Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Discuss the application of the Dharma to situations of social, political, environmental and economic suffering and injustice.
KristenM
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by KristenM »

Good post, Padma. As for me, personally I would like to change my DW name back to my real name, but haven't figured out how to do so. If anyone has some tips, please dm me. :) However, I don't think there are too many Tibetans going by my name because it's simply a Buddhist aspirational name.

That said, as a westerner/white person, I fully respect the voices of non-whites and Asians who feel marginalized by western/white culture appropriating their own culture. And I do see this article as a complaint against white people co-opting and appropriating their culture and religion. People who have an Asian Buddhist heritage have the right to feel how they do. But then, I feel the article's presupposition of "white dominance" of American Buddhism is skewed. More like, "white popularity and interest" should be the complaint. Because mostly white people have actually shown interest in the teachings in the United States, that I'm aware of. That's apparently changing, and that's a great thing. I'm only speaking from my experience, but I don't know of any American Buddhists who think they invented Buddhism or claim it's beginnings are thanks to white people discovering it. Yeah, back in the 50's when Jack Kerouac was writing Dharma Bums, they maybe felt like they were discovering something new to the dominant conservative, Christian culture, but they gave credit where it was due. I'd love to see more young Asian Americans embracing their own culture and doing practice. My temple is chock full of aging whites, that's who is taking care of the Lamas, at least visibly. I think the argument made by this article is a false narrative. It's a bit misguided to complain that most of the contributors on Tricycle or Lion's Roar are white when most every single white contributor has an Asian teacher that they are unabashedly following.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by KristenM »

Queequeg wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:58 pm As an Asian American Buddhist it seems to me these kids have internalized American attitudes about race and vocabulary of the current racial dialogue. Not necessarily a good thing, imho. Turns this project into a critical race theory discussion rather than a Buddhist discussion. I get it clueless white people visiting your temple can be annoying and worse if they start telling you how to really be Buddhist. :eye roll: but this:
My big dream,” Tillakaratne said, “is that it’s not just about having this token Asian voice. ... It’s about normalizing voices of color in Buddhism in America until we get to the place where, when you open Lion’s Roar or any magazine and you see the pictures of the contributors, of course there are people from all ethnicities and backgrounds and they have equal weight and that we’re no longer thinking about Asian American Buddhists in particular as lesser.”
Sounds exhausting and petty. I get the need for representation, but getting a voice just because you have the right look sounds a shallow and superficial as other arbitrary biases.

Maybe I just never expected much of most Western Buddhist publications so the glamor head shots of the authors of articles just confirmed my opinion of the silliness in that scene. they sell those magazines next to People at the grocery store checkout line. I mean, come on. You want to join THAT club? Seriously?
:good:

I don’t get the idea that Asian Americans are viewed or considered “lesser.” Maybe some other temple I’m not aware of, but I haven’t seen it? :shrug:
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

TharpaChodron wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:25 am
Queequeg wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:58 pm As an Asian American Buddhist it seems to me these kids have internalized American attitudes about race and vocabulary of the current racial dialogue. Not necessarily a good thing, imho. Turns this project into a critical race theory discussion rather than a Buddhist discussion. I get it clueless white people visiting your temple can be annoying and worse if they start telling you how to really be Buddhist. :eye roll: but this:
My big dream,” Tillakaratne said, “is that it’s not just about having this token Asian voice. ... It’s about normalizing voices of color in Buddhism in America until we get to the place where, when you open Lion’s Roar or any magazine and you see the pictures of the contributors, of course there are people from all ethnicities and backgrounds and they have equal weight and that we’re no longer thinking about Asian American Buddhists in particular as lesser.”
Sounds exhausting and petty. I get the need for representation, but getting a voice just because you have the right look sounds a shallow and superficial as other arbitrary biases.

