JunkDror

Editor’s Note: I wrote this piece as an 18-year old, edited it as a now-year old, and found its themes timeless-years old. With many points still holding true, I cheers to maturation and thoughtful skepticism.

Western Buddhism: Far-reaching or feverishly fetching?

From the long-lived Anglican royal family of the United Kingdom to the ban of “anti-Christian” school books in the U.S., the resilience of Christianity and Judaism within the modern-day workings of Western nations (recognized as Western/Central Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand) remains generationally entrenched. But has the underlying obtrusiveness of their subliminal practice become too heavy and too stale in the lives of Western people? Both so-called “collectivist” systems of faith, Christianity and Judaism are often criticized for their assertive followers and the satirical level of hierarchical organization, with devout public figures making headlines for recurring conspiracies, conservative worldviews, prejudiced interpretations of scripture, and unholy deviations from sacred teachings. Simply put, as the list of Abrahamic disciples on Epstein’s list grows, so does the loss of trust in these cultish, out-of-touch institutions.

Confused and confounded, the West turns to its imperialist and appropriating instincts, and settles to “discover” the well-defined religion of Buddhism through practical implementation and a media trained Dalai Lama. Finally releasing themselves from (what they perceive to be) the forcefulness and rigidity of Christianity and Judaism, Western people have found comfort in the “agreeableness” of Buddhist beliefs and spiritual rituals. The emphasis on acceptance, meditation, and healing–understood by Western societies as Buddhist ideals–appeals to the lack of flexibility and inclusivity ingrained in Christianity and Judaism. However, an even greater question arises: are Westerners diluting Buddhism to a sheer guiding philosophy? Considering its foundations in Northeastern India, Buddhism is a culturally dense religion with evolving parts as it spread through Central, East, and Southeast Asia, and its orthodox practitioners are concerned about the lack of regard Westerners may hold for its traditional practice. In good faith, engaged Westerners sensibly commit themselves to understanding the whole context and content of Buddhism, but whether their practice will ever outclass mere homage or scant intrigue is luring and likely.

Explained throughout the Tipitaka, the ancient collection of Buddhist sacred scriptures, Buddhism seeks to liberate the conscious being from the metaphysical anguish brought about by the cycle of suffering experienced in birth, death, and reincarnation. This profession and certainty of worldly pain quenches the West’s thirst for social, spiritual, and political transparency. In its innately pragmatic way, Buddhism creates a call to action by providing individuals with an immersive range of doctrine that encourages both self-awareness and interactive empathy amid the turbulent pressures of contemporary life. An individual pursuing the eradication of their suffering is meant to grow in mindfulness, understanding that all of humanity is on the same journey, and then bounding as a collective to effectively confront all of the world’s most distressing misfortunes. In an age of worrisome economic recessions, ongoing genocide, political polarization, nuclear threats, and infectious viruses, Westerners turn to the realist themes in Buddhist ideals to navigate long-standing, macro obstacles. When not in an act of desperation, responsibly adopted Buddhist practitioners relieve themselves of personal anxieties in order to support those who need more counsel. 

The Twelve Step recovery program practiced by members of Alcoholics Anonymous in the United States exemplifies a well-rounded and thoughtful approach to the Buddhist emphasis on introspection and self-regulation. Molding a path of reflection, “A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole,” (Alcoholics Anonymous). The journey starts with developmental mindfulness and a recognition of the faults that make us act inappropriately–gluttony, lust, envy, wrath, pride, sloth. Consequently, the weathering collective is consoled through constructive accountability, an assurance that superficial struggle does not equate to inept ignorance nor does existential exhaustion absolve you from remedial rehabilitation. It is a detachment ritual with the purpose of alienating one’s ego from the idea of exponential prosperity through the pursuit of unsatisfied cravings, highlighting that such addictive behaviors are subject to further degradation without a restoring sense of responsibility. The temporal nature of hardships is revealed, suggesting that humanity actually can, in fact, find an end to its suffering while simultaneously directing its hands in socially reformative ways.

