The essential insight that Buddhism offers is that all our individual suffering arises from only three sources, known in Buddhism as the three poisons: greed, ill-will, and delusion. In the Great Awakening. scholar and teacher David R.Loy examines how these are embodied in scoiety's maladies as well. The teachings of Buddhism present a way that the individual can alleviate personal suffering, and in the Great Awakening Loy boldly proposes that these teachings can be applied to institutions - and even whole cultures - for the alleviation of suffering on the collective level. For both Buddhists and scoial theorists, this book will clarify the social import of Buddhist teachings, while providing a theoretical framework for socially engaged members of society to apply their spiritual principles to collective issues.