Sara Sueoka is trying to get her classmates to wrap shoeboxes. Over the rustle of thin Christmas wrapping paper, she has the cellophane tape at the ready and is snipping away with the scissors.

Nearby, Kyle Kawabata has taken this opportunity to examine — nay, dare we say "mock?" — the contents of one of those said boxes.

"What's this?" Kawabata demands of the only girl at his table, plucking a long, oddly colored package from Ashlyn Mackenzie's shoebox.

Ashlyn looks sheepish. While most of the items are easily recognizable (a can of corn, travel-size personal hygiene products), there's definitely a touch of whimsy here, with Halloween-colored Play-Doh, miniature stuffed animals and the item in question, a glowstick.

Perhaps not the most practical gift heading to a faraway land — part of Sueoka's community service project to aid hunger-stricken nations — but it shows that seniors in the Pacific Buddhist Academy's global studies class are definitely practicing what's being preached when it comes to Engaged Buddhism.

ENGAGED BUDDHISM

Much has been made of the fact that the Pacific Buddhist Academy in Nu'uanu is the nation's first and so far only Buddhist high school, but less so has come to light about the driving influences in its teachings.

That would be not just Buddhism, but "Engaged Buddhism," or what in Japan is called "socially active Buddhism." (The Rev. Alfred Bloom, a retired professor of religion at the University of Hawai'i, said when the phrase was first used, there was some confusion over whether it meant "engaged," as in "married.")

Pacific Buddhist Academy's headmaster, Pieper Toyama, defines an Engaged Buddhist as someone who's engaged in the struggle of living by the teachings of Buddha (compassion, mindfulness) and of the dharma (writings).

While there was a time when the phrase "Buddhist activist" would've been considered something of an oxymoron, that changed with the arrival on the Vietnam War scene of Thich Nhat Hanh.

A Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, Nhat Hanh taught peace as an active process, eventually inspiring Martin Luther King Jr. to protest the war. Some rank him only second to the Dalai Lama as the prominent Buddhist voice in the Western world. Now 81, he lives in a monastic community he founded in France and occasionally visits the United States on speaking tours. He's gained a huge following to his Engaged Buddhism teachings, which advocate peace, meditation and if necessary, nonviolent civil disobedience.

One can see the Engaged philosophy at work in the recent Burmese skirmishes, when monks took to the streets to protest the regime in Myanmar, formerly called Burma. The most shocking? Turning over their begging bowls, a cultural gesture of protest on the level of slapping an Englishman in the face with a glove.

One watching closely was Nhat Hanh himself.

"(The monks have) done their job," Nhat Hanh told Time magazine in October. "It is already a success because if monks are imprisoned or have died, they have offered their spiritual leadership."

And when it comes to socially active Buddhism, don't discount the luminary on the local scene, Robert Aitken, who helped create the Buddhist Peace Fellowship in 1978. Aitken Roshi, as he is known, also helped create that unique brand of American Buddhism, the Diamond Sangha.

Spiritual leadership is indeed what Sara Sueoka is showing this day at Pacific Buddhist Academy: Her project is an organic example of Engaged Buddhism that grew out of Carol Helekunihi's global studies class lesson on famine-stricken areas.

ENGAGED BUDDHISM 101

After studying Darfur, Sueoka went online and found a group, Samaritan's Purse, that was accepting donations. Even if her classmates who have brought items from home to fill the shoeboxes may not all be Buddhist, they're acting in a Buddhist way.

"We believe they are practicing Engaged Buddhism if they act in the Buddhist way," explained Josh Morse, the assistant head of the school.

So what are the numbers of Buddhists attending the school?

"That's a moving target," admits headmaster Toyama, explaining that a soft survey turned up that about a third of the 56 students identify as Buddhist, another third are "drifting" — probably toward Buddhism — and the rest are non-Buddhist, including Christians, he said.

"We never had a real sound purpose to get a hard count," Toyama said.

While all religions normally have a hard time getting hard counts, Buddhists have it even harder. Buddhism is not exclusionary, believing that Buddhism can co-exist with other beliefs. In Japan, for example, the number of people who identify as Shinto and the number who identify as Buddhist make up more than the entire population.

Pacific Buddhist Academy's curriculum is infused with the concept of peace and growing awareness, said Toyama. They start with ninth-grade teamwork principles, and include classes on conflict resolution as juniors.

THE JUSTICE ISSUE

Prominent Buddhist Bloom sees action as intricately entwined with peace teaching.

"Rarely if ever does anybody talk about peace and justice," said Bloom. "If you don't put peace and justice together, it lacks substance."

When it comes to peace education, the goal is to live life as it really is, said Toyama. Actions can be as small as greeting someone with a smile, all the way to leading a peace vigil.

"(Engaged Buddhism) has to emanate from teachings," he said, "and has to emanate from learning. It can't be actions based on ignorance or values that go against the principles of Buddhism."

But that doesn't mean one's plan of action is always clear, Toyama said.

PRO-PEACE/ANTI-WAR

Across the table in the faculty lounge at Pacific Buddhist Academy, staffers might find themselves on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the war in Iraq. One is actively supporting Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada in his protest of the war; another's fiance is serving in the armed forces.

"We all realized we cannot impose upon others our concept of how we should act in behalf of peace," Toyama said. "We keep educating (students) so they can see, have them draw their conclusions and decide on an action."

Plus, he added, the school's mission is for peace education.

"The operative word is peace education, not peace activism," said Toyama.

Bloom suggested that the school might bring in experts as part of that dialogue.

"I can't tell them what to do, but even if, for reasons of structure, you can't commit the institution to a position, you can educate," said Bloom. "If (peace education) is going to be their public signboard, then it would be good to invite members of the community to give their case and act as a mediator. Then more enlightenment is coming out of it."

OTHER PATHS

There are times when the path is very clear.

Pacific Buddhist Academy has partnered with a Waikiki program for homeless youths. Students also help the folks who meet for senior daycare in the lower floor of the Honpa Hongwanji compound.

The school also participates in events like Peace Day, and leaders have testified at the state Legislature on issues of peace.

The big news, however, is looming. In the spring of 2009, the school will sponsor a youth peace conference.

Toyama is stumping around O'ahu, forging connections with other youth leaders and putting out the word for high school students — preferably freshmen and sophomores now — to join forces for what is hoped to draw about 200 students.