We preach the unity of all sentient beings yet remain fractured by the very worldly divisions — of ethnicity, nation, and sect — that our philosophy seeks to transcend. This is not merely an academic concern; it is a failure with dire human consequences, leaving millions of Buddhists vulnerable and voiceless in a world where collective power is the only currency that matters.


Absence of a Unified Protective Organization

The most glaring failure is our absence of a unified protective organization. Unlike the World Jewish Congress or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, there is no international body with the legal, financial, and diplomatic mandate to defend Buddhist rights universally.

Where is the international fund to deploy lawyers, lobbyists, and aid where it is needed most? This structural vacuum was starkly exposed during the brutal military crackdown on the Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine State.

While the world rightly condemned the violence, the plight of the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/world/asia/myanmars-rakhine-buddhsts-rohingya.html) — also killed, displaced, and whose villages were burned — was utterly ignored by the international media and, shamefully, by a global Buddhist community that failed to form a coherent, compassionate response that acknowledged all suffering, regardless of ethnicity or creed.


Weak International Influence

This leads directly to our second failure: profoundly weak international influence. We lack the coordinated lobbying power to shape policy in capitals like Washington, Brussels, or the UN. Consequently, our crises are invisible.

Consider the Chakma people, a predominantly Buddhist indigenous group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh (https://nenews.in/politics/rrag-condemns-arson-and-attack-on-chakma-community-in-bangladeshs-chittagong-hill-tracts/14092/). For decades, they have faced land encroachment, arson, and violence, their women victims of systematic sexual assault. Their struggle for basic rights is a silent one, absent from global headlines because no powerful Buddhist lobby exists to consistently place it on the international agenda. Their cry for help is met with a global silence from their coreligionists.


Lack of Support Systems

This powerlessness is compounded by a shameful lack of support systems for our own refugees. While Israel's Law of Return offers repatriation for any Jew, and many Islamic states provide aid to Muslim refugees, Buddhist-majority nations have no such quotas or policies.

When the Taliban retook Afghanistan, the world watched in horror. Among those desperate to escape were the few remaining Afghan Buddhists, a community with ancient roots in the region (https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/20/religious-freedom-afghanistan-three-years-after-taliban-takeover). Which Buddhist nation threw them a lifeline? Which government created an emergency visa program for these imperiled members of our global family? Their silence was deafening.


Ethnic Egoism

These systemic failures are fueled by an internal rot of disunity. We see it in the blatant ethnic egoism that prioritizes tribe over Dhamma. In Myanmar, deep-seated ethnic prejudices among Bamar, Shan, and Rakhine Buddhists prevent a unified front even against common threats.

It is reported that major religious ceremonies organized by one group often pointedly exclude monks from other ethnic communities within the same country — a heartbreaking betrayal of the Sangha’s universal ideals.


National Insularity

We see it in national insularity. Thai and Cambodian Buddhists, while devout, often focus overwhelmingly on domestic affairs. Where was the statement from Buddhist international bodies, such as the World Fellowship of Buddhists, during the recent Thai-Cambodian military conflict, where Buddhist lives were lost in the skirmishes?

Meanwhile, in minority situations like Malaysia, the opportunity for a unified Buddhist voice is squandered by infighting between the Chinese Mahayana and Sri Lankan Theravada communities over leadership and representation, weakening their position in a predominantly Muslim society.

There is a need to create and cultivate Buddhist internationalism as opposed to narrowly local nationalism in a world that is changing rapidly under the influence of globalism and the Internet, where people now live much closer to each other than before.


The Urgency for United Buddhist Actions

The path forward is difficult but clear. We must urgently begin the work of creating a true international Buddhist organization. It must be pan-sectarian, representing all major schools. Its mandate must be to advocate for persecuted Buddhists, provide legal and humanitarian aid, and finally give our global community a seat at the table of international power.

While international bodies like the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB - https://wfbhq.org/) and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC - https://www.ibcworld.org/) exist, they have consistently failed to address these critical issues with any real conviction. Their approach has been one of complacency, substituting meaningful action with an endless cycle of meetings and conferences that serve only to obscure inaction. Here one can read an article on the WFB's general inaptitude and ineffectiveness (https://indepthnews.net/manipulations-at-world-fellowship-of-buddhists-conference/).

The Buddha did not teach a Dharma for the Burmese, the Thai, or the Taiwanese. He taught a Dharma for all. It is long past time we started acting like it.

Our silence isn’t peace; it is complicity. Our inaction isn’t non-attachment; it is indifference. We must unite, not because we are the same, but because we understand that our liberation is inextricably bound together.