Emily Breder's Articles on Lions Roar

Emily Breder of Buddhism Examiner urges us to answer the Buddhism/religion question in order to make a lasting Western Sangha. There are possibilities that the unfortunate disagreement between Wat Pong and Ajahn Brahm have brought to light - that western societies have proved themselves able to commit sincerely to the path that the Buddha taught, and that we deserve to have our own Dhamma door formally recognized just as Thailand, Japan, and Tibet have theirs (amongst others). It would be to our mutual benefit to formalize the relationship of the different schools and sanghas in the West by not debating the issue of whether Buddhism is a religion anymore and uniting under the flag of Buddhism. Our women could be ordained without issue and we could promote the causes unique to our culture. However, we can’t do this unless we start agreeing on what Buddhism is. The issues about the term "religion" are just semantics, in the end - we are only hurting ourselves. Eastern societies have their own central sanghas, specific to country and culture, to support the monks, nuns, and laypeople. In the West we have been denied this privilege for the most part because of the "threat to the purity of the Dhamma", as if Western Buddhists are unworthy of transmitting the Dhamma to people in our own culture. This is despite the masses of wonderful Western monks and nuns like Ajahn Brahm, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Pema Chodron, and many many more. Anyone on the other side of the issue who doubts this is true, notice the nationality of Ajahn Sumedho. "Western" Buddhism is not a dirty word, but it is frequently heard spoken of with contempt, as if it is a distortion of the Dhamma instead of another expression of it.

Answer the Buddhism/religion question and make a lasting Western Sangha

TEACHINGS

LIFE

EXPLORE BUDDHISM

NEWS