David Starlyte

Mental Health Counsellor, Star Mental Health

What are the ethical implications of race? Is there a cogent Buddhist riposte to critical race theory, acknowledging both personal and multifactorial determinants associated with racialization? Does conceptually viewing the world through a lens of race foster unwholesome states of duḥkha, especially considering an unequal distribution of power and resources? I will explore how the Buddha viewed race and whether there is an appropriate Buddhist response to historical disadvantage. In this paper I will apply a Buddhist outlook to contemporary ethical dilemmas of race, racism, and racialization, particularly within the United States. I will expound upon Buddhist applied ethics consistent with middle way consciousness. I will survey Nietzsche’s framing of morality as a response to oppression, calibrating the evolution of suffering, followed by investigating the understanding of separateness, as contrasted to Buddhist interconnection. Then, I will investigate whether the idea of inequality is a result of exploitation, irrespective of personal characteristics and qualities, and uncontrollable factors—or whether this framing is outside of Buddhist purview. Finally, I will apply race to the context of karma, self-realization, and nirvāṇa.

David Starlyte,Studies on Humanistic Buddhism VI : Humanistic Buddhism: Wisdom and Compassion in Action(2024)201-216.COPY