Buddhism in America?

[vandervalley]

A Buddhist monk told me this and I had no idea if he was telling me the truth. So I asked everyone here to get more opinions. That's all.

Did that monk present you with any evidence to support his claim?

 

[St0ne]

You can see that anywhere I think, I've been reading posts by a guy on another forum, he is from Europe but in Sri Lanka, pretty much all his posts focus on the Buddhist "Hells". I really can't figure why he has a fixation on that, there definitely seems to be a lot of conflict with the non dualist idea's. For all the downsides of Buddhism in the west I can still look at it in the east and see things western buddhists appear to do better, somehow I see material attachment prominent in the the west more "desirable" than the religious attachment I see in the east. Attachment to material things appears easier to stop than the latter.

I hope I'm making sense.

 

[vandervalley]

For all the downsides of Buddhism in the west I can still look at it in the east and see things western buddhists appear to do better

I havn't seen more downsides of the buddhism in the west than I have seen in the east. In fact; I have seen many non-buddhist westerners having higher moral when compared to some buddhists from the east.

 

[Master Vigil]

Did that monk present you with any evidence to support his claim?

Does it matter? I just saw it as an opinion, not fact. So I asked it here to get more "opinions". I don't expect this matter to be resolved 100% by anyone on this forum. I just wanted to know what others thought. Geez, enough with the evidence stuff.

 

[vandervalley]

Does it matter? I just saw it as an opinion, not fact. So I asked it here to get more "opinions". I don't expect this matter to be resolved 100% by anyone on this forum. I just wanted to know what others thought. Geez, enough with the evidence stuff.

There is no need to get upset when someone asks you for evidence regarding a question or a claim; I asked for evidence simply because I was curious about how Buddhism is practiced and perceived by American; thats all.

 

[koan]

how about Australians?

 

[lilithu]

I had started a thread over a year ago: http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...552-buddha-has-become-hip-marketing-tool.html

And I opened the door for anyone who wanted to question the integrity and the authenticity of how Buddhism is studied here in the States - AND how Buddhism is marketed. Personally, I think it's all right and nothing to worry about. It's on the same level as anyone who prefers Christian decor/jewelry.

It's much different shopping for decor than it is shopping for sacred imagery/altar items like stupas and thangkas for the walls.

It's true that people will wear crosses or even crucifixes as decoration. I still don't see people who aren't Christian buying crosses/crucifixes for their homes as "decorative accents." Nor have I ever seen the face of Jesus printed on a bikini as I have with the Buddha. There's two issues here for me: one is the use of sacred images to sell stuff and two is the romanticization of Buddhism so that it is a more attractive marketing "brand" than Christianity.

But I agree that none of this affects true practice.

The SoCal group that you mention is one of the groups that I believe are on the same level as "The Secret" propaganda IMHO.

Agreed.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

It's true that people will wear crosses or even crucifixes as decoration. I still don't see people who aren't Christian buying crosses/crucifixes for their homes as "decorative accents." Nor have I ever seen the face of Jesus printed on a bikini as I have with the Buddha. There's two issues here for me: one is the use of sacred images to sell stuff and two is the romanticization of Buddhism so that it is a more attractive marketing "brand" than Christianity.

When put in this light as a comparison/contrast with the marketing of Buddha versus the marketing of Jesus specifically, these are very good points to discuss. I have difficulties promoting Buddhism if it is to the detriment of another faith entirely. The thing is, though, that Buddha is seen as a sort of "exotic" figure by Western non-Buddhists, and are usually only peripherally knowledgable of the Dharma that he spread. And because of this lack of familiarity, not many others are aware of how an image of Buddha sitting on the floor of a bathroom is not nearly as appropriate as placing it above waist level on a properly furnished altar.

I'm still rather laid back on this. I mean, people aren't kicked out of our Dharma center if they ignorantly point their feet toward Buddha in our meditation room.

But I agree that none of this affects true practice.

Ah, of course we're more eye-to-eye on this than perhaps at first glance. :flower:




Peace,
Mystic

 

[vandervalley]

how about Australians?

yes I am interested in how Buddhism is perceived in different cultures/different countries; generally speaking.

However; the title for this thread reads "Buddhism in America" so I can't really ask too much about Buddhism in Australia; unless no one objects it.

two is the romanticization of Buddhism so that it is a more attractive marketing "brand" than Christianity.

So how do they "romanise" Buddhism in America? It sounds like an interesting topic to discuss

 

[Engyo]

So how do they "romanise" Buddhism in America? It sounds like an interesting topic to discuss

Hi, V V -

Did you mean romanising, or romanticizing? They are two very different processes.....

 

[vandervalley]

Did you mean romanising, or romanticizing? They are two very different processes.....

lol yes yor are right

I miss read the sentence by lilithu. yes so how do they "romanticising" or make Buddhism more appealing to the Americans?

 

[Engyo]

Lots of movies, cute commercials showing Buddhist monks, things like Zen green tea liqueur, finding little Buddha figurines in the health food store next to the yoga mats, etc., etc., etc.

 

[vandervalley]

Lots of movies, cute commercials showing Buddhist monks, things like Zen green tea liqueur, finding little Buddha figurines in the health food store next to the yoga mats, etc., etc., etc.

People do that in Asian countries as well..dishes in restaurants make use of Buddhists terminologies; kongfu movies with buddhist monks and elements etc. So we can't really say Buddhism has been changed or becomes commercialised in Western countries can we?

what do u think?

 

[Engyo]

Well, I think that romaticized is a bit different than commercialized. Romaticized means people come to view something as cute, or interesting, or cool, or romantic. Commercialized means that people are making money off the romanticization - using the images and ideas to sell products and services. So it's probably a bit of both.