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About Shen Shi’an ???: An independent Buddhist teacher and writer, he was one of the founding members of the Dharma Propagation Division of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (Bright Hill Temple in Singapore) in 1997. Holding an MA in Buddhist Studies, which covered the major Buddhist traditions, he recently served as a Dharma Trainer and Project Coordinator in its Community Development & Training Department till 2011, focusing on Buddhist research, writing, teaching and answering of media queries. He was the founder of the temple’s Youth Mission (now ‘KMS Youth’), a book purchaser for its Awareness Place project, and the Chief Editor of the Web (and Library) Department, which co-supported Buddhanet.net, one of the world’s most popular Buddhist websites.

He is the founder and editor of TheDailyEnlightenment.com since 1997, one of the world’s largest independent Buddhist inspirational e-newsletter with over 29,000 members, the editor of ‘Be a Lamp Upon Yourself’, ‘Awaken: Gateway to Buddhism’ and the writer of ‘The Daily Enlightenment (Book 1,2,3,4)’. He also contributes occasionally to magazines such as ‘Nanyang Buddhist’, ‘Awaken’ (for which he was a Contributing Editor) and ‘For You (Information)’, and writes movie reviews for BuddhistChannel.tv, the world’s leading Buddhist news network. To date, he had reviewed over 300 movies. He popularised Dharma@Cinema, which is an innovative way of sharing the Dharma through detailed review discussions of both popular and offbeat films, and was part of the film selection team of T.H.I.S Buddhist Film Festival 2009.

Specialising in the Pure Land teachings, he has taught the subject at Singapore Buddhist Federation, Pu Ji Si Buddhist Research Centre and Poh Ming Tse, while leading the ongoing weekly Pureland Practice Fellowship at Kong Meng San, where he continues to teach various Dharma courses. He is also frequently invited to conduct Dharma discussions for youths for tertiary institutions’ Buddhist societies (SPBS, NPBS, NYPBS, NUSBS, NTUBS) on various subjects, along with the sharing Buddhist perspectives at Secondary Schools (SPS, Manjusri School), Junior Colleges (CJC) and International Schools (UWCSEA, SJII).

He was also a guest speaker for Dharma activities hosted by Dharma Drum Mountain (Singapore), Fo Guang Shan (Singapore), Tai Pei Buddhist Centre, Singapore Buddhist Mission Youth, Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission, Wat Ananda Youth, Buddha of Medicine Welfare Society and Kampung Senang. He has represented Buddhist views at governmental events conducted by NACLI, NHB, NHG, SAF, SPF, MHA, ACM, STB and OnePeople.sg, and was a committee member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, co-representing the Buddhist faith, through which he served in interfaith harmony projects such as giving of public talks to introduce Buddhism. He also co-runs Moonpointer.com, which is a community blog that promotes sharing of Buddhism via creative writing through thousands of articles. (He can be reached at moonpointer@gmail.com for invitations to share the Dharma via talks and classes.)

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Of course the Dalai Lama's a Marxist

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The leader's statement shocked some in the west, but reminds us of Buddhism's commitment to social as well as individual good

London, UK -- The Dalai Lama has a refreshing tendency to confound western caricatures. As a cuddly old monk, he could comfort fans by fuzzily connecting us to an imagined Shangri-La that contrasts favourably with our own material world. Only he won't play the game, regularly making ethical, political, scientific and (ir)religious statements that rudely pop the projections laid on to him.

<< The Dalai Lama reminds us of Buddhism's radical social and economic messages. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

He was at it again the other day, telling Chinese students that he considers himself a Marxist. This wasn't just playing to the crowd – although it was reported with surprise (at least in the US), the ideological alignment is longstanding. In 1993, he said: "The economic system of Marxism is founded on moral principles, while capitalism is concerned only with gain and profitability. Marxism is concerned with the distribution of wealth on an equal basis ... as well as the fate of those who are underprivileged and in need, and [it] cares about the victims of minority-imposed exploitation. For those reasons, the system appeals to me, and it seems fair."

There are a number of caveats (he's not a Leninist, believes compassion rather than class struggle is key, and doesn't consider communist regimes such as the USSR, China or Vietnam to have been true exponents), but the dissonance between image and reality remains – the Dalai Lama is not the comforting Oriental pet that consumer society might like.

Neither does his tradition match the capitalist fantasies attached to it. Perhaps because Buddhism came to the west on a wave of post-war hippy soul-searching, and was then co-opted as friendly religion of choice by new ageism and the self-help movement, its radical economic and social messages have been lost under an avalanche of laughing fat-man statues, healing crystals and copies of The Secret.

The very idea of self-help in Buddhism is an oxymoron – relief of suffering can only come from the realisation that pleasing ourselves doesn't bring happiness – instead we must try to work skilfully and compassionately with others, as part of interwoven systems of connectivity that bind us together. A "western Buddhism" that prioritises solipsistic focus on the individual is so great a misconception as to be unworthy of the name – or at the least the Buddhism part – as anyone who pays it more than passing attention knows. It's also largely a media invention – many western Buddhists are serious, deeply committed practitioners. That commitment means choosing to follow a path that leads against the stream of materialism and selfishness. Of course, we don't always manage it, but that's why it's called a path of practice.

Buddhism goes way beyond the confines of the personal – realising the truth of interdependence implies taking up the challenge of engaging with others in the wider world. This isn't missionary zeal – proselytising is hardly the Buddhist way – but it does mean social action that embodies dharmic principles, and western sanghas are increasingly prioritising community involvement. As they do so, Buddhism may start to look less like some nice bit of calm and relaxation and more like a radical, uncompromising critique of the status quo.

This critique has already begun to influence the UK mainstream. It's 45 years since EF Schumacher published his Buddhist Economics essay in Small is Beautiful, which the Times Literary Supplement listed as one of the 100 most influential books since the second world war. Though the male-centric, mechanistic world it describes now seems dated, Schumacher's outline of a world driven mad by consumption (and his Buddhist-inspired remedy of sufficiency and sustainability) has informed everything from the climate change debate to the happiness agenda – particularly through the influential New Economics Foundation (NEF) thinktank, which grew out of Schumacher's vision.

The well-being indices enthusiastically taken up by David Cameron have grown in part from NEF's links with the kingdom of Bhutan and its policy of favouring gross national happiness above gross domestic product. Is the prime minister aware of the Buddhist foundation to his plans for the nation's mood?

Of course, we're a long way from a government that looks even remotely dharmic. From a Buddhist perspective, only a revolution in our collective mind can counter the momentum that keeps us grasping for happiness in all the wrong places. And that would involve more than measuring whether someone with a job and a family in sunny Cornwall feels more upbeat than a lonely, unemployed Londoner on a rainy day. It would require systemic transformation on both an intimate and a huge scale, bringing the path of personal practice together with much broader societal shifts. Could this be what the Dalai Lama is thinking of when he describes himself as "half-Marxist, half-Buddhist"?

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