Join the discussion on Facebook!

I’ve created a Facebook page for My Buddha is Pink. While I will continue to blog here the way I have been, I think the Facebook page will allow for greater flexibility to cover other Buddhist and gay-related topics. More discussions, links to news and events, and just plain sharing and socializing.

I hope you take a look here at the page and become a fan. And when you do, join the discussion! I’ve already asked a question about the individualistic nature of the Buddhist practice and how to balance that with a need to develop a community of practitioners that identify together as more than just Buddhist. It’s been a topic from time to time throughout the Buddhist blogosphere.

What’s happening in Singapore is a gay Buddhist group called Heartland is feeling pressure from local Christian groups that create social activities to not only attract new members, but to strengthen relationships between current members.

In Asia, Buddhist practice in many places is very ritualistic and individualistic. People come to a temple to make offerings, pray, chant, meditate and make prostrations. But seldom are there regularly scheduled activities to bring congregants together for social activities.

Many ethnically-based temples in the U.S. do create social activities for members, but often these are centered on sustaining the members’ cultural identity.

Certainly we have discussed throughout the various blogs the “Westernization” of Buddhism and what that means. Does it mean Anglifying it? Or does it mean blending the practice American culture that makes the practice relevant and attractive without crushing the core concepts under the weight of commercial superficiality?

Stop by my new page and let’s get the discussion rolling!

You go your way and I’ll go mine

Racism in our sanghas Part 2. Part 1 is here and Part 3 is here.

In another post, I explained how my investigation into racism and white privilege is fraught with challenge because our very notion of race is often a hindrance to our attempts to overcome racism. These notions are largely automatic, and I ended this other post with the question of how, then, do we overcome these automatic responses?

Again, it comes down to investigation of our own actions and of those around us.

Wakoh Shannon Hickey writes in the very interesting article “Two Buddhisms, Three Buddhisms, and Racism” found in the Journal of Global Buddhism that regardless of the multi-cultural and multi-racial makeup of a Buddhist congregation, not-so-subtle but unconscious segregation often occurs.

“One can indeed observe significant differences between groups catering primarily to Buddhist converts and those catering to people whose cultural heritage is Buddhist. Communities in each category tend to approach practice differently, and serve different purposes for their members.”

“In the temples Paul Numrich visited, he found “parallel congregations” operating side-by-side: one composed of immigrants and their descendants, who engaged in cultural and merit-making activities; and one composed of converts, who were mostly white, and who were interested primarily in meditation and Buddhist philosophy.”

This parallels discussion I’ve read elsewhere that presents an idea that a “Western Buddhism” is needed that is “devoid of cultural baggage.” (link to more writings by the author)

“White people may not notice these characteristics—either because it is easy for us to associate mostly with people who are like us, which leaves our cultural assumptions unchallenged, or because we may be reluctant to face the full, painful implications of white privilege. As Addie Foye, a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist of Scottish and Japanese ancestry noted, ‘In white racist America, there is no way for a person of color to relate to any all-white situation without experiencing racism. This is an unavoidable fact that white people must wake up to’ (Foye, Fall 1994).”

When I read these passages, I realized how that has been my experience in all the sanghas that I’ve been affiliated with.

There’s a temple in Chicago I’ve gone to on occasion whose congregation is predominately Thai. There are some white members, or at least white people who show up for the Sunday ceremonies, and I’ve seen one black couple. Most of the white people group among themselves during the lunch buffet and when it comes to the chanting, it is only the Thai members who participate. After the lunch, one of the monks leads a walking meditation session followed by a sitting meditation session that is almost entirely attended by white people. Instead of the meditation sessions, the Thai members that stay do so to chant with the other monks.

This is what I am talking about regarding automatic notions of race. We don’t even realize how we separate ourselves into our various tribes when it comes down to something as fundamental as how we practice.

Please listen to the following “video” before reading further.

TroubleEveryDay

When people of color attempt to explain their experiences with white privilege and racism within the Buddhist community, it is unfortunate that their words are often discounted by us whites. We tell them that they shouldn’t feel that way. How arrogant is that? To tell someone that their feeling is wrong, that he or she shouldn’t be feeling that way – what makes us think that we know what constitutes a valid feeling? These words, found in Making the Invisible Visible, are extraordinarily humbling and constitute an important call to action:

“The oppressive racial and economic conditioning of our greater society, whether intentional or not, manifests in our sanghas. Practitioners of color face many obstacles of access, as well as of attitude, when attempting to join Western Sanghas in order to develop and sustain their practice. It is extremely difficult and painful for people who are already marginalized in society to then be marginalized again in their spiritual community.”

