Abstract
Buddhism is a tradition whose tenets, practices and rituals are regarded by some as a philosophy and others as a religion. At the heart of one of the main Buddhist schools, the Mahāyāna, is the practice (or cultivation) of the virtues of the Bodhisattva, also known as the “six pāramitās.” This chapter presents an introduction to the practice of the virtues of the Bodhisattva and a leadership model based on Buddhism. It demonstrates how the practice of the virtues in the leadership model can be interpreted as a framework to help engineering students and educators develop leadership and skills to support social justice. The chapter draws from previous work on the intersection of Buddhism, leadership, and culturally responsive education. The framework is connected to social justice through examples relevant to engineering practice and education. The goal of this chapter is to motivate engineering educators, who are interested in Buddhism and social justice, to connect their engineering knowledge with Buddhist studies (or socially engaged Buddhism) in socially just engineering education. In addition, it might open a way for those who are interested in integrating other philosophies in their engineering education efforts, such as Native American educators who wish to integrate Native American philosophies in engineering education.
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Notes
- 1.
A commentator pointed out that some Buddhist scholars do not use “mindfulness” with “concentration” interchangeably. In their view, mindfulness is an essential mental factor required for concentration and the terms are not used interchangeably. For the purpose of facilitating the discussion in the context of engineering education, I am using “mindfulness” to refer to this virtue.
- 2.
Engineering studies scholar Lisa McLoughlin (2012) argued that patience is necessary in the process of recruiting and retaining students from low socioeconomic classes, such as transfers from community colleges, because their life circumstances may mismatch with the way that engineering education was structured around more traditional students from privileged backgrounds.
- 3.
For example, see the work of Tetra Society: http://www.tetrasociety.org
- 4.
There are five precepts for lay people: not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, abstain from sexual misconduct (adultery), and abstain from taking intoxicants It is an individual decision which ones to take and when to take them. The main purpose of observing these precepts is to avoid harming others.
- 5.
Anger could be a starting point for social justice, if we transform it into social action. The key idea behind avoiding anger is that we should not let anger consume us: it must not become self-destructive; it must not destroy others. If we start with anger but go beyond it to change the conditions of suffering, then, we transform that anger into social action motivated by compassion and wisdom.
- 6.
Baumann (2010) argued that practicing moderate patience can support innovation in engineering. The author used an agent-based simulation model to mimic the controlled environment of decision-making agents in firms (e.g., engineers in corporations). Tolerance of failures in exploring solutions and patience were closely aligned to innovation. Little patience was found beneficial in those cases were rapid prototyping is needed to develop insights quickly. Overly extreme levels of patience were found to be dysfunctional. A “middle way” patience (or “moderate patience” as the author defined), neither in one nor the other extreme, seemed to be beneficial to decision-makers in firms—such as engineers.
- 7.
For more information, see their Web site: http://wasteforlife.org
- 8.
I acknowledge that engineers face numerous challenges in their work. These challenges might be too tensed to practice virtues such as patience or perseverance. For example, we encounter challenges to meet deadlines, to make agreements with team members, to balance work and family life, and to have a work environment where team members can respect each other. In engineering education, we might need to deal with students’ behavior problems in classrooms, schools with limited resources, and so on. I invite engineers interested in Buddhism to think about these internal issues of the engineering workforce and how these issues can be addressed to foster a just engineering.
- 9.
“Habitual tendencies” mean the predispositions that a person has due to his or her previous actions. In this case, I am referring to tendencies that are detrimental to the individual and others (e.g., greed). In Buddhism, there is a belief of the continuity of consciousness (“mindstream”) even after death. One’s actions make imprints in one’s mindstream, forming predispositions to do equivalent actions in a future. This does not need to be permanent, thus, it is seen that effort placed in practicing actions that are opposite to the detrimental ones can gradually minimize the impact of them (e.g., practicing generosity to oppose greed).
- 10.
Important innovations in society have been accomplished through the contemplation of nature. For a list of examples, you can refer to http://www.asknature.org
- 11.
