Context Matters

[Kokuu]

Interesting article by David McMahan (author of The Making of Buddhism Modernism) which explores the western cultural context in which many of us practice the dharma. Often assumed by westerners to be culture free, the western world has it own powerful set of societal norms that are influencing the way Buddhism grows here.

http://www.tricycle.com/interview/context-matters

Gassho
Andy

[Myosha]

Hello,

Thank you, Andy.

Buddhism and water is level.


Gassho,
Edward

[Juki]

Strange coincidence, Andy. I read this article last night and enjoyed it. So far, the new issue of Tricycle has been great. I really liked the article about the first Tibetan group in the StTes and the Lama who worked with the CIA to help get the Dalai Lama to safety.

gassho,
william

[Kokuu]

I agree, William. Some interesting stuff in there (including the ongoing discussion on sexual misconduct). I haven't read the ones you mention so will look them out. Thank you!

Gassho
Andy

[Yugen]

"...the western world has it own powerful set of societal norms that are influencing the way Buddhism grows here."

Buddhism has a strong syncretic aspect - one of the reasons for its survival over the ages is its ability to merge with cultural and often political norms of the regions it migrates into - this is true in the spread of Buddhism from India, to China, on to Japan, and into the US and Europe. The central thesis McMahan forwards in his book is that (American) Buddhism has been influenced by a combination of (philosophical) romanticism, American transcendentalism (Emerson, Thoreau, etc.), the "Beat poets" (Snyder, Ginsberg, etc), and Western schools of psychology and therapy. Quite a mix.

Deep bows
Yugen