How Would Buddha Vote?

Joe The Plumber may be a big, bald, happy fellow, but he definitely is not a Buddha impersonator. The non-licensed plumber from Ohio misrepresented himself to Barack Obama during their rope line exchange. He became a Republican shill for no other reason that he could and he manipulated his 15-minutes of fame and UTube notoriety into a potential (and probably unlikely) book and record deal. 

In other words, Joe The Plumber is an opportunistic scam artist whose inalienable Buddha nature remains stuck somewhere inside his colon.

I mention Joe The Plumber because he serves as just one talisman during this seemingly eternal presidential election. Sarah Palin represents another — a politico who offers limited intellect, questionable agenda but who generates ecclesiastical exhilaration among those who seek a Reagan-esque messiah.

Catholics had their Kennedy (Al Smith doesn’t count); Jews, their Joe Lieberman (although he went over to the dark side). Muslims cautiously vote for any candidate who will welcome them.  But how do Buddhists vote?

An article in today’s Houston Chronicle stated that Buddhists in America vote a split ticket. The number of Buddhists in the United States range from 1.5 million to more than 6 million depending on who’s counting, especially since Buddhists follow a variety of practices, groups, philosophies and even non-affiliated meditation

While some would suppose that Buddhists, who tend to take the world as it is (or with a grain of illusionary salt) might profess to be more liberal or independent politically, But, according to the article, that’s not always the case. Traditional Asian Buddhists (those born into the faith), particularly those from Southeast Asia, lean conservative. Memories of religious and social persecution by the communists in their home countries drive many Asian Buddhists into the Republican fold. On November 4, many of them will punch the chad for John McCain.

American Buddhists, those who came to the philosophy/religion from another background, do tend to be more liberal. They may see their ultimate goal to become a bodhisattva, one who renounces personal enlightenment to help other beings. American Buddhists who tend to respect the rights of all sentient beings (humans, animals, plants, even neo-cons) would be more inclined to vote for Democratic candidates who promote programs to aid the disadvantaged. Indeed, a new group calling themselves Buddhists for Obama sponsored numerous events and raised nearly $250,000 for their chosen candidate. A “Buddhists for Joe The Plumber’s Guy” doesn’t seem to exist.

Some American Buddhists take Buddha’s admonishment to “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense” as the libertarian ideal —  not follow political parties and not rely on government to solve problems.

And, according to the article, many Buddhists seek refuge from the campaign noise, chaos and altercations by quieting their mind, meditating, not watching negative TV ads and refusing to answer robocalls.

But for those who ask “How Would Buddha Vote?” in this election, I would have to rely on Buddha’s own teachings, the Eight-fold Path of what leads to a world without argument, conflict and suffering. I guess the candidate who most follows the Eight-fold Path would get, perhaps, Buddha’s vote:

1. Right View — The right way to see the world is simply with an open and clear mind. Right view does not color things with personal agendas, expectations, and fear of what could be. Those with Right View accommodate as events unfold with balance and joy, not hope or fear.
2. Right Intention — Our intentions are pure. We no longer need to be manipulative or base our thoughts or actions on preconceived notions. We work with what is as it comes.
3. Right Speech — If we follow Right View and Right Intention have noting to hide and eschew manipulation and agenda, we never must be hesitant to speak, bluff our way through words, speak in tongues, or lecture with pompousness. We speak what needs to be said, when it needs to be said in a kind and genuine way. Otherwise, we listen and learn.
4. Right Discipline — We renounce all the biases, issues, conflicts that cloud our judgment. We seek an open and honest relationship with everyone and every situation. We drop all the bullshit that impedes our relationships and our ability to act as we should.
5. Right Livelihood — We should perform our job with appreciation and joy for the good it provides others, the satisfaction it gives us, the improvements it offers to the community, If our work causes suffering to ourselves, other beings or the community, we must find a different livelihood that first does no harm and second allows satisfaction for all involved, worker, proprietor, customer, community. Whether politics falls into the realm of “right livelihood” remains to be seen.
6. Right Effort — Wrong effort creates an “us against them” world. Struggle, argument, battles of illusionary good versus evil tears at the fabric of the world. Negative tendencies are magnified in other persons and other groups. However, right effort avoids struggle. Right effort emphasizes nonviolence and understanding and patience. Problems are resolved through skillful means without recrimination. Right effort promotes peace and kindness.
7. Right Mindfulness — Right mindfulness requires precision and clarity. We become aware of all around us, the bug balancing on a blade of grass, the brush of wind against our hair. We become mindful of how we approach others, how we talk with them, how we perform our jobs, how we care for others. With mindfulness we stand straighter, we walk confidently, we remain calm, and we stay mindful of our attitude toward everything and everyone around us.
8. Right Concentration — We daydream. We’re absentminded. We’re addicted to TV, video games, computers, blogs and other vapid entertainment. We lose interest rapidly and seek the different, the newness, the nowness. That leads to a loss of focus.  We lose our place in life. Right Concentration combines all of the other noble paths and emphasizes the need to stop and smell the roses. To be aware that roses do exist and only for a short season. With focus we begin to see gaps in the way world works. We learn that these gaps, rather than empty, provide the insight we need to truly make change in ourselves and our world. Right Concentration stops our obsession with busyness and ourselves and makes time to understand calmness and silence.

