Unconventional Diplomacy: Bodhisattva Xi As Buddha’s Salesman

Marxist rhetoric notwithstanding, General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China can be counted as a long-time friend in the Dharma, who helped Buddhist monks restore monasteries, organized international Buddhist conferences, and continues to speak the language of Buddhism, in a country where the faith has remained the dominant system of religious belief. As such, it would be interesting to investigate why Xi has been referred to as a Bodhisattva, or Living Buddha, by some Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhists in China. Could his policy actions, or inactions, be informed or made sense of by his understanding of Buddhist doctrines and precepts on matters such as corruption, sexual impropriety, theft of public properties, control of private enterprises, or dealing with political opponents? With social controls and economic difficulties to manage, how is Xi, by indirect and “perverse” means, getting people in China, and affected foreigners, to minimize greed, aversion, and delusion of changelessness, in accepting and being grateful for what they now have? How has his international relations policies benefited or alarmed people abroad, in a way transmitting the spirit of Buddhism to the rest of the world, so that they too would live in the moment? The possible Buddhist influence on Xi’s personality and decision-making process, and his unconventional or “unwitting” role in spreading Buddhist beliefs, should be worth analyzing, given his importance in current Chinese and world affairs.