I strongly encourage you to download and print this 75-page document, as it is filled with important testimonials by both white practitioners and people of color. It is sobering to read their experiences and there are too many for me to excerpt here. But I will include this passage because of its importance as a call to action:

“White people must educate themselves about these issues. Racism in the United States is now and always has been a White problem, and therefore it is incumbent on White people to talk amongst themselves about how they propose to solve this problem. Waiting for people of color to enter White spaces in order to educate White people about their blindness to racism is arrogant, patronizing and disrespectful. Feminists have, for years, called men to task for not taking responsibility for dismantling patriarchy. The same is true for the responsibility White people must take for dismantling racial hierarchies.”

Time for another video I think.

NinaSimone

Although writing about Buddhism and violence, Elizabeth J. Harris makes some excellent points that are relevant to racism.

“In another sermon handed down to us, two men are pointed out while the Buddha is talking to a headman, Pataliya. One of them is garlanded and well-groomed; the other is tightly bound, about to lose his head. We are told that the same deed has been committed by both. The difference is that the former has killed the foe of the king and has been rewarded for it, whilst the latter was the king's enemy. Hence it is stressed that the laws of the state are not impartial: they can mete out punishment or patronage according to the wish of the king and his cravings for revenge or security.”

If we look at racism as a form of institutionalized violence, we can see how different groups, when members rise to power, establish laws that protect the status of members within the group. The Buddha recognized, also, that religious practices can involve violence that is ostensibly justified:

“The austerities practiced by some of those who came to the Buddha were worse than any enemy might inflict as punishment. The Buddha himself confessed to having practiced them before his enlightenment. In the Maha-Saccaka and the Maha-sihanada Suttas there is vivid description of the excesses undertaken. Taken together, the two suttas cover the complete range of contemporary Indian practices, which included nakedness or the wearing of rags, tree-bark fiber, kusa grass, wood shavings or human hair; deprivation of food to the extent of existing on a single fruit or rice grain; self-mortification through lying on thorns or exposing the body to extremes of heat and cold; copying the habits of animals such as walking on all fours or eating similar food. It was the Buddha's view that such practices were a form of violence, although undertaken in the name of religion and truth-seeking.”

And a key element of violent practices among aesthetics included debate.

“In the Kassapa Sihanada Sutta, the Buddha speaks out: ‘Now there are, Kassapa, certain recluses and brahmans who are clever, subtle, experienced in controversy, hair splitters, who go about, one would think, breaking into pieces by their wisdom the speculations of their adversaries.’”

Violence and racism has no place in the practicing Buddhist’s mind set, but because racism is based in delusion, it is often difficult to see it within ourselves. Yet, it must be eliminated if we ever wish to achieve the ultimate goal, or even just get close to it.

“Nibbana is the ultimate eradication of dukkha. It is a possible goal within this life and, among other things, involves a complete de-toxification of the mind from greed, hatred and delusion, a revolution in the way the world is perceived, freedom from craving and liberation from the delusion of ego.”

“Not all beings rally to the call for compassion on the grounds that others have like feelings to themselves or that harmony in society is necessary.”

So what did the Buddha say about race and racism? Read this post to find out.

The Good, the Bad, and the WTF?

Yes, that image disturbs me as well. And the content associated with the photo is disturbing too. But first let me clear the air. The photo with this post is of a boy monk in Bhutan, and the gun he is holding is a toy gun, according to the source of the photo. It was taken in 2008.

I found this image in a blurb at the Web site Religion Dispatches about a book that is expected to be released this year. The summary paragraph of the article says it all:

“The co-editor of a new book on the history of Buddhist violence and warfare explains how the notion of a purely mystical and otherworldly Buddhism—promoted by some of the great interpreters of the tradition—denies its adherents’ humanity.”

The article’s title gets to the point as well: Monks With Guns: Discovering Buddhist Violence

When I saw this, my inner Lost in Space robot immediately went into action! Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

Doctor Smith is not going to sooth my concerns with his unctuous tongue this time, as there are a number of serious problems with this item from a writing point of view. In addition to being a practicing Buddhist, half of my 20-plus years in journalism were spent as an editor, so I think I’m qualified to critique this. But I must make clear – the book has not been published, so I am only responding to the article at Religion Dispatches, and I know nothing about what kind of Web site this is.

