“Evaluate how globalisation has impacted on both changes and resistance

to change in one belief system you have studied”

Belief systems are organised sets of ideas that attempt to explain and or
understand complex issues such as life and death, providing most societies with
a philosophical foundation for establishing social norms. In Buddhism,
globalisation has resulted in a globally increase consciousness and
understanding of the world.

Buddhism is a belief system founded by Siddhartha Gutama in the 5th century

BCE that evolved from the religious system of Hinduism which moved towards a
secular worldview soon after its inception. Secular systems either deny or avoid
the idea of a creator God, with Buddhism following a set of philosophical
doctrines such as the Tipitaka –Pali Canon written in the 1st century BCE that
established the teachings and rules for the Sangha.

As the first Buddha, the teachings of Siddhartha were crucial in creating the
mores and social norms of Buddhism as a belief system. The accepted
standards of Buddhist norms include the Eightfold Path which is a set of ethics
followed by Buddhists that include the right speech, actions, livelihood,
effort/exercise, mindfulness/awareness, concentration, thoughts and
understanding. These ethics are still continued today in Buddhism as they are
universally positive and basic to all human interaction which may be the reason
many westerners are beginning to adopt Buddhism into their way of life. This
enhances the trivialization of Buddhism with a universal knowledge of Buddhist
emblems and symbols such as the Buddha and lotus flower.

All belief systems experience change as societies evolve and mores and
social norms are altered, hence change and continuity has been evident in
Buddhism throughout the last 2500 years. The continuity of the basic doctrines of
Buddha has not changed, with Buddhists still following the Tipitaka and Buddhist
values and beliefs. However, considerable change is evident in society which in
turn undeniably affects Buddhism. The most obvious change was the
disappearance of women from the Theravada and Vajrayana Sanghas during the
early centuries of CE and then the re-emergence of women in the 20 th century
due to acculturation within the West.

Globalisation refers to the process whereby political, social, economic and

cultural relations increasingly take on a global scale. Globalisation has become a
critical force in the change and continuity of Buddhism, essentially spreading the
Buddhist beliefs globally. Buddhism has always had a globalised perspective with
one of the earliest forms shown in the 3rd century BCE when Emperor Ashoka
sent missionaries to the East and West bearing the message of Buddha. This
was the catalyst for Buddhism becoming the most predominant faith in Asia.
Buddhism had a less impact on the West in the beginning, although there have
been many signs of western life that stem from Buddhist ideas.
The spread of Buddhism all over the world and the establishment in many
countries have altered the face of Buddhism but the fundamental values and
precepts established by the Buddha have remained unchanged.
Institutions such as the first major international Buddhist conference, the World
Buddhist forum held in 2006 in China aimed to set up an open dialogue of
Buddhist concepts to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist people. This form of
globalisation in the modern era illustrates the continuity of the original Buddhist
teachings up to today and how they are not changed.

Globalisation and colonization during the 19th century meant many Buddhist
countries became colonies of Britain (Sri Lanka, Burma, and Nepal) and France
(Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). Hence, with the process of acculturation
between the two cultures it meant many Westerners began to develop an interest
in Buddhism. American convert Colonel Henry S. Olcott, did much to revive
Buddhism in Sri Lanka, designing the Buddhist flag in the 1880’s. The adoption
of this flag in 1952 is a change due to globalisation.

During the 21st century globalisation had a strong impact on the change and
resistances of gender in Buddhism. The influx of middle aged western women
converts to Buddhism meant the re-emergence of women in the belief system
where the practice of women in Buddhism was once non existence in Sri Lankan
Sanghas. In 1903 ordained westerner Catherine de Alwis set up a Sangha for
women in Sri Lanka and recently due to pressures from westerners such as
Tenzin Palmo meant the acceptance of women in Vajrayana Sanghas.

The sudden re-emergence of women in the Buddhist belief system causes a shift
between power and authority with the sudden awareness and acceptance of
women in Buddhism. The Buddhist culture is divided into two communities- the
religious community (Sangha) and the lay community. The Sangha has
superiority over the secular lay community with a hierarchy depicting the more
enlightened superior to the less enlightened individuals. This informal system
varies according to varieties of Buddhism. For example in the Thai Sangha there
is a more formalized hierarchy dealing with millions of monks while the Tibetan
Sangha appoints a high authority figure, the Dalai Lama, considered to be the
reincarnation of the original Dalai.

Globalisation also means that Buddhism have also adopted many modern
elements such as the embrace of technology. This does not go against any of
the Buddhist beliefs as it still follows the idea that it does not hurt any sentiment
beings. For example the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso constantly travels by jets
all over the world to visit world leaders and also spreading the teachings of
Buddhism in the West which in turn increase the growth of Buddhism and
contribute to the globalisation of the belief system. Technology has worked to
Buddhism’s advantage with the internet playing a major role in publicizing their
cause on Tibetan issues.
Globalisation has had a significant impact on the changes and resistance to
change in Buddhism. It has enabled the increase spread of Buddhism around the
world altering the face of Buddhism but the fundamental values still remain
unchanged. It has enabled the change in gender practice with the re-acceptance
of women in Buddhist Sanghas due to pressures of the west. The embrace of
modern technology has allowed Buddhism to continually broaden Buddhism
globally, with globalisation impacting on changes and resistance to change in
Buddhism in the present and future.