ject wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 9:31 pmEmaho! Thank you for shaving the Buddha Dharma in the West...PemaSherab wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 7:20 pmLast week I shaved my beard; it was very gray (unlike the hair on top of my head). By my estimation, I have made western dharma 0.00000000002% less gray. You may thank me later.
You're welcome.
To answer the question more seriously, I think there might be some openness in the younger generations. I can only speak for my experience as a college professor in the rural deeeeeep south of the USA. The vast majority of my students are under 22, and it is incredible how many of them are searching for their own identity in a culture that demands conformity. I think this is a huge positive and an act of courage that could lead to them looking outside the dominant, authoritarian, normative, hegemonic paradigm they find at home and within their social circles. When I combine this with the heartbreaking fact that many of my students ( and their parents, grandparents, etc.) live every day confronted by the first noble truth (poverty,addicition, death, illness, abuse) I see the causes and conditions for a portion of them to seek out the Dharma , or at least, a differnt way of seeing the world than the one that has been foisted on them.
Many of my students have two jobs and are oligated to care for thir parents (or other relatives) and ,often times, their own children. They don't feel like they have time for luxury of just sitting.
Finally, far too many of them are taught to supress their dreams. They are not encouraged to develop any kind of inner life or introspection. Heck, many of students come from a culture that is not only illiterate , but that is passionately anti-literate. Reading, as has been mentioned in this thread , was fundamental for many of us discovering the Dharma, and for mny it is simply off the table. Perhaps some Lama will host Twitch or TikTok meditation sessions and teachings.
TL/DR I see the potential for many young people to embrace the Dharma, but it will be a Herculean (if not Sisyphean ) endeavor.