Buddhism in America by Richard Hughes Seager

Author:Richard Hughes Seager
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL007000, Religion/Buddhism/General, HIS036000, History/United States/General
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2012-07-03T04:00:00+00:00

Given its wide range of expressions, the Theravada tradition is in an excellent position to make long-term contributions to the formation of American Buddhism. Its unique strength rests in the many different avenues through which it is approaching Americanization—the extensive network of immigrant temples, the strong practice movement associated with IMS and Spirit Rock, and the monastic-led institutions in between. All these approaches, however, do not amount to a concerted effort; a wide range of questions face people in the different strata of the community.

Monastic-led communities and groups must address issues such as the nature of the monks’ role in American society, to what degree the vinaya should be altered to suit the American context, and the desirability of forging ecumenical ties with other forms of Buddhism. Lay immigrants must continue to wrestle with the myriad complexities of communicating their tradition to their children and grandchildren. It is doubtful that Asian Americans or European Americans will soon choose to seek full ordination in significant enough numbers to create a native-born monastic sangha. Therefore, Asian monks are certain to remain prominent for a number of generations, providing living links to tradition and slowing any tendencies toward wholesale Americanization.

Lay leaders of the Insight Meditation movement will have to continue to weigh questions about how to make Buddhism accessible to a middle-class constituency while maintaining the depth of their teaching. They also need to develop sufficiently strong institutions and a lineage-like mechanism between teachers and students to attract and sustain another generation, comprised of either their own children or a new wave of American seekers.

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