316 – Buddhist Communities and Public Political Stands: A Moral Quandary

When should Buddhist communities take public stands on issues that could be seen as political? If politics is about how we make decisions in groups (local communities, towns, cities, states, nations), are Sanghas really be free from politics when they are embedded in these larger groups? Silence can function as tacit approval, so is maintaining neutrality in keeping with our Buddhist values? On the other hand, there are many good reasons for Sanghas to avoid bringing discussions of politics in their places of practice, and I discuss them.

Quicklinks to Article Content:
My Interfaith Gathering Speech Given October 18th 2025
Reasons to Keep Politics Out of Our Sanghas
Are Sanghas Really Free from Politics?
To Stand Up or Not to Stand Up? Navigating the Moral Quandary
What About Alienating Those Whose Lives are Marked by Injustice?

Recently, I had a conversation with a long-time member of my Sangha, or Buddhist community, about the appropriateness of Sanghas taking public political stands. For context: I have been fairly involved politically lately, and at times I take action as a Zen priest – identifying myself as such, wearing my priest clothing and vestments, and sometimes mentioning my relationship to my Sangha, Bright Way Zen. Now, when my Sangha is together we try not to assume that everyone agrees on political issues, but before our classes and talks I had been inviting people to march with me in yesterday’s No Kings protest in Portland, Oregon.

My Sangha member more or less agrees with me politically and planned to be at the protest, but she expressed her desire to “keep politics out of the Zendo.” (The Zendo being the term for our Sangha’s meeting space.) She also reminded me that a number of years ago my Zen center board asked me to keep politics out of the Zendo. We had a very thoughtful conversation about this, and today I am going to present her viewpoint as well as my own. I hope that it will become clearer to you the moral quandary faced by Buddhist teachers and Sangha leaders when deciding whether – or when – to publicly take a stand on something that could be seen as “political.” I hope you will listen even if you disagree with me politically or have a strong objection to your Buddhist community getting involved in politics.

First, though, I thought I’d share with you a short speech I gave at the Interfaith Gathering I helped to organize before the No Kings rally in my city, Portland Oregon. At the gathering we sang some songs together and in addition to my speech heard from a Quaker, a Jewish person, a United Church of Christ pastor, a Baptist minister, and a Unitarian. It’s difficult to estimate the size of crowds, but it looked to me like there were at least 1,000 people assembled in the audience.

My Interfaith Gathering Speech Given October 18^th 2025

Domyo marching with other people of faith at Portland’s No Kings protest on 10/18/2025

Welcome to this Interfaith Gathering. My name is Domyo Burk, I am a Zen priest and guiding teacher at Bright Way Zen community on the Westside. Today we will have a short program including speakers and some sing-a-longs before marching together to the main No Kings event down at the waterfront.

The idea is for those of us who identify as people of faith to be a visible presence at the larger rally. Whether a government is democratic or authoritarian, it is dependent on the support of our social institutions, including the military and law enforcement, the courts, educational institutions, the media, and communities of faith. Many of us are here today, gathering under these Faith pillar banners, to state publicly that we do NOT support – in fact, we oppose – many actions of the current administration, including:

the efforts being made to dismantle American democracy, including intimidation of the media and extreme consolidation of power in the executive branch
the militarization of ICE in order to provoke unrest and create an excuse for the use of federal troops against American civilians
the cruel and unnecessary persecution of our immigrant friends and neighbors based entirely on a lie about immigrant criminality
furthering the administration’s agenda using divisive and fear-provoking rhetoric

What brings so many people out for No Kings rallies is our concern for our democracy. It’s far from perfect, but 250 years ago we chose this often messy, often inefficient system because we decided it was better than placing our fate in the hands of a king or an authoritarian regime.

There are many things America has gotten wrong over the course of its history, but our democracy means we have a chance to self-correct – to recognize our mistakes and try to do better. It may take us a hundred years, but eventually the voices calling for freedom, peace, justice, and well-being for all have a chance to win out. This is an incredible country; I am proud to be an American.

Self-correction can’t happen when a tyrant or an authoritarian regime silences all opposition and steals all the power. And note – left-wing governments can become authoritarian just as easily as right-wing ones. This is not about Democrat versus Republican. This is not about progressive versus conservative. This is about whether we can rise above our differences to preserve our democracy.

Why support democracy as a person of faith? Isn’t that just mixing faith and politics? No. I support democracy because as a person of faith I have faith in the people. One person may become corrupted by absolute power, but our communities, cities, states, and nation are composed of countless people like me and you. People committed to seeing love triumph over hate. Generosity and kindness triumph over fear. Tolerance and respect triumph over prejudice and hostility. All faith traditions teach us that such triumphs are possible and encourage us to work diligently toward them. We know such triumphs are possible because we have experienced them in our own hearts. Let us see them triumph in America.

