Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Name	Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Founded	1978
Type	Nonprofit
Location	United States

Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a U.S.-based nonprofit network linking activists, teachers, and practitioners across traditions such as Zen Buddhism, Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism, Mahayana, and Vipassana. Founded in 1978 amid intersections of social movements including Vietnam War protests, nuclear disarmament actions, and student activism at institutions like University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, the group has sought to connect engaged Thich Nhat Hanh-inspired practice with campaigns associated with Martin Luther King Jr.-influenced nonviolence and Gandhi-style civil resistance. It collaborates with faith-based networks such as Interfaith Alliance partners and secular coalitions like Greenpeace on issues intersecting ethics, rights, and peace.

History

The organization emerged from late-1970s dialogues among activists influenced by teachers including Thich Nhat Hanh, Seung Sahn, Shunryu Suzuki, Ajahn Chah, and scholars at Columbia University and University of California, Santa Cruz. Early connections tied to anti-Vietnam War veterans, Women's Liberation Movement organizers, and anti-nuclear activists such as participants from CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and allies from SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). During the 1980s and 1990s it engaged with networks around Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid solidarity, United Nations forums, and environmental campaigns alongside groups like Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth. In the 2000s it responded to events including September 11 attacks, the Iraq War, and movements led from Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, aligning with civil rights organizations such as NAACP and human rights NGOs like Amnesty International.

Mission and Activities

The fellowship frames its mission in relation to principles articulated by teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Daisaku Ikeda, and Chögyam Trungpa while engaging with social issues addressed by organizations like Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights. Its activities span advocacy with groups such as Clinton Global Initiative partners, community organizing influenced by Saul Alinsky tactics, and educational programming similar to offerings from The Carter Center and The Institute of Noetic Sciences. Programming often intersects with campaigns championed by Amnesty International USA, Southern Poverty Law Center, and faith-based responders like Catholic Relief Services.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The network operates with regional chapters and project teams resembling federated models used by Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Habitat for Humanity. Leadership has included organizers, teachers, and scholars connected to institutions like Harvard Divinity School, Naropa University, University of California, Berkeley Graduate Theological Union, and monasteries such as Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and Sangha communities associated with Kwan Um School of Zen. Boards have intersected with professionals linked to Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and advisory councils with figures from The American Academy of Religion and The Association for Asian Studies.

Programs and Campaigns

Programs mirror collaborative models with groups such as Code Pink, Pax Christi, and United Nations Association affiliates: prison abolition and restorative justice initiatives engage partners like Critical Resistance and The Sentencing Project; climate justice work coordinates with 350.org and Earthjustice; immigrant rights efforts align with National Immigration Forum and Southern Poverty Law Center. Campaigns have addressed war and peace via coalitions including Veterans for Peace and Peace Action, and anti-death-penalty advocacy in concert with Campaign to End the Death Penalty and Innocence Project. Training offerings resemble curriculum collaborations with ACLU-linked educators and ethics seminars comparable to The Hastings Center.

Publications and Media

The fellowship has produced periodicals, zines, and online writing akin to journals published by Tricycle (magazine), Lion's Roar (magazine), and scholarly work circulating in Journal of Buddhist Ethics and Buddhist-Christian Studies. It has hosted podcasts and webinars similar to productions by On Being and Buddhist Geeks, and maintained online resources comparable to archives at Internet Archive and collections found in repositories like Columbia University Libraries. Contributors have included writers and teachers connected to publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Commonweal, and academic presses including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques have come from conservative commentators associated with outlets like National Review and The Wall Street Journal, progressive peers in debates with Democratic Socialists of America, and some monastics affiliated with Soka Gakkai International and traditional lineages critical of activist engagement. Controversies have mirrored tensions seen in faith-based activism involving groups like Catholic Worker Movement and debates addressed in forums at Religious Studies Association conferences: disputes over political endorsements, internal governance reminiscent of challenges in Oxfam and Amnesty International chapters, and conflicts between secular activists and ordained teachers similar to cases in Tibetan Buddhist centers and Zen communities. Allegations and organizational reckonings have prompted policy revisions analogous to practices adopted by United Methodist Church agencies and other nonprofit reform efforts.

Category:Religious organizations based in the United States Category:Buddhism in the United States