Seeing clearly seems like a huge advantage. Say you're playing chess, if you can see all the variations clearly and cleanly without delusion you'll have an advantage over someone who's understanding is deludued.

Why didn't Buddha return to his palace after his enlightenment to teach on a grander scale, get meditation into the schools and whatnot?

Wouldn't that have been better for all beings than just teaching random seekers in the woods?

​​​​​​​I used to wonder about all the Tibetan monasteries that got destroyed by the Chinese, if they couldn't see the invasion coming and couldn't protect themselves and their communities from destruction, death and torture what good is their wisdom?

The Buddha taught about suffering and the end of suffering. I don't think there was ever any suggestion that it was going to make someone more successful in the worldly sense. Reducing craving also reduces ambition. Reducing craving makes a person content with less and less with regard to worldly possessions. The teachings also don't grant or promise to grant worldly safety. As to why there was no big effort to scale up the teachings, I think a decent answer might be that most people simply aren't interested, and they won't do what the Buddha suggested no matter how generously you serve it on a platter to them. Maybe the conditions will be right for them later. That seems to be a realistic strategy of Buddhist organizations, to be there for the very small number of people who are finally tired of samsara.

There have been attempts at it, resulting in oppression and violence. I don't remember the details of it. Maybe someone else can point to a credible source. When people believe they are "the good guys", they tend to make bad decisions if everyone doesn't agree with them.

I do believe that honest and diligent practice, whether it's within buddhism or outside of it, can help people grow and set their priorities straight, if they are willing to work with themselves rather than just spiritually bypass. However, you can't force development on people. It doesn't work that way. 

Jesus Christ rules the world...
That is what you get when you go to Parinibbana and not oversee growth of your religion

Power doesn't necessaily imply attachment, no?  It does seem most people in power seek it out out of craving but I don't see why it must be this way, in fact it seems the doom of the world for this to not change.Shouldn't this be a priority? What is the point to wish wellbeing towards all beings if you can't actually protect them?  Shouldn't seeking power & using it for good be a priority  This is what I never liked about Christianty, the glorification of weakness & sacrifice with promises that while you might be abused now you'll get yours someday. 

The karma aspects of Hinduism & Buddhism also seem to act as a salve in this way, reassuring the downtrodded that they'll get theirs if they just behave.  That may have been all well good thousands of years ago but we've now reached a point where those in power are literally transforming the world & in many ways wrecking it for future generations (as is human greed in general).  Maybe religion needs to upgrade for the 21st century get over it's power-phobia?It's a bit depressing tho, no?  That people have to come to their wits end before the give up their greedy ways?  Wouldn't a child brought up without attachements ego have some advantage. Or is striving ego craving still necessary in developmental stages?

If you got the good stuff you shouldn't need to force it on people.

He died for our sins, right?  But we still sin.  Not sure what they even means.  Another holy dude who couldn't even protect himself let alone others.

But yeah achieving nirvana while the world burns feels a little irresponsible (not that I won't try, no point in my suffering more than necessary)

From the original post:


I suspect Buddhists are not very good at governing, especially in non-Buddhist cultures. Success at one thing doesn't translate to success at everything. There are a lot of tech billionaires that make this same mistake - "Gee, I created a technology company and sold it for $millions, so I think I'll get into politics. I'll be great at that, too."

Nope.

 
All things considered the Buddha seems to have taught on a pretty grand scale. 

"I used to wonder about all the Tibetan monasteries that got destroyed by the Chinese, if they couldn't see the invasion coming and couldn't protect themselves and their communities from destruction, death and torture what good is their wisdom?"

You can't know the future. Attempting to hedge against an unknowable future is kind of how this whole suffering thing gets going. You can only do your best in the moment. 

Chogyam Trungpa's Born in Tibet offered me some insight into the mindsets of the Tibetan monks at the time of the invasion and the efforts they were making both to resist the Chinese, help the people and preserve the Dharma. 

Many of them did see the invasion coming. Many of them died attempting to defend themselves, their people and dharma from an oppressive regime that was technologically and militarily far superior. There are many ways it is arguable that they did protect their culture and community. They still have their language, their dharma, treasuries of scriptures and organizations that work to preserve and diseminate them. 

As an Irish person I can only dream that my people had been able to preserve our language and culture from the violent whitewashing of tyrannical rulers. While we won our land back, violently, much was lost in terms of identity, community and heritage. Much of what was lost will never be recovered.  

The Vietnamese are predominantly Buddhist and they did a remarkable job resisting the invasion of tyranny  ;)

 

Good counterpoints

From a spiritual point of view, you can't really save people from themselves. They have to face their karma, you can't save them from it. It's a law of nature, like gravity, the law of cause and effect. 

My own personal belief is that life on the earth is often unpleasant because it is desinged to provide learning experiences that one cannot have as a spirit. It seems real while we're here but before we get here and after we're done we understand that your spirit cannot be destroyed by anything that can happen on earth. For anyone interested, I base my belief of our spiritual nature on evidence (not faith in religion) as well as my personal experiences.

​​​​​​​Evidence of the afterlife
https://sites.google.com/site/chs4o8pt/summary_of_evidence

Nobel Prize winning and other great scientists who believed the scientific evidence for the afterlife, God, intelligent design, non-psysical consciousness, or other paranormal phenomena:
https://sites.google.com/site/chs4o8pt/eminent_researchers

Scientific Evidence for Intelligent Design - most of the evidence comes from mainstream scientists:
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/p/articles-and-links-arranged-by-subject.html#articles_by_subject_id

My experiences taking classes in spirit communication at a Spiritualist Church.
https://sites.google.com/site/chs4o8pt/psi_experience

What the subjective experience of communicating is like:
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-is-it-like-to-communicate-with.html

The plan for our life is like a syllabus. We will be given problems to solve, but the solving of them is left to us to work on or ignore. The best way to help people depends on the particular person and why they are here.  So I think the Buddhist approach, providing information and teaching to people who ask for it is probably the best way to help others. I donate to charities that help people in need and I encourage others to do so, but too much help can be a problem if it allows people to avoid the problems they are here to face and overcome.

Most people who study Buddhism focus on meditation and mindfulness, but the Buddha's sixfold gradual training includes morality too: generosity, virtue, precepts, renunciation, right livelihood, right speech, and right action. The purpose of these teachings is that they lead to less suffering for the practitioner.

In response to the thread question: I think it is because Buddhism is focused on the inner world instead of the outer world. Maybe we could rule the world for a few but it would ultimately reveal it's impermanence and we could possibly become attached. Such a pursuit is dukka and would cause more dukka as it is dependent on a plethora of attachments.

Inner-world first and foremost. Our "weapon" is insight. Share abundantly.

Regarding Jesus and Christianity: At least those in power have a moral structure in place... right? All we need to do emphasize where there is an incongruence with their morals. Love your neighbor = no hate for anyone. Thou shall not kill = anyone for any reason. Point me to a country that adheres to these. Switzerland?