First, the disclaimer about the photo. The authors are presenting a case that Buddhism isn’t the peaceful, warm, fuzzy religion that the Buddhist propagandists have been asserting. But in proper professional form, it is noted that the boy monks (there’s another photo that appears to be the book’s cover photo) are carrying toy guns. This begs the question, why are they toy guns? How did they obtain them? There is nothing in the article to dissuade me from concluding that the boys were handed the toy guns for a photo op.

The author spent a few years in Southern Thailand where he witnessed firsthand the long-standing tensions and all-too-frequent violence that erupts in that region of the country, more often than not instigated by members of the Muslim majority there (Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, but not in the south where it borders Malaysia). He thought it would be a good opportunity to observe Buddhists making peace, but, “Unfortunately, I found very little of this.”

I’m not surprised. There has been ethnic violence going on in that region of Thailand for a while, something that Marcus has commented about and written about at his blog. In March of 2003 I traveled through that region, although it was peaceful at the time. The Maoists in Nepal have been brutally violent with the Buddhist population there, and one can’t ignore the ongoing civil strife and violence in Sri Lanka that pits Buddhists against the Tamils.

“The constant fear and violence took a toll on them. Monks talked about the guns they had bought and now kept at their bedsides. Others spoke heatedly about the violent militant attacks on Buddhist civilians and monasteries. Although the cause of the violence is multilayered—owing much to corruption, drug trade, and corporatization—many monks also felt Islam was to blame. In their minds, the conflict was anchored to the larger discussion of religious violence: Muslims against Buddhists.”

The author states that the West has a faulty perspective of who Buddhists are in Asia and the daily struggles they face, and in response to these struggles, sometimes violence is employed by even the most meek.

“In an effort to combat this view and to humanize Buddhists, then, Mark Juergensmeyer and I put together a collection of critical essays that illustrate the violent history of Buddhism across Mongolia, Tibet, Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India.

“Our intention is not to argue that Buddhists are angry, violent people—but rather that Buddhists are people, and thus share the same human spectrum of emotions, which includes the penchant for violence.”

Problematic phrase here: “…that illustrate the violent history of Buddhism …”

That statement leaves one with the implication that Buddhism’s history is a violent one, rather than presenting what may have been the intended implication that Buddhism’s history has not been free of violence. Maybe I’m being too picky, but then the author makes the big switch.

He sets the stage using an example from Thailand, but then proceeds to cite sources from the Tibetan traditions, as well as other Mahayanists from China and Japan. This rather strikes me as asking a Southern Baptist in Alabama to comment on the former violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. If I had been his editor I would have suggested he support his premise using a Thai source who practices Theravada.

There is something else that rubs me the wrong way about this book, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. But I keep thinking of some horrible revisionist history in holocaust denial, a book called “The Pink Swastika,” that drew the conclusion that the Nazi party became so violent because it was run by homosexuals.

But I guess what really offends me is that I can’t shake the notion that the photos of the boy monks with the toy guns were completely staged.

A Teenie Weenie Theravada Wagon Wheelie

I am really riled about how atavistic the Thai Forest tradition is being about the whole bikkhuni ordination situation. They are literally behaving like misogynistic cretins about this. Read John’s post over at Sweep the Dust Push the Dirt as well as Sujato’s posts on what has been happening in Australia, particularly this post.

I know that this is not how I should behave or feel if I am practicing Dhamma correctly, but dag gummit! I don’t have the authority to tell the fellows at Wat Pa Pong they’re behaving like a bunch of junior high school boys. But their efforts to control and quash Western sanghas and their efforts to allow women into the Theravada monastic community is so outlandish, so completely corrupt, and so utterly bold and brazen that it is just like the Soviets sending nuclear missiles to Cuba – it is that provocative.

They have drawn a line in the sand. I say we kick the sand in their face. They must be shamed into retracting their position. And every Buddhist blogger, I urge you to post as much about this so that our thoughts and words get picked up by Google in searches and more people realize just how insane it is that the most peace loving and compassionate world view that there is can’t even find room to allow women to share in its supreme bliss.

And so I have written a song to commemorate this moment. Well, sort of. If you know how to sing “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” then you can sing this song too.

