My Religious Vocation and Globalization

Parichart Suwanbubbha

What is my religious vocation?

My understanding of a word 'vocation' is that it is related to 'a person's occupation, profession, or trade, in brief, how a living is made'. (Elmen, 1990, 684) If the word has nonreligious connotations, my vocation is objectively the effort of 'teaching about Buddhism and Christianity.' I was born in a Thai Theravada Buddhist family. My father was a (professional ) monk before he married. Buddhism is then not a strange discipline for me to get used to. When I started working at comparative religion, my university needed a local staff person to teach Christianity, and I was supported by both kind Thai and American professors in my studies at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and in the University of Chicago. It may be said that I had ‘the call’ to learn about Christianity systematically, not ‘the call’ to become the member of a church.

On the one hand, my vocation is as a lecturer in the comparative religion of Buddhism and Christianity; on the other hand, for my own religious vocation, I try to be an engaged Buddhist and involve myself with dialogical activity to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation especially between Buddhism and Christianity.

My Religious Vocation and Various Faces of 'Globalization'

Certainly, it is true that my religious vocation is affected by globalization. I consider the term ‘globalization’ to be neutral, that is, it is not good or bad in itself. Its meaning depends on how people apply the term to their own circumstances and benefit. In other words, the uses of the term globalization can be both positive and negative. Therefore we will do best to consider it ‘as it is,’ and not merely reject or accept it totally. As all of us know, one obvious face of globalization is that of

11

'liberator. which is considered as positive because globalization provides people with more conveniences, comfort, and even a higher standard of living. Applying this aspect to my teaching, it is more comfortable and easier to search for information through internet and through an e-library (our future plan). Any student can do the same as well. The advanced technology in globalization then reminds me that in my roles as a lecturer I should not any longer behave as a mediator who passes informative knowledge to students. Students themselves who work hard and love to involve themselves in the process of learning need not depend on my information because they can search for 'What is Christianity? Who is Jesus Christ? What did the Buddha teach? and so on for themselves. I had better encourage them to analyze, to have 'a critical interpretation,’ and to integrate their learning into their daily life. In other words, there are two messages from this optimistic aspect of globalization in religious teaching. That is,

1. The changing role of student and teacher should encourage students to engage in critical thinking and apply knowledge to create other new bodies of knowledge. For example, in learning about 'stewardship' in Christianity students should be able to apply what they learn as 'an ethics of stewardship' for reducing the environmental crisis. The student's learning will not involve simply explanations about the commandments of God. Then we should love God and neighbor and that's it! Put in anther way, they should not only learn what Christianity is but also how Christian teaching will respond to other related concepts and to current problems.

2. The content of teaching should be selected to be suitable to the context of students. I realize that this may be true as well for Buddhist monks and Christian missionaries and that both need to preach and teach people in accordance with their personal and social context. For example, at Mahidol University, we have a class on 'integrated humanity' for first year medical, dentist, pharmacy and medical technician under-graduate students. We use a team teaching approach that includes various subjects in humanities such as philosophy and religion. Christianity is one religion that is included in this class. Frankly speaking, teaching religion in a big class of more than 100 students is quite difficult, and teaching about Christianity when the majority

12

of students are Buddhists is even more challenging. However, I try to introduce them to Christianity by persuading them to appreciate the value of any religion. We also have two methodologies in studying religion, that is the subjective method and objective one. In our class room, we will use an objective methodology to learn what Christians believe, which may sound different from our Buddhist traditions—such as the ideas of Virgin Mary, Jesus’ miracles, and the event of Jesus’ resurrection.

