Eight Trends In Western Buddhism

[sabaijai]

New Trends in ‘Western’ Buddhism

August 19, 2009 by Brooke Schedneck, wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com

I think it is clear by now that a new phase of scholarship dealing with Buddhism in Western countries has taken hold. Gone are the days when scholars would list characteristics of a new Western Buddhism such as egalitarianism, feminization, democratization, social engagement, and pragmatism. Another major theme of scholarship from this earlier era created typologies of Buddhist communities, such as convert and ethnic Buddhists. I know a number of scholars who stopped being interested in this emerging field because of the repetition of these same typologies and trends within the scholarship. Many people were asking: is there anything new to say about Buddhism in the West?

Well now it is obvious there is much more to discuss, and not only much more, but in much more complex ways and with many more voices contributing. As this second generation of scholarship is emerging, there are new and complex phenomenon to explore as well as interesting ways to approach these. One approach is exemplified in David McMahan’s new book The Making of Buddhist Modernism. He uses the idea of hybridity to understand the reinterpretations that Buddhism in North America is experiencing. Donald Lopez is also thinking about modern Buddhism in interesting ways, noting the role of meditation and thinking of this phenomenon in a cross-cultural way. Thus the study of Buddhism in the West is now at a crucial time when more people are thinking about these interesting issues in more and more nuanced ways.

But it is not only scholars who are contributing to this new dialogue. There is a whole close-knit community thriving on debate and discussion of a diversity of issues almost daily. This community of course, is the buddhoblogosphere. Tackling similar issues as recent scholars such as race and racism, the dynamic between culture and religion, and the secularization of meditation teachings, among others. This community comments on online and print Buddhist media and is more and more moving toward incorporating ideas of recent scholarship. The buddhobogosphere is on the cutting edge of what is going on within Buddhism in the West, and they will have increasing importance for scholarship about contemporary Buddhism.

There are many new trends to pick up on within contemporary or global Buddhism. Here is a list I have come up with:

1) New Age vs. Hard Core Dhamma

One of the most interesting new issues I have read and heard about is this backlash against more ‘soft’ and ‘self-help’ type dhamma books. Many authors are now calling themselves hard-core and intense as an opposition to this earlier work. Hard-Core authors include Daniel Ingraham, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hard Core Dharma, Brad Warner, Hard Core Zen, Noah Levine, Against the Stream. The changes this second-generation of dhamma teachers are making are very interesting and revealing about the state of Buddhist practice in Western countries.

2) Mindfulness Meditation and the Secularization of Meditation

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a big part of this dialogue and began the movement of using mindfulness for practical purposes. Along with Kabat-Zinn and his studies published in medical journals, there are new studies coming out about mindfulness in daily life such as Daniel Siegel’s The Mindful Brain. The debate about this topic centers on the question: is anything crucial lost when meditation becomes divorced of the Buddhist worldview? This connects with the idea of meditation as a ‘universal practice.’ The argument surrounding this issue concludes that by stripping Buddhist teachings to the practical benefits of meditation, it becomes something universal, without the different Buddhist cultures getting in the way. But I wonder if anything can be universal? Isn’t secular meditation just another cultural idea?

3) Is Buddhism a religion? (Buddhism and religious identity)

Recently there have been a few news articles (for example) dealing with the idea of Buddhism and religious identity. These usually include a Christian person who also practices meditation. They either consider themselves both Christian and Buddhist or think of Buddhist meditation as a way to enhance their Christian faith. There has been some backlash to these ideas of bi-religious identities and the idea that Buddhism is not a religion in the buddhoblogosphere. Why is it that Buddhism has this idea of non-religiosity around it? Could it be because of the fact that meditation has become divorced from the Buddhist worldview?

4) The dialogue of Buddhism and science/psychology

This dialogue has a long history and long list of books on the subject. The Mind and Life Dialogues with the Dalai Lama through The Mind and Life Institute have helped to popularize the notion that there is a connection between Buddhism and science. Of course scholarly work on this has already been done by Donald Lopez in his book Buddhism and Science, but this isn’t the final word on the matter, there are many more angles to be dealt with. This dialogue currently deals mostly with neuroscience, but the field of mental health is also popularly connected with Buddhist meditation. Jack Kornfield has most recently written about this in A Wise Heart. The list of books on psychology and Buddhism is also growing with different angles from the different Buddhist traditions. How does the dialogue of Buddhism and science/mental health relate to the history of Western perceptions of Buddhism?

