Buddhism came to the USA due to immigrants from China and Japan and some eccentric Europeans who practiced Theosophy and spiritualism. More than a hundred of years, Buddhism remains very popular with North Americans, and step- by- step this kind of religion is penetrating farther into the people’s lives. Bookshops are full of books about Buddhism, popular magazines and newspapers placed plenty of articles devoted to this issue, film industry includes Buddhists way of life and philosophy in movies. The values of Buddhism can be seen in such social aspects as medicine, education, psychology, nutrition, sport, cosmetology, ecology, commercial advertisement, and religion, such as New Age. Many celebrities lead Buddhist lifestyle, for example, Richard Gere and one of the most popular rock groups of the previous century was called “Nirvana.”
Buddhism was born in India in the 5th century BC owing to Siddhartha Gautama. He came to the conclusion, that the world is full of suffering and unnecessary passions that spoil human lives and thought about the ways how to resist them. Gautama achieved the state of perfectness through meditations and analysis. His teachings were summarized in the Four Noble Truths. In the course of the centuries, Buddhism went through many modifications and schisms. Nowadays there are three main branches of Buddhism in the world, they are the Theravada or “Doctrine of the Elders”, the Mahayana or “Great Vehicle”, and the Vajrayana “Diamond Vehicle” or “Tibetan Buddhism.” There are also many religious groups and sects within each branch. ("Buddhism Origins, Buddhism History, Buddhism Beliefs")
“Buddha” means “awakened one” and this name was given to the founder of the Buddhism. Buddha is the first and foremost and he is the one who achieve the state which is called “Nirvana”. According to the Encyclopedia of Buddhism, “nirvana is a state of freedom from suffering and rebirth.” (Buswel, Jr., Editor in Chief)
The population of the USA is over 321.3 million of people. ("United States Population 2016 - World Population Review") There are 3,860,000 of people belong to the Buddhist religion. ("Buddhists") This number is quite big for the country which main religion is Christianity. So why Buddhism is so popular in the United States and is it possible to apply this religion to American society and replace the Christianity completely with it.
The word “Buddhism” associated with such American values as peace and harmony, health and nature, goodness and well-being. It seems that we deal not with a religion itself, but with the way of life and philosophy that attracts people who are not satisfied with the life they have. They seek for some special as gourmets who want to season the food with some special flavor different from traditional dishes. Due to its concentration on a human personality and soul, Buddhism is the best way to satisfy those who thirst for spirituality because Buddhism can be considered as a specific spiritual resource. Unlike all the religions in the USA, it is not tied to any communities, dogmas or rites. Thus, it can be concluded that Buddhism is not a religion in the way we get accustomed with traditional Christianity or Judaism, but it is an outlook, set of tastes and preferences, intellectual lifestyle or trend. ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS")
As it was said before there are more than three million of people belonging to Buddhism but this number is much bigger. There are many people who consider themselves as Buddhists or sympathize with Buddhism but they do not belong to any organization. These people are called “nightstand Buddhist. They read a lot about this issue, attracted to the ideas of Buddhism, meditate or have some Buddhist attributes at home. However, they do not belong to any of the Buddhist group or organization.
Buddhism in the North America is romanticized with the help of the media. People can see only the positive sides of it. Rarely they can hear the news information about oriental countries and the problems that occur because of this belief. People do not know or do not want to take into consideration such political problems as the bloody Buddhists campaign in Sri Lanka against Hindu Talims, the act of self- burning committed by the Vietnamese monks in protest against the government or Tibetan nuns who were prisoned and tortured after their demonstration against Chinese rule. The media pay much attention to fanatical Muslims, Catholic and Protestants struggle in Northern Ireland, scandals within Catholic Church priests and Protestant pastors whose way of life greatly contradict to the laws of the Christian Churches. Thus, Buddhists and Buddhism are always pure and perfect and give some positive examples of virtue and goodness and many of people think about Buddhism as a perfect institution. ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS")
