Can an Anarchist Take Refuge?
The first of the Bodhisattva vows is to liberate all sentient beings (from suffering) and it isnโt a stretch to include sociopolitical liberation in that goal. It shouldnโt come as a surprise, then, that Buddhist anarchism has been a small, but persistent undercurrent within Buddhism and anarchism throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. One may wonder, however, whether it is really possible to be both a Buddhist and an anarchist, although this very much depends on the definitions of โBuddhistโ and โanarchistโ. The term โanarchismโ suggests that an anarchist opposes or rejects (แผฮฝ-) (coercive/opaque) power/authority (แผฯฯฮฎ) and the institutionalization thereof...