Buddhism in America

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact contemporary Buddhism has had on Americans both spiritually and politically. The real question should be how Americans have impacted Buddhism. Also within this paper there will be discussions of which roles Buddhist religious traditions have played in modern medicine; how people in Eastern Asia express their faith and practice their religion; how Americans that practice Buddhism express their beliefs; social and political views that may have been influenced by Buddhism and finally a comparison between the practices and beliefs of Buddhist to those of Christians.

Contemporary Buddhism has greatly impacted the American culture. The Zen of Buddhism is the most popular sect of the Eastern philosophy- based religion. “The essence of Zen is attempting to understand the meaning of life directly, without being misled by logical thought, or language (“Zen Buddhism,” 2002).” This is comparable to Christians trying their faith.

One of the practices of Zen is meditation. The goal of meditation is nirvana. Nirvana is described as the perfect or beatific state, characterized by the extinction of desires and passions, and the transcending of the separate existence of the self (The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, 2005). We see this practice more and more in America today. Some college campuses have adopted meditation halls. Well known entertainment figures have been said to practice meditation, to name one would be Tina Turner. Most of us would not have known this had it not been for the movie “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” In the movie, when Tina leaves Ike, her friend introduces her to meditation and chant, which allowed Tina to leave the stresses of being married to Ike in the past. This portrayed the correlation between modern day stresses and concerns and the benefit of practicing meditation.

Politics is based on power. Religion is based on faith and morals. Zen Buddhism and politics is not an easy relationship to understand because the objectives and demands of politics misconstrue the ideals of Buddhism. Many times religion is blamed for the dishonorable acts of politics, such as persecution. The Holocaust is a good example of this. “The thrust of the Buddha Dharma is not directed to the creation of new political institutions and establishing political arrangements. Basically, it seeks to approach the problems of society by reforming the individuals constituting that society and by suggesting some general principles through which the society can be guided towards greater humanism, improved welfare of its members, and more equitable sharing of resources (Thera, 2001).”Faith- healing is a concept that crosses many religions. Faith-healers rely on their patient’s ability to put mind over matter. “There are many discourses in the Teaching of the Buddha where it was indicated that various forms of sicknesses were eradicated through the conditioning of the mind. Thus it is worthwhile to practice meditation in order to attain mental and physical well-being (Thera, 2001).” Buddhists believe in the correlation between the mind and the correlation between man and the environment. When the balance of these is “off” Buddhist believes one way to get it back in balance is through meditation. There are other practices that are said to do the same. This concept is also gaining popularity in the world of modern medicine. “The preamble to the World Health Organization charter reads: ’Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (Thera, 2001)."Studies are continually being conducted on the practice modern medicine intertwined with non-traditional approaches to healing. The very popular hospital “Cancer Centers of America” advertises their approach in curing cancer which encourages faith- based practices combined with traditional medicinal practices. Buddhists also believe in using nature to heal. Herbs are used treat some ailments and strengthen the body’s natural ability to ward off disease and sickness. According to SGI Quarterly, “While modern medicine tends to address the ailing part of the body in isolation from the rest, treating it alone as if fixing a malfunctioning part of a machine, the Buddhist understanding of health sees disease as a reflection of the total somatic system, or life itself, and seeks to cure it through a fundamental reorientation of a person's life-style and outlook.” In the eyes of Buddhist, this once again, goes back to the correlation between man and nature. Meditation is becoming a more prevalent addition in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. This approach increases hope and is used to relieve the anxiety many HIV/AIDS patients experience. Buddhists are not against the use of modern medicine. They believe the theory and practices of Buddhism combined with traditional modern medicine is the best way to treat sickness and disease.

Buddhism is mostly practiced in the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Bhutan. The Buddhist faith originated in India in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. with the enlightenment of Gotama (in Sanskrit, Gauatama), the historical founder of the faith (c. 566–486 B.C.E.). The teaching of Gotama Buddha, also known as Buddha Sakyamuni (that is, "the Wise One" or "Sage of the Sakya Clan") is summarized in the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of suffering's, the truth of stopping suffering and the truth of the way.

There is also a twelve-step chain of cause. This chain of conditions consists of spiritual ignorance, constructing activities, consciousness, mind and body, the six sense-bases and many more. There is also aging, death, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. This chain of cause or Doctrine of Dependent Origination explains the dukka that one experiences in his or her life. Finally, there is the continuing process of reincarnation.

Disillusioned with the ascetic path, Gotama adhered to what he called "the middle way." He chose to sit beneath a Bo or Bodhi Tree (believed by scholars to now be situated at Bodhgaya, Bihar), concentrating on "seeing things as they really are" and passing through four stages of progressive insight (jhanas), which led to enlightenment (scholars believe this stage was achieved in c. 535 B.C.E.). The rest of his life was spent wandering in the area of the Ganges basin, gaining adherents and probably spending the rainy months in a community of followers, the beginnings of the Buddhist monastic establishment (vihara). The Buddha is said to have made no other claim for himself than that he was a teacher of transience or suffering (dukkha or duhkha), the first of his Four Noble Truths.

Buddhism spread also to central and southeast Asia, China, and from there into Korea (c. 350–668 C.E.) and Japan (c. 538 C.E.). Although there have been conversions to Buddhism in modern times, especially the mass conversion of dalits (or untouchables) following the leadership of Dr. Bhimrao R. Ambedkar, the dispersion of the centers of Buddhist learning led to a dwindling of the faith in most of India during the centuries of Islamic predominance.