Then, as I teach about Christianity, I take the opportunity to apply the second face of globalization as threat in which globalization seems to emphasize material values more than human ones. That is, globalization usually goes hand in hand with the progress of technology. ''When the technological mentality is dominant, people are viewed and treated like objects.'' (Barbour 1980, 43) My emphasis is that every one, whether rich or poor, Chinese or Thai, man or woman, happy or from a broken family share the same 'human dignity.' In a large class room like I teach in, students themselves can realize that there are, as previously mentioned, many shades of difference; therefore, it is not 'a day dream' that we can attract their intention to consider ways in which they can develop positive thinking in order to increase their sense of human value and their self confidence. That is, in the classroom I teach them that human beings are created in the image of God which means that the ‘personhood’ of each person is valuable and sanctified, each one has their own autonomous and individual identity. Theoretically speaking, every individual should be secure in her or his human dignity despite all of their diverse physical and social limitations. This approach attempts to rid the students of whatever inferiority complex they may have. When they themselves are assured that they are able to create self-esteem and confidence in light of religious teaching, they will appreciate the value of religion. They will then be able to apply the concept of human dignity to the life of every patient that these students will be involved with in the future after their graduation. They should see that each patient has the same equal value and accept the fullness of their human dignity whether they are poor and under-privileged or high society patients in the expensive rooms. These two types of patients are supposed to be treated to the best of their ability in accordance with the code of professional ethics and without concern for social status. Furthermore, the understanding of personhood as understood in the concept of the "image of God" will also be important for my students in cases that they may have to deal with controversial medical ethical

13

situations such as euthanasia, family planning and abortion, including the patients' rights in the future.

In order to assure the students even more and to relate the idea of the equality of human dignity to the majority Buddhist students in the class, we also use Buddhist teachings to support the concept of human dignity. Buddhism states that human beings can be trained and developed in all walks of life only if they have the intention (cetana) to learn and develop themselves. (Phra Dhammapitaka 1999, 13) This means that Buddhism puts human beings at the center; we are equally able to have 'human-centered development' because Buddhist liberation will be done through our own individual action, work, effort (kamma), and insight meditation. Therefore whatever bad and undesired situations people experience in life will hardly bear fruit as far as people keep producing more good kammic actions.

In the face of the threat of globalization, as described above, we need to emphasize human values more than a materialistic mentality. In this way, we really hope that there will be responsible and efficient medical workers and doctors who will treat patients as 'human beings.'

To repeat, I think that the best way to teach ethics and religion to teenaged students should be to start by highlighting the themes that are close to their life, the meaning and value of life, how to improve their life, how to increase self-confidence. Then we will be surprised that even students in the science disciplines express their enjoyment and eagerness to learn more about the spiritual dimension of life. I consider this opportunity to introduce religious studies to students as a way to address the crisis resulting from globalization. I should add that the negative impact of globalization as threat also appears on the agenda of the United Nations in the concept of 'human security' which refers to 'the need that people should be able to lead their lives without having their survival threatened or their dignity impaired.' (Ogata 2002, 23)

Personally speaking, the dehumanizing impact of globalized structures also reminds me of other issues I want my students to be aware of. Domestic violence toward women, sexual exploitation and prostitution, child abuse, terrorism and war, are all more or less derived from treating human beings as objects. Therefore my

14

religious vocation needs to start with the concept of personhood, the meaning of life and human dignity.

The last face of globalization I would like to consider is as an instrument of power which is another negative aspect of globalization. It is widely known that globalization provides us with unlimited information and the circulation of money that is more rapid than ever before. The free exchange of goods and money affects both the consumer life style of so-called secular students and spiritual life of monk students. Some students apply materialistic values even to their concepts of making merit. In most classes we talk at length about how to be smart in merit making without using money. In a class on 'human relations and self development' for environmental and natural resource sciences undergraduate students, my students have shared with me stories from their field study trips to demonstrate how to preserve and recycle unwanted garbage. We try to analyze how they feel after they finished assisting villagers. They said they were happy and proud of their actions, which provided a good chance for me to emphasize the proper concept of making merit, one that can be fulfilled by giving useful advice to the poor villagers and by showing care for those who cannot gain a livelihood in the market. They also better understood the lesson of globalization as an instrument of power that increases the power of those who are already powerful. We all agree that ''globalization should serve above all the people. Globalization with a human face should be people-centered and based on the following objectives and values: sustainable development enabling a life in dignity for all; global responsibility and solidarity; social justice and inclusion, human rights''. (Holtz 2000, www.sidint.org)

Thai Religious Women and Hierarchical Power

Consequently, globalization as an instrument of power, more or less, has an impact on our Thai social structures in the form of institutional power over persons. One opportunity I have to address this issue is when I teach classes for monks at both Buddhist universities. As a woman lecturer, I must have the courage to point out some of the struggles in the religious life of Mae Chee ( nuns, lay women in white, not considered as ordained) and Bhikkhunis (female monks , not accepted officially by the Thai monk community) to monk students, who are all men. Since Thai society