Maybe I just never expected much of most Western Buddhist publications so the glamor head shots of the authors of articles just confirmed my opinion of the silliness in that scene. they sell those magazines next to People at the grocery store checkout line. I mean, come on. You want to join THAT club? Seriously?
:good:

I don’t get the idea that Asian Americans are viewed or considered “lesser.” Maybe some other temple I’m not aware of, but I haven’t seen it? :shrug:
Same here, if anything IMO Western Buddhists are more likely to dumbly assume any Asian person in robes must be a subject matter expert on all things Buddhist, which results in a weird kind of orientalism sometimes...it's it's own issue, but it isn't seeing Asian Buddhists as "lesser" really.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by narhwal90 »

Queequeg wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:58 pm As an Asian American Buddhist it seems to me these kids have internalized American attitudes about race and vocabulary of the current racial dialogue. Not necessarily a good thing, imho. Turns this project into a critical race theory discussion rather than a Buddhist discussion. I get it clueless white people visiting your temple can be annoying and worse if they start telling you how to really be Buddhist. :eye roll: but this:
My big dream,” Tillakaratne said, “is that it’s not just about having this token Asian voice. ... It’s about normalizing voices of color in Buddhism in America until we get to the place where, when you open Lion’s Roar or any magazine and you see the pictures of the contributors, of course there are people from all ethnicities and backgrounds and they have equal weight and that we’re no longer thinking about Asian American Buddhists in particular as lesser.”
Sounds exhausting and petty. I get the need for representation, but getting a voice just because you have the right look sounds a shallow and superficial as other arbitrary biases.

Maybe I just never expected much of most Western Buddhist publications so the glamor head shots of the authors of articles just confirmed my opinion of the silliness in that scene. they sell those magazines next to People at the grocery store checkout line. I mean, come on. You want to join THAT club? Seriously?
Yeah its pretty gross. I wonder if the author has spent time in dharma centers actually practicing. When I go to my local SGI meetings the people of Asian decent are next to the people from India (at one of the Indian couple's houses), down the row from the white guys and the black ladies- all just folks who chant and work at the practice. I had occasion to visit a SGI center in Hawaii, it was mostly islanders there that afternoon, one of the locals' kids leading the chanting. Maybe SGI isn't Buddhist enough to count...
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by SilenceMonkey »

I think it's important to try and reverse the orientalist value system that led to the public image of Buddhism in the West become a white-washed, culturally appropriated, "modern" buddhism. I think most of us know what we're talking about here. But on the other hand, I also have similar feelings as Queequeg. To turn Buddhism into a culture war of identity politics feels cheap.

Then again, maybe it's worth the politicization? It might lead to westerners becoming more interested in the buddhism of traditional cultures as well as the modified cultural import that happens to be more visible in our society.

On another note, I do find it interesting from a somewhat anthropological standpoint that there is a desire for cross-cultural community among Asian Buddhists in the west. (If it is actually the case... it might just be the political projections of a select few in organizer roles.) Especially taking into account the strong sectarianism between traditions, it's an interesting claim.

From the end of the article:
May We Gather was a first, but for organizers, it also showed a path forward for the community.

“It can be hard for Asian American Buddhists to find each other,” Han said. “There’s a hunger for it, but there aren’t these structures in place to find each other. May We Gather was saying to each other: ‘No, we are here. It is possible to find each other.’ It may take work to connect us. And through that connection we protect each other, we care for each other, we take care of the ways we’ve been hurt.”
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Bristollad »

it just reminds me of how it seems everything that happens in the USA is seen through the lens of race.
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by JimTempleman »

I don’t think this is a new phenomenon!
"The priest Hung-jen asked me: 'Where are you from that you come to this mountain to make obeisance to me? Just what is it that you are looking for from me?'
"I replied: 'I am from Ling-nan, a commoner from Hsin-chou. I have come this long distance only to make obeisance to you. I am seeking no particular thing, but only the Buddhadharma.'
"The Master then reproved me, saying: 'If you're from Ling-nan then you're a barbarian. How can you become a Buddha?'
"I replied: 'Although people from the south and people from the north differ, there is no north and south in Buddha nature. Although my barbarian's body and your body are not the same, what difference is there in our Buddha nature?'
Philip Yampolsky (2012) The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, p. 127

Maybe the solution is to come to the realization that:
'Although people from the south and people from the north differ, there is no north and south in Buddha nature. Although my barbarian's body and your body are not the same, what difference is there in our Buddha nature?'
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

