It is difficult to think of a more urgent question for Buddhism in the late twentieth century than human rights. Human rights issues in which Buddhism has a direct involvement -- notably in the case of Tibet -- feature regularly in the global media. His Holiness the Dalai lama was awarded the Nobel prize in 1989 in recognition of his efforts in pursuit of global peace, notably through his policy of non-violent resistance to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the human rights violations which have occurred there.
The political, ethical and philosophical questions surrounding human rights are debated vigorously in political and intellectual circles throughout the world, yet so far these matters have received little critical attention from students of Buddhism. The papers in this collection are an attempt to redress this deficiency. Much further reflection is needed on the many complex aspects of this topic before a consistent "Buddhist" perspective on human rights movements. Disagreements arise mainly over how the Western concept of human rights, and human rights language, is to be expressed in an authentically Buddhist form, and over which Buddhist philosophical concepts should provide the foundation for human rights.

Buddhism and Human Rights, Damien V. Keown, Charles S. Prebich, Wayne R. Husted, RoutledgeCurzon, Hardcover, 239 pages, $104.95

Charles S. Prebish is Professor Emeritus at Pennsylvania State University, where he taught for thirty-five years, and holds the Charles Redd Endowed Chair in Religious Studies at Utah State University. He is the author or editor of twenty books and is the founding coeditor of the Journal of Buddhist Ethics and the Journal of Global Buddhism.

Damien Keown is a British academic, bioethicist, and authority on Buddhist bioethics. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Goldsmiths, University of London. Keown earned a B.A. in religious studies from the University of Lancaster in 1977