Today in America, Buddhism is practiced all over the globe. This path is one that is accepted with many Americans. Each year there are more people discovering the value of Buddhist spiritual practices and beliefs. At the same time many Americans are also modifying Buddhism to meet their needs. One of the reasons why many Americans are drawn to Buddhism is the fact that it offers a wide range of deep spiritual practices, such as meditation.

There are many different types of meditation, some to increase your compassion toward others, or to reduce unwanted attachments to things that cause you suffering. This meditation allows you to understand yourself and how you react to the world so that you can understand yourself better and modify your reaction to the world. You can't easily change the world so you must change yourself, by improving yourself you improve your capacity to relieve your own suffering. Americans faith in Buddhism describes how this ancient faith has deeply affected many Americans. Since many Americans have the freedom to practice their Buddhist beliefs without constraints, the faith has attracted many celebrities and stars of today.

Buddhism is a faith that has a many spiritual technologies that have developed over the years. Many Americans practice meditation, calm, clarity, and insight. Some of the other common Buddhist practices of Americans include bowing, visualizations, chanting and working with the arts. All of theses things lead to the fact that Buddhism has an overall socially influence on American culture and society.

Buddhism influences have changed the world both socially and politically. Although some hemisphere have been greatly impacted more than others you can see the effects of Buddhism range from all portions of the world; as far west as the United States and as far east as Asia.

It is impossible to speak of Buddhism without mentioning the great impact that this religion has had on art, specifically in Asian art but also throughout the world. Through the various pieces of works the demonstration of diverse cultures in both the eastern and western hemispheres has been combustive. As this religion has developed and traveled throughout the world from various cultures cities, states, and countries it has brought about much change. The contact with the Hellenized Gandharan culture resulted in the development of a new art form called the Buddha Statue, the first representation of Buddha. Buddha Statue developed from the Greek and Indian cultures later carried on and further developed by the Indian foundation. Different art works such as monasteries, grottoes, vishanas and stupas all developed in their entirety by the Buddhism culture. “The Buddhist artists, with arduous labor, created the most impressive wall paintings of cave temples dedicated to the Buddha, his saints, and his legend”(Silkroad, 1997-2000). These walls not only present artwork but divulge to the world the historical facts of this culture. It unfolds the lifestyle, dress, timelines and appearance of people at that day and age. Socially this religion has produced cultures that show restraint and apprehension to violence in fear of Karma. Their way of life illustrates charity, purity, truth and respect for all life. Although some of the actions of Buddhism are looked upon as naive their views stem from a deep belief in what they do will come back to them the Good and Bad. This particular belief has many similarities to religions throughout the world but specifically Christianity. Although these religions stem from very different environments and have differences they do share view points that seem to stem from the same likeness. Christians share the Buddhist belief that focus is not on others but upon themselves and what they do. Both doctrines believe you should do well upon others and what you are supposed to do no matter what the circumstances are. This belief in Buddhism is called Karma and also resembles the Christian belief system that “So, shall a man reap what he sow” (Holy Bible, 1990) a passage from the Bible. Christians believe “If we live by the Holy Spirit as Paul says we should do, that means submitting every aspect of our lives to God emotional, physical, social, intellectual, vocational. Paul says that because we're saved, we should live like it. The Holy Spirit is the source of your new life, so keep in step with his leading. Don't let anything or anyone else determine your values and standards in any area of your life.” (David Ahl, 2007) So, Buddhist aren’t concerned with others that are manipulative and conniving they are worried about self. They believe that they obtain enlightenment by doing what is right and don’t concern themselves with the action of others and what prompted the action. In Christianity, Christians beliefs stem from the bible and the “Bible talks a lot about reaping and sowing. In Job 4:8 it says, Even as I have seen they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.” (Holy Bible, 2007) And in Psalms 126:5 it says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Holy Bible, 2007) And in Luke 12:24 it says, “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls” (Holy Bible, 2007) So, shall a man reap what he sowest, you reap what you sow. Sound familiar both doctrines are very similar but they have differences as well. Buddhist believe in reincarnation Christians do not. Christians believe that your time on earth is precious and you are supposed to live accordingly to the Bible. They believe that once you die at a point in time you will be judged according to the word and you will either spend eternity in heaven with bliss or hell with suffering. (Ravi Zacharias, 2002-2008) Buddhist on the other hand, believes that you have chance after chance to reach Nirvana the end of life and birth. You will be reborn into animal, insect, or human based off of the life you live. The goal is to strive in each life to reach Nirvana by doing what is right and reach enlightenment.

For years there have been many debates over which religion is the ultimate and true religion. But is religion what counts the most or is it our beliefs that matter most? In almost every religion the main ideas taught are love, peace, and kindness. Therefore if everyone in a religion is to practice these ideas aren’t they all on the path to an enlightened state? Buddhism, regardless of if it is practiced in the traditional sense or in the American version has had a great impact on American society, politics, art and some ways of living. Because of Americans acceptance of Buddhism many have opened their minds to something that may not be of the norm. There can be something taken from every religion and as long as there is no harm brought upon others the goal of enlightenment can be reach.

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