I’ll leave you with a few words from my tradition, Zen Buddhism. Zen master Dogen describes how we should relate to living beings. He says:

Foolish people think that if they help others first, their own benefit will be lost, but this is not so. Beneficial action is an act of oneness, benefiting self and others together.

and

It is kind speech to speak to sentient beings as you would to a baby, and [kind speech] has the power to turn the destiny of the nation.

Let us keep the profound teachings of our faith traditions in mind as we try to find a way forward together.[i]

Reasons to Keep Politics Out of Our Sanghas

Now that you’ve heard my impassioned argument for taking a public stand as a Zen Buddhist, priest, and faith leader, I’ll explain why Buddhist communities and Dharma teachers are cautious about doing this.

There are many reasons not to bring politics into our practice spaces, including the need for Sanghas in the US to preserve their tax-exempt status. However, tax law is not as restrictive as many Buddhist communities seem to think it is. The IRS considers tax-exempt Buddhist communities to be “churches,” and says:

“Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one ‘which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.’ …the ban by Congress is on political campaign activity regarding a candidate; churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations can engage in a limited amount of lobbying (including ballot measures) and advocate for or against issues that are in the political arena.”[ii]

In other words, the IRS tries to prevent tax exempt status from being abused by partisan interests, giving them an advantage in elections.

What is the “political arena?” There are many ways to define this, but I like to think of “politics” as anything having to do with the question of what should we do together? Whenever there’s a group that shares resources, an agenda, or a set of conditions, decisions must be made about what the group should do. This is politics, and intimately connected with politics is the question of power – who wields it, and how they get to influence decision-making. There can be politics within a Sangha, but what I’m talking about in this episode is politics within groups larger than the Sangha, but within which it exists, including local communities, cities, states, nations, and our global community.

Tax law allows us to discuss politics within our communities and even endorse or oppose policies and legislation. As long as we don’t engage in activity on behalf of a candidate for political office, it’s all fair game.

But most of us wouldn’t want our Buddhist communities to discuss politics too much. Another reason for Sanghas to avoid getting involved in politics – even if it’s just to identify some of the things they would like to see happen in our greater society – is to preserve the sanctity of our shared practice space. We don’t seek out Sangha to debate political issues or be told what to believe. We seek refuge from the divisive tumult of the world by gathering to meditate and study the Dharma. Especially in troubling political times, many people experience anxiety, dread, anger, grief, and overwhelm in their everyday lives. They look forward to spending time with Sangha in meditation or Dharma study, temporarily setting aside the concerns of the world.

Another way to view Buddhist communities is as places of education. Just like schools or universities generally don’t get involved in politics unless there is an issue directly relevant to their operation, Buddhist teachers and Sanghas want to stay focused on their mission. They want to ensure that anyone can come practice the Dharma with them, regardless of political beliefs. In this respect, Buddhist teachers and Sanghas contribute to the well-being of our larger society, but in an indirect way – by giving people greater strength, clarity, and compassion if and when they engage in politics out in the rest of the world.

The last argument to keep politics out of our Sanghas that I’ll share was the central concern of my senior Sangha member in our recent conversation: We should avoid discussing politics because doing so almost inevitably becomes divisive and we want to preserve harmony in the Sangha. Healthy Sanghas, like any flourishing faith community, are like a big family. People share mutual respect and are concerned about one another’s well-being. We come to love one another, even when we don’t necessarily like or agree with one another. In a world with increasing social isolation, Sangha provides us with belonging. Just as we would preserve harmony in our biological family by avoiding divisive subjects, we ensure everyone in our Sangha feels like they belong, like they’re valued, by avoiding political discussions.

At least one person has left my Sangha at least in part because they were a Republican. They eventually got exhausted trying to find a way to feel comfortable in a Sangha where outspoken progressives so outnumber conservatives that we often speak carelessly, breaking our own intention to avoid assuming everyone present agrees politically. This member’s departure was a source of great sorrow for me and for my fellow Sangha members. We had come to love and appreciate our lonely Republican for who they were, all politics aside.

The more we discuss politics in our practice place, the more likely it will be that someone in the Sangha will feel alienated. It may be because they disagree with an opinion that seems to be widely shared or even endorsed by the Sangha, or it may be because they dislike being part of political discussions at all. Each person who limits their participation or leaves is someone who has become a Dharma friend, an important part of the Sangha treasure.

Are Sanghas Really Free from Politics?

And so, in a sincere desire to cultivate the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, most modern Buddhist communities maintain a careful silence around any topics that could be perceived as political. Social service, of course, remains a safe way to engage with the wider society in a positive way, so many Sanghas offer things like Dharma groups in prisons, support for the unhoused people in our communities, and companionship to those in hospice. However, Sanghas usually stop short of getting engaged in advocacy around related political issues such as prison reform or increasing the availability of affordable housing.