There is another aspect to representation that simply needs to be said, especially to young people.
If you want to be represented, for example, in Tricycle Magazine, you need to come up with an idea for an article, submit the idea to the editor, and then be prepared to research it and write it. That’s how it works. It’s not like Instagram where you can just post a selfie and alert all your friends with a hashtag.
The only reason why it always seems to be the same people writing the same types of articles focused on how Dharma should address the needs of affluent white America is because those are the people writing the articles.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Malcolm »

TharpaChodron wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 12:11 am Good post, Padma. As for me, personally I would like to change my DW name back to my real name, but haven't figured out how to do so. If anyone has some tips, please dm me. :)
Ask the admin.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by SilenceMonkey »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 4:56 pm There is another aspect to representation that simply needs to be said, especially to young people.
If you want to be represented, for example, in Tricycle Magazine, you need to come up with an idea for an article, submit the idea to the editor, and then be prepared to research it and write it. That’s how it works. It’s not like Instagram where you can just post a selfie and alert all your friends with a hashtag.
The only reason why it always seems to be the same people writing the same types of articles focused on how Dharma should address the needs of affluent white America is because those are the people writing the articles.
That’s a good point.

I think bringing up the issue of representation in places like Hollywood, etc... may be a challenge to entrenched patriarchy and racial preferences that would bar talented writers and artists from getting their work produced. But I doubt magazines like Tricycle and Lion’s Roar would have the same problem, as they tend to be pretty open minded.

So I wonder, what is it really that gets in the way of representation of more traditional Asian expressions of Dharma? Seems to me it might be the ideological trends in the west that Dzongsar Khyentse is always criticizing. eg. So-called “rationalism,” scientific empiricism, liberal views such as “my opinion is just as good as anyone else’s,” thinking “mindfulness” is the true Buddhism, etc...

Is it really about race? I mean, the white Buddhism that dominates the US at least tends to be full of well-meaning liberals who love to be inclusive of all people.

It could also be that many Asian Sanghas in the west have a language or cultural barrier that makes it difficult to reach mainstream culture. Or maybe they just don’t know how to market themselves in the ways that more culturally westerns organizations such as Shambhala or various mindfulness centers might. And perhaps more tech savvy people who understand how to promote their centers and teachings would gravitate towards the latter.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

I think the thing is, when the topic is “Buddhism in America” the discussion is always focused on western converts, and what’s being argued here is, “hey, there’s a whole other part of ‘Buddhism in America’ that isn’t about converts, but about Asian Americans who have grown up with inherited traditions brought here by their great grandparents”. That’s a valid point.

At the same time, for a hundred and fifty years or so, Asian-inherited Buddhism, practiced in America, was never regarded as ‘Buddhism in America’ in the sense of it existing outside of mainly Chinese or Japanese communities (who were often forced into restricted geographic exclusion, but that’s a related issue). There was never a need to identify it as “Buddhism in America” because nobody was regarding “Buddhism in America” as a categorical thing to begin with.

In this sense, it’s like referring to Orthodox Judaism in America. Yes, it functions here. No, it doesn’t really involve anybody outside of that community.
Now, suppose if, over the last 50 years, thousands of non-jewish people had started to get into orthodox or Hasidic Judaism rather than Buddhism, they studied with old rabbis, and set up their own synagogues mass marketed their own neo-Judaic experience, beatniks and hippies dropping acid and getting into the kabbalah, and then they were portrayed in magazines and tv as the new face of “Judaism in America” …
I’m sure the same reaction would eventually take place. A lot of folks in Brooklyn would be like, “oh… so, now, because of so many converts, suddenly there are jews here?”

So, I think that’s the concern being expressed in this article, and it just so happens that it’s happening at this particular time in American history when the notion of ‘euro-based-culture-as-default-american-setting” is being challenged in general, and mainly by young people.
It has nothing to do with whether an individual is ‘white’ or not, per se. But it manifests as an issue which is not separate from race/ethnicity within an historical context.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Arnoud »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Mon Jul 12, 2021 9:21 pm I think the thing is, when the topic is “Buddhism in America” the discussion is always focused on western converts, and what’s being argued here is, “hey, there’s a whole other part of ‘Buddhism in America’ that isn’t about converts, but about Asian Americans who have grown up with inherited traditions brought here by their great grandparents”. That’s a valid point.