15

is 'a very hierarchical status and power-oriented structured society' (Komin 1979, 20) men are normatively superior to females. Traditionally, male monks have a better chance in the religious dimension than ordained women. In general, most Thai women support Buddhism by making merit. While at present there are more women taking part in teaching meditation to people and even to monks, there are still many women who desire and are ready to be in the religious sphere but must still struggle for a proper religious status. They experience what may be called religious and social injustice and a violation of women's rights. Frankly speaking, it is a very sensitive and complicated issue, one that involves monastic rules, the long-held traditional feeling of Thai people, and the global concept of human rights. I realize that a complete change and total acceptance of women as female monks may be beyond what the public can accept. However, I find that it is necessary to reconsider how we treat and ignore these women who struggle to have a meaningful place in the religious space. By the sharing of existing power, I would like to encourage developments that will improve the religious females’ situation. In applying Hegel’s dialectic method, the situation may be like this:

Thesis: Thai religious women need to be developed in accordance with a concept of feminism.

Antithesis: This development should not ignore cultural, social and religious values of Thai society.

Synthesis: Any changes and development should be based on 'the Buddhist Feminism of the Middle Path which is a joyful appreciation of the 'equal value' of men and women's action (kamma) instead of the old stereotype of gender roles. 'Equality is that what women do should be regarded as of equal value as what men do.' (Gross 1996,24). This synthesis means:

1. the realization of the interconnectedness (paticcasamuppada ) and mutual support for both bhikkhus and bhikkhunis including mae chees. All of them should be allowed sufficient participation in decision-making concerning any changes and developments.

2. mindfulness and wisdom in translating the understanding of Buddhist teaching into proper action. We need to distinguish and not to confuse the 'Buddhist eternal principle' (according to Buddhist scriptures, women are able to attain the highest goal of religious life the same as men. Buddhism treats men and women equally) with its 'social and cultural context and expression' (Thai women cannot be ordained as female monks) and then reinterpret the teaching

16

in accordance with dhammavinaya (teachings and monastic rules) for the inclusion of women as well.

3. loving-kindness (metta) to both bhikkhus and bkikkhunis including mae chees. This women’s movement does not aim at causing people to dislike each other. It is, rather, an effort to seek more opportunity for and be aware of including women more fully in the religious sphere. Any harsh and unskillful actions are not welcome, otherwise women as victims will become doers who perform the next violence against those seeking liberation.

This may not be the best solution for the abuse of hierarchical power towards Thai religious women, but at least it is an effort to share the problems and remind my monk students of possible changes that can take place in their awareness of attitudes and proper actions towards women.

A Course on Dialogue

Above all, the influence of globalization on my religious vocation is in the concept of 'dialogue.' That is to say, as we all know, globalization connects people around the world with easy communication and with goods and services. The more globalization is related to the 'globe', the more 'locality' is called for. I agree with this statement. As a result, globalization really draws me closer to 'dialogue'. That is, globalization actually encourages us to pay attention indirectly to the various cultures, various languages, and various religions. The more we find ourselves caught up in the diversity of cultures, of languages and of religions in the global village due to globalization, the more we are encouraged to support our local cultures, our dialects and our own religion. In the process of dialogue, although we open our hearts to listen to the different beliefs of our partners (= the global), we also need to declare our own religious identity (= the local). Myself, I have learnt and taught about Christianity but whenever I enter into the process of dialogue, I share my belief as a Buddhist. In practice, I have been teaching a class on 'inter-religious dialogue' for graduated students at Mahidol and Assumption Universities. From time to time, I introduce the same subject at Mahachula and Mahamonkut Buddhist Universities. Teaching about dialogue is very challenging for me. Some of my monk students are eager to hear and judge whether I teach this class on behalf of Christianity or not. Owing to their previous experience, the concept of 'dialogue' is related to the concept of 'conversion.' In fact, the principle of dialogue is a form of the systematic study of

