Establishment
In 1989, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) was established in Siam (Thailand) by Sulak Sivaraksa and a group of Buddhist and non-Buddhist thinkers and social activists. INEB operates as an autonomous organization under the Bangkok-based Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation. Over the years the network has expanded to include members, both individuals and organizations, from more than 25 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia. From this diversity, an understanding of socially engaged Buddhism has emerged which integrates the practice of Buddhism with social action for a healthy, just, and peaceful world.
Vision and Objectives
INEB’s overall vision is to develop the perspectives and practices of socially engaged Buddhism
that:
– Promote understanding, cooperation, and networking among inter-Buddhist andinter-religious social action groups.
– Act as an information resource related to areas of social concern.
– Facilitate conferences, education, and training based on Buddhist values and practices that support and strengthen socially active individuals and groups.
Mission Statement
The INEB Institute seeks to become the leading model in Asia for higher learning that integrates personal and social-structural transformation.
Built on the traditions of socially engaged Buddhism, the INEB Institute aims to develop and implement new practices, learning strategies, and social forms that nourish the moral imagination while cultivating peace and reconciliation, environmental healing, alternative education, sustainable economics, and the capacity for spiritual growth and leadership.
The INEB Institute’s core purpose is to help young people rediscover their fundamentally interdependent nature while developing the skills essential to bring about genuine change. Our vision is that positive and lasting social change must be grounded in a transformation of the way each individual views her or his connection to our world and all its inhabitants. We welcome students from any country, regardless of age, occupation, and social or religious status.
Programs
The design of INEB Institute programs focuses on transformative learning for peace and justice, drawing on the lessons of social movements and the practices, histories, and integrative perspectives of the world’s spiritual traditions, with an emphasis on Buddhism.
The programs of the INEB Institute will allow students to question, explore, and put into practice:
– The work, thought, and approaches to transformation on the part of engaged Buddhists and their friends and allies.
– The tools for self-cultivation and social change.
– The means for understanding and alleviating key manifestations of social suffering in the present era, such as climate change, severe inequality, and violence.