White Americans familiarize themselves with the Buddhist books in the 19th century at the time when immigrants from China arrived. Those books were written by scholars of Indian languages and widely spread by western academics. The books were dedicated to Buddha’s teachings. They were nontheistic, just a set of a rational system of moral and philosophical thoughts and speculations and were completely different from Christianity that proclaimed God Creator and the idea of sacrifice and resurrection of God’s Son, eternal punishments in hell for sins on the earth and living in Paradise in case the life was pious. So such aspects of Buddhism as reincarnation and nirvana were difficult to understand. Nevertheless, Buddhism attracted many scientists because it coincided with a scientific outlook and some Christians and Jews who were looking for a spiritual alternative. Within the years, Buddhism was applied to the academic study and submitted to the modern western ideas of religion. College and university students have a keen interest in Buddhism. They attend extra classes and meetings in order to know more about it and have some spiritual practice. They talk about different ecological and social justice issues, discuss scholar presentations about Buddhist history and culture. These students are mainly white. There are some Asian people in these study groups too but there are no any Afro - Americas or Latin Americans there. As it was said earlier, people who are interested in Buddhism but do not belong to any of its organizations are called “nightstand Buddhists” or “Buddhist sympathizer.” They can be subdivided into “freelance Buddhists” and “client Buddhists.” “Freelance Buddhists” are the people who consider themselves as Buddhists but do not belong to any group or organization. “Client Buddhists” are people who attend the Buddhist organizations but are not their members. The second group is more common. Buddhism has a status as nonreligious so people visit the groups and participate in different practices easily and naturally. They never think about visiting synagogue if they are not Jews or participate in Eucharist if they are not Catholic. So they consider Buddhism as something pleasant and useful for their mind and soul, such as a massage or theme seminar. Many Buddhist groups and organization welcome such kind of clients because they support the organizations with money. These drop-in clients are provided with special programs and attitude. Some American Buddhist monasteries invite the visitor for the summer period to their places, which are turned into spiritual resorts. ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS") Thus, we can conclude that white Americans belong to so called nightstand Buddhist.
There are also another group of Buddhists in the USA whose forefathers came to the territory of the North America from Asia in the 19th century. They belong to the Buddhists culture of Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. The newer groups continue their coming from Japan and Taiwan. They have many differences inside their
groups but unlike “Buddhists sympathizers” they have the religious roots in their genealogy and consider Buddhism not only as a way of life or a set of tips for healthy living but much deeper. With the help of Buddhism, they preserve the traditions of their native lands and pass them from generation to generation. The membership of hereditary Buddhists in the religious group has the sense that is different from the purpose of “nightstand Buddhists” participation in the similar group. It can be described as unconscious religious practice, which is similar to devoted Christians or Jews participation in the rituals, pray and church customs.
Secular Buddhists immigrants do not practice meditation because it is mostly for ascetic monks. They are not also obsessed with the idea of being enlightened like Buddha. They ask Buddha to help them in lives and give them a nice future. These old-fashioned Buddhists do not attract much public attention and do not have many converted American whites.
Nevertheless, there are some hereditary Buddhists organizations in the USA that have gathered people of different ethnical groups in Buddhism religion. One of them is Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA). ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS")
The most popular forms of Buddhism in the USA are Zen, Vajrayana, and Vipassana. Zen or Chan school is the most popular one. It was born in medieval China and its doctrine claims that all beings have a potential to become a Buddha, and this potential can be realized through meditation and removal everything that can block it. (Buswel, Jr., Editor in Chief)
Zen started in the USA in the beginning of the 20th century and the top of its popularity was in the 1960s. The teaching of Zen was adapted to western psychology and philosophy so that it fit to people mentality. The American Zen organizations vary from small meditation groups at somebody’s home to large ones that have a network of meditation centers monasteries and businesses. They do not usually have a leader and there is no strict distinction between secular people and clerical parts. ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS")
Vajrayana discovers two ways: the method of the perfection and the methods of mantra. (Buswel, Jr., Editor in Chief) The groups of Vajrayana appeared about twenty-five years ago due to the appearance of Tibetan monks in western countries and its style is quite different from Zen Buddhism. If Zen is wrapped into western philosophy in order to be closer to people’s minds, Vajrayana is pure and close to its original derivation. Vajrayana organizations have a strict division between monks and secular members and practice worshipping, prays, chanting, healing and different rites. Unlike Zen, Vajrayana is more exotic and unknown.