At the same time, for a hundred and fifty years or so, Asian-inherited Buddhism, practiced in America, was never regarded as ‘Buddhism in America’ in the sense of it existing outside of mainly Chinese or Japanese communities (who were often forced into restricted geographic exclusion, but that’s a related issue). There was never a need to identify it as “Buddhism in America” because nobody was regarding “Buddhism in America” as a categorical thing to begin with.

In this sense, it’s like referring to Orthodox Judaism in America. Yes, it functions here. No, it doesn’t really involve anybody outside of that community.
Now, suppose if, over the last 50 years, thousands of non-jewish people had started to get into orthodox or Hasidic Judaism rather than Buddhism, they studied with old rabbis, and set up their own synagogues mass marketed their own neo-Judaic experience, beatniks and hippies dropping acid and getting into the kabbalah, and then they were portrayed in magazines and tv as the new face of “Judaism in America” …
I’m sure the same reaction would eventually take place. A lot of folks in Brooklyn would be like, “oh… so, now, because of so many converts, suddenly there are jews here?”

So, I think that’s the concern being expressed in this article, and it just so happens that it’s happening at this particular time in American history when the notion of ‘euro-based-culture-as-default-american-setting” is being challenged in general, and mainly by young people.
It has nothing to do with whether an individual is ‘white’ or not, per se. But it manifests as an issue which is not separate from race/ethnicity within an historical context.
Makes a lot of sense to me.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by SilenceMonkey »

Agreed. It's interesting how people don't think to make a distinction between "Buddhism in America" and "American Buddhism." And the latter is maybe more defined in contradistinction to every other form of (traditional) Buddhism in the world. And rightly so, because it's so different. It's basically synonymous with the modern reinvention of Buddhism. And because the general public in the West tends to prefer this reinvention of Buddhism, they will dismiss the traditional stuff, so the Asians who practice it won't find their representation.

I don't think it's possible to argue for more representation of Asians in Buddhism without raising up the old ways (against the modern stuff). Unless you find Asian Buddhists in the West who haven't grown up in traditional Buddhist families, or have otherwise joined modern style groups (which would be predominantly white). In that case, it would be a case of fighting marginalization of Asian practitioners within a predominantly white sangha as vs. fighting marginalization of Asian sanghas within a predominantly white society.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Queequeg »

I don't think the Lions Roar or Tricycle reader is particularly interested in Vesak at the Thai Temple and I don't think they'd feel a sense of identity with the Thai Buddhists, as well meaning as their BLM and assorted diversity lawn signs proclaim. And vise versa.

The need for outside validation among these kids who seem to place an enormous weight on their identities is frankly sad to see. Don't worry, just because you're not on Instagram wont mean you disappear. Buck up and be, kids. Work out your liberation and let the chips fall. In terms of Dharma, my young friends, that's what matters, no matter what the echoes on the samsaric whirlwinds seem to say.

There was a white fellow who used to post here who attended a Nichiren Temple somewhere in the PNW. He complained that he did not feel comfortable. The way he described it, I'm not sure he wasn't weird and was not part of the problem. In any event, Japanese Americans on the West Coast have a complicated and tragic history with whites. I'm not surprised the congregation might have been wary of someone like that.

If the young folks in such a congregation now want recognition in American Buddhist lifestyle magazines, I suppose that's progress. They're definitely internalizing being American, unlike previous generations that saw themselves apart and were treated as other, all for better and worse, and probably never considered it important to get their articles in Tricycle.

The pan ethnic Buddhist phenomena is kind of strange to me, but tracks with everyone having any ancestral connection to the continent of Asia being identified as "Asians" - no matter that Japanese and Tamils have no more in common than Swedes and Nigerians. If we're really uniting the universal Sangha under that multicolored Buddhist flag, cool. If this is just an exercise in identity politics, pass.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Jesse »

I think alot of 'cultural appropriation' that people seem so offended by tends to happen because, for a lack of better term "White Americans" don't really have much of a culture of their own. Sure there is Christianity, and Catholicism, and even Judaism, (Not all of these are traditionally 'White American' religions exactly, as they originated in the middle east, and have practitioners of all ethnicites -- but these religious cultures are what most white people inherit in the USA)

There has been a major backlash against these religions since at least the 50s, and 60's, and most white Americans fall into an area where they neither belong to, or have a deep cultural heritage of their own. I really can not think of any significant culturally important heritages that could be said to exclusively belong to White Americans (As a whole). Perhaps my memory is failing me, but I really can't think of any. Most cultures white people belong to also originate from other countries as well. America is only 240 something years old after all.