Budho doh doh dohohohohohoho

She had a calling for that monastic life
A zillion precepts were no concern
She had a calling for that monastic life
Contemplation is what she yearned

Two three four tell the people what’s the score

It’s that Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
Seems it has no room for the gals
An Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
The rules were changed by misogynistic pals

Two three four stick around we’ll tell you more

Budho doh doh dohohohohohoho

All the fellows it seemed had achieved their dream
Wearing stylish robes while they set the tone
All the fellows it seemed had achieved their dream
And they wanted to keep it all monochrome

Two three four tell the bikkhus they’re a bore

Budho doh doh dohohohohohoho

Cuz it’s a Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
Barely room for fat-assed monastic snobs
An Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
They’re really not against the stream but boorish slobs

Two three four let us open up the door

The Buddha said contemplation is supreme
What’s the deal? Just go by what is said?
The Buddha said contemplation is supreme
Even Buddha deigned that thinking dead

Two three four it’s time to see the teaching’s core

Budho doh doh dohohohohohoho

And scrub that Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
Let’s open up our minds and breathe the air
Expand that Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Theravada wagon wheelie
And understand that we can make things fair

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, I’m accepting donations at the back of the hall.”

The Great Article Swap

Today's post is brought to you by Kyle at The Reformed Buddhist, part of the Article Swap concept, the brainchild of Nate at Precious Metal. The second part to my earlier post Let's Talk About Sex is appearing over at Shane's blog, zenfant's home for dirty Dharma. I will also be posting another guest article later, this one provided by the Rev. Danny Fisher. We're all sending our links to Nate so he can publish them and that way you can see all the blog swaps and maybe even get yourself exposed to some new bloggers in the process.

For this blog, Kyle tackeled the knotty and convoluted issue of Buddhism in the West, revealing the resiliency of the Buddha's teachings despite how they may appear to be modified by local culture. And not only that, I got a squirrel photo too!


The Brutal Trials of Buddhism’s Growth in the West

It certainly comes as no surprise to see that we have entered into a new era, a new generation of Buddhism in the West; not only in terms of the actual new practitioners and how their personalities and traits affect their view of the religion, but more importantly the state of the practice itself. The hard work that much of the baby-boomer generation, who put so much faith and effort into the nourishment and raising of Buddhism in the West from its infancy, with their tireless dedication and devotion, is indeed moving into much more of an adolescent stage of development. The turmoil and trials of being a teenager is not all that different than the state of Buddhism here in the West today. We have come a long way since the Beatnik’s of the 1950’s and the Counter-Culture Movement of the 1960’s, yet we have miles and miles of hard, determined work ahead of us if this living tradition is to grow and flourish into a much more mature and cohesive structure.

Unexpectedly, due to the explosion of the Internet and the proliferation of all the different Buddhist teachings displayed for all to see, a swarm of interested people have begun to take heart in the teachings, gathering around the dharma like moths attracted to a flame. However, many of these people don’t feel comfortable or don’t wish to pick one path or one particular tradition, and this has created much havoc around the Buddhist community. Many see Buddhism as a type of cross over practice, one that fits within the confines of science and logic, practicality and the profound insight of reason, honesty of self and a bridge that helps to look into the true nature of our existence. They are turned off by words like dogma, blind faith and belief and are more drawn to the essence of what the Buddha taught in tandem with the light and knowledge of a modern perspective. Through books and blogs, through the Internet and word of mouth, this entangled view of what the Buddha taught has become no less authentic than any of the existing traditional forms of Buddhism that are in existence today. However this has come at the cost of great conflict and heated emotions.

In addition, we as a community are dealing with some extremely difficult and painful obstacles, whose roots are founded in the greed and ego of men. This is nothing new in history, as all cultures and religions have experienced this kind of conflict. However, many differences stand out from history in this new struggle, as a multitude of factions have splintered to stake what they feel is their claim to the direction of Buddhism in the West. There are those who desperately grasp on to the status quo and refuse to acknowledge the rights of others to explore change; There are some whose goal is nothing less than that time tested motive of profit making, and will spare no punches to protect what they feel is their beautiful and endless cash cow; And worse, there are some who’s drive is much more nefarious in nature, who’s motives are as simple, but so utterly destructive, such as sexual misconduct, predatory fraud, racism and even just pure ego. Here is a brief, but I feel fairly concise list of these major obstacles and challenges we face as a community today. Some of these are negatives that we must endeavor to root out and some are challenges that can offer either great benefit or great conflict.

