This morally rich paperback was published in conjunction with the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century, which was set up in 1993 to draw attention to global civil society initiatives worthy of public discourse and support. As Joan Halifax points out in the foreword, the book "explores the lives and actions, insights and guidelines of some of the world's most beloved Buddhist practitioners, teachers, and social activists who are currently working to end suffering in the life of the world."
Although Buddhists are known for their quest for inner peace, recent years have seen an upsurge of activity under the banner of engaged spirituality. The eighteen essays here are in response to the UNESCO Declaration on the Role of Religions in the Promotion of a Culture of Peace. Buddhist Peacework is organized into three sections: (1) an overview of new and emerging programs for building cultures of peace, (2) the underlying principles that provide the framework, support, and motivation for peacework, and (3) an exploration of the foundations of Buddhist life.
Peacemakers around the world are using every means possible to bring about change — prayer, meditation, conflict resolution, the arts, the political process, internal disarmament, and peace education. Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian activist, sums it all up quite well: "We Buddhists must find the courage to leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience, temples that are filled with suffering. If we listen to the Buddha, Christ, or Gandhi, we can do nothing else. The refugee camps, the prisons, the ghettos, and the battlefields will then become our temples. We have so much work to do."