Also, claims of cultural appropriation seem odd to me in a country that is essentially a mixing bowl of all cultures, and religions. The USA's culture is quite literally made up of all the rest of the worlds cultures combined.

So I don't really think it's cultural appropriation for white people to practice Buddhism or even modify it's practices. This same thing happened in every country that Buddhism was brought to from India. Just look how many individual Buddhist Cultures are represented on this forum alone. Every single one of them have value, and yet none of them existed in the early days of Buddhism in India, they developed due to Buddhism traveling around the world and mixing with local cultures, by having local practitioners, and developed a history and culture all their own, and yet they are still Buddhism. I don't think anyone would accept someone calling any of these traditions "Appropriations of real Buddhism"

When Buddhist cultures were imported to a majority white country, a new Buddhist culture being created was kind of bound to happen. I think this is generally a good thing, when the religions and heritages are kept mostly true to themselves.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Jesse wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 5:49 am I think alot of 'cultural appropriation' that people seem so offended by tends to happen because, for a lack of better term "White Americans" don't really have much of a culture of their own. Sure there is Christianity, and Catholicism, and even Judaism, (Not all of these are traditionally 'White American' religions exactly, as they originated in the middle east, and have practitioners of all ethnicites -- but these religious cultures are what most white people inherit in the USA)

There has been a major backlash against these religions since at least the 50s, and 60's, and most white Americans fall into an area where they neither belong to, or have a deep cultural heritage of their own. I really can not think of any significant culturally important heritages that could be said to exclusively belong to White Americans (As a whole). Perhaps my memory is failing me, but I really can't think of any. Most cultures white people belong to also originate from other countries as well. America is only 240 something years old after all.

Also, claims of cultural appropriation seem odd to me in a country that is essentially a mixing bowl of all cultures, and religions. The USA's culture is quite literally made up of all the rest of the worlds cultures combined.

So I don't really think it's cultural appropriation for white people to practice Buddhism or even modify it's practices. This same thing happened in every country that Buddhism was brought to from India. Just look how many individual Buddhist Cultures are represented on this forum alone. Every single one of them have value, and yet none of them existed in the early days of Buddhism in India, they developed due to Buddhism traveling around the world and mixing with local cultures, by having local practitioners, and developed a history and culture all their own, and yet they are still Buddhism. I don't think anyone would accept someone calling any of these traditions "Appropriations of real Buddhism"

When Buddhist cultures were imported to a majority white country, a new Buddhist culture being created was kind of bound to happen. I think this is generally a good thing, when the religions and heritages are kept mostly true to themselves.
:good:

Like you, I have difficulty thinking of cultural heritage which is specifically American. When I do come up with things, they are arts-entertainment-sports traditions - jazz and blues, Hollywood, baseball and gridiron, etc. Religion? Inherited from all over, as you say.

:namaste:
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

SilenceMonkey wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:48 am Agreed. It's interesting how people don't think to make a distinction between "Buddhism in America" and "American Buddhism." And the latter is maybe more defined in contradistinction to every other form of (traditional) Buddhism in the world. And rightly so, because it's so different. It's basically synonymous with the modern reinvention of Buddhism. And because the general public in the West tends to prefer this reinvention of Buddhism, they will dismiss the traditional stuff, so the Asians who practice it won't find their representation.

I don't think it's possible to argue for more representation of Asians in Buddhism without raising up the old ways (against the modern stuff). Unless you find Asian Buddhists in the West who haven't grown up in traditional Buddhist families, or have otherwise joined modern style groups (which would be predominantly white). In that case, it would be a case of fighting marginalization of Asian practitioners within a predominantly white sangha as vs. fighting marginalization of Asian sanghas within a predominantly white society.
I'm curious what the "modern stuff"is in the this context, that's a pretty broad brush and it would be useful to narrow down who and what we are talking about.

