Dialogue with the Tibetan Parliament in Exile

Buddhist Defense of Co-sovereignty between Sangha and State

The spiritual master perceives in depth what is happening in the world, thus denouncing the exhaustion of the political, economic, cultural and environmental systems of contemporary civilization. Both parliamentary democracy and presidential democracy demonstrate an inability to solve the complex problems of society, such as war, injustice, ignorance and pollution. Given that the political parties have lost legitimacy to act as representatives of citizenship, the Free and Enlightened Being (Arhat-Bodhisattva) raises the need to create governments that genuinely represent the population, particularly in America and Asia, where excesses of the presidential system have derived in the evils of corruption and authoritarianism, but also in Europe, where the parliamentary system has degenerated into bureaucracy and illegality. Therefore, the Maitriyana proposes the art of agreement as a resolution for this social pathology that is suffered by the false democracies of the world, which have been infected by a dualistic political conception based on the dispute between political parties, where the winner must govern while the loser must be an opponent. This dualistic logic is the basis of partisan activity and the action of antagonism and confrontation, squandering the resources of society rather than joining forces to solve the problems of society. More than two thousand six hundred years ago Buddhist Law brought a dialectical proposal to overcome the dualistic logic of political antinomies, expressing the idea of co-sovereignty between the spiritual commune (sangha) and the State. Without causing unhappiness for the civic order of a country, Maitriyana expresses that the spiritual commune (sangha) intrinsically owns autonomy, self-determination and freedom, reason why its ethical and spiritual leadership cannot be limited by the Power of the State. This co-government formula raises the need for the Power of Spirituality to monitor and supervise the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Thus, the Buddhist Law is not a mere special modality of government, but rather a reflection that redefines the mode of social coexistence between the modern State and the original peoples. Only the construction of a consensus between the State and the spiritual commune (sangha) can solve the complex problems of the world. The experience of the spiritual master leads to the conviction that, in order to achieve that goal of the Cure (Nirvana) of the ills of humanity, one must to move toward a type of sovereignty shared by the international community where States allow to be ethically and spiritually guided for Good and Righteousness. Although it can be understood as the abolition of the concept of the modern State, this process can also be understood as the construction of a wise and compassionate civilization, positioning the spiritual commune (sangha) as a monitoring body for State violations. This would imply an opening process in which society should be actively involved in political, economic, cultural and environmental decision-making, rather than simply handing over its power to corrupt and authoritarian representatives. In this way, the experience of co-sovereignty that has been maintained by Aboriginal peoples and the spiritual communes (sanghas) of America and Asia allows the civilization to be put back on the right track to leave the path of hell and self-destruction, consolidating a global democratic participation of nations as a basis of this autonomy and self-determination. This commitment of Maitriyana carries out a policy of consensus on the basis of achieving the goals of world peace, social justice, free education and ecological harmony, legitimating both States and spiritual communes (sanghas). The great promoter of this great international coalition of co-sovereignty has been Siddhartha Gautama, whose ethical and spiritual Path leads to the reunification of the human family. The Buddhist Law seeks dialogue as a means to build a better world, insisting on the fact that governors, lawmakers and judges are not anointed by God nor do they own the Truth, having to fulfill the duty of helping society in its Path to Awakening (Bodhi). Therefore, the Free and Enlightened Beings (Arhats-Bodhisattvas) are simply guides accompanying humankind so that it can be saved on its own, since this Supreme Purpose (Dharma) must come from an effort agreed by everyone. Undoubtedly, the Maitriyana’s political function is to create ideas and to propose projects, sharing alternative scenarios through the logic of dialogue and the art of agreement, in order that these utopian and benevolent aspirations become pragmatic and feasible solutions to the problems of the world. In this sense, the Buddhist Law denounces that the State has the capability of benefitting the life of the whole society, although it prefers to violate that goal and to maintain a system of oppression and alienation, reason by which the spiritual master seeks to reformulate the social coexistence in order to overcome the dualistic logic of political antagonism. The co-sovereignty between the State and the spiritual commune (sangha) establishes a system where the original peoples integrate a co-government on the basis of a constitutional social agreement. In this way, the Maitriyana does not propose a simple pact or circumstantial alliance, but rather a profound consensus that consolidates a new type of a more just and solidary social order. This commitment of the Buddhist Law assumes the responsibility of restoring the self-determination and freedom of society, which has been curtailed by traditional political institutions. Although it is an arduous, difficult and obstacle-filled Path that requires audacious thought and majestic action, it establishes an open leadership with the capability of incorporating the effort of the whole society, refounding the State through a new agreement of co-sovereignty based on the principles of coexistence and equanimity. Maitriyana poses a new conception of politics and justice, sowing the seeds of the civilization of the future. This collective challenge is assumed as a priority by the Buddhist Law, accompanying society in its pathway to the horizon of evolution.