Disengaged Buddhism

CURA Colloquium The term Engaged Buddhism has gained prominence in recent years, to name a variety of constructive Buddhist thought and practice that aims at the systemic change of social and political institutions and structures This paper will argue that there is a strong tendency in premodern Indian Buddhist thought, that can be labelled Disengaged Buddhism: a tendency within Buddhist thought that explicitly and intentionally discourages or rejects attempts at systemic social change. The paper argues that this Disengaged Buddhism is a considered and reasoned stance that follows from key Buddhist principles. Amod Lele is Lecturer in Philosophy, Visiting Researcher in the Centre for the Study of Asia, and Senior Educational Technologist in the Office of Digital Learning and Innovation at Boston University. Email cura@bu.edu for a copy of this paper in advance.