Can our Sanghas really be free from politics, though? We are embedded in local communities, towns, cities, states, and nations. Are we exempt from any responsibility to consider what’s going on around us? If we witness injustice, should we look the other way and hope someone else will respond? There comes a time when silence becomes tacit approval of what’s happening. If we refrain from trying to influence the decisions being made around us, aren’t we like people who refuse to vote?

Of course, most Buddhist teachers and Sanghas would respond to these questions by saying it’s up to each individual to inform themselves and be civically engaged according to their conscience. It’s not the role of the Sangha as a body to take public political stands. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this reasoning and I suspect most Sanghas will continue to frame their relationship to politics in this way.

However, there is a way in which communities and institutions take on a life of their own. For good or ill, faith communities can wield considerable influence in decisions made in our wider society. Religious communities and clergy have been central to the civil rights movement in the U.S. The pope encouraging Catholics to take action on the climate and ecological emergency lends a sense of seriousness and legitimacy to this concern. Churches offering sanctuary to immigrants facing deportation is a public call for treating human beings as Christ would treat them.

I suspect many Buddhist teachers and communities are not absolutely opposed to taking a public political stand but have a high threshold for such action. The many reasons not to bring politics into the Sangha mean that we’re not going to get engaged in every debate. At the same time, many of us like to think that if we’d been practicing in a Buddhist community in Nazi Germany, we wouldn’t have limited ourselves to quiet meditation and study but would have supported one another in active resistance. I like to think that if I had led a Sangha back in the days of slavery in America, my community would have been vocal abolitionists involved in the underground railroad.

After all, central to our Mahayana Buddhist practice is a vow to free all beings, and Zen master Dogen admonished us: “Foolish people think that if they help others first, their own benefit will be lost, but this is not so. Beneficial action is an act of oneness, benefiting self and others together.” [1]

To Stand Up or Not to Stand Up? Navigating the Moral Quandary

The support of Sangha for our individual awakening is invaluable, but most people also need support and community if they are going to stand up for compassion, truth, love, and justice in the world. Many Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Baha’i congregations are used to providing this kind of support to one another. Buddhist communities in the West don’t do this so much. Part of this is likely because our Buddhist traditions were historically based on monastic practice, where withdrawal from the world was an explicit and deliberate choice. Our modern, largely lay communities resemble Christian churches far more than traditional Buddhist temples or monasteries. Our Buddhist communities are also quite new; a very small percentage of them are older than 50 years. Appropriate social and political engagement may be something we’ll learn over time.

Fortunately, there’s a convenient “grey area” we can take advantage of as Buddhist practitioners, teachers, or clergy. If it doesn’t seem to be in the cards for our Sangha to take a public stand as a body (after all, just deciding on whether to do this takes quite a bit of time and discussion), we can take action as individuals who publicly identify as Buddhists or clergy, or we can participate with groups of engaged Buddhists, or with interfaith action groups.

For example, when I spoke at the interfaith gathering before the No Kings protest, I wore priest robes and identified myself as the guiding teacher of Bright Way Zen. My role as a clergy person and my association with a vibrant community helped lend credibility to my voice. However, I stopped short of having someone in my Sangha carry a “Bright Way Zen” banner in the march because I felt like I should ask for permission from my board and Sangha before doing that. Just beginning that discussion would be opening a giant can of worms, so I stick to this area of ambiguity, as many clergy and faith leaders do, taking action as an individual but being public about my affiliations.

What About Alienating Those Whose Lives are Marked by Injustice?

Before I wrap up, I want to suggest another thing to consider when we decide whether or when our Buddhist communities should take a public stand on something that could be considered political.

Earlier I discussed the concern that introducing politics into the Sangha will almost always create some degree of divisiveness, compromising harmony and potentially driving away valued Sangha members.

There is another way to look at this same concern and come to a completely different conclusion about how much to engage politics in Sangha. Consider the people who come through the doors of our Buddhist communities, looking to practice and experience belonging, who are people of color, immigrants, or gender non-conforming. When these communities are viciously targeted, when a man who referred to trans people as “trannies” is given a presidential medal of freedom, and our Sangha remains silent on the issue, who feels alienated then? When people come who are working class and struggling to make ends meet, or who are houseless, and the Sangha never discusses the need for economic justice, will they end up feeling like they belong? When young people come who are going to inherit a wrecked planet, or who are horrified by war and genocide, and the Sangha offers no guidance on how to translate our Buddhist values into social and political engagement, will they conclude the Dharma is primarily a hobby for the privileged, and irrelevant to their lives?

I don’t have any easy answers to resolve the moral quandary about Buddhist communities taking public political stands, but I will keep trying to find a Middle Way between ignoring what’s going on in the world and turning our practice places into forums of political debate. May we all find ways to manifest love in the world and work for peace and justice.