David Loy's Great Awakening

   When I first picked up David Loy's book The Great Awakening; A Buddhist Social Theory,  I was both excited and also uncertain as to what to expect. First, then, my expectations: I was expecting a kind of theory about how people interact in greater society using Buddhist principles. Now, the reality: it looks as though Loy is showing how Buddhist concepts can form a potential framework for positive social and ecological change. Loy suggests that social change can be made through cultivating awareness of the three kleshas of greed, hatred and ignorance, and showing their social equivalents in unchecked consumption, hatred toward other nations, and dualistic thinking about nature and the world. Much of what Loy is writing speaks clearly to me, because he is going to the teachings of the six paramitas, the five precepts and Eightfold Noble Path to spell out a way to live a simpler and more abundant life, while illuminating specific social and environmental ills. But as I am reading this book, I also begin to wonder whether there is anything uniquely "social" about this slant on Buddhism.
   From a certain perspective, there is likely not too much of a difference between personal practice and "social" Buddhist practice. Both touch upon cultivating wisdom and compassion for all life, as well as seeing life as intrinsically possessing the same mind nature. Even though social practice refers to how practitioners might treat others, it still seems to arise from the same principles as inner cultivation.  I still consider this to be a spiritual practice that just happens to have social benefits, not a social practice on its own. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is meant to inquire into whether there is truly a social practice/theory of Buddhism that is separate or even distinct from the original teachings of Buddhism. Even if I discuss recent trends such as biotechnology in light of Buddhist practice, I am still using the basic principles of spiritual practice to provide a perspective on this issue. On the other hand, the great thing Loy does here is show the global repercussions of what happens when people act upon their sense of separation from the world. It forms a solid critique of the way people think and act when they are guided by the delusion of a separate self.
    As I read Loy's book, I feel a great resonance with his ideas about Buddhist social perspectives. I also a sense a potential for further exploration and study on how the principles of Buddhism play out in actual, truly lived experiences of people in Buddhist communities. Loy himself suggests that Buddhism is not Utopian (p.33) and isn't even necessarily about perfecting people or social life. What could be explored in future studies is to what extent Buddhist principles really do get embodied in socially engaged projects, and to what extent they might only stay 'on the cushion', or even in the intellect. Loy provides a pretty solid road map for what a socially engaged society could look like under the lens of traditional Buddhist principles, However,  I think what I would also like to explore is what it looks like for a Buddhist community to do social outreach, using the principles of Buddhist practice. I would also be interested to learn about the tensions and difficulties that emerge when people do this practice. I see a lot of possibility for future ethnographic study in this area.

Loy, David (2003), The Great Awakening:: A Buddhist Social Theory. Boston: Wisdom Publications