Seeds Of Peace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society

by Sulak Sivaraksa, Thich Nhat Hanh (Preface), Dalai Lama XIV (Foreword)

Sulak Sivaraksa, founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists and winner of the 1995 Right Livelihood Award, takes on such issues as the "religion of consumerism," indicating solutions to a wide range of political, economic, and social problems. Seeds of Peace offers his most passionate writings.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Sociology, Politics

152 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Andrew]

Firstly, I should say that Sulak Sivaraksa is out there doing the important work -- namely, speaking truth to a calcified state Buddhism that by and large only seeks to reproduce power, both its own and the power of the state, with its associated ruling-class and military hangers-on. And yet as for his manifesto... something's missing. Some of his goals are noble -- namely, locally led development initiatives that actually meet local needs instead of being imposed top-down by Bangkok bureaucrats, several of which he gives excellent examples of. And yet the wholesale dismissal of "development" (vague term) as being technocratic rather than humanistic seems to shut down wide avenues of human liberation, and his favoring of organic and tradition-based relations (despite his protestations that he prefers to look forward rather than backwards) seems to play into the hand of those who seek to reaffirm brutal hierarchies. I recognize that he's got his heart in the right place, but I'm a little too Marxist to be on board with the program.

[Frond Unfurling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spot-on critique of [global] capitalism and Western cultural imperialism, Seeds of Peace offers wise counsel to those seeking alternatives to a world-view rooted in the "three poisons: greed, hatred, and delusion."

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being published more than 30 years ago, the short essays collected here remain timely investigations of how Buddhism may be practiced as transformative personal and social engagement in pursuit of a better world. The essay on the Five Moral Precepts is one of my favorites.

[Candisa Azzahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

the essence of the book is that we must solely put a heavy weight importance in people, in order to build a better world, is become more relevant this day. It made me reflect a lot of how I operate inward and outward. Beautiful essays.

[Tom Peek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This potent book grows more relevant with every passing year, especially his chapter on "Development as if People Mattered." Sivaraksa is a true visionary.

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are familiar critiques of capitalism, materialism, and international development—but offered from a Buddhist perspective.

[Curtis Schofield]

Started reading seeds of peace - first chapter discusses religion of consumerism and it's affect on the Buddhist culture of siam and bangkok - it clearlylays out the Three poisons of greed, hate, delusion as a frame around the contemporary culture of consumption and makes argument for the middle path and calls for the necessary analysis and application of awareness as tools to the discovery of a practical sustainable and effectively happy future.


In the second chapter you will gain insight into the process of globalizing and political, colonial, economic, and military powers as they have influenced Siam, which became known as Thailand.

The second chapter will bring a mirror to our face as we start to understand the external events that our materialistic western nations have influenced as a way to maintain our pride of primacy and supernormative living.

[Peem Lerdputtipongporn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sulak Sivaraksa himself is a prominent, highly-respected intellectual among Thai people. Therefore, his vision regarding how Thailand and other countries could develop sustainably not only prompts readers to become interested in Buddhism but also allows readers, especially those who do not have background understanding of how Buddhism shapes Thai people's viewpoint, to appreciate the country at its essence. However, my advice for anyone who plans to read this book is that "Don't expect to understand everything he says." In Seed of Peace, Sulak has splashed many information that only Thai people in the period the book was published to understand. For instance, when Sulak referred to Thai leaders being respected because they received a diploma from Harvard Business School or Fletcher School would only make sense if you know the person Sulak is referencing to. Other than that, I find the organization of this book to be somewhat unnecessarily convoluted. Great book still!