The defiling of Buddhism for the purposes of Commercialization

Lack of or denial of access to Buddhist resources for poor, middle class and rural people

Sexual Exploitation, Monetary Fraud and Counterfeit Credentials by some so-called ‘teachers’

The fantastic, yet chaotic collision of the multitudes of different Buddhist traditions online

Secularization, Science and Crossover Religions such as a Buddhist/Christian Mix

Racism, Classism and Sexism

Cultural and Intellectual Snobbery – “My Buddhism is more authentic than your Buddhism.”


This last point has been a subject of great debate online lately, which has lead to a few constructive discussions but also has seen some very disrespectful and downright ugly articles and comments aimed at belittling how others choose to practice their faith and religion. Authentic Buddhism to me is the unquestionable commitment to oneself to explore, test and understand the teachings that have been passed down from the Buddha from generation to generation. It is an exploration of nature and heart, and not necessarily limited to the traditional forms of Buddhist worship. The authentic expression of how the Buddha Dharma exists are unlimited and unending, with various manifestations, and while there are multitudes of ‘wrong paths’ one may take, Westerners are no less capable than any other people to find their own true way. As well, Buddhism has spread far beyond the stereotype of the rich white urban liberal and now encompasses people from all ethnic, political and cultural persuasions. There are liberals, conservatives, non-vegetarians, Christians, atheists, blue collar workers and yes, even us Rednecks who now are seriously looking at the Buddhist teachings as a bright shining way, away from blind faith and away from dogma, away from the un-testable supernatural, and indeed many are finding a spiritual path worth exploring.

Many are even finding the integration of Buddhist philosophy with scientific topics such as biology, psychology and perhaps most importantly physics to be one of the keys to a positive and mass reception in Western culture, and is helping greatly with the basic understandings of the fundamentals such as impermanence, anatta and dukkha. We must realize, however, the way we transmit the teachings must not exclude the thousands of years of past cultural heritage and techniques, but, however is taught in a way that neither confusing nor difficult to comprehend, and is incorporated in both new and old traditions.

It is amazing for me to know I live in a time such as this, a time where traditions collide, new ways of seeing Buddhism are formed and the extraordinary enthusiasm that all those who are new to the practice are showing us all a different way. What we want, we cannot explain, what we seek, we cannot describe. What we’ve been told doesn’t always fit and what we think doesn’t always match what we see. The power of the people’s will is sweeping down the newly formed valley of practice here in the West, like a glacial mass, growing in every moment, feed by the streams of discontent from the mountains of impure dogma, wicked greed and the ego driven contempt, condescension and intolerance of change.

This journey of inward soul searching our community has already begun to undertake is indeed a radical, colossal and prodigious event that cannot be stopped by the mere motives of a few scoundrels, profiteers or deviants. Sorry Noah, it’s too late to build the Ark, I’m waist deep in water and the only way out is to keep swimming.

Buddhism light?

I am having mixed feelings about an apparent trend in Western Buddhism, which I am presuming is being led by American Buddhism, toward a reinterpretation in how Buddhism in the West is approached, digested and practiced. The features of this trend are identified in a post at Wandering Dhamma.

Among the features in this trend is a shift toward a “hard core” practice of Buddhism from a former, “New Age” style of practice. If such a shift as this is indeed happening, I am delighted by the prospect. It’s been my experience that “sanghas” or other Buddhist organizations initiated by Anglo individuals tend to attract people who call themselves Buddhist as long as they are comfortable with the “demands” made on them by whatever doctrine they are exposed to. As soon as the requirements become uncomfortable, such individuals discard their “Buddhism” like an ill-fitting garment. I wish I had kept track of the people I encountered who called themselves Buddhist, but hadn’t ever read a lick of Dhamma. One even told me, “I am Zen, and all we do is meditate.” Imagine if I called myself Christian, but never read the Bible; instead, I relied entirely on someone else telling me what is in the Bible. Oh, wait, I know a lot of people like that.

Perhaps my skepticism is based on a perception that many “converts” to Buddhism get their first exposure to Dhamma either through an academic class or a book. And because of that, they develop a cerebral attitude toward Buddhism, which inevitably leads to elitism. These folks never really practice Dhamma: they read about it and think about it, and they love to talk about it, but that’s as far as it goes. Ask them how they bring the Noble Eightfold Path into their lives and you’re met with blank stares.

Perhaps that is why too many white “Buddhists” fail to help out with the dirty work at festivals and events at predominantly Asian sanghas. “I know Buddhism, I don’t do Buddhism.”