17

religion. It is OK. to have 'win-win conversion' (Chia 2001, 181). Such "conversion" means that I try to share with my Christian partner why my belief is most valuable and try to persuade him or her to agree with me, then that person may learn, grow and change his or her understanding about my belief. (Swidler 1987,6) At the same time, my Christian partner will do the same. In other words, 'just as one hopes to convert the other, one is also open to being converted by the other'. (Chia 2001, 181) I think the word "conversion," however, has a problematic meaning for Thai people due to previous negative experiences. We may be afraid of the type of dialogue that aims at 'winning over' (Chia 2001, 181) as the primary purpose of doing dialogue. Therefore the influences of globalization really has an affect on my religious vocation, which leads me to be careful in introducing this concept to my Thai students as I seek to prove to them that ‘inter-religious’ dialogue is able to increase our spiritual growth, understanding, and mutual cooperation in this pluralistic world.

Engaged Buddhism and Liberation Theology

At this point, I would like to emphasize that although globalization has an impact on shaping the strategy of my religious vocation, I believe that human beings can redirect and control globalization. It depends on how much we can use 'wisdom' to reconsider, reformulate, and reinterpret religious teaching so as to transform it into action. In this way, people will realize the value of the religious dimension in the context of the growth of technology and the spread of globalization all over the world. At least, when I consider the roles of socially engaged Buddhists and activist liberation theologians in Christianity, I realize that they share common characteristics and that both are necessary in the present global context. That is, the concept of engaged Buddhism will consider that 'wisdom is not authentic unless expressed in action,' (Kraft 1999,11). Therefore, when individuals carry out a "service-based" practice, they are also exercising "mindfulness-based" practice as well. One should consider and be aware of the existing suffering of people, such as the poor, abused women and children, and the under-privileged including nature itself. Then one can sympathize with and identify oneself with the suffering world and take action to reduce such problems. (Christopher 2000, 8) Involvement in external, social work means one needs patience, devotion, and self–detachment. This is the great test, namely to purify the mind, which is considered as inner work. In Christianity, liberation theology also focuses on 'life experience; then the social analysis of that

18

experience (seeing); thereafter, a theological reflection on that experience under the light of the Scriptures (judging); and afterward, planning a praxis directed toward the transformation of the shared experience (acting), which leads to a new experience worthy of further analysis.' (Maduro 1992, 290) By being able to apply religious teaching and practice to respond to existing global situations such as suffering and oppression, one will realize the value of religion, and then one will use religion to redirect globalization instead.

Personally speaking, I think my obvious duty is to provide my students with the complete details about globalization and inform them about the roles of religion in responding to the growth of globalization. Giving enough information, one will prevent 'moha ' (delusion) which is a root of suffering and misery in community. Although globalization reinforces my religious vocation, I still believe that I have to apply its influences to shape my proper religious work as an instructor in comparative Buddhism and Christianity and as a laywoman practitioner involved in inter-religious dialogue.

References

Barbour, Ian G. (1980) Technology, Environment, and Human Values, New York: Praeger.

Dhammapitaka, Phra. (1999) Education and Human Development, Bangkok: Buddhadhamma Foundation.

Gross, Rita M. (1996) Feminism and Religion, Boston: Beacon Press.

Holtz, Uwe. (2000) ''Globalization with a Human Face,'' located at http://www.sidint.org/publications/GlobalizationUweHoltz (note: this link was still active as of 25 August 2003).

I.V.Cully, P. Elmen. (!990) ''Vocation'' Harper's Encyclopedia of Religious Education, Edited by Iris V. and Kendig Brubaker Cully, San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Komin, Soontaree. (1979). ''Value Concept of Thai Women,'' Proceedings of the Peace Corps Conference on Women and Development, Bangkok Thailand 1979, Chiengmai: Pituk Karnpim.

Kraft, Kennth. (1999) The Wheel of Engaged Buddhism: A New Map of the Path New York: Weatherhill.

Maduro, Otto. (1992) ''Liberation Theology,'' A New Handbook of Christian Theology, Eds by Donald W. Musser and Joseph L. Price, Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Ogata, Sadako. (2002) ''Making People a Central Concern,'' Bangkok Post, December 11.

19

Queen, Christopher S. (ed.) (2000) Engaged Buddhism in the West, Boston: Wisdom Publications.

20