한국불교와 사회복지

Abstract

People seek to realize their ideologies and values by many means. Of these, the oldest and most established is religion. Religion involves social welfare activities about universal charity, and no other religion upholds respect for and equality of all living things more than Buddhism. Its practices can be interpreted from the perspective of social welfare as a way of saving all people. Unlike the traditional societies of the past, new social issues have arisen against the rapidly-changing social environment. Their resolution calls for social welfare in terms of policy and institutional mechanism. Social welfare includes various social activities intended to improve the welfare of individuals and the public. Buddhist social welfare engenders all social activities in which Buddhism plays a central role and pursues society's well-being and happiness based on Buddhist values, norms, principles, and philosophy. Buddhism and social welfare both seek to resolve the causes of people's agony and problems in real life. The purpose of such practical Buddhist actions for society is to disseminate the ideology and values of Buddhism to as many people as possible and make all people happy. Such activities are proselytization. Welfare and proselytization, and Buddhism and social welfare are all directed to achieving one goal: realizing people's happiness. Social welfare activities by Korean Buddhism are actions conducted for the benefit of society and the most effective means of dissemination. Religious participation in social welfare activities is crucial to the continued growth and development of the religion. The degree of such participation is a major factor in society's recognition of its importance. This justifies the need for today's Buddhist social welfare. Buddhist ideas should be translated into reality, and approaches toward social welfare should be explored to maximize welfare for all people and further solidify the foundation for the realization of the Land of Ultimate Bliss of Amitabha Buddha in the world.