Buddhist Views - a Buddhist Response to the Nature of Human Rights

In the essay "A Buddhist Response to the Nature of Human Rights", Inada outlined the distinctly different views of human rights held by the west and the east. The western view of human rights to be based on "hard relationship", while his description of the eastern view is that of "soft relationship". The hard relationship is based on physical form and distinctly individualistic. The soft relationship is more inclusive encompassing an individual surrounding. These views are derived from the main religions of their respective parts of the world. The religions in these cases are Judo-Christianity and Buddhism. The understanding of the relationships relate directly from the beliefs or teaching held by the respective religions and the derived psychology.

The main religion of the Western World is Christianity whose root is based in Judaism. The base of the beliefs rests in the Creator who made an individual person and gave each a single soul. With this belief, a person is considered a complete entity. Combined with the notion that a man was created in the image of the Creator and in the monotheistic sense, this inevitably leads to the essence of a complete physical being as well. The view for an individual rights therefore is perceived to be individualistic for a person as a unit. This is further demonstrated with the concept of "all men were created equal". A person's human rights can be thus defined and is finite within a social setting. The implication of theses determined rights are often exhibited in the phrase: "God's given rights". The "hard relationships" as view toward human rights in western society can be directly attributed to this physical form with a unique and single soul.

The eastern view toward human rights is considered to be the soft relationships. These views are clearly seen and understood through the Buddhist beliefs. A focus of the Buddhist teaching or Dhamma resides in the precept that there is no self, no ego, and no soul. All is conditioned to change and therefore nothing is permanent. An individual's action affects his surrounding and vice versa. An individual is conditioned by his experience and inherits the results of his past actions, kamma (karma in Sanskrit). Building upon these concepts, a Buddhist is continuously striving for personal improvement and eventually the ultimate perfection. Human nature is understood to be less