I feel Jack Kornfield, the IMS crew and those sorts of folks are maybe"American Buddhism" in the sense you are meaning here.
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Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by SilenceMonkey »

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:22 am
SilenceMonkey wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:48 am Agreed. It's interesting how people don't think to make a distinction between "Buddhism in America" and "American Buddhism." And the latter is maybe more defined in contradistinction to every other form of (traditional) Buddhism in the world. And rightly so, because it's so different. It's basically synonymous with the modern reinvention of Buddhism. And because the general public in the West tends to prefer this reinvention of Buddhism, they will dismiss the traditional stuff, so the Asians who practice it won't find their representation.

I don't think it's possible to argue for more representation of Asians in Buddhism without raising up the old ways (against the modern stuff). Unless you find Asian Buddhists in the West who haven't grown up in traditional Buddhist families, or have otherwise joined modern style groups (which would be predominantly white). In that case, it would be a case of fighting marginalization of Asian practitioners within a predominantly white sangha as vs. fighting marginalization of Asian sanghas within a predominantly white society.
I'm curious what the "modern stuff"is in the this context, that's a pretty broad brush and it would be useful to narrow down who and what we are talking about.

I feel Jack Kornfield, the IMS crew and those sorts of folks are maybe"American Buddhism" in the sense you are meaning here.
Sure. It's a pretty broad brush because it's a pretty broad brush. I'm sure you've heard of "Modern Buddhism?" The idea is traditional practices such as making offerings, doing pujas, chanting prayers and mantras, merit making practices in general are considered "cultural baggage," "folk religion" and "superstitious." And, like you mentioned, in return you get Jack Kornfield, IMS, MBSR, Sam Harris, Stephen Batchelor, Zen without the Buddhism, jewish and christian zen, scientific buddhism, psychologized buddhism, just-meditation buddhism, self-help buddhism, personal growth buddhism, get ahead in business buddhism, etc... Not to mention the social justice buddhism, and now it seems identity politics buddhism. Basically any attempt to reinvent and repackage Buddhism for modern society.
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

MBSR is a partially Buddhist-derived clinical practice, it's not intended to be a form of Buddhism - whatever other issues we could find with it.

The rest are only good examples only inasmuch as they are claiming to somehow be carriers of the Buddha's teaching, some of these are, some aren't, many are just pop-culture phenomena influenced by Buddhism. They can't be repackaged Buddhism if they don't assert themselves as Buddhism, though they might have all sorts of other flaws, sure.

As to self-help Buddhism, does that include books in that vein by teachers like Mingyur R., HHDL, or Thich Nhat Hanh? Are their writings in this vein contrary to our "traditional Buddhism", are they a modern repackaging, or is it a bit more murky than that? I used to help teach a secular mindfulness program to prisoners, where does that fit, is it the antithesis of my actual Buddhist practice, or something different?

For instance, Sam Harris isn't trying to teach anyone Buddhism, in fact he has major issues with Buddhism, religion generally obviously. So, if we are going to hold something up side by side against "traditional Buddhism" of the type being talked about here, I feel like it kind of needs to be calling itself Buddhist in the first place, or making some claim of validity up against the "traditional" form. Otherwise while it might be annoying in some other way, it is not part of the dialectic between white American/whatever Buddhism and the traditional version.

So for instance Bachelor and the IMS fit the bill, and have a clear agenda in places of saying that what they teach is somehow more in line with the Buddha's "original" teachings, etc. There are definitely grey area versions too, where a certain practice group plays the "oh it's not a religion card", but then claims to be the Buddha's original teaching - some of the Goenka folk for instance.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
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Queequeg
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Re: Young Asian American Buddhists are reclaiming narrative after decades of white dominance

Post by Queequeg »

Jesse wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 5:49 am I think alot of 'cultural appropriation' that people seem so offended by tends to happen because, for a lack of better term "White Americans" don't really have much of a culture of their own.
I'd beg to differ. When you are immersed in a culture and know nothing else, it may be hard to appreciate the unique characteristics of one's native social environment, from the way people greet each other, to sensibility about personal space, food, etc. There are most definitely "white" cultures in the US. Ask black people about white culture.

It may be some basic, nondescript European culture, but it's definitely discernible as a distinct culture particularly to people not from a European culture. It may well have many of the features you point out.

As for cultural appropriation, I personally don't find it offensive unless the people are being insensitive and offensive - when its a sort of black face. In most cases it's just silly, some in good fun, some well meaning but just plain silly.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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