To learn more about how social justice is viewed in a Buddhist perspective, refer to “Appendix I: Socially Engaged Buddhism.”
- 12.
In Thailand the major school of Buddhism that is practiced is Theravāda. Under Theravāda, there are ten virtues, in contrast with the six of the Mahāyāna tradition that I discussed in a previous section. Those ten virtues identified in Theravāda are generosity, ethics, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truthfulness, resolution, love, and equanimity.
- 13.
This level is associated with the principle of parattha: our good deeds give benefits to others (Phra Dhammapitaka 2000, p. 9, as cited in Kemavuthanon and Duberley 2009, p. 751).
- 14.
More information at http://www.sarvodaya.org and Bond (1992).
- 15.
You can see examples on how they implemented them in case scenarios on pages 187–197 of their book.
- 16.
- 17.
In 2012, I will implement a modified version of this case scenario, as part of my dissertation project. I will use the model of engineering design based on the Four Noble Truths and the framework of leadership to guide pre-college level Tibetan Buddhist students in their engineering design activity.
- 18.
- 19.
As an example, the cycle of corn-derived biofuel can be analyzed through the lens of dependent origination in a discussion on whether or not it can be considered sustainable in the long run. See for example Punnadhammo (2010).
- 20.
See authors who have published in Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women: http://www.sakyadhita.org
- 21.
See for example the Mind and Life Institute: http://www.mindandlife.org. In engineering education research, see the work of George Catalano.
- 22.
This final idea is of my interest and does not relate to social justice, nevertheless, it might be a good research area in Buddhist and engineering studies: the study of engineering design knowledge (and other concepts related to engineers and engineering) found in Buddhist scriptures.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the United States National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. I wish to express my gratitude to Hilda and Carmen Santiago de la Cruz for their unconditional support. Thanks to Dr. Donald W. Mitchell and Carlos A. Santiago-Quintana for their expertise and help with editing. Thanks to my adviser, Dr. Alice L. Pawley, for her tolerance and for giving me a space to realize my dreams. Thanks to Adriana Vintila, Julia Thompson, and Choela Dr. Karma Tashi Choedron for their commentaries that helped me to give more relevant content for engineers and engineering educators. Thanks to the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, the Buddhist communities of Puerto Rico and Indiana, and the Dharmadatta nuns community for their kind support.
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Appendix I: Socially Engaged Buddhism
Appendix I: Socially Engaged Buddhism
Social justice in Buddhism is usually associated (in the West) with the Socially Engaged Buddhism movements that seek to connect Buddhist practice into daily life to alleviate or stop the suffering of societies. “Suffering” in this context is not just physical pain. When Buddhists speak about “suffering” they are also including the experiences of what would be called “social injustices” and “oppression.” Engaged Buddhism is a term that has been attributed by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen monk. His 14 guidelines for Engaged Buddhism can be found on the Web or in his book “Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism.”
Engaged Buddhism is mindfulness in daily life, social service, and social activism (Puri 2006). These three aspects, not only connects with human rights, non-violent activism, environmental, social, gender, economic, and political issues, but also encourage people to bring the benefits of their practice in the ordinary life. These movements have taken a more international scope and democratic approach. Engaged Buddhism seeks to transform structures of oppression, bringing social justice to daily life, and empower people by acknowledging the Buddha nature in each of us, and our inherent worth and dignity. It seeks to do social justice activism, yet at the same time without discarding the Buddhist emphasis on mindful awareness and a lifestyle that is in harmony with the core teachings of the Buddha (Puri 2006).
Online resources for socially engaged Buddhism can be found in the Buddhist Peace Fellowship; alternatively in the Web sites of these organizations (not limited to): “Zen Peacemakers,” “Prison Dharma Network,” “Liberation Prison Project,” “Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women,” “International Network of Engaged Buddhists,” “Upaya Zen Center,” “Metta Center for Nonviolence Education,” “Peacemaker Institute,” and “Buddhist Geeks.”
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Santiago, M.M. (2013). What Can Buddhism Offer to a Socially Just Engineering Education?. In: Lucena, J. (eds) Engineering Education for Social Justice. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6350-0_5
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