”
Has trust has collapsed between the Thai sangha
establishment and the lay Buddhists to whom the former owes
pastoral care? “Certainly it’s a lot less than it once was.
Thailand is a mixed bunch, like anywhere else there are good and
bad monks. I think the overall trend is towards a lessening of
people’s faith in the sangha. One of the reasons why I think trust
collapsed was that overall the sangha became too lazy and
decadent.” He related a story during the 1960s when Ajahn Chah
visited London with a companion, and a punk verbally accosted them
on the street. “What are ya on about, mate?” After brushing off the
incident, Ajahn Chah observed wryly that he should bring all his
senior monks to Britain.
“I’ve spoken about this issue to Ajahn Brahm as
well. We didn’t realize how arrogant and egotistic we had become
until we left Thailand and came back to Australia, because of how
reverently we were treated. It’s over the top, excessive.” Bhante
insists that it is one thing to treat the sangha with respect,
another to treat monks in a way that facilitates an unhealthy
relationship with laypeople. He personally had a wonderful time in
Thailand, but feels disappointed by how the sangha does not seem to
have kept up with the pace of Thailand’s development over the past
three decades. He also holds unabashed scorn for some practices he
sees as superstitious, such as amulet dolls (often costing
thousands of dollars) that are even brought to Buddhist temples to
be blessed. Some might say that this is simply Thai Buddhism, but
Bhante counters by suggesting that it is also Thai tradition to
self-critique and to try to do better.
While he hasn’t updated his blog in a while, he
has not lost sight of how to critique global politics and society
while staying centered on the Dhamma. “I find that Buddhists often
feel too shy to come forward and aren’t bold in what they say,”
Bhante observed. “I think the world is missing out on a lot of
Buddhist wisdom, and something that I’ve heard in my home state of
Western Australia, the former premier Geoff Gallop said to a group
of monks that politicians need to hear more from the Buddhist
community. They want to hear more but they don’t know what the
Buddhist community wants or what we think about issues. Buddhism
does have something to contribute to the political sphere in
Australia.”
Bhante is particularly critical of the
Australian government’s handling of climate change and its
undermining of environmental legislation. “We have gone from being
one of the most forward-thinking countries on the environment to
one of the most regressive in the past decade.” He has spoken to
more than a dozen Liberal Party politicians on climate change (in
Australia, the Liberal Party represents right-wing politics). “A
lot of them just don’t have a clue, while others just want to make
money off fossil fuels. I was speaking to the environment minister
at the time, Greg Hunt, and I asked him, ‘How much do you actually
talk about climate change in the Liberal party?’ And his response
was very telling: ‘I think about these things every day.’ I said,
‘With respect, that’s not what I asked.’ And I never got an answer
from him.”
He then talked to an Indigenous minister from
Western Australia (the minister’s name escaped him for the moment).
“He was a lovely man, very gentle and wise, and I asked him the
same question. He said, ‘Not at all. No one talks about
it.’”
He answers possible charges that he may be
“politicizing” Buddhism by pointing out that in Vietnam and Sri
Lanka there are monks in political parties and parliament. A
monastic council appointed by the king manages the Thai sangha,
while in Myanmar the sangha runs according to an act of parliament.
“How political can you get?” he laughs. “And in Tibet, the monks
were the government. Such political involvement far exceeds
anything we do or advocate in the West.”
Bhante’s final thoughts are both a warning and
encouragement. If Buddhists do not speak up with voices of
compassion and wisdom, that vacuum will be filled by voices of
delusion and violence. Instead of hearing Buddhist voices,
governments will listen to lobbyists from the coal and arms-dealing
industries. “Being engaged just means talking about issues that
matter with people. What it doesn’t mean is politicking, trying to
exert power over others, or manipulating them. Always be clear,
civil, polite, and kind. Remember that the only reason we’re
speaking is to try to help all beings. Buddhism has been a shared
force of values that has influenced the whole of Asia and I would
love to see those shared values articulated in our world today
because they can help address extremely urgent issues.”