Inspired by The Eightfold Path–a set of eight steps describing the means of attaining Enlightenment (a state of profound wisdom and liberation from the cycle of suffering, karma, and rebirth)–Alcoholics Anonymous champions fellowship as a key factor in habitual moderation, believing that “all beings are interdependent and thus have a profound understanding of the importance of the principle of “one alcoholic helping another alcoholic,” as an important part of recovery,” (Roger C.). Like Buddhism, A.A. produces an inherent inclination to give alms in the shape of both resourcefulness and sensitivity. Those securely positioned in their rehabilitation are to gracefully reinforce foundational practices that beat addiction, both accrediting the mentor’s health and wisdom, and supporting the mentee’s early days on their Path. Beyond newsletter updates, professional seminars, or free rides to a meeting, sponsors are engaged in their community through a sinking vulnerability oftentimes too dark for the average person to follow. Moments of literal and spiritual nakedness are shared with an unashamed modesty that magnifies their successes as an achievable outcome rather than an enduring chore, and the Buddhists couldn’t be more proud.

However, Westerners often lose sight of Buddhism’s communalist qualities when clouded by an individualistic culture that rewards exclusion and yawns at interconnectivity. In political agendas, social schedules, and economic feats, Westerners seek bitter competition and autonomous success; and it seems the search for the same unyielding authority leaks into the intangible, spiritual realm as Christianity and Judaism spar their Master of Salvation with the Buddhist rejection of a higher power. Fitfully, Buddhism heals deep wounds of neglect in previously Abrahamic followers looking for a transcendental human experience without the heavenly helicopter parent. Still, we are less hopeless agnostics and more exploitative acolytes when we trivialize non-theistic tradition to self-directed spiritual experimentation. In REFUGE, a documentary produced by John Halpern, the Dalai Lama discusses his thoughts on the growing “Buddhist” population in Europe and North America, advising confused atheists, agnostics, and theists to refrain from “converting” to Buddhist if they believe it to be an instant cure for their suffering and insecurities. Hypocritically, it is an idolization of mysticism and a fetishization of unfamiliarity that even the wisest monks can’t deprogram. Especially when Buddhas are commercialized, incense is burned greedily, and selflessness is rationed sparingly, the Western approach frequently comes off to Buddhists as a comical act of performative “wokeness” and an elitist attempt to fill personal voids of dissatisfaction. 

Most prone to backlash from Buddhists are Buddhist meditation centers in the West, which claim to help the surrounding communities through education and training in Buddhist spirituality. Kadampa Meditation Center LA is a popular center for workshops and instruction in Buddhism, but located in a popular, trendy section of LA (Los Feliz), questions arise as to how the less fortunate are being attended to. The KMC’s website describes the location to be “a beautiful, dynamic neighborhood, walking distance from cafes and coffee shops, hiking distance from Griffith Park Observatory, and a short drive to iconic beaches, scenic hikes and the famed Hollywood Boulevard.” For those who lack geographical knowledge about Los Angeles, the underdeveloped, overlooked neighborhoods who may benefit most from these resources and spiritual implementations are on the opposite side of the city, decaying and beating. Worse are the multi-million dollar luxury meditation resorts like the Holy Isle in Scotland, the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Massachusetts, or the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California. Members of these centers tend to their savior complexes and presume they are stimulating socialist change, but are indeed expediting the disparities they wish to mend with years-long waitlists and unaffordable retreat prices. By the end of a transformational weekend, affluent individuals return to their homes “enlightened,” boisterously raving about their trip to the famous restorative center in the Swiss Alps. Superficial reverence or unapologetic egotism? Only Buddhists can tell.

Certainly, Western societies have found a warm place for Buddhism in their hearts, and in pitiful truth, it is as understandable as the universal cycle of suffering. We are all lost, all aching, and all hungry, and the search for air on a level horizon is ameliorating. For many, like those survivors of addiction in Alcoholics Anonymous, the faith bestowed a harmony they never thought they would live again. The disgraceful, imperialistic past of Western peoples is what makes them turbulent forces to trust, even in their genuine pursuits of knowledge. From tone-deaf offenses and shallow escapades to simple lethargic attitudes towards kinship, Buddhism is a natural foil to the spectrum of extremism birthed in the West, and these devotees may have long before they will truly walk down the Middle Way.