Question: “How do you think buddhism has impacted/changed the world in a positive way?”
Good question! Well… There’s really no right or wrong answer here, so I’m just gonna type something out and hope it makes sense!
We know that things and people are all interdependent. Something or someone always relies on something or someone else for something, an outcome. We think we’re independent because we have our own job, house and car, but rely on the world to purchase the products or services that give us our job, on the people and products that build our house and car, and people and products to give us food. So we are never really independent. So what am I getting to here? It takes a mass effort to make something, to create change, to produce goods, to influence, to win or lose.
The world is obviously full of chaos and suffering. It is a saddening and depressing world – but only if we choose to see it that way. The good completely outweighs the bad, but we live in societies that feed off the bad, that profit off the bad, that grow off the bad, so that’s what the world and the media give us and make us focus on that. But if you do a quick search on non-profits and charities, there are literally thousands of them, all trying to help people and make the world a better place. To help us see that there is hope forsomeone behind the chaotic fog of the world.
There are beautiful, intelligent and highly realized people in every religion. Every religion is the “right” religion. Why? Because they all want happiness and freedom. Unfortunately there are many that take that way out of context and use their own ignorant interpretations. But anyway – every religion has a handful of great people that travel the world and talk about love, compassion, liberation and heaven/nirvana, Buddhism is no exception. There are dozens and dozens of Buddhist monks/nuns and teachers that travel all over the globe to teach compassion and loving-kindness. Very rarely do they teach “Buddhism,” they teach the fundamental essence and nature of humans; love. So these teachers help us come back to that natural state through meditation and mindfulness practices, and maybe every once in a while a Buddhist teaching.
So how has Buddhism changed the world in a positive way? By, I think, reminding people to love, approach situations with compassion, to not judge, to not hate, to see and practice equanimity, and to help others is to help ourselves as well.
Smile and be well!