The third branch is Vipassana. Its name derives from the Pali word that means “observation.” Vipassana began in Burma in the beginning of the 20th century. It has broken the ties with the traditional Buddhism and adapted itself to the modern American lifestyle and unlike the other two types of Buddhism, it is much closer to the term “nonreligious.” ("July 6, 2001 ~ Comments On Tensions In American Buddhism | July 6, 2001 | Religion & Ethics Newsweekly | PBS")
Taking into consideration the fact that Buddhism is very popular in the USA and it has penetrated into nearly all aspects of peoples’ life it could be said that Buddhism has a chance to be applied to the American society. Not only numerous secular organizations but monasteries too are there on the territory of the United States. Monasteries are the more serious establishments than clubs or groups because they present a true interpretation of Buddha’s teaching and practices that are not adapted to the temporal society. Nearly a half of the states have Buddhist monasteries and temples with the monks and nuns who consecrated their lives to this religious practice. Most of these sacred places are situated in California and New York, a fewer ones are there in Wisconsin, Washington, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Hawaii, Florida, and Arizona. ("List Of Buddhist Temples In United States Of America, Buddhism, List Of Buddhist Temples In The World")
Secular trainees have always been a driving force of Buddhism. There are quite many Buddhist monasteries around the USA. Consecrated people usually come from hereditary Buddhist immigrant families or they are monks who arrive at the country for their missionary work. It usually takes a long time to become a consecrated Buddhist. It includes about five years of study and practice as a student with three years of living in the monastery. It helps the future monks to know if the monastic life suits them and remove all kind of romanticism that is proclaimed by the media and fiction books. ("Lay & Monastic Practice - Zen Mountain Monastery")
The life of Buddhist monks and nuns has its own rules and laws that are as strict and difficult as the life of Catholic ones. In Buddhist monastery practice, these disciplines can be varied but they have much in common. The distinctive feature of the monks lifestyle is modest and the absence of luxury and expensive things. They are allowed to have a property but these things must be only that are extremely necessary for life and personal hygiene.
A monk allowed to collect and consume food at a particular time of the day. It is forbidden to take the food out of the women’s hands. A monk is not allowed to eat fruit and vegetables with the fertile seeds. A monk lives on whatever he is offered but vegetarianism is the most acceptable diet.
As for clothes, it is usually a robe that is made by the monk himself. Nowadays sweaters, T-shirts, socks and other pieces of clothes which are offered to a monk by secular people are acceptable.
The ideal place for a monk is a place without any hits of luxuriousness. A monk cannot sleep in the same room with an unordained man more than three nights and it is impossible to share a room with a woman.
As for relationships between males and females, it should be said that Buddhist monks and nuns live in total celibacy when any kind of sexual behavior is strictly prohibited. This behavior includes speeches, glances, gestures and any physical contacts with lustful intends. If it is necessary to talk to a woman a monk should have a male witness. The same rules are for Buddhist nuns too.
The most part of the day a monk must spend in teaching and meditations. ("The Buddhist World: Lay Buddhist's Guide To The Monk's Rules")
As it can be seen all those rules and behaviors are quite strict and take consecrated Buddhists away from all temptations and pleasures of earthen life. Not all people can lead such a lifestyle of a Buddhist monk or nun as well as the lifestyle of a consecrated Catholic monks and nuns. This lifestyle is for people who usually have a special religious liability for it. We cannot see many monks or nuns on the streets and do not have many examples of consecrated among our friends, relatives, and acquaintances.
On the other hand, there are Catholic monastery institutions that are common to American society, so Buddhist monasteries can be applicable to it too. It is not right to say “can be” because they have been already applied for it.
On the other hand, there is no any need to convert the nation into Buddhism only because it is very popular and proclaimed as something good and natural for everyone. For most Americans Buddhism is just a hobby or a splendid opportunity to practice meditation and socialize with other people. It also provides some useful tips for a healthy lifestyle and nutrition. Buddhism helps people to reduce stress and escape from the difficulties and problems of everyday life. It also maintains physical and mental health balance and change outlook for better attitude to the environment and other people. Not many people in the USA consecrate their lives to Buddhism. Buddhist monks and nuns are mainly derived from Asian cultural society and only a few representatives from western civilization can be found as the converted and consecrated ones.
Historically, the USA nation was formed by the people, who came from European countries whose religion was Christianity. Later when immigrants from Asia arrived, their culture and religion were brought to the North America. As it was said before, Buddhism had to be adapted in order to be more understandable for western people. Thus, it can be concluded that this kind of religion was applied to some parts of Americans more than two hundred of years ago and from its first coming into people’s minds and souls it was not presented in its original form.
It is not impossible to replace Christianity with Buddhism and turn the North America into an absolute Buddhist territory. The Western and Oriental mentality are quite different from one of another and western people do not have an ability to feel the whole plentitude of the psychology and way of life of Buddhists as the Asian people cannot do the same with the issue of Christianity.
Thus, it could be concluded that Buddhism has been adapted yet to American society because there are a plenty of examples of Americans involved in it id different aspects, from the names and symbols in a pop-culture to the meditation and in some rare cases consecration. Nevertheless, it is quite impossible to apply Buddhism in its original form to all aspects of American life because of American people’s identity and mentality.
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