5) Buddhism and youth

Since Sumi Loundon’s first collection of essays by Buddhist youth, Blue-Jean Buddha, this has been a topic of interest in dhamma circles. The idea that baby-boomer Buddhists would soon have to pass on leadership roles to a newer generation led to some changes in infrastructure of meditation centers. Many centers now have youth meditation retreats and ‘30 and Under’ social gatherings in order to foster a sense of community so younger people keep coming back. Since then Loundon has published another collection, The Buddha’s Apprentices, and Diana Winston has written a book of dhamma advice for teens, Wide Awake. How is Buddhism in Western countries changing as a result of this new population?

6) Buddhism and pop-culture

This is a topic many people are interested in, and it has been popularized by the unique blog, the worst horse. Scott Mitchell has written a conference paper about this, and few scholars mention these kinds of things in passing. I think this is an important topic, however, because this is the knowledge with which undergraduates come into Buddhism 101 classes, and this is what they want to understand.

7) Buddhism and happiness

With Matthieu Ricard first being called the Happiest Man in the World, and then most recently Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, it is clear that a positive dialogue between Buddhism and happiness has been created. The Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness was probably what started this trend, and it continues today with a recent weekend of teachings about discovering happiness through Buddhism. This is a complete reverse from the late 19th and early 20th century perception by Euro-Americans of Buddhism. Buddhism was considered a pessimistic religion that focused on suffering—how did it become popular a set of teachings that could bring happiness?

8) Modern-day commentaries of traditional Buddhist teachings

This is a very recent development and includes works such as Matthew Flickstein, Swallowing the River Ganges, Richard Shankman, The Experience of Samadhi, Ven. Analayo, Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization. Contemporary Buddhists are going back to the classical texts and explaining them to a modern audience who might not have the time or inclination to read such writings, but want to know about the ‘original’ Buddhist teachings. This caters to the audience of practitioners who are hungry to learn about these texts. But this also speaks to the idea of hybridity and reinterpretation. What is being enhanced and emphasized in these new commentaries?

Many of these issues are of course, interrelated, and all are ripe and of interest for academic reflection. New scholars are commenting on these topics in blogs, conferences, and short articles for Buddhist magazines, but there have been few full-length articles let alone books covering this very contemporary stuff. A lot of this research has to be done online, taking into account the conversation of the buddhoblogosphere and other current Buddhist media outlets.

[camerata]

God forbid that we should have to get our Buddhism from the "buddhoblogosphere." Mara will be rubbing his hands with glee. What's so difficult about reading a few books, practising and figuring it out for ourselves? Good on Jack Kornfield for writing his latest book on Buddhist psychology! It's a great overview on a largely secular version of Buddhism, from someone who knows what he is talking about.

I flipped through one of these new books on Buddhism for teenagers last year. It didn't look too bad until I came to the part about "dancing with the Buddha." Some of this stuff is serious but some is just the dumbing down of the Dhamma.

[ScubaBuddha]

I think on the issue of whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy, many feel it is a philosophy because it is atheistic. Buddhism has no god or gods.

[rockyysdt]

I think on the issue of whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy, many feel it is a philosophy because it is atheistic. Buddhism has no god or gods.

I don't think religion & God are exclusive.

Things such as "life after death", "rebirth", "karma", "unconditioned & permanent", "forever" & other meta physical things can constitute religion.

Also God can have many meanings, from a "superior being" all the way up to "everything", or "infinity".

[Brucenkhamen]

The buddhobogosphere is on the cutting edge of what is going on within Buddhism in the West, and they will have increasing importance for scholarship about contemporary Buddhism.

I'd suggest the buddhobogosphere or buddhoblogosphere, whatever it is, is probably at the cutting edge of people talking about Buddhism rather than actually practicing it.

Not too many buddhoblogospheres in the forests of Thailand.

The internet, if that's what he means, is a good way to learn new things when used in moderation, when it takes over the time you would otherwise spend in practice though I don't see the point.

[ScubaBuddha]

I think on the issue of whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy, many feel it is a philosophy because it is atheistic. Buddhism has no god or gods.

I don't think religion & God are exclusive.

Things such as "life after death", "rebirth", "karma", "unconditioned & permanent", "forever" & other meta physical things can constitute religion.

Also God can have many meanings, from a "superior being" all the way up to "everything", or "infinity".

Agreed. My point was that many people don't. Many people consider a diety a requirement.