While some see Buddhists as nihilists, we actually have been highly political from ancient times. Buddha taught dharma to all interested beings including the lower caste, criminals, royalty and animals.  He allowed women to be disciples. He reluctantly dealt with bureaucracy that politics inevitably entails. He had to establish a strict monastic canon to keep insolent disciples in line. He confronted political deceit by his cousin Devadatta who created schisms in the sangha, attempted a coup against Buddha to take over the Awakened One’s leadership position. Buddha also proposed a “Middle Way” of practice, a centrist position between the extremes of religious mania and depression, so to speak.

Buddhists engage in political protest, whether selfless immolation during the Vietnam War, or much more peaceful and nonviolent marches against the tyrannical Burmese leadership. Today, the Dalai Lama epitomizes the Buddhist “politician” who follows the Eight-fold Path and the “Middle Way” in his dealings with his disciples and world leaders as well as his enemies.

So how would Buddha vote in Tuesday’s election? As far as that hypothetical goes, I guess we’ll just have to sit on it.

 

© 2008 by Winking Buddha Blog.  All Rights Reserved

 

Buddhas For Barack

My God can beat your God. 

Vote Democrat and you’re a godless pagan.

How would Jesus vote? (Probably not for Romans)

John McCain campaigns in Iowa today trying to drum up votes in the state that kicked off Barack Obama’s presidential aspirations.

While Sarah Palin’s personal exorcist already expelled any incantations which witches may have snuck past the Secret Service, John McCain still remains vulnerable to all those left-winged Wiccans brewing October Surprises.

Thank goodness that theology trumps thaumaturgy on the campaign trail. Before McCain’s folksy talk in Davenport about the evils of his opponent with the non-Christian name, a minister delivered an invocation to send any politically incorrect deities packing:

“There are plenty of people around the world who are praying to their god, be they Hindu, Buddah [sic], or Allah, that (McCain’s) opponent wins. I pray that you step forward and honor your own name.” Ends with “in Jesus’ name.”  quote

 

Buddhas and Bramas for Barack! Allah for anyone with a Muslim sounding name. Never mind that the Hindu god Ganesha is an elephant, the symbol of the GOP, or that Buddha was not a god at all but an enlightened human (and not even that confusing father-son-spirit trilogy of Christianity). And never mind that the Judeo-Christian “God” delivers little political pandering aside from all that the Ten Commandment and “love thy neighbor as thy self” business — with no caveats if those neighbors display bumper stickers different from yours.

No, those “other gods” supporting Barack Obama be damned. And who cares that the Jewish Adoni, the Christian Father and the Muslim Allah are technically one in the same. The one true GOD of GOP has spoken and must be obeyed.

With GOP rallies sounding more like witch-hunts and Klan-hate fests, one wonders why any God would be interested in politics at all. Perhaps S/He confronts more concerns than mortgage bailouts (greed, after all, is one of those deadly sins) such as genocide in Darfur, AIDs in Africa, poverty, global warming and extinction of nearly one-fourth of the creatures S/He created. If politicos want Holy endorsements, maybe they need to respect God’s own position planks more.

Many teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama (bless him in his recovery from surgery) talk about the proper role of leadership. However, two reflect the wranglings of this tiresome election:

 

Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

and 

It seems that when men become desperate they consult their gods. And when the gods become desperate, they tell lies!

 

© 2008 winkingbuddha.com

 

 

Jane Six Pack

You know what? It’s time that normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency.”  

— Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican Vice President nominee

For this I went eight years to college?

Let’s see. If a regular “Joe or Jane Six Pack” is qualified to hold the most powerful government leadership position in the world, then why do any of us need a college education?  If citizens want president or veep who has downed a pack of Pabst to have his/her finger on the nuclear button so be it, at least we’d blow up belching.

Perhaps the biggest bailout of the US economy would be that parents need no longer work hard and go into debt for their children to achieve a college education. Cancel all those boring lectures and substitute tutorials the Animal House-John Belushi way.

Joe and Jane Six Pack need representation. Politicos need to listen and understand the concerns of us average folks they represent. Candidate should even enjoy a brew with regular citizens now and then. Often times the real Joe and Jane Six Pack have simple yet wiser views of the world. But would I want my kid’s hockey coach to be commander-in-chief?

Our Founding Fathers were lander owners, farmers, tinkers, business operators, printers, lawyers and the like. Yet they were common men with uncommon minds. If not college educated, they educated themselves by actually reading “everything” — the classics, history, philosophy, literature, science, poetry as well as the local broadsheets. They shared brews in the local pubs, but I doubt that their conversations centered on the hooters of the barmaids.

We don’t need a Joe or Jane Six Pack to lead this country.  Instead, we need the common men or women, with the uncommon minds who realize the nation’s true greatness and recognize their own limitations.  Not some idiots who become so fermented on their own bromides that they drive our democracy off the edge of its ever teetering precipice.