Of Asian Buddhists and “Wonderbread Dharma” (Updated)
So… I (along with Norman Fischer, Sumi Loundon Kim, and Iris Brilliant) participated in one of those Buddhadharma forums — “Next-Gen Buddhism: The Future of Buddhism in a Post-Baby Boomer World.” (Here’s Diana Winston’s intro to it.)
It seems that the piece itself has stirred up a small Dharmic s___-storm of discussion on a couple of blogs. You can join the fray at Dharma Folk’s “Angry Asian Buddhist” post, and at a follow-up piece by A Monk Amok: “Wonderbread Dharma”. The controversy is best boiled down to and centered around Dharma Folk’s contention that we can’t “discuss the future of the Buddhist community in America without talking about Asian Americans.”
For my part, I think that’s true, but would like to reiterate that, indeed, the piece was intentionally conceived to talk about “dharma’s integration into the American culture,” (Winston’s phrasing) with an eye towards so-called “convert Buddhists.” That non-convert Asian Buddhists were not specifically mentioned (where, 
say outreach to queer practitioners and “people of color” was) didn’t indicate to me that there is any disregard for them. Not at all. Rather, I believe that outreach to and involvement with the non-convert community is a subject ripe for its own forum and discussion. (Which is just what these, and other, excellent blogs are doing!) [Update: Forum moderator Barry Boyce has written a response to the "convert controversy," and points out that Buddhadharma has published two forums that have addressed it. You'll find links to these in Barry's response, here.]
What I feel I can say is that all of the people who were involved in the forum have a love and respect for all the communities that make up North American Buddhism’s landscape. And in actuality, the discussion that went on between Iris, Norman, Sumi, Barry Boyce, and myself was not nearly as brief as it appeared in print. (We talked for almost two hours as I recall; only roughly a third saw print.) Did we talk about non-convert Asian Buddhist communities? Frankly, I don’t recall, as this was a few months back now, but my best guess is that we did, at least some, but then returned to the focus at hand. But even if we didn’t, again: These are people who want the Dharma, in all its forms, to be upheld.
The main thing is this: all of this discussion is worth having, and it’s to everyone’s credit that that’s happening. We’re very fortunate to be served by a publication like Buddhadharma, and we’re just as fortunate to have the engaged voices of the “Buddhablogosphere,” too.
So why take a look at them and weigh in? Click a screenshot, and you’re there:
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December 9th, 2008 at 11:01 am
[...] on the Level 8 Buddhist, A Monk Amok, Tricycle Blog, the buddha is my dj, the Buddhist Blog and the Worst Horse. I gained a lot from reading the comments to those posts too. Possibly related posts: [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
[...] also enjoyed the post over at The Worst Horse: The controversy is best boiled down to and centered around Dharma Folk’s contention that we [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
[...] Quarterly (Winter 2008) has stirred up some controversy, as pointed out in a recent blog entry from Rod Sperry’s Worst Horse site. Rod was a participant in our discussion of the Next Generation of Buddhists in America. We all [...]
December 9th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Thanks for linking to my post, Rod! So it happens that at the time of writing I didn’t realize that the conversation was truncated nor did I know that there had been a previous editorial decision to focus the matter on the non-heritage Buddhist community, including the exclusion of Asian American participants. (Somehow, knowing this makes me more okay with it.) And aside from the bellicose racial language on my blog, I really appreciated the Buddhadharma forum and learned a lot from it. I love your blog too!
December 9th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
You bet, Arunlikhati. I think any time this kind of dialogue can happen, it’s a good thing: it’s an airing of grievances that can allow others to show where they stand.
Thanks so much; I’m adding you (and A Monk Amok) to the Horse’s “Graze” section right now.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Wonderful post here, and excellent comments all. Thank you!
December 10th, 2008 at 4:01 am
For what it’s worth, I do plan to buy a copy of Buddhadharma the next time I am back in the US (no such magazines here in Ireland), since I think the writers really are well-meaning folks.
Same with Shambhala who posted the editor’s response on their blog. Again, lots of good well-meaning people.
December 10th, 2008 at 10:02 am
This conversation between “Asian Buddhists” and “convert Buddhists” is a very important one, and in its Winter 2008 issue Tricycle published an article on this very topic, “Faith in Revolution,” an interview with Daisaku Ikeda, the President of SGI. This group, while largely ignored by the meditation-centered Buddhist communities, is the largest convert community in the West, and also the most ethnically and economically diverse. Surely SGI and Nichiren Buddhism as a whole must be part of the conversation between and about Asian Buddhists and convert Buddhists. This conversation is starting to take place in fits and starts, and this article is an indicator of that. More needs to be done and more will be done to bridge the gap, but much of the pessimism some have expressed on this topic is, perhaps, unfounded.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I am glad that this conversation has started. Although it is over a century too late for my grandparents and also their grandparents, it is better late than never.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
[...] Furthermore, to set this in context, Lew’s comments also sparked an online s___ storm (to quote Rod Sperry) 15 years ago, so I’m not sure if we can say the Buddhist community is any more harmonious [...]
February 7th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
generations are the lever of change
- ortega y gasset
om amito!